Nigerian companies ended 2025 on a brighter note, with the Central Bank’s latest Business Expectations Survey showing firms expect faster growth and busier order books in the first half of 2026.
The headline Confidence Index—a single number that captures how firms feel about the future—rose to 37.5 points in December and is forecast to hit 52.5 points within six months. That’s the highest forward-looking reading since the CBN began publishing the series.
Between 1 and 5 December, pollsters reached 1,900 businesses spread across industry, agriculture and services. Three in every four respondents plan to raise output in early 2026, and more than half expect to add staff. Industrial firms were the most upbeat (38.7 points), while farmers and service providers trailed only slightly.
Companies also think the naira could firm and borrowing costs could ease—two shifts that would make new projects easier to finance.
Yet the same firms listed plenty that could still go wrong. Insecurity topped the worry list, followed by multiple taxes, unreliable power and high interest rates. None of those hurdles has moved since the last survey.
Capacity use stayed flat at just under 50 per cent in December. Construction crews ran the tightest schedules; manufacturers of food and textiles sat on the most spare space. By zone, the North-East felt most bullish and the South-East the least, though every region posted a positive net score.
