In line with its core mandate, the Bank of Industry (BoI) is poised to boost the creation of over 3.5 million jobs across the country through financial intermediation by 2015.
BoI’s Managing Director, Evelyn Oputu, who made this known at the third annual seminar for Trade & Investment Correspondents and Editors, at Abuja, said the new jobs would result from the bank’s funding of an estimated 3,000 entrepreneurs on a year-on-year basis. Oputu, who was represented by the bank’s Executive Director, Business Development, Waheed Olagunju, said its core mandate was to provide financial support for the establishment of large, medium and small projects, besides expansion, diversification and modernisation of existing enterprises and rehabilitation of ailing industries among others.
BoI, she assured, would always support the entrepreneurs to succeed in their various businesses by providing funds and technical advice.
It should be recalled that BoI was established in October 2001 following the reconstruction of the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NDIB) which had been in existence since 1964 as one of the oldest Development Finance Institution (DFI) in Nigeria.
“The bank’s vision is to be a leading self sustaining development finance institution operating under sound management and banking principles that would promote the emergence and development of a virile industrial sector in Nigeria.”