Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BOI), Dr. Olasupo Olusi has called on government, businesses, and citizens to align efforts towards building a resilient and competitive industrial base, by ensuring a deliberate and coordinated actions to unlock Africa’s full industrial potential, noting that the continent possess both the talent and resources to achieve rapid and sustainable industrial growth.
Olusi spoke while delivering a lecture at the inauguration of Course 34 of the National Defence College in Abuja, with the theme, ‘Optimising capacity for industrialisation and socio-economic development in Africa,’ stating that Africa’s industrial journey was not a matter of chance, but of deliberate choice.
The MD outlined a five-point pathway to industrial transformation anchored on infrastructure and energy reforms, access to affordable long-term finance, investment in human capital, regional value-chain integration, and strong institutional coordination.
According to him, ‘Industrialisation is not a miracle, it is a method, Progress is cumulative, not spontaneous. If we execute with patience, precision, and persistence, Africa can move from a continent that consumes to one that produces and protects itself, the current method is a defining moment for the continent, global disruptions, such as the green transition, new technologies, and shifts in global trade-offer Africa an opportunity to re-imagine its economic model around self-reliance and innovation.
‘Despite challenges such as inadequate infrastructure and energy deficits, the same barriers could become springboards for transformation if addressed strategically. The International Energy Agency estimates that Africa would need about $25 billion annually until 2030 to achieve universal electricity access-a goal that would significantly boost productivity and reduce industrial costs.
‘While high interest rates and limited credit continue to constrain manufacturers, development finance institutions (DFIs) like the Bank of Industry remain crucial in providing patient capital for strategic sectors such as manufacturing, renewable energy, and technology. BOI continues to raise capital through debt instruments, syndicated loans, and green financing to support productive enterprises, the aim is to make every dollar of public capital count-driving impact, sustainability, and profitability.
Olusi concluded with a call to action, urging Africa’s leaders to transform vision into execution, stating that, Industrialisation demands discipline, collaboration, and clarity of purpose, If we begin today, within five years we can export at scale and within a generation we can achieve true economic sovereignty.