BoI Gets $200m AfDB Support to Expand Financing for SMEs, Women, Youth Enterprises

*Olasupo Olusi: intervention will strengthen local manufacturing, support country’s transition towards more resilient, sustainable economy

*Signs agreement with IFC to assess development of major conference, exhibition hub in Abuja

James Emejo in Abuja and Nume Ekeghe in Lagos

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 industrialisation.

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.

It further emerged that over the past five fiscal years, IFC had committed $12.8 billion in investments to Nigeria’s private sector, including $1.9 billion in long-term financing and $10.9 billion in short-term financing, doubling its infrastructure commitments from $1.5 billion in 2020 to $3 billion in 2025, and supporting tens of thousands of jobs across the continent.
The AfDB financing package also includes a $650,000 technical assistance grant from the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA) aimed at improving SME capacity, strengthening environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, supporting climate-smart initiatives and enhancing BoI’s impact measurement systems.

In addition, the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative will provide technical support to improve access to finance, markets and value chains for women-owned and women-led enterprises.
Managing Director/Chief Executive, BoI, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, described the facility as a major milestone in the bank’s partnership with the African development finance institution.

Olusi said the intervention would significantly strengthen the bank’s ability to provide long-term financing to enterprises operating in sectors critical to economic transformation.
Olusi stated that the facility built on the successful collaboration between both institutions under a previous $100 million line of credit to BoI, which was fully repaid in 2025.

According to him, beyond financing, the intervention is designed to stimulate industrial growth, expand opportunities for SMEs, empower women and youth-led businesses, strengthen local manufacturing capacity and support the country’s transition towards a more resilient and sustainable economy.

He added that BoI remained committed to ensuring that the financing translated into tangible economic opportunities, job creation and inclusive growth across the country.
AfDB said the intervention would also support climate-resilient and low-carbon investments, such as renewable energy, energy-efficient industrial processes, climate-smart agriculture, and sustainable infrastructure solutions.

The bank stated that the investments were expected to improve productivity, deepen local manufacturing, strengthen healthcare and pharmaceutical value chains and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imports.
Director-General, AfDB Nigeria, Abdul Kamara, said the approval underscored the institution’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s private sector and industrial growth ambitions.

Kamara said Nigeria’s industrial transformation required long-term patient capital that commercial banks were often unable to provide, adding that development finance institutions are established to bridge such financing gaps.
Director of AfDB Financial Sector Development Department, Ahmed Rashad Attout, said the affordable long-term financing would enhance BoI’s ability to provide competitive loans to SMEs as well as women- and youth-led enterprises operating in high-impact sectors.

The bank stressed that the intervention was expected to support job creation, export growth, increased tax revenues, foreign exchange savings through import substitution and stronger contributions of key sectors to the country’s GDP over the long term.
The project aligned with AfDB’s 10-year strategy focused on inclusive and green growth as well as its “4 Cardinal Points” agenda aimed at unlocking Africa’s capital, rebuilding financial sovereignty, empowering women and youth and strengthening resilient infrastructure and value-added industries.

Envisioned to be delivered under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework, ACE Arena will comprise conference and exhibition halls, staging areas, and hospitality, retail, and cultural facilities, integrated into a large-scale venue comparable to leading conference destinations across Africa.

The project aims to position Abuja as a top-tier destination for global events, bringing the economic benefits of large-scale international gatherings home to Nigeria, from conference and exhibition revenues and hospitality income, to year-round tourism spend and business activity generated by events hosted on Nigerian soil.

Through the cooperation agreement, IFC will provide advisory services to BoI for the Arena’s early-stage project preparation.
It will conduct market, financial, environmental, legal and regulatory assessments to determine the project’s scope and scale, infrastructure mix, and financing framework, laying the groundwork for subsequent development phases.
Olusi said, “Our partnership with IFC spans several areas critical to 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.”