The communities most affected by displacement in Nigeria know the economic reality better than any report can capture. In Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe, internally displaced people have been building livelihoods, running markets, and contributing to local economies for years, largely without recognition from Nigeria's formal financial and investment systems. A report launched in Abuja, Nigeria by Amahoro Coalition gives that reality a number for the first time. Africa's 43 million displaced people earn a combined $27 billion a year. Nigeria's own displaced population sits within that figure, representing one of the most underserved and underinvested economic communities in the country.
The report draws on household survey data from more than 10,000 families across Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria, Niger, Mali, Cameroon, and beyond, and makes the case that Africa's displacement zones are not humanitarian dead ends. They are commercial frontiers with concentrated demand, available labour, and almost no formal competition.
The findings are striking. More than half of Africa's displaced population is already engaged in economic activity. Displaced entrepreneurs fail at one-third the rate of host community businesses. Refugee-focused lenders record loan repayment rates above 95 percent. And approximately 56 percent of farmland in displacement-affected areas currently lies fallow, representing agricultural opportunity that has no taker.
