Business
BoI raises $5bn, plans N120bn MSME support
Olusi made this known on Thursday at the BoI’s 65th anniversary news conference in Lagos.
He highlighted the bank’s evolution from its establishment as the Investment Company of Nigeria (ICON) in 1959 to its transformation into the Bank of Industry in 2001.
Olusi noted that the bank also concluded global loan syndication that raised not less than two billion euros in November; the largest fundraising in BoI’s history and the largest syndication in the history of African DFls.
He explained that the bank was able to achieve the milestones through the years due to its partners.
According to him, BoI has established strategic partnerships with key local public and private institutions as well as global financial and multilateral institutions to enable the bank to fulfill its mandate, effectively.
“BoI has partnerships with state governments, and foundations to establish the ‘Matching Fund’ scheme.
“We also have partnerships with trade associations, such as the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), to deepen real sector financing.
“BoI recently signed a partnership agreement with SMEDAN to provide Nano and Micro Enterprises in Nigeria with a one billion dollar fund at a single digit interest rate.
“We have partnerships with several other public agencies like NCDMB, to support specific sectors,” he said.
Olusi added that the Federal Government, in November 2023, appointed the bank as the executing agency for the $200 billion FGN MSME Intervention Fund.
This included a 50 billion Presidential Conditional Grant Scheme (PCGS), a N75 billion Manufacturing Sector Fund, and a N75 billion MSME Intervention Sector Fund.
“Our strategic partnerships also extend to numerous organisations, such as African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Finance Corporation (AFC), Investment Climate Reform (ICR) initiative, and the African Guarantee Fund (AGF).
“Other are the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the United States Export Import Bank (USEXIM), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), amongst others,” Olusi said.
According to him, the bank, in the last 12 months, has also revised its strategy to focus on impact and introduced various strategic initiatives in alignment with President Bola Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ and in response to emerging macroeconomic issues.
Also, Mr Shekarau Omar, BoI’s Executive Director, MSMEs, revealed that the bank plans to disburse N120 billion to two million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) by the end of the year.
Omar said that, in spite of an initial target of disbursing N103 billion to 1.5 million MSMEs in 2024, the bank had already surpassed the goal.
According to him, as of October, the bank had disbursed N107 billion to a larger number of MSMEs than originally planned.
Omar highlighted the potentials of Nigeria’s MSME sector, saying it was estimated to be between 39 and 40 million businesses. (NAN)
Nigeria’s public debt rose by 48.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to N144.67 trillion ($94.23 billion) in 2024 from N97.34 trillion ($108.23 billion) in 2023.
The Debt Management Office (DMO) disclosed this in its latest public debt profile report.
The debt stock consists of external debt of N70.29 trillion ($45.78 billion) serviced with $4.66 million and domestic debt of N74.38 trillion ($48.44 billion).
The report showed that the country’s external debt increased by 83.89 per cent YoY from N38.22 trillion ($42.5 billion) in 2023.
Domestic debt also grew by 25.7 per cent YoY from N59.12 trillion ($65.73 billion) in 2023.
The report further indicated that the Federal Government’s domestic debt component rose by 32 per cent YoY to N70.41 trillion from N53.26 trillion in 2023.
But the domestic debt of states and the Federal Capital Territory declined YoY by 32 per cent to N3.97 trillion in 2024 from N5.86 trillion in 2023.
The rise in public debt can be attributed to fluctuating trends in exchange rates amidst changes in global economic conditions.
The sharp increase, particularly in external debt, highlights the nation’s vulnerability to exchange rate volatility and changes in global economic conditions.
With the continued depreciation of the naira, the cost of servicing foreign debt could escalate, adding pressure on the country’s financial resources.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced the appointment of a new eight -man Senior Management Team.
The appointment followed the recent announcement followed the appointment of the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) and Board of Directors.
Disclosing this in a statement on Friday, NNPCL Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, said the appointments all take immediate effect.
“Following the appointment of the Group Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has announced the appointment of a new 8-man Senior Management Team on Friday,” he stated.
“The team which will be headed by the GCEO, Mr Bashir Bayo Ojulari, has Rowland Ewubare as Group Chief Operating Officer; Adedapo Segun as Group Chief Financial Officer; and Olalekan Ogunleye as Executive Vice President Gas, Power & New Energy.
“Other members of the team are: Udy Ntia as Executive Vice President Upstream; Mumuni Dangazau as Executive Vice President Downstream; Sophia Mbakwe as Executive Vice President Business Services; and Adesua Dozie, as Company Secretary & Chief Legal Officer. All appointments are with immediate effect.”
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-generaI of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), says the recent tariffs announced by the United States (US) will have significant implications for global trade and economic growth prospects.
On April 2, President Donald Trump announced sweeping global tariffs on all imports into the US, imposing 14 percent on Nigeria.
In a statement on Thursday, Okonjo-Iweala said the WTO secretariat is closely monitoring and analysing the measures announced by the nation.
The WTO DG said many members have “reached out to us”, adding that the secretariat is actively engaging with them in response to their questions about the potential effect on their economies and the global trading system.
“The recent announcements will have substantial implications for global trade and economic growth prospects,” the economist said.
“While the situation is rapidly evolving, our initial estimates suggest that these measures, coupled with those introduced since the beginning of the year, could lead to an overall contraction of around 1% in global merchandise trade volumes this year, representing a downward revision of nearly four percentage points from previous projections.”
Okonjo-Iweala expressed concern over the decline and the potential for escalation into a tariff war with a cycle of retaliatory measures that could lead to further declines in trade.
“It is important to remember that, despite these new measures, the vast majority of global trade still flows under the WTO’s Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) terms,” she said.
“Our estimates now indicate that this share currently stands at 74%, down from around 80% at the beginning of the year. WTO members must stand together to safeguard these gains.”
According to the WTO DG, trade measures of this size have the potential to create significant trade diversion effects.
Therefore, she called on members to “manage the resulting pressures responsibly to prevent trade tensions from proliferating”.
“The WTO was established to serve precisely in moments like this — as a platform for dialogue, to prevent trade conflicts from escalating, and to support an open and predictable trading environment,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
She encouraged members to utilise the forum to engage constructively and seek cooperative solutions.