Title: IMPACT OF DIGITAL LENDING PLATFORMS ON HOUSEHOLD FINANCIAL BEHAVIOUR AND DEBT SUSTAINABILITY AMONG NIGERIAN YOUTH

Authors: Abosede Adebola Amoo, Kabiru Aderemi Adeyemo, and Godwin Emmanuel Oyedokun

Abstract: This study examines the impact of subnational blended finance frameworks on infrastructure development, using Oyo State Agribusiness Hubs at Fashola and Atan-Ijaiyeas case studies. It investigates whether subnational blended finance provides a viable alternative to the traditional public procurement model for infrastructure delivery in sub-Saharan Africa. The study is motivated by widening fiscal deficits, sovereign debt distress, declining public revenues, and macroeconomic instability, which have significantly constrained governments’ capacity to finance critical infrastructure through conventional public expenditure. The study adopts a qualitative research design based on documentary analysis, legal frameworks, project reports, and relevant literature. The findings show that subnational blended finance enables governments to leverage public assets, particularly land, as catalytic equity to attract multilateral and private sector investments while reducing dependence on public borrowing. The framework also limits political interference, bureaucratic rent seeking, and project abandonment by embedding infrastructure delivery within legally binding long term joint venture arrangements that strengthen accountability, safeguard public assets, and improve investment certainty. However, the study finds that macroeconomic challenges, especially foreign exchange volatility and inflation, increase project costs, reduce investors’ confidence, and threaten long term financial sustainability. The study concludes that subnational blended finance decouples infrastructure delivery from volatile federal statutory allocations and enhances fiscal sustainability at subnational level. It recommends that the Oyo State House of Assembly enact legislation institutionalizing blended finance frameworks, strengthen legal and fiscal governance mechanisms, and establish localized currency credit guarantee instruments to mitigate foreign exchange risks and improve the long-term sustainability of infrastructure investments.

Keywords: Blended finance, Fiscal sustainability, Infrastructure development, Public-private partnerships (PPPs), Subnational governments.

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