Keynote address by the Commonwealth Secretary-General at the Invest Lagos 3.0 Conference

It is a pleasure to join you here in Lagos — one of Africa’s great commercial capitals, one of the Commonwealth’s most dynamic investment destinations, and increasingly, one of the world’s most important gateways for growth.

I thank the Lagos State Government for convening this platform, and I commend Governor Sanwo-Olu for the ambition behind it.

I also recognise the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CCWEIC), under Lord Marland’s leadership, for bringing together government, business, finance and enterprise around one practical purpose: converting opportunity into investment, enterprise and jobs.

That matters because we meet at a decisive moment.

The global economy is not just experiencing a passing period of turbulence. It is going through a structural shift. Trade tensions are rising. Supply chains are being rewired. Capital is more cautious. Debt pressures are heavier. Climate shocks are more frequent. Technology is transforming every sector faster than many institutions can adapt.

For investors, the question is no longer where the highest return is, only. It is also: where is the trust? Where is the talent? Where is the market? Where is the regulatory confidence? Where is the long-term growth story?

That is why Lagos matters. And I want you to join me in a thought experiment. Imagine it is 2050.

The international system has been renewed — less divided, more practical, and more objective of the competitive attractions of developing countries and the opportunities they bring. There is a less-jaundiced calculation of risk outside traditional markets.

The energy transition has become one the greatest engines of growth in modern history. Africa is the world’s largest and youngest continent, with its cities setting the pace of trade, technology, culture and investment.

And Lagos stands among the tallest: clean energy powers industry, ports and rail connect markets, digital finance moves enterprise at speed, creativity becomes export power, and young people build global companies without leaving home. That is not a fantasy. It is a realistic prospect if we make the right strategic choices — and the work begins here. Because Lagos is not simply a city of potential. It is a city of proof.

Proof that Africa’s growth is real. Proof that enterprise can move faster than expectation. Proof that young people, with ideas and ambition, can build companies that compete globally. This city is a commercial engine, a cultural powerhouse, a logistics hub, a continental gateway, and one of the clearest symbols of Africa’s economic transformation.

It is home to major African fintech success stories — companies such as Flutterwave, Paystack, OPay and others — built by young people who saw gaps in the market and turned them into platforms of opportunity. That is the kind of growth the Commonwealth must help to accelerate.

Across our 56 member countries, we are home to 2.7 billion people — the majority under the age of 30. We share language, legal traditions, business practices, education systems, institutions and deep people-to-people ties.

These connections are commercial assets. They reduce friction. They build trust. They lower risk. They make it easier for businesses to trade, invest and grow across borders. That is the Commonwealth Advantage: trade between Commonwealth countries being on average, around 21 per cent cheaper. But advantage, by itself, is not enough. An advantage unused is only a statistic.

Our task is to turn that advantage into jobs, investment, supply chains, infrastructure, innovation and growth that people can feel in their daily lives. That is why trade and investment are at the centre of my vision for a renewed Commonwealth.

At a time when parts of the world are turning inward, the Commonwealth must turn towards one another with greater purpose. At a time when protectionism is rising, we must build trusted corridors for trade. At a time when capital is searching for confidence, we must help create the conditions in which long-term investment can flow. This is all about delivery.

At the Commonwealth Secretariat, we are supporting member countries on regulatory connectivity, digital trade, investment facilitation, access to finance and trade policy.

We are working to reduce fragmentation, strengthen investor confidence, improve the bankability of projects, and help small and medium-sized enterprises — especially women and youth-led businesses — connect to regional and global value chains.

Because in many of our countries, the problem is not a lack of ambition. Nor is it always a lack of capital. It is a lack of mechanisms capable of converting risk into confidence, and confidence into investment. That is why this gathering is so important.

Invest Lagos is focused on the right questions: how Lagos can serve as Africa’s global gateway; how technology and fintech can drive inclusive growth; how long-term capital can be mobilised; and how infrastructure, energy systems and creative industries can shape the cities of the future. This is a single, coherent agenda.

A modern investment hub needs digital infrastructure, reliable energy, transport and logistics, skills, predictable rules, creative industries, cultural confidence — and above all, trust. Lagos has many of these ingredients already: scale, energy, location, a dynamic private sector, and young people impatient for opportunity, progress and growth. And Lagos stands within Nigeria’s broader economic trajectory, and within Africa’s continental transformation through the African Continental Free Trade Area.

Because the future of African investment will not be built country by country alone. It will be built through regional markets, cross-border infrastructure, digital payments, logistics corridors, common standards and stronger value chains. A more connected Africa is a more investable Africa. And a more investable Africa is good not only for Africa, but for the Commonwealth and the world.

For the Commonwealth, Nigeria is central. It is one of our great engines of possibility. But potential does not deliver itself.

We must mobilise investment into productive sectors — real businesses, real infrastructure, real jobs. We must build reliable power, efficient transport, digital connectivity and modern logistics. We must create regulatory environments that are transparent, predictable and responsive. We must invest in skills, so that young people are not spectators to growth, but its drivers and beneficiaries.

And we must ensure that growth is inclusive — because prosperity that is too narrow will not be stable, and investment that does not improve lives will neither command public confidence nor be sustainable. This is why – beyond all the technical jargon and policy platforms, trade and investment are human subjects.

They are about whether a young entrepreneur can access finance. Whether a small business can reach a new market. Whether a graduate can find decent work. Whether a creative artist can monetise talent globally. Whether a family can live with dignity, security and hope.

The days of modest ambition are gone. We need execution. We need scale. We need confidence. We need partnerships that deliver. Lagos has the energy. Nigeria has the scale. Africa has the momentum. The Commonwealth has the network. Now we must bring them together.

Back to 2050 and our thought experiment. We are all there, enjoying this thriving city, and I hope we are looking back on this summit – not because of what we said, but because of the partnerships formed, the capital mobilised, the projects advanced and the confidence strengthened.

So let us show, from Lagos, that in a world of uncertainty, partnership still works — when it is practical, purposeful and bold.