Policymakers and investors in Lagos have emphasised the role of green bonds, sukuk and other long-term capital instruments in mobilising finance for productive projects and reducing investment risks tied to weak infrastructure and regulatory uncertainty.

Speaking at the Alternative Bank executive forum, themed “Beyond Interest: Capital, Innovation, and the Future of Wealth,” in Lagos, the chairman of The Alternative Bank, Muhtar Bakare, urged participants to reassess how capital is deployed across the country and stressed the need to align private returns with national productive capacity.

He contrasted extractive capital, which he said tends to take value without strengthening the wider economy, with productive capital, which he said supports enterprises and systems that create income, demand and government revenue over time.

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in his keynote address, focused on the government’s role in enabling private investment through public infrastructure.

He cited projects such as the Blue and Red Line rail systems as examples of investments that can lower logistics costs, expand markets and improve business viability.

The governor said the future of development finance will draw more on instruments such as green bonds and sukuk, and on non-interest structures that link capital to tangible assets and measurable outcomes. He noted that while government cannot eliminate all investor risk, it can reduce risks from poor infrastructure, unclear regulation and institutional uncertainty, and stressed the importance of credible systems.

Former governor of Lagos State and former minister of works and housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, said that investments in tangible assets and community welfare produce more durable value than those focused on short-term returns. He urged financial decision-makers to consider long-term social returns when allocating funds.

Other speakers provided briefings on topics including the business case for ethical capital, pan-African payment systems and asset tokenisation, and the macroeconomic outlook. Presenters included Abubakar Suleiman (promoter of non-interest banking and Sterling Financial Holdings board member), Dr Stanley Jacob (group head of innovation and technology, Meristem) and Ajibola Tobi-Osho (executive director, Tugrande Alliance).

Attendees included senior figures from banking, finance and regulatory bodies, among them Olatunji Mayaki (Sterling Bank), Hassan Yusuf (The Alternative Bank), Tonye Cole (Sahara Group), Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes (Aruwa Capital Management), Aminu Tukur (Noor Takaful), Korede Demola-Adeniyi (The Alternative Bank), Chief Idris Olorunnimbe (NCC), Yemi Keri (Africa Business Angel Network), and others.

Speakers and participants discussed the challenges of deploying capital in Nigeria’s economic environment and the need for coordinated policies, infrastructure improvements and clearer regulation to attract longer-term, productive investment.