President Bola Tinubu has commended the Bank of Industry (BOI) for disbursing N636bn to businesses in 2025, describing it as the highest annual financing volume in the institution’s history.
In a statement issued on Thursday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the President said the milestone validated his administration’s economic reform agenda.
According to Tinubu, the record disbursement demonstrates that ongoing macroeconomic reforms are strengthening development finance institutions and unlocking capital for productive sectors of the economy.
“The N636bn disbursed by the Bank of Industry in 2025 translates directly into productive capacity across Nigeria,” Tinubu said.
“It financed agro-processing expansion, strengthened manufacturing output, supported infrastructure delivery, and empowered thousands of enterprises across our states.
“At a time of global financing constraints, Nigeria expanded access to long-term capital for its businesses. That is a direct outcome of reform, credibility, and institutional discipline.”
A breakdown of the financing shows that agro-allied enterprises received the largest share at N202bn. Critical national infrastructure — including broadband, power, aviation, and transportation — accounted for N100bn.
Manufacturing received N79bn, extractive industries N77bn, and services N55bn. The bank also deployed N73bn in managed and matching funds on behalf of state governments and institutional partners.
The funds reached more than 7,000 enterprises nationwide. By business size, large enterprises accounted for N375bn, small and medium enterprises received N178bn, nano enterprises got N51bn, while micro businesses accessed N32bn.
According to the statement, BOI’s financing activities led to the creation and retention of approximately 1.6 million jobs. The bank supported over 7,000 MSMEs and 570 startups during the year.
Under the Federal Government’s N200bn MSME intervention programme, BOI recorded over 95 per cent performance as the disbursing institution. The Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme reached 957,400 beneficiaries in 2025 alone.
Inclusive financing initiatives also made measurable impact. Through the Guaranteed Loans for Women Programme — a N10bn gender-focused facility providing up to N50m per beneficiary — women-owned enterprises expanded their access to affordable credit.
Youth-owned enterprises received N12bn in financing. Under the Rural Area Programme on Investment for Development, 880 rural-based enterprises across the 36 states and the FCT accessed over N6.5bn.
Strategic interventions included upgrading a tomato processing facility from 3.1 metric tonnes per hour to 10 metric tonnes per hour, linking 47,508 smallholder farmers to formal processing value chains.
The bank also supported the deployment of 100 mini-grids in partnership with global development finance institutions, connecting 11,777 new customers to electricity. BOI-financed projects contributed to an estimated annual reduction of more than 20,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.
Through the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme, 500 founders were prepared for investment, 100 technology ventures received funding, and 400 youths were trained through innovation initiatives targeting over 300,000 Nigerians.
Tinubu noted that BOI maintained strong asset quality, recording a non-performing loan ratio below 1.5 per cent despite macroeconomic headwinds.
He also acknowledged the €2bn syndicated facility secured in 2024 and the additional €210m mobilised from international partners in 2025, which further strengthened the bank’s lending capacity.
“Development finance must be disciplined, measurable, and aligned with national priorities,” the President said.
“What we are witnessing is the transition from strategy to scale. Our economic transformation will be built on production, value addition, and enterprise growth.”
Tinubu further welcomed BOI’s designation as Nigeria’s first National Implementing Entity to the United Nations Adaptation Fund, describing it as a move that strengthens the country’s global development finance standing.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to consolidating reform gains and expanding credit access to enterprises as part of efforts to accelerate industrialisation and promote inclusive economic growth.
