Reporting by **ThisDay** indicates that the latest Business Expectations Survey conducted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has highlighted significant obstacles for firms across the country. The data, gathered from 1,900 companies in March 2026, reveals that a staggering 74.5% of respondents cite insufficient power supply as their primary operational constraint. This challenge is closely followed by security concerns, which affected 70.9% of the businesses surveyed.
The survey paints a sobering picture for Nigeria’s formal and informal sectors, noting that multifaceted issues like high operational costs and multiple taxation are stifling growth. Beyond energy and security, 69.2% of firms pointed to high taxes as a major burden, while 66.6% struggled with prohibitive interest rates. These factors combined have created a hostile operating ecosystem that threatens the stability and profitability of even the most resilient enterprises.
According to the report, there is an urgent need for the federal government to implement structural reforms to improve infrastructure and safety. **Premium Times** echoed these sentiments, noting that “the findings in the review period highlight the need for improvements in energy supply,” while **Vanguard** reported that “high interest rates and financial problems” remain top-tier concerns for MSMEs.
**Echotitbits take:** These figures confirm what many entrepreneurs feel on the ground—that the cost of doing business is becoming unsustainable. As the CBN continues to use hawkish monetary policies to tame inflation, the “high interest rate” constraint is likely to worsen before it gets better, potentially leading to a wave of downsizing in the manufacturing sector.
Source: ThisDay – https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/04/14/the-cbn-survey-on-businesses/, April 14, 2026
Photo credit: ThisDay
