Nelum, which runs a verified trading network for physical commodities, today announced that it has signed agreements of a combined value of up to £100 million with a private international investor, in a transaction coordinated by Hary Alexandre, Lead Coordinator — Geneva, an independent transaction coordinator in physical commodities. The agreements cover two things: a seed investment in Nelum, and a conditional project facility for a gold refinery and a solar farm in Osun State, south-west Nigeria. The £100 million figure is a ceiling: the project facility becomes firm only once the conditions set out below are met.
The agreements add to the growing flow of international private capital into Nigeria’s solid minerals sector. Nelum’s model is built so that proceeds from international sales return to Nigeria and are reinvested in equipment, plant and infrastructure that stay there.
Two agreements
- Seed investment in Nelum
Made under an advance subscription agreement (ASA), under which the investment converts into equity at a future priced funding round. It funds the launch of Nelum’s trading network and its operations in Nigeria.
- Conditional project facility for a refinery and solar farm
Based on Nelum’s viability study. The facility is conditional: it becomes committed only once the further studies planned over the coming months have been completed and land has been secured for both sites. The refinery is intended to take gold doré from Nelum’s own operations and from third-party producers and refine it into high-purity bullion inside Nigeria, so that the refining margin and the finished product are created in Nigeria. The solar farm is intended to supply off-grid power to Nelum’s operations. Together they are intended to bring processing, reliable power and skilled work to the mining communities around Ile-Ife.
Nigeria’s mineral wealth is one of the great opportunities of this decade, and international investors are paying attention. Our work is to make every step from the mine to the buyer verifiable, so that capital can come in with confidence and the value — the refining, the power, the jobs and the skills — is built here in Osun State. These agreements let us start that work in Ife.
Helena Chikezie, Chief Executive Officer of Nelum
What Nelum does
Nelum (nelum.tech) runs an online network for companies that trade physical commodities, including gold, silver, tin, tantalum, tungsten and petroleum. Before a company can deal on it, Nelum checks that the business exists, who is entitled to act for it, and that neither the company nor its people are subject to sanctions. Once verified, members can find and contact other verified counterparties and publish what they want to buy or sell.
Each transaction arranged through the network carries its own file. Export permits, assay certificates and shipping papers are logged as they are added and earlier versions are kept, so both parties, and any auditor or regulator they answer to, can follow a consignment from the mine to the buyer. Nelum charges subscriptions for the service and takes no share of the trades. Its checks follow the OECD’s due-diligence guidance for mineral supply chains, and its first trade route links Nigerian producers with buyers in Dubai.
Nigeria is one of the most compelling growth stories in commodities today, and serious investors want investments that are real, measurable and leave something lasting behind. Nelum has done the hard part first: the verification, the record and the relationships on the ground. That is what makes it possible to bring serious private capital to Nigeria’s commodities sector with confidence. My role is to make sure every step is verified and documented before capital is committed, which is why the project facility is tied to clear conditions.
Hary Alexandre, Lead Coordinator — Geneva
Nigeria’s momentum
Today’s agreements come as international confidence in Nigeria continues to build. In May 2026 S&P upgraded Nigeria’s sovereign credit rating for the first time since 2012. Non-oil exports reached a record high in 2025, according to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, and the solid minerals sector has drawn a wave of new investment on the back of recent reforms. Nigeria’s exit from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in October 2025, and its Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with the United Arab Emirates, signed in January 2026, have further opened the way for regulated, cross-border commodity trade.