Nigeria and other developing countries could struggle to keep pace with the changing global economy as trade and investment increasingly move towards technology-driven industries, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has warned.
Acting UNCTAD Secretary-General Pedro Manuel Moreno raised the concern during a recent official visit to China, where he held discussions on the future of global trade, investment and industrial development.
The visit focused on an important question: where will the industries of the future be established, who will benefit from the jobs they create, and what opportunities will they provide for economic development?
According to UNCTAD, global investment patterns are changing rapidly, with more capital now being directed towards sectors such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, critical minerals, clean energy and other advanced technologies.
Moreno said strategic sectors accounted for 44 per cent of global greenfield investment in 2025, up from 16 per cent in 2020. He added that the value of announced projects in these sectors increased from $109 billion to $576 billion during the same period.
For Nigeria, the changing investment landscape presents both opportunities and challenges. The country has a large consumer market, significant natural resources and an expanding technology sector. It is also working to grow its digital economy, attract foreign investment and develop value chains around critical minerals and energy.
However, attracting investment into emerging industries will require more than a large market or an inexpensive workforce. Developing countries will need reliable infrastructure, skilled workers, local suppliers and effective regulatory systems capable of supporting more advanced production.
Moreno said developing countries could no longer rely mainly on low labour costs to attract investment, as investors were increasingly considering factors such as access to advanced technologies, tariffs and national investment-screening policies.
He described the transformation as “a structural rewiring of the global economy in real time,” warning that its consequences went beyond trade and economics.
“For centuries, great-power competition was spatial, geographic. That pattern is breaking,” he said. “Today, the decisive arena is technological.”
Moreno further noted that a country’s role in the semiconductor value chain could become as strategically important as access to oil reserves or control of major shipping routes.
During the visit, the UNCTAD delegation met with senior Chinese officials, including China International Trade Representative Li Chenggang and Vice Minister of Commerce Ling Ji. The delegation also held discussions with business leaders and academics on investment, innovation, trade and industrial development.
The meetings underscored the need for developing countries to make clear and deliberate decisions about the industries they want to develop, the partnerships they enter into and the technologies they need to access.
UNCTAD said stronger international cooperation would be critical in helping developing countries move beyond traditional cost-based competition, strengthen their productive capacity, attract sustainable investment and secure a place in emerging global industries.
For countries such as Nigeria, the warning is that without greater investment in technical skills, reliable electricity, digital infrastructure and industrial capacity, the global shift towards technology-driven industries could widen existing development gaps instead of reducing them.
