The Bank of Industry (BOI) has unveiled its maiden 2025 Annual Development Impact Report, announcing that it disbursed N644.9 billion to businesses across Nigeria and supported 1.68 million jobs during the year.
Speaking at the unveiling of the report on Thursday in Abuja, BOI Managing Director, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, described 2025 as a defining year in the bank’s history, marking the first full year of implementing its 2025–2027 Corporate Strategy.
Olusi said the bank deliberately shifted its focus from measuring success by the volume of loan disbursements to assessing the actual development impact of its interventions.
According to him, the bank disbursed N644.9 billion to nano, micro, small, medium and large enterprises nationwide.
“More than 30 per cent of the financing went to nano enterprises and MSMEs, while over 20 per cent was directed to women- and youth-focused businesses to promote inclusive growth.
“Our interventions supported 1.68 million jobs, including direct, indirect and value chain-related employment, while financing covered 14 industrial sectors in line with Nigeria’s industrialisation priorities,” he said.
Olusi said BOI strengthened value chains, expanded access to finance and invested in critical infrastructure to boost productivity and national competitiveness.
“Most importantly, our interventions translated into tangible impact by supporting millions of jobs, reducing carbon emissions, strengthening digital and other infrastructure, and empowering women and young people,” he added.
He noted that the bank surpassed its 2025 targets across six strategic priorities—Infrastructure, MSMEs, Digital Economy, Youth, Gender and Climate.
According to him, BOI’s nationwide network of 37 offices across 34 states enhanced its ability to deploy capital to both urban and underserved communities.
The bank also achieved more than 95 per cent disbursement as the implementing agency for the Federal Government’s N200 billion MSME Industrialisation Fund.
Olusi highlighted new initiatives launched in 2025 to bridge financing gaps, including the Rural Area Programme on Investment for Development (RAPID), the Guaranteed Loans for Women (GLOW) programme and the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) initiative.
He also disclosed that BOI committed over N35 billion to broadband expansion, N30.6 billion to power infrastructure and more than N20 billion to aviation infrastructure projects, describing them as critical investments in productivity and emissions reduction.
To strengthen accountability, he said the report was independently assured by KPMG and the Policy Innovation Centre, adding that BOI’s new Development Impact Framework would enable more robust measurement of development outcomes going forward.
Looking ahead to 2026, Olusi said the bank would deepen support for enterprises and value chains capable of creating jobs, increasing local value addition and enhancing Nigeria’s competitiveness.
He also appreciated the bank’s board, the Federal Government, development partners—including Afreximbank, the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Union, UNDP and UNIDO—as well as BOI staff for their continued support.
In his remarks, the Minister of State for Industry, Sen. John Enoh, described the report as setting a new benchmark for public institutions by focusing on measurable development outcomes rather than loan disbursement figures.
He said BOI’s interventions align with President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda through expanded MSME financing, youth and women empowerment, innovation, climate sustainability and technology-driven enterprise development.
Enoh also linked the bank’s interventions to the Nigerian Industrial Policy (NIP), launched on February 17, 2026, describing it as a roadmap for industrial growth, job creation, value addition and export expansion.
He disclosed that the government’s 90-day implementation report on the policy highlighted progress on the AfDB-backed Industrial Cluster Programme, work on a proposed $350 billion MSME Development Fund, capacity-building initiatives by NADDC and IETF, and the award of African quality marks to 121 companies to boost competitiveness under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He described BOI as “a strategic partner in Nigeria’s industrial transformation, not just a financier,” adding that the ministry would continue collaborating with the bank to strengthen industrial clusters, improve MSME competitiveness and support manufacturers through an upcoming value chain summit.
Also speaking, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Doris Uzoka-Anite, said Nigeria’s biggest investment challenge was not the availability of capital but the shortage of bankable projects.
She stressed that quality project preparation is critical to transforming ideas into investible opportunities and achieving the country’s economic ambitions.
According to her, attaining a $1 trillion economy under the Renewed Hope Agenda and the National Development Plan (2026–2030) would require disciplined project preparation, investment protection and alignment of public spending with national priorities.
Uzoka-Anite noted that global development finance has shifted from aid to investment-driven partnerships, urging development finance institutions such as BOI to build transparent investment ecosystems and expand blended finance to de-risk MSMEs.
She also called on development partners to support feasibility studies and African credit rating systems to reduce borrowing costs, stressing that “investment follows preparation, and preparation thrives on partnership.”
Goodwill messages were delivered by representatives of the African Development Bank, European Union, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD), among other development partners.
