The Bank of Industry (BoI) disbursed N644.9bn to businesses in 2025, supporting 12,501 enterprises and an estimated 1.68 million jobs, as it targets annual lending of N1.35tn by 2027.
The bank’s Managing Director, Dr Olasupo Olusi, disclosed this on Wednesday while reviewing progress under its 2025–2027 corporate strategy.
He said the bank was working to expand access to long-term financing for businesses, particularly manufacturers and micro, small and medium enterprises, as part of efforts to boost local production and employment.
According to the bank’s 2025 Development Impact Report, the disbursement represented a 26 per cent increase over the previous year and its highest annual financing volume at the time.
Olusi said the bank’s strategy was designed to double its lending, disbursements and development impact within three years, with an emphasis on underserved businesses, industrial infrastructure and sectors capable of generating sustainable employment.
“The objective is to ensure that every naira that has been lent translates into measurable development impacts, particularly jobs, enterprises and output,” he said.
Under the strategy, the bank plans to allocate 35 per cent of its funding to MSMEs, at least 15 per cent to women-owned or women-led businesses, and 20 per cent of its MSME financing to youth-owned enterprises.
Its 2025 performance showed that MSMEs received N266bn, representing 41 per cent of total disbursements and exceeding the 35 per cent target.
Women-owned or women-led businesses received N120.9bn, accounting for 18.7 per cent of funding, while the bank met its target of allocating 20 per cent of MSME financing to youth-led enterprises.
However, some areas fell short of their targets. Digital and information technology financing stood at N42.5bn, representing 6.6 per cent of disbursements, while climate-related financing reached N18bn, or 2.8 per cent of total funding.
Infrastructure financing amounted to N108bn, representing 28 per cent of funding to large enterprises, below the 30 per cent target.
Olusi said the bank was intensifying efforts to mobilise funds from domestic and international markets to sustain its lending programme.
He disclosed that the bank raised €2bn through a syndicated loan involving more than 30 international banks in 2024. It also secured additional funding from international development finance institutions in 2025.
In 2026, the bank raised N215bn through a five-year domestic capital market issuance, which was fully subscribed within five working days. It also secured a €75m facility from the African Export-Import Bank to support Nigeria’s pharmaceutical value chain.
Olusi said the institution had mobilised more than €2.2bn and N274bn in new funding to support industrial development, while pursuing further fundraising opportunities.
He argued that Nigeria needed affordable, long-term capital to expand manufacturing, agricultural processing, healthcare production and other productive sectors, particularly to reduce dependence on imports.
The bank is also seeking to widen access to financing through digital platforms. Olusi said its customer portal had attracted more than 23,000 registrations, allowing businesses to register, submit loan applications and track their progress.
Beyond direct lending, the bank has supported government-backed enterprise programmes, including the Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme. According to Olusi, the scheme reached 957,400 beneficiaries.
Its rural development interventions have also included financing mini-grid projects that connected about 11,777 households and businesses to electricity, supporting broadband expansion in more than 700 communities, and linking 47,508 smallholder farmers to processing facilities.
Olusi said the bank’s lending rates, which are not tied to the monetary policy rate, had remained between 13 and 15 per cent, while loans under matched-funding arrangements were available at roughly 10 per cent or lower.
Looking ahead to 2027, the final year of its current corporate strategy, the bank plans to prioritise agriculture, manufacturing, local healthcare production, information and communications technology, and the creative economy.
It will also continue implementing the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme, designed to mobilise $600m to support technology and creative businesses.
Olusi said the bank would align its financing with the Federal Government’s local production agenda, particularly efforts to increase domestic manufacturing of food, medicines and other essential products.
He stressed that the success of the strategy would be measured not only by the volume of funds disbursed but also by businesses’ ability to expand production, improve competitiveness and create jobs.
“We have to finance what Nigeria makes,” he said.
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