BoI Targets N1.35trn Annual Lending, Three Million Jobs by 2027

The Bank of Industry (BOI) has set a target of increasing its annual lending to N1.35 trillion by 2027 and creating or supporting three million jobs over its 2025–2027 corporate strategy period, following a record N625 billion disbursement in 2025.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BOI, Olasupo Olusi, disclosed this on Thursday at a press briefing in Lagos, where he reviewed the bank’s performance at the midpoint of its three-year corporate strategy.

Olusi said the N625 billion disbursed in 2025 represented the highest annual disbursement in the bank’s history, marking a 26 per cent increase over the N410 billion recorded in 2024.

According to him, the funding reached 12,501 businesses and helped create or support 1.6 million jobs, reflecting the bank’s commitment to financing businesses, strengthening industrial capacity and promoting economic development.

He said the bank’s 2025–2027 strategy was designed to double its loan book, disbursements and development impact within three years.

Olusi identified the bank’s four strategic objectives as ensuring that every naira lent translates into measurable development outcomes, mobilising long-term capital at scale, expanding access to financing for underserved groups and strengthening governance and its balance sheet.

He said the bank was also making progress in directing funds towards micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), women-owned businesses, youth-led enterprises and rural businesses.

Under the strategy, MSMEs accounted for more than 31 per cent of the bank’s 2025 funding, against a target of 35 per cent. Youths and women each received 20 per cent of the funding, exceeding their minimum allocation commitments of 10 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively.

The BOI chief executive disclosed that the bank disbursed N120 billion to women-owned businesses and invested more than N180 billion in infrastructure, including projects supporting power supply and broadband connectivity across more than 700 communities.

He added that the bank achieved its disbursement targets in climate and digital finance while launching its online portal, which has recorded more than 23,000 registrations for loan applications and application tracking.

On capital mobilisation, Olusi said Nigeria’s industrialisation drive required long-term, affordable financing beyond what commercial banks could sustainably provide at suitable costs.

He disclosed that BOI raised €2 billion through a syndicated loan from more than 30 international banks in 2024, secured €110 million from development banks in 2025 and raised N215 billion through a five-year bond in 2026.

The N215 billion bond, he said, was fully subscribed within five working days. The bank also secured a €75 million facility from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to support the pharmaceutical value chain.

Olusi said the 2026–2027 period would focus on expanding the bank’s financing activities, meeting its 2027 targets and addressing gaps in climate and digital financing.

To strengthen climate financing, he said BOI would introduce a Sustainable Finance Framework to support the issuance of green bonds, establish a Carbon Credit Grant Facility and incorporate climate screening into every project appraisal.

He added that the bank would implement a dedicated action plan to identify and develop climate-related investment opportunities.

In the digital economy, Olusi said BOI would channel $617.7 million through the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme, supported by the African Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the Agence Française de Développement.

Broadband and information and communications technology would be among the programme’s priority sectors, alongside initiatives to improve digital market access and innovation.

Under its “Make It Here” agenda, he said the bank would also deploy European Investment Bank credit lines to support agriculture and local healthcare manufacturing, reinforcing efforts to expand domestic production and reduce dependence on imports.