Nigeria is a country that often suffers under the weight of its own potential. The international community continues to question how it remains trapped in a seemingly endless struggle to meet its developmental goals, often pointing to poor governance and mismanagement of public finances.

These concerns are justified – Nigeria is underperforming. Its GDP grew by 3.4 percent in 2024, compared to 8.9 percent in Rwanda and 4.5 percent in Kenya, respectively.

Its economic momentum is also falling short. The World Bank projects Nigeria’s growth at just 3.7 percent in 2025 – trailing behind Kenya’s 4.7 percent and Rwanda’s 6.5 percent, respectively.

Nigeria is failing to leverage the demographic dividend offered by one of the world’s fastest growing and youngest populations, and its economy is not showing enough signs that it is modernising for a new age.

Young Nigerians are tired of false promises and broken dreams. What they want are meaningful solutions to their problems: investment in education, in technology, in multisector initiatives that support the ample amounts of raw talent waiting to be unleashed.

The roots for success are already there. What is needed is the water to see multisector growth. Prince Adebayo Adewole, the leader of Nigeria’s Social Democratic Party, believes that this could come from a government that prioritises and protects young business minds.

‘We have an abundance of ideas, of energy, but a lack of strategy’, Adebayo says. ‘The youth of Nigeria are key to its success, but right now, they are being held back by poor regulation and government bottlenecks’.

Nigeria’s startup ecosystem is already both vibrant and successful. There are signs of key sector growth, including in fintech and agribusiness, but young professionals and entrepreneurs lack the investment for them to take it to the next level.

Earlier this year, a report noted that Nigeria has the potential to become Africa’s leader in private sector-led growth, with a capacity to create a USD $20 billion business environment.

So, what is holding it back?

Nigeria’s regulatory environment – rather than serving as an incentive for dynamic new enterprises – has become a barrier to entry, weighed down by complex and inconsistent rules and excessive bureaucratic red tape.

A Nigerian NGO report in 2024 described the country’s business environment as ‘largely negative’, citing inflated operational costs, chronically constrained access to credit and finance, and persistently low employment rates.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across the country repeatedly highlight inadequate infrastructure – from unreliable electricity to poor transportation networks.

This litany of problems may seem overwhelming, even unsalvageable.

But Adebayo believes they can be resolved by putting the challenges facing small businesses at the forefront of the government’s agenda.

‘We have such a thriving business culture in Nigeria. Prioritising it and understanding its problems is essential. We must offer real, fast solutions. Right now, if I were setting up my first business in Abuja, Lagos, or my own Ondo State, I would be very concerned about the current political situation.

Nigeria stands on the precipice of economic transformation – all it needs is direction.

For such a young population, Nigerians are hungry for domestic solutions to domestic problems.

Using tech solutions to solve food insecurity, for instance, is one such area. Nigeria has over 70 million hectares of agricultural land, but only half is cultivated. The entrepreneurial appetite is there: in 2024, 230 agricultural startups were registered, up from just 23 in 2022.

Yet government red tape, unreliable access to the electricity that powers many digital tools, and a lack of supportive infrastructure are holding the industry back. The desire to innovate is there – now the government must facilitate it.

Fintech is another sector where Nigeria’s entrepreneurial spark should be igniting rapid growth, but instead, it is dimming under the weight of systemic barriers.

Despite attracting USD $331.64 million of investment in 2024, the industry is suffocated by regulations that serve political interests rather than economic progress.

The story is all too familiar: promising firms are being choked by regulations designed less to enable growth and more to secure political kickbacks.

Meanwhile, domestic investment is often tied to the same political interests – shutting out the very young entrepreneurs whose innovations could shape the industry to not just continent leading, but world leading.

Combine limiting factors around business development with an education system that fails to equip students with essential digital skills and the picture becomes clearer still. Nigeria possesses a vast reservoir of entrepreneurial talent, yet it is not being nurtured – and doesn’t seem to be the main focus of its government.

If Nigeria lowers barriers to capital, simplifies regulations, and fosters a climate where innovation can flourish, its young entrepreneurs could turn the nation’s trajectory into one of exponential growth.

These challenges may appear to be overwhelming, but in reality, the solution is straightforward: a government that recognises and harnesses the energy, ingenuity, and ambitions of its young population could transform Nigeria’s long-term future.

‘It’s a pivot, not a leap,’ says Adebayo. ‘The minds are here; the ideas are here – all we need to do is fan the flame. ‘