BOI, IFC to deepen access to finance, export credit

THE Bank of Industry (BOI) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have partnered to improve access to finance and export credit to boost Nigeria's industrialisation drive.

Managing Director of BOI, Dr Olasupo Olasuyi, said this at the BOI-IFC Conference on Empowering Futures in Lagos, noting that the conference presented an opportunity to develop innovative ideas and initiatives towards improving access to finance, export credit, partial credit guarantees and other risk-sharing financing structures.

He noted that more importantly, the country's current macroeconomic realities place a lot of responsibility on development banks like BOI and multilateral and financial institutions like IFC to expand their risk appetite through out-of-the-box financing ideas.

He pointed out that the visit of IFC’S Regional Vice President for Africa, Sergio Pimenta, and his team, to Nigeria, underscored

IFC’S strong commitment to supporting the development of Africa’s largest economy even as the event also signified the strong bond that existed between the IFC and development finance institutions (DFIS).

"This conference is very important and timely which convenes leaders from the financial sector and other critical sectors of the economy to discuss how to advance Nigeria’s industrial sector. Few people may remember that the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) – which later became BOI – was set up in 1964 by the federal government in partnership with the IFC.

He said the event aimed at delivering a coherent and actionable plan to advance Nigeria’s industrial growth and development in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’.

Delivering his keynote, Pimenta said IFC’S investment portfolio in Nigeria is the second largest in Africa, and stands at $2 billion, concentrated across trade finance, manufacturing, financial markets, and infrastructure.