Bringing dead capital to life

Overview

Nigeria is underperforming and unlocking dead capital is critical to stop this. This paper hopes to discuss the essence of dead capital and the potential of its effective utilisation.

PwC estimates that Nigeria holds at least $300 billion or as much as $900 billion worth of dead capital in residential real estate and agricultural land alone. The high value real estate market segment holds between $230 billion and $750 billion of value, while the middle market carries between $60 billion and $170 billion in value.

There are many forms of dead capital but in this paper, we focus on real estate. This report estimates the amount of dead capital in residential and agricultural real estate across Nigeria. We also recommend ways in which the estimated capital can be unlocked and leveraged to create value and grow wealth in the economy. Several underlying assumptions were made to support this estimate.

The estimate assumes that total population of people in Nigeria is 200 million, and 40 million households, with 5 members each. The typical house in Nigeria is over capacity with an occupancy rate of 7 people to a room.

Approximately 95% of household dwellings in Nigeria have no title or a contestable title .