The federal government has said that the Bank of Industry’s (BoI’s) development finance could reach N1 trillion before the end of the year.
It will be recalled that BoI’s maiden N250 billion domestic bond was oversubscribed within five days, following strong demand from institutional investors.
Speaking yesterday at the opening of the two-day National Convening on Industrial Finance and Execution in Lagos, the Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan, commended the Bank of Industry for supporting businesses through its debut development bond.
‘BoI was able to raise about N250 billion and counting. Going forward, hopefully before the end of the year, we will be able to reach up to N1 trillion,’ he said.
The minister emphasised that access to finance remains pivotal to unlocking economic growth, stressing the importance of supporting the manufacturing sector.
He revealed that the ministry is collaborating with a private firm to deploy a model that will boost energy supply for industrial use.
‘We’re working on getting power to industrial clusters. It was important to meet with them because, during our first roundtable on energy, we identified a model. We believed that if we achieved success there, we could replicate it across the country. We are making progress,’ he said.
Owan disclosed that President Bola Tinubu has approved the release of funds to kick-start the wheat-based consumer foods value chain optimisation and cost competitiveness programme, aimed at revitalising the wheat sector.
He noted that the Industrial Revolution Working Group (IRWG) remains focused on moving Nigeria’s industrialisation agenda from policy development to coordinated execution and measurable results.
The minister highlighted five thematic areas of focus for the IRWG: energy, affordable long-term finance, skills, made-in-Nigeria goods, and regulatory development.
Managing Director of BoI, Olasupo Olusi, described the manufacturing sector’s 7.2 percent contribution to Nigeria’s GDP as inadequate compared to the national target of 25 percent.
‘The National Industrial Policy has set an ambition to increase manufacturing to 25% of GDP. We are still at 7.2 percent – less than a third of the target. At the same time, the industrial financing gap is estimated at more than $35 billion annually,’ he said.