Nigeria’s foremost development finance institution, the Bank of Industry, took an important step towards its goal of being best-in-class among DFIs in Africa as it hosted officials of Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC), Kenya’s major development finance institution.
The ICDC officials were at the Bank’s headquarters in Lagos on a study tour of the Bank of Industry’s Standard Operating practices with a view to learn from it, and use it as the benchmark for the review and upgrade of their operations. The delegation led by the Chairman of the board, Mr. Bernard Mungata said BOI’s success story especially in the area of SME financing is what motivated them to visit the bank to seek further knowledge. The delegation was received by the MD/CEO of the Bank of Industry, Mr. Olukayode Pitan and BOI’s management team.
Speaking while meeting the delegation, Mr. Pitan emphasized the importance of such interaction and engagement between DFIs, particularly as the shared experiences such engagements provide help to improve service delivery and achieving of organizational objectives. He added that the Bank had embarked on similar visits to other DFIs in Africa and beyond, highlighting visits to South Africa’s Industrial Development Corporation, and Brazil’s BNDES, stating that the Bank has been able to achieve technical knowledge transfer, as well as raise capital to meeting its intervention targets.
In his response, ICDC’s Chairman, Mr. Mungata acknowledged that Bank of Industry’s achievements have been recognized across the continent, and the expectation after the visit is to be able to replicate such success, especially in raising funds and supporting SMEs, in their organization. Interestingly, the two institutions were established over 55years ago and they have both been waxing stronger ever since. Both institutions have vast experience in promoting projects that are geared towards wealth and job creation.
