- The Bank of Industry disbursed a record N644.9 billion to 12,501 businesses in 2025, a 26% increase from the previous year
- The funding supported or created 1.68 million jobs, with MSMEs receiving 41% of the total disbursements
- BoI plans to increase its impact in 2026 by expanding financing for agriculture, healthcare manufacturing, ICT and other key sectors
Legit.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade's experience covering energy, MSMEs, technology, banking and the economy.
The Bank of Industry (BoI) disbursed a record N644.9 billion to businesses in 2025, up 26% from N510.9 billion in 2024, supporting or creating 1.68 million jobs.
Its Managing Director and CEO, Olasupo Olusi, disclosed this on Thursday at a media roundtable with business editors in Lagos, citing the bank’s 2025 Annual Development Impact Report.
Source: UGC
Olusi said the amount represented the highest annual disbursement in the bank's history.
The bank's 2025 Annual Development Impact Report showed that 12,501 businesses benefited from the financing. Large enterprises received 59% of the funds, while small and medium enterprises accounted for 29%. Nano businesses received 7%, and micro businesses got the remaining 5%.
MSMEs receive 41% of funding
The bank said micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) received 41% of its 2025 funding, exceeding its target of 35%.
Women-owned businesses received N120.9 billion, while women-led and youth-led businesses each accounted for 20% of the bank's funding.
BoI also deployed more than N108 billion to infrastructure projects, including 100 mini-grids that connected 11,777 households and businesses to electricity.
Olusi said the bank met its disbursement targets for climate and digital financing as part of its 2025–2027 corporate strategy.
The strategy aims to double the bank's loan book, disbursements and impact instruments within three years. Its priorities include MSME financing, infrastructure, women and gender, youth and skills development, climate and sustainability, and the digital economy.
The bank has also focused its lending on 15 priority sectors across manufacturing, infrastructure, extractive industries and services, with information and communications technology (ICT) recently added.
According to Olusi, manufacturing and infrastructure accounted for 80% of large-enterprise lending because of their capacity to generate jobs and economic output.
BoI raises fresh capital, supports businesses
To strengthen its financing capacity, BoI secured a €1.879 billion syndicated facility in 2024 and attracted €210 million from international development partners in 2025.
In 2026, it raised an oversubscribed N250 billion Development Bond and secured €85 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB) for agriculture, alongside €50 million for healthcare manufacturing.
The bank also implemented more than 95% of the Federal Government's N200 billion intervention, reaching 957,400 grant beneficiaries, 9,000 MSMEs and 104 large manufacturers.
Through its Rural Area Programme on Investment for Development (RAPID), BoI disbursed N6.5 billion to 880 rural enterprises across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, supporting more than 8,000 jobs.
However, the bank's report identified inflation, high interest rates and exchange-rate volatility as challenges that increased operating costs for MSMEs. Informality and inadequate financial records also constrained business growth.
Bank targets stronger impact in 2026
Olusi said BoI expects its impact to exceed the 2025 performance before consolidating its achievements in 2027, the final year of its current corporate strategy.
The bank is working with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment on the National Industrial Finance Compact to attract more long-term capital into the industrial sector.
Source: UGC
It also plans to deploy the new EIB facilities to agriculture and local healthcare manufacturing while expanding its ICT portfolio through the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme.
Olusi said the bank's mission remained focused on financing locally produced goods and creating employment opportunities for Nigerians.
Source: Legit.ng