BoI receives $200 million AfDB support to expand SME financing, strengthen manufacturing and accelerate Nigeria’s industrial transformation.
Bank of Industry (BoI) has secured a $200 million sovereign-guaranteed financing facility from African Development Bank Group (AfDB) to boost long-term funding for businesses operating in strategic sectors of the Nigerian economy.
The approval, granted by AfDB Board of Directors, will boost BoI’s capacity to provide medium-to-long-term financing to enterprises in sectors considered critical to the federal government’s industrial transformation agenda, including infrastructure and transport, agro-food processing, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, as well as green industrialization.
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A major component of the intervention will target small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly women-owned and youth-led businesses, with at least 30 per cent of the facility expected to support Nigerian SMEs.
Separately, BoI and International Finance Corporation (IFC) signed a cooperation agreement to advance the development of the Abuja Conference and Exhibition Arena (ACE Arena), a planned world-class conference and exhibition complex in Abuja.
Nigeria’s development, and the ACE Arena represents an exciting new frontier in that relationship.
“Infrastructure of this scale and ambition has the potential to unlock significant economic opportunity for Nigeria, positioning our country as a competitive destination for global business and cultural exchange.
“We are confident that IFC’s expertise will ensure the project is structured to deliver the kind of transformative, long-term impact that sits at the heart of BoI’s mandate.”
IFC Regional Director, Nigeria and Central Africa, Dahlia Khalifa, said, “Supporting Nigeria’s development agenda is a priority for the World Bank Group, and the ACE Arena demonstrates what becomes possible when public institutions and the private sector work together to develop infrastructure that creates real and lasting value.
“This engagement sits at the heart of what the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Framework for Nigeria sets out to achieve in maximizing private capital for infrastructure, and we look forward to working with BOI to make that a reality for Abuja and for Nigeria.”
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