President Muhammadu Buhari has commended the Bank of Industry (BOI) for disbursing more than N1.24 trillion to 4.2 million beneficiaries from Micro, Small, Medium and Large enterprises.
This is as the president has also commended the BOI for successfully raising the sum of 750 million Euros from the Eurobond market to be disbursed to Large, Medium & Small Enterprises, and women entrepreneurs with bankable projects.
The commendation was made by President Buhari when he virtually commissioned the second tower of the BOI building on Thursday in Abuja.
According to NAN, the president at the event also praised BOI for creating more than 9 million jobs within the last 7 years.
What President Muhammadu Buhari is saying
Buhari said that the bank had continued to successfully execute its mandate as a policy institution of the Federal Government, extending single-digit interest rate loans to manufacturers.
He said, “In order to further enhance its capacity to impact the industrial sector on a transformational scale, I approved the issuance of a sovereign guarantee to help the Bank raise funds in the Eurobond market.
‘‘I am glad to note that the Bank has recently completed the transaction by raising 750 million Euros from international investors.
“The proceeds of this Eurobond will be disbursed to Large, Medium & Small Enterprises, and women entrepreneurs with bankable projects.
‘‘It is commendable that the Bank sources its own funds for lending based on its investment-grade ratings by the rating agencies.”
President Buhari urged the management of the Bank to ensure that its impact is felt all over the country and said he was impressed that the new building, which is a world-class building was financed from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the bank.
He said, “The building represents the Bank’s contribution to the growing list of work-related infrastructure in the Federal Capital Territory. It is another remarkable milestone in the Bank’s growth.”
What you should know
- The BOI which began operations in 1959 as the Investment Corporation of Nigeria (ICON), is the oldest and largest Development Finance Institution (DFI) currently operating in Nigeria. It 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%).
- Recall that in February, it was reported that the BOI became the First African national development finance institution as it raised a €700 million Eurobond to provide funding for the growth of businesses in Nigeria.
