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The Managing Director of Bank of Industry (BOI), Mr. Olukayode Pitan, called on development financial institutions (DFIs) in the country to increase funding support for businesses to enhance the pace of growth and development. 

In a meeting with chief executives of DFIs in Abuja, Mr. Pitan said the primary objective is to create a forum for DFIs in Nigeria to exchange ideas on issues of common interests while providing a platform for members to cooperate in areas of investment, finance and capacity building, adding that operators need to play their role in creating a conducive atmosphere for sustainable development. 

Mr. Pitan, who is the Chairman of the Association of Nigerian Development Finance Institutions (ANDFIs), however, lamented that the body had been quiet in the past seven years, a development which he said, was not good for the financial institutions. He also urged members to be more committed to the activities of the association.

The Edo State Government and the Bank of Industry (BOI) unveiled a Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) development fund worth N2 billion to support entrepreneurs in the state. The fund was launched during a citizens’ engagement session organized by the Edo State Skills Development Agency, also known as EdoJobs, at the government house in Benin City.

The Edo State Government provided N1 billion, while BOI provided the other N1 billion, making it N2 billion, with an attractive interest rate. The MSME fund is aimed at providing business loans to enterprises located within the state. A second fund – the N165m Edo Production Hub Fund, financed by the Edo State Government and managed by the BOI is aimed at businesses located within the state-owned production hub. 

In 2021, more beneficiaries continued to emerge under the Federal Government’s N75bn survival fund for small businesses, with Gombe and Rivers being the latest to acknowledge the scheme. The Federal Government (FG) had extended registration for the payroll support scheme to enable some states to meet their quotas. 

The payroll support scheme is designed to assist vulnerable micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by paying the salaries of their staff for a period of three months. Speaking at the payroll support activation held in Obio/Akpor Rivers State, the Regional Manager, South at BOI, Pacqueens Irabor, highlighted that the beneficiaries present had come to trust the authenticity and transparency of the scheme. Also, the Team Lead, Growth and Field Operations, BOI, in Gombe, Goodness Adewale, explained that the initiative was part of measures to help businesses cushion the effect of the pandemic on their businesses.

To further cushion the effect of COVID-19 and provide jobs in the country, the Osun State Government and Bank of Industry trained over 2,000 youths on entrepreneurship. The Skills Upgrade and Entrepreneurship Training Programme was designed to generate 15,000 direct and indirect sustainable job opportunities annually. The programme was designed to provide participants who were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with skills upgrade training to make them relevant in the changing economic landscape. 

The Osun State Government, in collaboration with the Bank of Industry (BOI), using the established OSSG-BOI (MSME) Fund, provides loans to operators of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Osun State. This collaborative effort has resulted in the State Enterprise & Empowerment Programme (SEEP), where Osun State Government funds will be disbursed to qualified beneficiaries of the State using the BOI Micro Loan Technology.

To reverse the brain drain in the healthcare sector and make the country a destination for medical tourism, BOI partnered with the Central Bank of Nigeria, Access Bank and Reddington Hospital to support the establishment of the N6.5bn Duchess International Hospital, Lagos.

In a related event, the Med-In Pharmaceuticals, a foremost indigenous intravenous fluid manufacturer, praised the Bank of Industry’s contributions to boosting local content and capacity in the pharmaceutical industry and the healthcare sector in general. This was made at the launch of the company’s ultra-modern 100,000 bottles per day intravenous (I.V) fluids production factory in Sagamu, Ogun State. In his remarks at this event, the Managing Director of BOI, Mr. Olukayode Pitan reiterated the Bank’s commitment to serving key sectors of the economy, including healthcare, especially because COVID-19 had exposed weaknesses in the sector.

BOI participated in the 2nd Intra African Trade Fair which took place in November 2021 in Durban, South Africa. The Fair, which was organized by the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM Bank) in collaboration with the African Union (AU) and the African Continental Free Trade Area [AFCFTA], was aimed at providing a platform for information exchange, business networking and a forum to address the gap in trade and market information.

The event surpassed its projected target of $40 billion in trade and investment deals. There was a showcase of BOI-supported Nigerian businesses, highlighting innovations in various segments of the economy. This emphasized BOI’s commitment to supporting its customers and Nigerian entrepreneurs to expand the value chains of their businesses, exposing them to international markets and business opportunities, and enabling them to take full advantage of the prospects of the AfCFTA.

To underscore the importance of the event, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR, led the Nigerian delegation along with prominent ministers and cabinet members.

The Bank of Industry in partnership with the Kaduna State Government inaugurated the KADA Hive, an innovation, and technology hub established to promote digital skills development, innovation and businesses in the State. The State Deputy Governor, Dr Hadiza Balarabe espoused that the success of the project clearly demonstrated the potential of partnerships in turning innovative ideas into realities.

In his remark, the Chairman Board of Directors, Bank of Industry, Alhaji Aliyu Abdulrahman said the hub was part of the bank’s programme targeted at promoting skills development, youth entrepreneurship and Job creation in new technology and innovation among youths. Alhaji Abdulrahman noted that the Bank sponsored the Hub as a platform for young people in the state to channel their creativity and passion to be productive rather than engaging in social vices. According to him, the hub aligns with President Buhari’s goal to lift one hundred million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years.

The governments of Delta, Ebonyi and Ondo states have partnered with the Bank of Industry to deliver COVID-19 stimulus packages to affected persons in their states. This stimulus is part of the $750 million Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus also called NG-CARES. It is a tripartite programme of the World Bank, Federal Government and state governments that is targeted at supporting vulnerable persons and providing food security, amongst other things, post-COVID-19 pandemic. 

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State announced that the State had already commenced disbursement to more than 1,800 beneficiaries of the funds, and added that the programme was conceived to cushion the socio-economic effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the people, particularly the poor and vulnerable, adding that about 2,529 MSMEs in the state would receive grants to support post-COVID-19 loans, operational costs and enhance their IT capacity.

Over 3,000 enterprises in South-Western Nigeria have enjoyed support from the Bank of Industry to the tune of N19.7bn since 2019 from its own funds. This was disclosed by the Managing Director of BOI, Mr. Olukayode Pitan, during the official opening of the Ekiti branch office of the bank in Ado-Ekiti.  

The MD stated that the Bank has a long-standing relationship with Ekiti State, as one of its earliest strategic partners concerning the Bank’s matching fund initiative. Also speaking at the occasion, the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, said BOI had contributed significantly to the industrialisation strategy of the Federal Government across various sectors and business segments in Nigeria through its several innovative financial and business support interventions.

The Bank of Industry (BOI) sponsored and commissioned the BOI-UNILAG incubation and co-working hub at the University of Lagos to support talented youths to a more successful and impactful end. The sponsorship of the hub is part of the Bank’s drive to support Nigerian youths venturing into entrepreneurial training to harness and maximize their potential and back them by establishing tech hubs to nurture the ecosystem in the country.

Speaking at the launch event, the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry, Mr. Olukayode Pitan stated that the Bank remains committed to providing funding to support credible and bankable ideas that emerge from the tech hubs.

He said the overall objective is to ensure that the bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) investments generate better benefits for the country, stressing that the tech hub gives young people the opportunity to create legitimate wealth while adding their quota to the economic development of Lagos State. 

The Bank of Industry became an official Signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Banking – a single framework for a sustainable banking industry developed through a partnership between banks worldwide and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). 

The Principles are the leading framework for ensuring that banks’ strategies and practices align with the vision society has set out for its future in the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. Banks who have signed the Principles commit to being ambitious in their sustainability strategies, working to embed sustainability into the heart of their business, while allowing them to remain at the cutting edge of sustainable finance. 

Signatories to the Principles take on a leadership role, demonstrating how banking products, services and relationships can support and accelerate the changes necessary to achieve shared prosperity for both current and future generations, building a positive future for both people and the planet.

The Bank of Industry received top honours at the Sustainability, Enterprise and Responsibility Awards also known as the SERAS CSR Awards 2021. The awards took place on Saturday, December 4th, 2021 in Lagos Nigeria.

BOI was awarded the ‘Best Company in Financial Inclusion’ and ‘Best New Entry’ in recognition of its development impact in providing solutions to ensure that financial services are more accessible to unbanked and underbanked groups. The award highlights the Bank’s impact significant efforts in deepening financial inclusion for micro-enterprises through the development and execution of innovative financial and non-financial products that promote the use of technology and intermediaries to provide low-interest financing solutions to businesses in the informal, semi-formal and formal sectors. 

The SERAS is Africa’s first and foremost recognition for Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability. Over the last 15 years, it has become the gold-standard award and the most credible industry ceremony in Africa with representation from 19 African countries.