While the spotlight stays fixed on fintech unicorns and flashy digital startups, an old player is quietly outperforming them all. In this piece, John Dale (Co-Founder, StorGit) tells how Nigeria’s palm oil industry is delivering staggering returns, attracting savvy foreign investors and proving that real wealth is built on real production — not hype.
“Palm Oil is Quietly Outperforming — But Most Nigerians Are looking down on it.
While attention has stayed on fintech and digital startups, something else has been quietly delivering outsized returns — Nigeria’s palm oil industry.
In just six months, Presco Plc posted ₦89 billion in profit on ₦199 billion in revenue.
Okomu Oil is now less than ₦50 billion away from a ₦1 trillion valuation.
If you had invested ₦10 million in either stock in January, you’d be sitting on over ₦22 million today.
At the same time, Nigeria still imports over 450,000 metric tons of palm oil annually just to meet demand.
Global demand is expected to reach 200 million tons by 2030, powered by food, cosmetics, and biofuels.
This is not a niche story.
It’s a real economic signal — one that many have missed.
And on a personal note:
I’ve made more money from palm oil arbitrage than any other business I’ve done.
Not because it’s flashy. Because it’s stable. It’s in demand. And it works. I flipped funds in big margin like I’m a money doubler because of palm oil
“Here’s what makes it more interesting:
The biggest winners in Nigeria’s palm oil boom are not Nigerian.
Foreign investors recognized the opportunity in our land, our supply gap, and our export potential — and moved early. They’re winning big.
This isn’t a dig at fintech.
Fintech has a role to play. But it must be built on something real.
Real infrastructure. Real demand. Real production.
And that’s where we still have work to do.
Because the next chapter isn’t just about production.
It’s about processing — and Nigeria is not ready.
We can’t keep exporting raw potential and importing finished goods.
Whether it’s palm oil, cashew, shea, or cocoa, processing is where wealth gets retained.
That’s how we capture value, create jobs, grow exports, and secure long-term prosperity.
Fintech builds the rails.
Processing unlocks the future.“
© John Dale
Numeris Media is official Media Partner to GITEX Nigeria x AI Everything Nigeria
[03 – 04 September, 2025 – Lagos]