The Bank of Industry, BoI, has secured a $750m facility from 17 financial institutions to fund the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sub-sector of the nation’s economy.
The syndicated facility, the signing agreement of which is scheduled to be witnessed by President Muhammadu Buhari today, would be provided by the Africa Export-Import Bank, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development and British Arab Commercial Bank Plc, among others.
The Chairman of the Board of the bank, Alhaji Aliyu Dikko, who commented on the deal at the sidelines of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM Bank) in Abuja, described the facility as very timely and a game changer for the bank in terms of entrepreneurship financing.
He said: “This event is historical because this is the biggest relationship we have ever had with AFREXIM Bank and it’s a major milestone towards achieving our mission and vision.
“This day is one of the most successful days in the history of our bank. Our bank has the capacity to impact on MSME and this facility will go a long way to assisting us in achieving our objective. We commend the group of 17 banks for participating in the syndication and we will use the fund for what it is meant to be used for”, Dikko added.
In his speech at the forum, the bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Olukayode Pitan, explained that the bank had the capacity to effectively utilise the fund for the development of the economy.
“Initially the deal, in the beginning, looks impossible and we are glad that we were able to close it”, Pitan enthused.
