We hear a familiar explanation when PPP transactions stall in Nigeria. "Investors are risk-averse." "The environment is uncertain." "Capital isn't available." In our experience supporting PPP structuring across Nigerian states, these explanations are rarely the true proximate cause.
Most stalled Nigerian PPPs were structurally unbankable before they reached procurement. The problem was not created at the negotiating table — it was inherited from the preparation phase.
"Three preparation failures account for the majority of transactions that never reach financial close."
Where PPPs Are Actually Lost
Bankability was never tested. Many projects enter procurement with feasibility studies that confirm political viability, not commercial viability. When financial institutions apply standard due diligence, they find gaps that could have been resolved at preparation stage.
Risk allocation is designed for announcements, not for lenders. When risks are not allocated to the party best able to manage them, lenders walk away — and they should.
Executive understanding is shallow. Contingent liabilities are underestimated. The result is either projects that cannot be ratified at approval stage, or projects that proceed without adequate fiscal safeguards.
PPP Readiness Architecture
Switch Advisory's approach is structured around four phases before procurement begins: strategic alignment, bankability analysis tested against lender standards, risk architecture that allocates each risk to the right party, and institutional readiness — ensuring executive leadership understands the fiscal exposure being approved. Financial close is the outcome of disciplined preparation.