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To aid its development financing objectives, especially to Small and Medium Enterprises, the Bank of Industry has secured a $100m line of credit from the African Development Bank.
According to the bank, the line of credit, which is designed for on-lending to SMEs engaged in export-oriented businesses, is the first of such foreign facility accessed by BoI after its reconstruction in 2001 out of the defunct Nigeria Industrial Development Bank.
The bank said in a statement that already, the first tranche of $50m was recently disbursed to BoI from AfDB for on-lending to the small businesses.
It added that the credit approval was received as a result of the implementation of various strategies and plans, which had enhanced its operations and repositioned it to better tackle the current challenges of small Nigerian businesses.
To deepen the impact of the facility, the BoI said it had hired an international firm, Messrs. BDO/GBRW, based on African Development Bank’s quality selection procedure, to render capacity building services to BoI staff and the prospective SME customers.
The capacity building services, according to it, will enhance the business capabilities of the SME customers thereby enabling them to better manage their businesses and mitigate risks.
The capacity building would also strengthen the ability of staff members to manage small business loans and the related risk management issues.
“BoI wishes to acknowledge the support of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Debt Management Office and the Central Bank of Nigeria among other stakeholders for facilitating access to the line of credit,” the statement read in part.
