As global economies grapple with inflationary pressures, systemic inequality, and fragile institutions, a new development consensus has emerged: economic growth is sustainable only when it is underpinned by capable governance and the expansion of productive knowledge. The COVID-19 pandemic crystallized this reality, exposing the vulnerabilities of economies—like Nigeria’s—where institutional gaps and low economic complexity have historically constrained inclusive progress.

Home to over 220 million people and a dynamic, youthful workforce, Nigeria holds immense potential. Yet, structural inefficiencies, weak policy implementation, and repeated external shocks—from oil price collapses to pandemic disruptions—have undermined the link between macroeconomic growth and broad-based welfare gains. Realizing Nigeria’s promise demands more than short-term stimulus or resource-driven expansion; it requires a deliberate strategy to strengthen governance and grow the nation’s base of productive knowledge.

Verbatim Virtual Solutions has stood at the intersection of these imperatives, delivering critical technical assistance across landmark programs such as NG-CARES, PERL, and MADE from 2017 to 2025. Our work demonstrates how targeted interventions can simultaneously advance institutional reform, economic diversification, and resilience building.

The Governance-Growth Nexus: Foundations for Inclusive Development

Nigeria’s experience illustrates a fundamental development insight: economic interventions are only as effective as the governance systems that anchor them. Verbatim’s work on two major programs—the COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) and the Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL)—provides a blueprint for aligning short-term recovery efforts with long-term institutional transformation.

NG-CARES: Emergency Response with Institutional Spillovers

Launched in 2021 with World Bank support, NG-CARES was structured around a performance-based financing model. While designed initially to cushion pandemic shocks, its Disbursement Linked Indicator (DLI) framework catalyzed lasting governance improvements across Nigeria’s 36 states.

By tying funding access to demonstrable results in areas such as cash transfers, MSME grants, and agricultural value chain support, NG-CARES incentivized: The development of digital beneficiary registries; Improvements in monitoring and accountability systems; Strengthened inter-agency coordination at subnational levels.

In three years, the program supported over 15 million Nigerians and built administrative capacities that will outlive the immediate recovery phase. Verbatim played a crucial role in documenting these innovations, enabling peer learning, and embedding adaptive learning processes within state delivery systems.

PERL: Reforming Institutions for Sustainable Growth

In parallel, PERL—funded by the UK’s FCDO—focused on institutional reforms essential for sustainable economic development. Through support to public financial management, participatory budgeting, and citizen engagement platforms, PERL deepened democratic accountability and improved resource allocation.

Tangible outcomes included:

• Jigawa State’s increase in internally generated revenue from ₦22.4 billion (2023) to ₦50 billion (2024),
• Kaduna State’s allocation of ₦23 billion based on citizen-identified priorities.

Verbatim’s strategic knowledge management and coalition-building expertise enabled the documentation, amplification, and scaling of these governance reforms—reinforcing the principle that effective institutions are the scaffolding for economic growth.

Productive Knowledge: The Missing Link in Nigeria’s Growth Story

Beyond governance, long-term economic prosperity depends on expanding the stock of productive knowledge—the specialized know-how that enables a society to create a diverse and sophisticated set of goods and services.

The framework developed in The Atlas of Economic Complexity by Ricardo Hausmann and César Hidalgo offers critical insights:

• Economies grow faster when they diversify into more complex products that require more knowledge and coordination.
• Growth is path-dependent: countries must build on existing capabilities to move into adjacent, more sophisticated sectors.

Nigeria’s economic structure remains overly concentrated in low-complexity exports such as crude oil. However, through initiatives like MADE (Market Development for the Niger Delta) and NG-CARES, Verbatim has contributed to efforts aimed at growing Nigeria’s productive capabilities.

MADE: Building Complexity through Agricultural Market Systems

Through our work with the Market Development in the Niger Delta (MADE) program, Verbatim supported systemic interventions aimed at building productive capabilities within Nigeria’s rural economy. MADE focused on upgrading value chains in agriculture, aquaculture, and textiles—helping smallholder producers and microenterprises acquire new techniques, business practices, and market access pathways.

This approach reflected a complexity-building strategy: moving participants from basic subsistence activities toward more specialized, interconnected economic roles. The result was not only increased income but expanded economic sophistication—a precondition for sustained, inclusive growth.

NG-CARES: Extending Knowledge through Resilient MSME Support

Similarly, the MSME grant component of NG-CARES went beyond immediate relief. By linking financial support to digital registration, formalization, and business training, NG-CARES enabled thousands of micro and small businesses to integrate into broader economic ecosystems—enhancing Nigeria’s overall productive knowledge base. By fostering practical know-how in entrepreneurship, value addition, and supply chain participation, NG-CARES helped convert short-term financial assistance into longer-term economic complexity gains.

Verbatim’s Contribution: 2017–2025

Across PERL, NG-CARES, and MADE, Verbatim Virtual Solutions has played a pivotal role in shaping and documenting Nigeria’s evolution along both the governance and productive knowledge pathways:

Program	Contribution	Impact
PERL (2017–2023)	Governance reform communications, adaptive learning facilitation, coalition building	Strengthened PFM systems, enhanced citizen engagement platforms, supported reforms increasing state revenue and accountability
MADE (2016–2020)	Knowledge management, learning facilitation, strategic documentation of market systems development	Accelerated market sophistication in Niger Delta, enabled rural economic upgrading, promoted inclusive enterprise growth
NG-CARES (2021–2025)	Knowledge capture, monitoring support, results dissemination, peer learning design	Enhanced state-level administrative capabilities, expanded MSME resilience, supported over 15 million Nigerians with livelihood interventions

Through our interventions, we have reinforced a critical development truth:
Economic growth is not merely a function of investment or aid—it is the result of governance that works and knowledge that scales.

Building Nigeria’s Future through Governance and Knowledge

As Nigeria charts its next development chapter, the lessons of NG-CARES, PERL, and MADE are clear. Growth strategies must:

• Strengthen institutional capacity for responsive governance,
• Build productive knowledge to deepen economic complexity,
• Foster citizen engagement and accountability to ensure that reforms endure.

Verbatim Virtual Solutions remains committed to this agenda—working at the intersection of governance, economic transformation, and knowledge development to help unlock Nigeria’s full potential. The path to resilient, inclusive prosperity lies not in temporary booms or external inflows, but in governance that empowers and knowledge that produces value.