Nigeria’s business activity recorded its strongest performance in five months in July 2026, driven by robust expansion in the agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors, as the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) Current Business Performance Index (CBPI) rose to 108.6 points, its highest level since February.
The latest Business Confidence Monitor (BCM) released by the NESG showed that the economy witnessed broad-based improvements across key productive sectors despite persistent challenges, including limited access to finance, inadequate electricity supply, insecurity, high property rental costs and infrastructure deficits.
According to the report, the July reading marked a significant improvement from previous months, indicating that more businesses experienced growth in production, demand and profitability, with the index remaining well above the 100-point threshold that signals expansion in business activities.
Agriculture emerged as one of the major drivers of the recovery, with its performance index rising to 110.8 points in July from 103.9 points in June, reflecting stronger activity across the sector.
Similarly, the Manufacturing sector strengthened further as its index increased to 110.5 points, compared with 106.4 points recorded in the preceding month, signalling sustained improvements in production and factory output despite prevailing macroeconomic headwinds.
The Non-Manufacturing sector posted the strongest performance among all sectors, with its index surging to 116.6 points from 106.8 points in June, underscoring expanding business activities across several industries.
The Services sector also returned firmly to expansion territory after contracting in June, with its index climbing to 108.3 points from 98.5 points.
The July performance was also stronger than the 101.9 points recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Within the services segment, Financial Institutions, Real Estate, and Professional, Scientific and Technical Services maintained positive momentum, while Broadcasting rebounded into expansion after experiencing contraction in June.
However,
Telecommunications and Information Services slipped into contraction during the month, while the Other Services category remained close to the neutral 100-point mark, indicating relatively stable business conditions.
Trade also sustained its expansion trend, albeit at a slower pace.
The sector’s index edged higher to 102.8 points from 102.0 points in June but remained slightly below the 103.2 points recorded in July 2025.
The NESG noted that improvements were also evident across several key business indicators. Sub-indices measuring the general business situation, production levels, demand conditions, operating profit, financial performance, supply orders, access to credit, cash flow and employment all remained in expansion territory, suggesting improving operating conditions for businesses.
The report attributed the broad-based growth largely to stronger performance in the Oil and Gas industry, particularly Oil and Gas Services and Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas activities.
According to the NESG, Oil and Gas Services returned to expansion during the month, while Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas recorded stronger growth than in June, contributing significantly to overall business activity.
Despite the improved business sentiment, the report stressed that structural constraints continue to weigh on private sector performance.
Businesses identified inadequate access to financing, unreliable electricity supply, rising commercial property rental costs, insecurity and poor infrastructure as major impediments to growth and investment.
Looking ahead, businesses remained largely optimistic about near-term economic conditions.
The NESG’s Future Business Expectation Index, which measures business outlook over the next one to three months, stood at 128.3 points in July, only marginally below the 128.4 points recorded in June, indicating sustained confidence in business prospects despite the challenging operating environment.
The latest report suggests that while Nigeria’s private sector continues to face significant structural obstacles, improving sectoral performance and resilient business expectations are providing positive momentum for economic activity in the second half of 2026.
(The Whistler)