Nigeria’s business activity hits five-month high in July – NESG

Nigeria’s business activity rebounded strongly in July 2026 as the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) Current Business Performance Index rose to 108.6 points, its highest level since February.

This is according to the NESG’s latest Business Confidence Monitor (BCM).

Checks by Nairametrics show that the Current Business Performance Index stood at 117.2 points in February 2026, indicating that the July reading, although firmly in expansion territory, remains below the level recorded earlier in the year.

The improvement reflected broad-based expansion across major sectors, although businesses continued to contend with limited access to financing, inadequate power supply, high property rental costs, insecurity and infrastructure bottlenecks.

What the report is saying

The NESG said the Agriculture index rose to 110.8 points from 103.9 points in June, while Manufacturing increased to 110.5 points from 106.4 points.

• Non-Manufacturing recorded the strongest performance at 116.6 points, up from 106.8 points in June, while Services moved into expansion territory at 108.3 points from 98.5 points.
• Trade remained in expansion, with its index rising marginally to 102.8 points from 102.0 points in June, although it was below the 103.2 points recorded in July 2025.
• The NESG said key business sub-indices, including general business situation, production, demand conditions, operating profit, financial results, supply orders, access to credit, cash flow and employment remained in expansion territory.

The NESG said the performance was driven by broad-based expansion, led by Oil & Gas Services and Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas. Oil & Gas Services entered expansion territory, while Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas recorded stronger expansion than in the previous month.

Services also returned to expansion, rising to 108.3 points from 98.5 points in June and 101.9 points in July 2025. Financial Institutions, Real Estate and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services remained in expansion, while Broadcasting returned to expansion after contracting in June.

• Telecoms and Information Services, however, fell into contraction, while Other Services remained around the neutral 100-point threshold.

The NESG Future Business Expectation Index, which measures businesses’ outlook over the next one to three months, stood at 128.3 points in July, marginally below the 128.4 points recorded in June.

More insights

Analysts have warned that Nigeria’s manufacturing sector will struggle to achieve a sustained recovery unless soaring production costs are brought under control, citing persistent inflation, elevated energy costs and high interest rates as major constraints to growth.

Analysts attribute the prolonged contraction largely to rising production costs, elevated borrowing costs and weak consumer demand.

Although headline inflation eased marginally to 15.91% in June from 15.93% in May, manufacturers continue to contend with expensive energy, high borrowing costs and subdued consumer demand.

The CBN also retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 26.5% in July, keeping financing costs elevated for manufacturers that rely on bank credit to fund production and expansion.

What you should know

Nairametrics reports that Nigeria’s private sector sustained its growth momentum in June 2026, marking the fifth consecutive month of expansion as stronger customer demand and new product offerings continued to drive business activity.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s manufacturing sector contributed 9.57% to the country’s real Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter of 2026.

Recently, manufacturers raised fresh concerns as bank credit to the sector declined by N1.92 trillion from N8.53 trillion in December 2024 to N6.61 trillion in December 2025.