BoI Shops for N1tn to Finance Economic Recovery Plan

• BoI Shops for N1tn to Finance Economic Recovery Plan

The Bank of Industry is seeking to raise about N1tn from local and international sources to finance the industrial component of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan.

The Acting Managing Director, BoI, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, stated this in Abuja at the 57th Annual General Meeting of the bank.

The ERGP, which was launched last month by President Muhammadu Buhari, is the government’s blueprint to take the economy out of recession and ensure inclusive growth and sustainable development.

Olagunju said the N1tn would be used to support ventures that would fast-track the country’s realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

This, he added, would enable the bank to increase its risk assets to N1.2tn by 2019.

He noted the bank had commenced discussion with the Development Bank of Nigeria and some foreign as well as multilateral development finance institutions.

He added that one of the major targets of the bank was to ensure that the Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises access up to 30 per cent of its total loan portfolio by 2019.

This he noted, was in line with the bank’s revalidated strategic plan covering 2016 to 2019.

Olagunju explained, “The BoI has embarked on a N1tn fund mobilisation drive within and outside the country to part finance the industrial component of the ERGP.

“Under the plan, it is envisaged that enterprises financed by the BoI will generate more than five million jobs.”

The BoI boss acknowledged the efforts by both the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria to make the bank more viable despite competing needs and financial constraints.

Giving a breakdown of the bank’s activities in the 2016 financial year, he said the volume of new loans rose by 10 per cent to N171bn from N156bn in 2015.

He added that disbursements to SMEs similarly went up by 42 per cent within the same period to N8bn from N5.64bn.

Olagunju put the operating profit of the BoI before tax at N17bn in 2016, representing an increase of 44 per cent over the 2015 profit of N11.9bn.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, commended the bank for its achievements during the 2016 financial year.

He added that BoI had also gained significant traction in the implementation of the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme being rolled out in all the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.