Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu opened the third edition of Invest Lagos this Monday with a clear pitch to global capital: if you want in on Africa, Lagos is your door. Speaking at the summit themed "Lagos: Business Gateway to Africa," he pointed investors toward opportunities across infrastructure, technology, finance, agriculture, and trade, framing the city as the most attractive entry point into the African Continental Free Trade Area, a market spanning over 1.4 billion people with a combined GDP exceeding $3 trillion.
The numbers Sanwo-Olu put on the table are hard to ignore. Lagos has a population of over 25 million people, a GDP approaching $300 billion, and an economy that has grown at roughly five percent annually, a rate he says outpaces many global benchmarks. He also described Lagos as the largest sub-national economy on the continent, a title the state has held and continues to defend with expanding internally generated revenue.
The summit, organised in partnership with the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, is already in its third year, having launched in 2024. Sanwo-Olu noted the momentum, saying the event has "come a long way" since its inaugural edition and is now firmly part of the state's strategy for positioning Lagos on the continental and global stage.
On the tech front, Sanwo-Olu confirmed that the Lagos State Digital Hub is operational and already moving into its second phase, driven by what he described as overwhelming demand and rapid utilisation of the first phase. He cast the longer vision plainly: a city where technology companies, engineers, creatives, and entrepreneurs converge to supply the talent powering the world's digital economy.
Seven years into his tenure, the governor says the work is not finished. The version of Lagos he is building is still taking shape, and if this summit is any indication, the world is being invited to watch closely.
Originally published by African Business.