- The Bank of Industry (BoI), has secured a $100 million line of credit from the African Development Bank (AfDB). The funds are needed to aid its development financing objectives, especially to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
- The bank said that the line of credit, which is designed for on-lending to SMEs engaged in export-oriented businesses, is the first of such foreign facility accessed by BoI after its reconstruction in 2001 out of the defunct Nigeria Industrial Development Bank (NIDB).
- According to the bank, in a statement at the weekend, explained that already, the first tranche of $50 million was recently disbursed to BoI from AfDB for on-lending to small businesses engaged in export-oriented businesses with capacity to generate foreign exchange. BoI added that the credit approval was received as a result of the implementation of various strategies and plans which have enhanced its operations and repositioned it to better tackle the current challenges of Nigerian small businesses.
“In order to deepen the impact of the facility, BoI hired an international firm, Messrs. BDO/GBRW, based on African Development Bank’s quality selection procedure, to render capacity building services to BoI staff and the prospective SME customers. The capacity building services would enhance the business capabilities of the SME customers thereby enabling them to better manage their businesses and mitigate risks
