The Bank of Industry (BoI), reportedly disbursed a total of N259.6 billion to support Nigeria’s industrialisation between January and December 2018.
The N259.6 billion represents an increase of 130 percent when compared to the N112.5 billion credit facility the bank provided to businesses in the 2017 financial period.
While disclosing the figures on the sidelines of the bank’s 59th Annual General Meeting (AGM), BOI’s Chairman of Board, Aliyu Dikko, stated that out of the N259.6 billion, about N33.9 billion was disbursed specifically to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
According to Dikko, the balance of N225.7 billion was deployed to support large enterprises.
Why adequate funding of MSMEs is highly sacrosanct:Â The role of SMEs in enhancing economic growth and development has, over time, been widely acknowledged globally. Economic wealth all over the world is created through enterprises and the expansion of their output.
For your notice: SMEs contribute to the economy by creating value through the production of goods and services, thus enhancing the gross domestic product. They also generate employment by creating much-needed jobs in the economy, as well as expanding the export sector; largely through linkages with large firms that produce for the foreign sector.
However, the lack of adequate funding has been one of the major challenges facing Nigerian SMEs. For a long time, entrepreneurs have lamented the lack of adequate provision of credit facilities. It is, therefore, a good thing that something is finally being done about the situation.
About BoI: The Bank of Industry Limited is Nigeria’s oldest, largest, and most successful development financing institution. It was established in 2001 out of the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) Limited, which was incorporated in 1964. The bank took off in 1964 with an authorised share capital of N2 million.
BoI is owned by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) Nigeria (94.80%), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) (5.19%) and private shareholders (0.01%). The bank has 11 members on its board and it is chaired by Aliyu Abdulrahman Dikko.
