Nigeria’s business environment sustained its expansionary momentum in February 2026, as the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) Current Business Performance Index climbed to a record 117.2 points.
This was disclosed in the February 2026 BCM report released by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group.
The figure marks a sharp increase from 105.8 points recorded in January 2026 and 111.5 points in February 2025, signalling significantly improved business conditions across the country.
The report indicates broad-based growth across major sectors, supported by recovering demand conditions and improved operational performance.
What the data is saying
The BCM report shows that all five major sectors of the economy recorded expansion in February 2026. The overall index rose to 117.2 points from 105.8 points in January.
- Non-manufacturing led the expansion, with its index rising to 128.9 points from 115.3.
- Manufacturing increased to 121.1 points from 115.8 in January.
- Services improved to 109.2 points from 102.1.
- Trade rebounded strongly to 108.7 points from 92.7, while Agriculture climbed to 104.8 points from 99.5.
The broad-based expansion reflects improved business activity across production, trade, and service-oriented sectors.
More Insights
Sector-specific performance highlights variations in the drivers of growth and areas of resilience.
- Agriculture returned to expansion at 104.8 points, driven by improvements in crop production and recovery in Livestock and Agro-Allied activities.
- Manufacturing growth was supported by strong performances in Food, Beverage & Tobacco; Chemical & Pharmaceutical Products; and Pulp, Paper & Paper Products, although Cement and Plastic & Rubber Products slipped into contraction.
- The Non-manufacturing sector strengthened to 128.9 points, with improvements across most sub-sectors except Crude Petroleum, which moderated to the neutral 100-point threshold.
- Services maintained expansion at 109.2 points, supported by Broadcasting, Financial Institutions, Real Estate, Telecoms and Information Services.
Despite the overall gains, structural challenges such as insecurity, infrastructure gaps, limited access to financing, and high operating costs continue to weigh on certain sectors, particularly Agriculture and Manufacturing.
Business optimism for the near term remains strong, according to the report. The NESG Future Business Expectation Index stood at 135.5 points in February 2026, up from 124.7 points in January and 128.3 points in February 2025.
- Manufacturing recorded the highest optimism at 164.3 points.
- Trade followed at 163.1 points, while Non-manufacturing stood at 151.0 points.
- Agriculture posted 137.2 points, and Services, though the weakest, remained in expansion territory at 117.1 points.
What you should know
Earlier, Nairametrics reported that Nigeria’s private sector returned to expansion in February, as the Stanbic IBTC Bank Purchasing Managers’ Index rose to 53.2 from 49.7 in January.
The PMI, compiled by S&P Global and endorsed by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), is a diffusion index where readings above 50.0 signal improvement compared to the previous month.
