ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Bank of Industry has disclosed that its investments in power and rural infrastructure brought electricity to more than 100 communities and connected 11,777 new customers to the grid in 2025, underscoring the institution’s growing contribution to improving energy access across Nigeria.
The development finance institution made this known in its 2025 Development Impact Report, which also revealed that its interventions created and sustained 1.68 million jobs, linked 47,508 smallholder farmers to processing facilities and supported thousands of businesses in critical sectors of the economy.
According to the report, the power and utilities sector ranked among the bank’s strongest-performing areas, with eight businesses benefiting from financing that accelerated rural electrification and the deployment of mini-grid projects.
“The Power and Utilities sector emerged as a top performer, electrifying 100 rural areas and connecting 11,777 new customers through mini-grids,” the report stated. It added that the projects also encouraged environmentally sustainable practices, noting that “80 per cent adopted cleaner production and emissions control.”
READ ALSO: Tinubu Appoints New Board For BoI
Beyond the power sector, the report highlighted BOI’s increasing role in driving industrialisation and economic inclusion across the country.
“Impact was felt across several high-priority sectors, each contributing uniquely to the national industrialisation target of a 25 per cent manufacturing GDP share,” the report stated.
In agriculture and food processing, the bank said it connected 47,508 smallholder farmers to agricultural value chains, while supported businesses recorded average revenue growth of 17.4 per cent.
The agro-processing sector generated 2,491 jobs, with more than 71 per cent of supported food-processing firms adopting cleaner production methods.
The report also noted progress in manufacturing, where BOI invested N4.6bn to modernise six factories.
The intervention increased production capacity by more than 20 per cent in 63 per cent of the supported companies and supported 6,178 jobs.
In the transport and logistics sector, the bank provided N10bn in financing, resulting in the creation of 516 net jobs, while support for the pharmaceutical industry enabled the introduction of nine new product lines and the employment of 182 women.
According to the report, BOI also secured €210m, equivalent to about N350bn, from international funding partners during 2025. Of the total, €125m was allocated to healthcare, while €85m was earmarked for agriculture and food security.
The bank further managed N73bn in matching funds on behalf of state governments and institutional partners and served as the lead implementation agency for the Federal Government’s N200bn MSME Industrialisation Fund, achieving a disbursement rate exceeding 95 per cent.
The report also disclosed that BOI launched the Rural Area Programme on Investment for Development, which disbursed N6.01bn between 2024 and 2025 to support 822 enterprises.
The programme facilitated the establishment of 880 rural enterprises and created more than 8,000 direct and indirect jobs nationwide.
Other interventions included N35bn for broadband infrastructure, N30bn for mini-grid projects in Lagos, Imo and Rivers states, as well as financing targeted at women- and youth-owned businesses.
Women-led enterprises received N150bn, while youth-owned businesses accessed N12bn in funding.
Commenting in the report, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BOI, Olasupo Olusi, said the institution had shifted its focus from the volume of loans disbursed to the measurable development impact of its interventions.
“The year 2025 marked a defining moment for the Bank of Industry. It was the first full year of executing our 2025-2027 Corporate Strategy and the year in which we deliberately shifted the conversation from how much we disburse to how much development we enable. It was a foundation year for how BOI will deliver measurable development impact in the years ahead,” he said.
Olusi disclosed that the bank disbursed N644.9bn to nano, micro, small, medium and large enterprises across Nigeria in 2025, with more than 30 per cent of the funding directed to nano businesses and MSMEs.
READ ALSO: Reps Summon BOI Over Covid-19 Unrecovered Grants
“The Bank disbursed a total of N644.9bn to Nano, Micro, Small, Medium and Large Enterprises across Nigeria in 2025 across financing instruments. Notably, over 30 per cent of this financing went to Nano and MSME businesses,” he said.
He added that BOI surpassed its 2025 performance targets across its six strategic priorities infrastructure, MSMEs, the digital economy, youth, gender and climate while expanding access to finance for underserved communities through its nationwide network.
According to Olusi, the bank remains focused on strengthening support for enterprises and value chains that generate employment, promote local value addition and enhance Nigeria’s industrial competitiveness, while aligning its interventions with the Federal Government’s economic development agenda.