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Tag: BoI

  • BOI disburses N22.89bn to 29 manufacturers

    BOI disburses N22.89bn to 29 manufacturers

    The Bank of Industry (BOI) says it has disbursed N22.89 billion out of the N75 billion manufacturing sector intervention fund to 29 manufacturers.

    Its Managing Director, Dr Olasupo Olusi, made this known on Monday at the first BOI interactive session with the Organised Private Sector in Abuja, which was monitored virtually.

    Olusi said that out of the N75 billion manufacturing sector fund, other 20 projects valued at N6.3billion were at different stages of disbursement.

    He said that the interactive session was a collaborative milestone, a reflection of shared vision to create a thriving industrial sector.

    According to him, it is also a critical step in driving Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) development through strategic partnerships.

    “Recently, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with your esteemed associations.

    “This agreement underscores a simple truth that we cannot transform Nigeria’s industrial landscape alone.

    “The journey to sustainable economic growth must be fueled by collaboration, innovation, and a shared resolve to address systemic challenges,” he said.

    The BOI MD said that under the signed agreement, the bank had already begun making strides through joint efforts on the Federal Government’s loans programme.

    He said that the event, with the theme, “Driving SME Development through Strategic Partnerships” challenged everyone to reimagine how we work together.

    Olusi said in practice, this meant shared responsibility as the bank’s role was not only to provide financing but also to support an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.

    “This includes addressing infrastructure gaps, regulatory bottlenecks, and access to markets.

    “However, your expertise and insights are essential to inform these efforts.

    “On collaborative innovation, we must work together to introduce technology, sustainability, and skills development as core pillars of SME growth.

    “We are concerned about your most pressing challenges, your operations, how we can further align our programmes with your needs and the innovative solutions we can pursue together to accelerate growth,” he said.

    Olusi urged the organised private sector to keep in mind the six thematic areas of impact that BOI was focused on in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s renewed Hope Agenda.

    He listed them to include MSME development, digital transformation, youth and skills development, climate and sustainability, gender inclusion and sectoral growth.

    “These are not just BOI’s priorities; they are national imperatives and they require your active participation to succeed.

    “The Bank of Industry stands as your partner in progress, ready to support at every step of the way as together we have the potential to transform Nigeria’s economic landscape,” he said.

  • BoI to support MSME with N120bn after raising $5bn

    BoI to support MSME with N120bn after raising $5bn

    Managing Director of Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr Olasupo Olusi, says the bank has raised over $5 billion  from the international capital markets through Eurobonds, loan syndications, and green finance instruments since 2017.

    Olusi made this known on Thursday at the BoI’s 65th anniversary news conference in Lagos. He highlighted the bank’s evolution from its establishment as the Investment Company of Nigeria (ICON) in 1959 to its transformation into the Bank of Industry in 2001.

    Olusi noted that the bank also concluded global loan syndication that raised not less than two billion euros in November; the largest fundraising in BoI’s history and the largest syndication in the history of African DFls. He explained that the bank was able to achieve the milestones through the years due to its partners.

    According to him, BoI has established strategic partnerships with key local public and private institutions as well as global financial and multilateral institutions to enable the bank to fulfill its mandate, effectively

    “BoI has partnerships with state governments, and foundations to establish the ‘Matching Fund’ scheme. We also have partnerships with trade associations, such as the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), to deepen real sector financing.

    “BoI recently signed a partnership agreement with SMEDAN to provide Nano and Micro Enterprises in Nigeria with a one billion dollar fund at a single digit interest rate. We have partnerships with several other public agencies like NCDMB, to support specific sectors,” he said.

    Olusi added that the Federal Government, in November 2023, appointed the bank as the executing agency for the $200 billion FGN MSME Intervention Fund. This included a 50 billion Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme (PCGS), a N75 billion Manufacturing Sector Fund, and a N75 billion MSME Intervention Sector Fund.

    “Our strategic partnerships also extend to numerous organisations, such as African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Finance Corporation (AFC), Investment Climate Reform (ICR) initiative, and the African Guarantee Fund (AGF).

    “Other are the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the United States Export Import Bank (USEXIM), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), amongst others,” Olusi said.

    According to him, the bank, in the last 12 months, has also revised its strategy to focus on impact and introduced various strategic initiatives in alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ and in response to emerging macroeconomic issues.

    Also, Mr Shekarau Omar, BoI’s Executive Director, MSMEs, revealed that the bank plans to disburse N120 billion to two million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by the end of the year.

    Omar said that, in spite of an initial target of disbursing N103 billion to 1.5 million MSMEs in 2024, the bank had already surpassed the goal. According to him, as of October, the bank had disbursed N107 billion to a larger number of MSMEs than originally planned.

    Omar highlighted the potentials of Nigeria’s MSME sector, saying it was estimated to be between 39 and 40 million businesses.

  • After TNG Editor’s proposal, FG to start granting loans to media orgs

    After TNG Editor’s proposal, FG to start granting loans to media orgs

    Following an appeal by Mr Ediri Oyibo, Editor of TheNewsGuru.com (TNG), for stakeholders to rethink funding models for media organisations, the federal government has said media organisations in the country will now have access to single-digit interest loans through the Bank of Industry (BOI).

    Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris made the position of the federal government known on Monday at the Third Ministerial Sectoral Update at the National Press Centre in Abuja.

    Mr Oyibo had in a paper presented on the survival of newsrooms in Nigeria at the Centre for Journalism, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, stressed the need for institutional support for media organisations in the country.

    Citing the example of Google News Initiative (GNI) Journalism Emergency Relief Fund (JERF), the TNG Editor noted that quality journalism is capital-intensive. He joined professionals and scholars in the media industry to call for the establishment of a National Media Development Fund in Nigeria.

    Announcing the single-digit interest loans, Idris urged media houses to develop bankable proposals to enable them benefit from the loans, which he said would be facilitated through the Ministry of Trade and Investment as well as the BOI.

    The single-digit interest loan offered by the government to media firms in the country is coming at a time when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) jacked up interest rate from 24.75 per cent to 26. 25 per cent.

    In another development, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, has said that an estimated 309 billion naira has been injected into the Nigerian economy through harvest in the past one year.

    Kyari made the announcement while giving an update on the achievements of the ministry as part of activities marking the first anniversary of President Bola Tinubu.

    He revealed that as part of efforts to address food and nutrition security, the government has launched the dry season farming with cultivation of 118,657 hectares of wheat in 15 states in acceleration of all-year round farming.

    He also said the government has procured and distributed to all states and the Federal Capital Territory, 58,500 metric tones of milled rice to dampen escalating prices and the fortification of crops with vitamin A micronutrient to enrich nutrition content and health value of commodities.

    In response to persistent food inflation, the minister explained that the government has taken measures to distribute 60,432 metric tones of improved seeds, 887,255 metric tones of seedlings and 62,328 metric tones of inorganic fertilizers and equipments to farmers across different value chains to enhance production.

  • BREAKING: Tinubu appoints Olasupo Olusi new MD of BOI

    BREAKING: Tinubu appoints Olasupo Olusi new MD of BOI

    President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Dr. Olasupo Olusi to serve as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry (BOI) for a term of four (4) years in the first instance.

    The President’s approval of Dr. Olusi’s appointment follows the voluntary resignation of former BOI Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Olukayode Pitan.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports this was contained in a statement released on Thursday by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to President Tinubu on Media and Publicity.

    Dr. Olasupo Olusi has served as a World Bank economist and development finance expert over the past 20 years. Between 2011 and 2015, Dr. Olusi served as the economic adviser to then Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance.

    He is an alumnus of Hull University, United Kingdom. He also obtained a Masters degree in International Money, Finance, and Investment, as well as a Doctorate in Finance & Economics from Durham University, United Kingdom, in 2005.

    According to Ngelale, Tinubu tasked the new BOI Chief Executive to ensure that Nigerians, who are operating all sizes of enterprises across sectors, are given fair and equitable access to much needed support in order to bolster employment generation and wealth creation amongst income groups in the country with special regard for lower and middle income enterprise operators.

  • MRA Inducts BoI into ‘FOI Hall of Shame’ for Shrouding its Operations in Secrecy, Violating FOI Act

    Media Rights Agenda (MRA) today inducted the Bank of Industry (BoI) into its Freedom of Information (FOI) Hall of Shame over the institution’s preference for shrouding its operations in secrecy while completely disregarding its duties and obligations under the FOI Act, 2011.

    In a statement released in Lagos today, Mr. Idowu Adewale, MRA’s Programme Officer, said the Bank had deliberately refused, neglected or failed to comply with any of its obligations under the FOI Act over the last seven years thereby shielding itself from public scrutiny and depriving Nigerians of their right to access information about its activities, businesses and operations.

    The Bank, which describes itself as Nigeria’s oldest and largest development financing institution, was restructured in 2001 out of the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) Limited. Its primary mandate is to provide long term financing to the industrial sector of the Nigerian economy.

    Mr. Adewale said: “The Bank of Industry is strategically placed and its management has the golden opportunity to stimulate industrial development in Nigeria. One of the ways it can effectively do this is by building public trust and confidence in the institution if it chooses to be transparent and accountable. But it has instead chosen to cast doubts and suspicion over its activities by refusing to comply with its obligations under the FOI Act.”

    According to him, “The Bank has refused to publish and disseminate important categories of information, documents and records that Section 2(3) and (4) of the Act specifically requires it to publish and disseminate widely in various forms. These include a list of all classes of records under its control in sufficient detail to facilitate the exercise of the right to information under the Act; documents containing final planning policies, recommendations and decisions; documents containing information relating to the receipt or expenditure of public or other funds of the institution; and documents containing the names, salaries, titles and dates of employment of all employees and officers of the institution.”

    Mr. Adewale noted that the Bank has also failed to publish and disseminate its lists of files containing applications for any contract, permit, grants, licenses or agreement; lists of materials containing information relating to any grant or contract made by or between the institution and another public institution or private organization.

    Describing the Bank’s refusal to publish these categories of information as a blatant disobedience of Section 2 (3) and (4) of the FOI Act, Mr. Adewale said: “These categories of information, if published by the Bank, will make it possible for entrepreneurs and industrialists to get a full understanding of the operations of the Bank in such a manner that they will know what to do to access funds from it and help turn the country into an industrialized and technologically developed nation.”

    He said the Bank had neither designated an FOI Desk Officer nor disseminated the title and address of such an officer of the institution to whom applications for information under the Act should be sent, adding that “This is obvious from the fact that the information is neither available on its website nor in the database of contact details of the FOI Desk Officers in public institutions compiled by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation. This failure breaches Section 2(3)(f) of the FOI Act.”

    He also accused the Bank of “a clear defiance” of Section 29 (1) and (2) of the FOI Act and the provisions of the Revised Guidelines on the Implementation of the FOI Act issued by the Attorney-General of the Federation, saying that “for seven consecutive years since the coming into force of the FOI Act, BoI has consistently defaulted in submitting to the Attorney-General of the Federation any report on its implementation of the Act while also failing to make any such report available to the public.”

    Mr. Adewale said based on the fact that the Bank has consistently breached all its other duties and obligations under the FOI Act, it is unlikely that it has responded to any FOI request that may have been made to it by members of the public, adding that the institution’s failure to submit its FOI implementation reports has made it difficult to accurately assess its level of responsiveness to requests for information made to it by members of the public under the Act.

    He explained that all public institutions are required to indicate in their annual FOI implementation reports to the Attorney-General of the Federation, the number of requests for information that they received during the year under review, the number of such requests that they processed and granted or denied, and how long it takes them to process requests for information, among other details that they are expected to provide.

    Mr. Adewale said: “From the shortcomings of the BoI in the implementation of the FOI Act as highlighted, it is doubtful if it even records and keeps information about its activities, personnel, operations, businesses and other relevant information, as required by the Act.”

    He advised the Bank that it still “has the opportunity to make amends and write its name in gold in the Hall of Fame.”

    Mr. Adewale, however, called on relevant oversight agencies to rise up to their duty of ensuring the implementation and enforcement of the FOI Act and ensure that BoI, as well as all other institutions covered by the Act, comply with their obligations under the Law.

    Launched on July 3, 2017, the FOI Hall of Shame shines the spotlight on public officials and institutions that are undermining the effectiveness of the FOI Act through their actions, inactions, utterances and decisions.

     

  • Promasidor secures N5.6b BoI loan for expansion

    Promasidor Nigeria Limited (PNL), has secured a N5.6 billion credit from the Bank of Industry (BoI) to support its aggressive expansion programmes.

    PNL Finance Director, Mr Per Kristensen, said the facility would be used for additional machinery, factory expansion and value chain development, which would create jobs for Nigerians and increase the company’s capacity to support the country’s economy.

    Disclosing this in Lagos, Mr Kristensen said repayment of the loan was structured over a seven-year tenure, including a 12-month moratorium. He added that the facility was a vote of confidence on the company’s untainted financial integrity, high credit rating and exceptional corporate governance practice.

    “The near single digit interest loan is guaranteed by First City Monument Bank Limited. You cannot compare this with any other commercial loans in the country. What this means is that Promasidor has the needed funds to pursue its growth in machinery, backward integration, production plants and create more jobs,” he said.

    “The loan comes with comfort because it is denominated in local currency. For the period of seven years, the only risk is the interest rate, which is minimal. We are going to repay in Naira and the process is very transparent. We are excited about the development. It will give us additional opportunity to contribute to the growth of the country’s economy.

    “The business is expanding and we need a lot of capital to support that. The injection of the BoI facility gives the management the needed stability and relief to continue to pursue the expansion plans. A lot of expansion activities are ongoing at the factory, and we will continue to see more of that in the next 24 months,” he added.

    Head of Legal and Corporate Communications at Promasidor, Mr Andrew Enahoro, said the company and BoI had shared passion and interest in supporting job creation and the economic growth of the country.

    He pointed out that, “BoI’s interest is to support business expansion, stimulate jobs and create social values. These are fundamental to BoI’s support for any organisation. Promasidor, on its part, has plans to expand its different plants and develop other exciting products. These will create jobs.

    “If we employ additional 500 people as a result of the credit, it is just the beginning of the impact it will create,” he added.

    He added that the company would have to look at other multiplier effects of its spending and that of the employees that would come on board on the economy as well as other indirect jobs that would be created.

    “Nigeria’s economy will gain. We should not forget that lower interest rate translates to lower cost of production, higher profits and more taxes. Essentially, both Nigerians and the national economy will benefit immensely from this partnership.

    “BoI is ready to work with us to grow the economy because it has confidence in our processes and corporate governance culture,” Mr Enahoro further said.

     

  • BoI approves N1.5bn direct funding to 28 businesses in Benue

    The Bank of Industry on Wednesday presented N362m cheque to the first batch of the beneficiaries of the N2bn-Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises, Development Fund in Benue State.

    Recall that the Benue State Government and the BoI had last year signed a pact on the N2bn matching fund to boost the entrepreneurial potential of people in the state.

    Under the financing model, both parties gave commitment to contribute N1bn each for on lending to mainly businesses that have high employment-generating potential and value addition to local raw materials.

    This is even as the bank announced that over 28 other businesses had been granted N1.5bn from its own direct funds.

    Speaking during the cheque presentation, the bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Olukayode Pitan, stated that the 38 loans beneficiaries were those who met the bank’s pre-disbursement conditions.

    Saying that the matching fund was capable of developing small and medium scale enterprises in the state, Pitan urged other businesses in the state to take advantage of the unique opportunities offered by the scheme.

    As part of the moves to ensure effective utilisation of the loans, the BoI boss added that a two-week entrepreneurship training programme would be organised to build the capacity of the beneficiaries.

    He said, “The partnership with the Benue State government goes beyond providing loans. As part of the package, all beneficiaries will undergo two weeks entrepreneurship training to help their capacity to manage these businesses successfully.”

    He, however, warned the beneficiaries against deploying the fund to areas not envisaged by the scheme.

    “We like to remind them to take seriously their obligations to repay the loans so that others can benefit,” he added.

    The BoI MD stated that the bank had granted loans of over N1.5bn to businesses across sectors such as food processing, fruit juice processing, piggery, yam/cassava flour, rice processing, fashion designing, and quarries/solid minerals.

    He said under the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, which is principally created for framers, traders and artisans, the bank had also disbursed a total of N255m to 5,100 beneficiaries across the state.

  • BOI commits N20bn to SMIs expansion in Oyo

    The Bank of Industry (BOI) has disbursed N18bn, out of the N20bn intervention fund meant to enhance the expansion of the small and medium-scale industries in Oyo State.

    The Managing Director, BOI, Mr. Olukayode Pitan, disclosed this when he led the management team on a courtesy visit to the Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, at his office, in Ibadan, on Tuesday.

    Given its size and comparative advantage, he said that Oyo State was in a vantage position to contribute hugely to the quest by the bank to reposition the country’s economy through the empowerment of SMIs.

    Pitan explained that industrial concerns were the beneficiaries of the N18bn already disbursed, stressing that the N2bn balance was meant for other beneficiaries who were yet to access the fund.

    He said, “Oyo State is very dear to the heart of our organization due to its centrality to Lagos, which is an African commercial nerve center and for the rest of the country. So, we are supporting a lot of industries in Oyo State.

    “Out of the N20 billion approved for the state, N18 billion had been disbursed to beneficiaries in the SMIs. The balance of N2bn is yet to be disbursed. This gesture is solely because of the importance of Oyo State as the gateway between Lagos, and the Southern and Northern Nigeria.

    “The giant stride of the current administration in Oyo State is obvious to all in the areas of physical infrastructure, urban renewal and industrialization. You are a builder and we want to build Oyo State with you.”

    In his response, the governor called on the bank to look closely at the possibility of funding the emerging technological hub in the state, as well as agriculture due to the pivotal roles the governor said both could play in making the state another commercial haven.

    Ajimobi said that the state lost its commercial glory over a period of time due to the negligence of the SMIs by successive administrations, adding that his administration was working round the clock to revamp the economy of the state.

    He said, “The position of Oyo State in geographical, historical and commercial dominance in the past was overtaken by other states due to the neglect of SMIs. But, since our coming we have been working hard to harness the potential of the state in order to restore the lost glory.

    “The present development in Oyo State was premised on security, social infrastructure and industrialization. We believe in using technology to turn things around. This is why we established the Free Trade Zone, Technical University and other technical corridors.

    “This is the area we believe your bank’s intervention is mostly needed and useful. Lack of middle-level manpower in Nigeria, which has become an economic albatross, is where your bank can come in and assist investors.

    “Also, in the area of agriculture Oyo State is known to be a major producer of cashew nuts. Today, agriculture is the only venture in which political office holders are also allowed to invest, according to the constitution. So, we want you to devote more funds to this as well.”

  • Ebonyi, BOI float N2bn loans for civil servants

    The Ebonyi State Government has urged civil servants in its payroll to key into the N2 billion loan scheme being operated by the government and Bank of Industry to improve their standard of living.

    Mr Pius Eze, Chairman of the 15-man committee inaugurated by the state government to work out the modalities for the loan disbursement, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abakaliki.

    According to him, the committee has embarked on sensitisation visits to local government areas of the state to enlighten the workers on the importance of keying into the scheme.

    He said that it was difficult under the present economic situation for workers to save about N300,000 and N500,000 from their salaries to start up a business, hence the need to key into the project.

    He said government and BOI contributed N1 billion each into the scheme and stressed that beneficiaries would pay a paltry six per cent interest.

    He said that the loan would assist civil servants to engage in alternative sources of income to better their welfare and economic wellbeing.

    He said that the workers’ monthly pay could no longer sustain them and their families under the present economic situation hence need to diversify sources of income.

    “Thye Governor, David Umahi, is interested in alleviating the plight of Ebonyi workers and that is why he has earmarked N1 billion as loan for workers to access and this is in addition to the N1 billion he attracted from the BOI

    “The loan, which has only six per cent interest, will enable civil servants to invest the fund in any business of their choice which they can fall back on during their service and after retirement from active civil service.

    “The whole idea is to empower the Ebonyi civil servants and enable them to improve on their monthly in come generation by engaging in other alternative sources of income.

    “The Committee has embarked on sensitisation campaigns to local government councils to educate the workers, enhance their understanding and appeal to them to exploit the huge opportunities being provided by the loan scheme, ” Eze said.

     

    NAN

     

     

  • We’ve commenced process of recovering 11bn loan – BoI tells Reps

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) has said that the N11b owed it by 53 debtors will be fully recovered irrespective of litigation by some of the debtors.

    The Managing Director of the Bank, Olukayode Pitan said the recovery drive has already begun.

    The House of Representatives has however requested the Bank to furnish it with details of the recovery of the debt.

    The query for the debt was raised by the 2015 Auditor General’s report.

    At the resumed hearing of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Friday, Pitan said the bank had complied with the directives of the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF) on the recovery of the debt.

    In compliance with the directives of the AGF, Pitan said the recovery efforts began immediately with the publication of the names of the debtors in three national newspapers.

    He said: “In addition, we have recovered some money; some of the companies were reported to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for recovery.

    “Also, some of them have subjected the recovery to litigation while the property of some of them are on the verge of being sold.”

    Asked to provide exact figures recovered so far, as well as the names of the companies that have taken the bank to court, Pitan said he could not provide the details at the sitting as he had to consult his records.

    On the N2.7b YouWin fund domiciled with the bank for disbursement since 2012, Pitan said the bank could only access N870m out of which N129m was returned to the treasury through the Treasury Single Account in 2015

    Chairman of the Committee, Kingsley Chinda said the House was worried about the huge debt that could affect the objectives of the bank meant to boost the economy.

    In his response, Pitan, who recently assumed office as MD of the Bank said though the debt appeared huge, the bank was prepared for such developments.

    Saying that the bank will not relent in recovery the debt fully, Pitan added, “The bank is not under duress, this does not in any way threaten our business.

    “We are rated and in a healthy position”.

    The Committee also requested the bank to furnish it with the details of transactions on the YouWin programme.