President Bola Tinubu has welcomed Coca-Cola’s proposed $1 billion investment in Nigeria over five years, describing the commitment as a vote of confidence in the country’s long-term economic potential.
The President spoke at the 75th anniversary celebration of Nigerian Bottling Company in Abuja and was represented by Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume.
Coca-Cola announced the potential $1 billion investment in 2024 after investing about $1.5 billion in Nigeria during the preceding decade.
Tinubu said Nigeria remained open to local and international investors and that his administration was working to create a more predictable, competitive and investment-friendly business environment.
He said the Coca-Cola system generated an estimated $1 billion in value-added economic activity in Nigeria in 2024, supported more than 160,000 livelihoods across its value chain and purchased approximately $601 million in goods and services from Nigerian suppliers.
The President acknowledged that businesses still faced major constraints, including power, logistics, foreign-exchange access, regulatory uncertainty and taxation.
He said reforms under the Renewed Hope Agenda were intended to strengthen domestic production, reduce import dependence and create more opportunities for Nigerian businesses and workers.
Tinubu said the government wanted investment to be measured not only by capital inflows but also by jobs, skills, technology transfer, local sourcing and the expansion of domestic productive capacity.
He argued that Nigeria should be viewed as more than a large consumer market and should increasingly become a location where multinational companies manufacture, build supply chains and compete for regional and global markets.
The President cited Nigerian Bottling Company’s investments in new production lines at Asejire in Oyo State and Challawa in Kano State as examples of the kind of expansion the government wanted to encourage.
He also called for greater local content and stronger Nigerian supplier networks capable of replacing imports with competitive domestic products.
Tinubu said government would continue improving infrastructure, policies and regulation while the private sector remained responsible for innovation, investment and job creation.
He also highlighted human-capital development, commending Nigerian Bottling Company’s Supply Chain Academy, which the company says has trained more than 1,400 young people since 1996.
The President said Nigeria would continue to welcome companies prepared to make long-term commitments to local manufacturing, talent development and community investment.
