State to Host ‘Invest in Lagos 3.0’ Summit June 8-9 With CWEIC
London – Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has urged the Fifty Six Commonwealth nations to channel capital, technology, and expertise into Africa, positioning Lagos as the continent’s prime entry point for global investors.
Speaking as keynote speaker at the Commonwealth Trade and Investment Summit in Mansion House, London, Sanwo-Olu told delegates, “You will find not just market and opportunity but partner and relationship in Lagos.”
Themed “The Commonwealth’s Advantage,” the summit drew Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council Chairman Lord Marland, Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey, Malta’s Deputy PM Doctor Ian Borg, City of London Lady Mayor Dame Susan Langley, ministers, and global business leaders.
Sanwo-Olu said the Commonwealth’s greatest asset is its people, with Africa central to its future.
“By 2050, one in four people on earth will be African. If the Commonwealth is to remain a genuine engine of global trade, Africa must be central to its strategy. And within Africa, Lagos must be part of that conversation.” Governor Sanwo-Olu said.
He pitched the Commonwealth as a trust-based network amid “fracturing globalisation” and rising trade barriers. “Fifty-six nations sharing commitments to rule of law, democratic governance, and open markets constitute a remarkable platform for doing business with confidence.”
The Governor said Lagos is backing that pitch with infrastructure: operational Blue Line and Red Line metro rail, West Africa’s first, plus investments in ports, airports, rail corridors, and tech.
A new children’s hospital, one of Africa’s largest, is set for commissioning, while land and revenue systems are being digitised.
“Lagos generates roughly a third of Nigeria’s GDP. As a standalone economy, it would rank among sub-Saharan Africa’s top five,” he said. “Our T.H.E.M.E.S.+ Agenda is not a campaign document. It is a governance architecture. That architecture is open for business.”
Sanwo-Olu announced “Invest in Lagos 3.0”, the state’s flagship investment summit, set for June 8th-9th at Victoria Island. Convened with CWEIC, it will target Commonwealth investors across all major sectors. “It is not a conference. It is a transaction platform,” he said.
He urged investors to treat emerging markets as partners, not aid recipients, and backed blended finance and AfCFTA to unlock the world’s largest single market by GDP coverage.
Lagos Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade, and Investment, Folashade Bada-Ambrose, also spoke during a plenary on “Mobilising Capital for Growth in Emerging Markets,” outlining Lagos’ needs and ongoing reforms.
