The Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange is strengthening strategic partnerships with investors from the United Arab Emirates and other private-sector players as it moves to position Nigeria as a major entry point into Africa’s estimated $1 trillion commodities market.
Nigeria alone accounts for about $400 billion in commodities opportunities across agriculture, energy, precious metals such as gold, and critical minerals including lithium. The Exchange said deeper collaboration with UAE investors is expected to accelerate value addition across key segments of the commodities value chain, particularly in lithium processing, livestock development, food security initiatives, and structured commodities trading.
The Managing Director of LCFE made this known while receiving the United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Nigeria during a courtesy visit to the Exchange in Lagos. He emphasised that private-sector-led initiatives remain essential for improving efficiency, mobilising capital, and delivering the infrastructure needed to deepen Nigeria’s commodities ecosystem.
He noted that structured private investment models have already proven effective in the country, pointing to major infrastructure projects delivered outside traditional public funding frameworks as evidence that private capital can ensure continuity and measurable outcomes.
According to the Exchange, it is expanding its market ecosystem through the onboarding of additional dealing member firms and licensed commodity brokers, while also strengthening gold trading activities. The Exchange is promoting the use of London Bullion Market Association–standard gold bars stored within Free Trade Zones, a structure that allows tariff-free access for institutional investors, including pension funds.
LCFE also disclosed that it is scaling up its involvement in large-scale rice production, livestock and fodder development, and the cultivation of export-ready organic produce. Memoranda of understanding have already been signed with several state governments to support these initiatives, while the UAE has been granted a first right of refusal on selected commodity exports under the partnership framework.
