The Honourable Randeep Sarai, Secretary of State (International Development), announced that Canada is providing more than $30 million in funding to support humanitarian and development projects in Nigeria and across West Africa.

Project: 2X Ignite Africa Warehousing Facility
Partner: 2X Ignite Africa Warehousing Facility in partnership with 2X Global and Moremi Capital
Funding: $13 million (2026 to 2034)

The 2X Ignite Africa Warehousing Facility aims to strengthen economic stability and resilience across African markets by expanding women’s access to capital and strengthening women’s leadership in investment. The project supports women-led investment funds to finance small and medium-sized enterprises, helping create jobs and economic growth, and build more inclusive local economies.

Project: 2026 Humanitarian Assistance for Nigeria
Partner: UN agencies, International Committee of the Red Cross and other NGO partners
Funding: $11.7 million

This funding will enable humanitarian partners to provide life-saving assistance, such as emergency food and nutrition, essential health and protection services, as well as water, sanitation and hygiene support for people affected by crises in Nigeria.

Project: Technical Assistance to Nigeria’s Health Sector
Partner: World Bank Group
Funding: $2.5 million (2026 to 2030)

This funding supports Nigeria’s Joint Health Development Technical Assistance Fund, a pooled mechanism that finances and coordinates technical assistance to strengthen health systems governance and service delivery. It supports the Government of Nigeria’s health reform agenda under the National Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative and its sector-wide approach by strengthening the capacity of federal and state institutions to plan, finance, manage and deliver health services efficiently and sustainably across Nigeria’s 36 states.

Project: Innovative climate finance for unlocking development equity in Africa
Partner: University of Nigeria
Funding: $999,400 (2025 to 2028) from Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC)

This initiative aims to strengthen the fiscal, financial and policy framework needed to expand equitable access to climate finance in West Africa. Working in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal, it addresses the structural barriers that prevent women-led enterprises; micro, small and medium-size enterprises; grassroots actors; sub‑national governments; and energy transition value chain operators from accessing climate finance at scale. The project will develop financial tools and enhance institutional capacity to support low‑carbon, climate‑resilient development. Through targeted knowledge sharing and policy engagement, it will help accelerate inclusive climate action across the region.

Project: Fostering an inclusive circular economy in West Africa for sustainable development
Partner: Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre
Funding: $998,600 (2025 to 2028) from the IDRC

This project will help create new jobs, reduce resource consumption and pollution and increase women’s participation and agency in Africa’s circular‑economy sector. By strengthening circular‑economy small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal to scale their operations and access climate finance, it will support more sustainable and inclusive economic growth. This initiative will leverage digital innovations to improve resource efficiency, strengthen supply chains and reduce waste – boosting the sustainability and competitiveness of circular‑economy businesses. It will also develop tailored digital platforms, practical tools, training and policy guidance to support SMEs in implementing gender‑responsive, circular‑economy practices. The project will generate evidence on how digital solutions can streamline circular‑economy business models across the region, addressing a major gap in national climate strategies and contributing to broader efforts to reduce emissions and strengthen environmental protection while generating employment opportunities for women and youth.

Project: Countering Information Disorder in West and Central Africa
Partner: Paradigm Initiative Nigeria
Funding: $740,000 (2024 to 2027) from the IDRC

This project generates evidence to help governments and civil society respond more effectively to the growing challenge of disinformation in Africa. Led by Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, a leading voice in Africa on digital rights and disinformation, and supported by the IDRC, the project’s research examines how disinformation spreads and how it affects public trust and democratic resilience. By comparing patterns across anglophone and francophone countries in West and Central Africa, the project will also identify how governance systems, language, and demographic factors shape the creation and uptake of false information, providing a comprehensive picture of the issue across the region. The project will lead to a deeper understanding of the spread of disinformation, the creation of regionally specific counter-disinformation strategies and the promotion of informed public discourse that supports democratic resilience.

Project: Canada-Nigeria Justice Cooperation Project (Canada Technical Assistance Partnership)
Partner: Department of Justice Canada
Funding: $200,000 (fiscal year 2025 to 2026)

This funding supports Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Women Affairs in advancing gender‑responsive laws, policies and services. Following an initial Canadian expert deployment to Abuja and Lagos in January 2026, the initiative supports the development of national guidelines to improve access to justice and protection for survivors of sexual and domestic violence and at‑risk children, in collaboration with Nigerian and Canadian front‑line service providers and justice system actors. A technical visit to Canada and continued virtual assistance through fall 2026 will help finalize and operationalize these guidelines.