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, BoI, Mr Olukayode Pitan, during the official opening of the Ekiti branch office of the bank in Ado-Ekiti.
The Managing Director, who was represented by the Executive Director, Corporate Services, Jonathan Tobin, revealed that through the bank’s N200m matching fund partnership with Ekiti State, which was signed in March 2010, it had supported the creation of thousands of direct and indirect jobs by giving loans of up to N167m to different enterprises across the state.
According to Mr. Pitan, “The objective of this initiative is to partner with state governments towards supporting micro, small and medium enterprises in such states, by each party setting aside equal amounts of funds.
“The Bank of Industry has a long-standing relationship with Ekiti State, as the state is one of our earliest strategic partners with respect to our matching fund initiative.”
Also speaking at the occasion, the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, said that the 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.
On the part of the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, he called on the Bank to extend its partnership with the state toward helping farmers transition from subsistence farming to commercial and agro-processing levels.
He also called on the bank to explore the knowledge economy, which he described as one of the pillars of his administration, for investment. He said the state had demonstrated its commitment to ease of doing business, adding, “Our vision is to make Ekiti a destination of choice for investment by providing an enabling environment to Small and Medium-scale Enterprises.”