The Nation Newspaper

Tag: BoI

  • BoI gives loans to corps members

    BoI gives loans to corps members

    As the National Youth Service Corps marked its fourth year of implementation of the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) scheme, the Bank of Industry has doled out N426, 796,078 to corps members under the Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF).

    The scheme, which swung into action in 2012, has sensitised 600,000 corps members, trained over 250, 000 and has churned out more than 2,000 established enterprises as well as employers of labour.

    The beneficiaries of the support fund were among 1,002 candidates sieved from over 3,100 applicants following an intensive screening and training across the country.

    Acting Managing Director, BoI, Waheed Olagunju, who spoke at the presentation of cheques during a SAED stakeholders meeting in Lagos, reiterated the bank’s commitment to bridging the gap between SAED and requisite funding. He noted that beyond deepening financial inclusion of corps members by equipping them for small business loans, it is also keen on sustainability of the businesses through effective monitoring.

    Olagunju said: “At the end of the training, participants were required to come up with detailed business plans and feasibility studies with vivid description of their business ideas, business models and implementation strategies. As at the deadline of February 15, 2016, for the submission of loan applications, 360 candidates submitted requests for an aggregate sum of N695.16 million spanning 27 of the 40 product clusters identified by BOI.”

  • BoI disburses N5.6b to MSMEs

    BoI disburses N5.6b to MSMEs

    The Bank of Industry (BoI)  disbursed N5.6billion to Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country last year. the Acting Managing Director, Waheed Olagunju, has said.

    Waheed, who spoke at the Insurance Industry Consultative Council, National Insurance Conference 2016, with the theme, ‘Expanding National Resources and Infrastructure in Challenging Times,’ in Abuja, yesterday, promised to double the figure this year.

    He said: “In 2015 we disbursed N5.6billion to MSMEs which was the highest annual disbursement ever in the history of the bank. In previous years the lending was N1.7billion.

    “In 2015 we were able to increase to about 205 percent. This year, we are expected to double that which is why we are embarking on all these initiatives so we can support as many Nigerians as possible, especially the youths to enable them access BoI’s facilities.

    “Manufacturing and industrialisation is what makes the major difference between the rich and the poor. There is no way we can make major progress without infrastructure, especially in manufacturing, solid minerals and agriculture. For us to embark on infrastructure projects, the project must be able to pay its way; there should be good demand and viable option; there must be effective purchasing power.”

    According to Olagunju, Nigeria’s 180 million pouplation could either be an asset or a liability, adding that if it is deployed to productive use, it becomes an asset but if it is the contrary, then it becomes a liability. He said with the 774 local government areas, each of the local government has solid minerals and agricultural resources.

  • Why EFCC operatives visited BoI, by Olagunju

    Why EFCC operatives visited BoI, by Olagunju

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) has assured of its commitment to manage the funds at its disposal for the growth of the industrial sector.

    The Development Finance Institution  (DFI’s),  Ag. Managing Director, Waheed Olagunju, who spoke at a briefing yesterday in Lagos, on the reason operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)  visited  the bank on Monday, said the visit had nothing to do with any untoward act, but was in response to a petition on  the management of Cement Technology Institute of Nigeria (CTIN), which had since been resolved.

    Olagunju went on the memory lane, detailing the sequence of events that led to the EFFC’s visit to the bank. He said EFCC operatives visited the bank over a petition dated concerning the management of the  CTIN fund, lodged on November 2, last year.

    He regretted that some reports had misconstrued his absence on the day of the EFCC’s operatives’ visit to mean that he was being evasive, saying his absence was because he had to attend a stakeholders session on the Nigerian Automotive Industry in Lagos that day.

    “It is very unfortunate that some reports stated that I evaded arrest,” he said, adding: “But given my profile, I could not have any hiding place in the world. On Monday, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, was in Lagos for a stakeholders’ forum organised by the Nigerian Automotive Industry to set an agenda for the automotive industry, which took place at Oriental Hotel.

    “We were invited to this stakeholders’ meeting because we are the managers of the National Automotive Council (NAC) Fund, which was the first fund BoI started managing. BoI in its own right is one of the vital stakeholders of the automotive industry. So that was why BoI was invited and I had to attend and that was where I was when officials of the EFCC visited our office. I did not know that they were coming; there was no tip-off. I am a responsible Nigerian; if I am invited, I will definitely honour the invitation .

    ”I went to the EFCC office on Tuesday and they asked me questions and I also wrote statements. The management of BoI is in continuum. I was not the Managing Director in 2010 and I was not the line Executive Director when all those transactions took place; the EFCC told me that they received a petition from the CTIN regarding the fund.”

    Olagungu said the EFCC operatives showed him the petition and asked him what he knew about the matter.

    “I told them all these matters had been resolved with Aliko Dangote and CTIN. When I assumed office as Acting Managing Director, one of my priorities was to look into our partnerships within and outside the country and I was briefed about issues regarding the CTIN and also heard that the CTIN was not happy with BoI and I said  it was regrettable. But I said that should not happen between BoI and Dangote because they are also our partner,” Olagunju said

    He said the parties to the transaction have addressed the issues raised with the new terms reached on how to manage the funds which have grown from N9 billion in 2011 to N13. 2billion, pointing out that BoI was appointed in 2009 to manage the fund that accrued from levies on imported cement for the development of the cement industry.

    Olagunju said when the funds were released, BoI granted loans to entrepreneurs in the cement value chain, adding that between 2011 and 2015, the Federal Government transferred N9.6 billion to BoI based on the earlier scheme as approved by the Federal Executive Council.

    He said when the CTIN was  established, BoI was in 2013 asked to transfer the fund to the CTIN’s account with a private commercial bank. A directive that was not carried out by the then management of the bank. In late last year, the CTIN petitioned the Presidency, following which a probe panel set up.

    “However, BoI management had since resolved the matter amicably with CTIN since late February 2016, during which it was agreed that an interest rate of eight per cent should be applied to the fund retroactively to previous releases based on which the fund grew to N12.3 billion as at December 2015,” he said.

  • BoI, Abia float N1b scheme for SMEs

    BoI, Abia float N1b scheme for SMEs

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Abia State government have signed  a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to inject N1 billion into the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector of the state.

    The fund will be made available to deserving entrepreneurs in the state to boost their value addition processes, expand their production  and make more jobs available.

    During the signing  at the Government House Umuahia, BoI’s Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Waheed Olagunju explained that the fund would be contributed by the bank and the state for lending to entrepreneurs in the state, particularly those who are engaged in value addition and processing.

    “What we are trying to do now is to accentuate the industrialisation of Abia State particularly in the SME sector vertically and horizontally, to increase the level of entrepreneurship in the state with its attendant multiplier effects.

    “We need to add value to our products rather than exporting them in their crude form to countries where they are processed and sent back to us with more value and we pay heavily for that and the per capita incomes of those countries get much higher than we have here, and the quality of life and living standards are also much higher than we have here.’’

    According to Olagunju, what separates the rich and the poor countries is the level of industrialisation. He said it is not by accident that rich countries are described as industrialised nations  and the poor countries as less industrialised.

    “By our estimation in the BoI, through every N1billion we lend, we are able to generate close to 10,000 jobs. And as resources permit we can also increase the pool of funds, this is just a framework that we intend to start with,” he added.

    Olagunju noted that with the right capacity building, prospective beneficiaries stood a better chance of making best use of the assistance given to them, which will enhance their potential and also enable them to honour their repayment obligations.

    He announced that the bank was would open a branch office in Umuahia to enable it bring its services closer to entrepreneurs in the state.

    Also, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu while appreciating the Federal Government’s renewed effort to  boost the economy through other vital sectors apart from oil, stressed that “this is the time to use the opportunities that are available to us.”

    He said the government is resting on five pillars of development and first of these pillars is the development of small and medium scale enterprises, having identified from inception that Abians were very resilient, tough and ingenious entrepreneurs.

    Said he: “We also discovered a cultural hedge in the way our people do business which has prevented them from competing globally and that is the non-automation of production processes.

    “With automated production lines we can be sure of consistent quality, time of delivery and consistency in design.

    “We want to see how we can intervene by assisting them in procuring needed equipment, training and re-training and also help them in accessing markets and gaining exposure beyond Nigeria.”

    “I want to assure you that every person that will benefit from the facility will give a good account of it and will be willing to pay back. The orientation is that this is the time to move forward and the economy of the nation and our state depends on their ability to seize this moment and run with it.

    “I want to assure the Bank of Industry that our government will cooperate with you, do everything possible to see that you succeed in setting up an office here in the state.

    “I’m one of the few that believes that Nigeria will rise from this low ebb and become stronger, become better, such that we can tell the story of what happened as the nudge we needed to rise from our slumber.

    Governor Ikpeazu noted that time has also come for Nigerians to take pride in what they produce because – “anything that is good enough for Nigerians should also be good for citizens of other countries.

    “The greatest enemy of made in Nigeria products are Nigerians themselves and we need to change our orientation and discipline our appetite for foreign products. This is the time to tell the world who we are from our own perspective.”

     

  • BoI begins N140b scheme

    BoI begins N140b scheme

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) has started implementing the N140billion Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) Fund, which is part of the N500billion social intervention package.

    Under GEEP, BoI would be responsible for identifying and disbursing soft loans to 1.6 million beneficiaries nationwide, comprising market women, youths, artisans and farmers. Based on BoI’s impressive antecedents in the management of intervention funds, the Federal Government is confident that the bank would similarly implement GEEP successfully.

    The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelemah, who spoke during the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of BoI in Abuja, urged the bank to brace up for increased responsibilities in the nation’s economy.

    “The bank disbursed N83.5 billion to over 700 enterprises that generated almost 400,000 direct and indirect jobs during its 2015 financial year, he said, pointing out that it also posted a profit before tax of N11.947 billion.

    Enelamah challenged BoI to intensify efforts at mobilising suitable financial and non-financial resources from within and outside Nigeria, as he put it, “for the transformation of Nigeria’s industrial sector in accordance with the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) that emphasises processing and adding value to Nigeria’s vast agricultural, solid minerals and petroleum resources amongst other areas of our resource endowments and comparative advantage.

    “As one of Africa’s leading policy based development finance institutions (DFI), the Bank of Industry will continue to play active roles in Nigeria’s economic development. This is sequel to the recent signing into law of the 2016 National Budget.”

    The Acting Managing Director BoI, Waheed Olagunju assured that the bank will continue to rev up its operations in support of government’s policies and programmes as well as those of state governments that are BoI’s development partners.

    In order to deepen the bank’s credit delivery process and financial inclusion initiatives, the bank would similarly strengthen its collaboration with its foreign and domestic partners including community-based organisations.

  • BoI wins LCCI laurels for intervention fund

    BoI wins LCCI laurels for intervention fund

    •Applauded by filmmakers on review of NollyFund

    Bank of Industry (BoI) has won the award for Best Industry Support through Intervention Funds at the 2016 LCCI Commerce and Industry Awards organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

    The annual LCCI Awards recognises and promotes deserving corporate organisations and institutions in both the public and private sectors who have exhibited the core values of best business practices, good corporate governance, sustainability, and contribution to the development of commerce and industry in different sectors of the Nigerian economy.

    Among many feats attained by BoI in this regard includes project NollyFund, a creative non-oil sector scheme that has, so far, produced five films, including KunleAfolayan’s much publicized The CEO; The Three Wise Men by Opa Williams; Amina by OkeyOgunjiofor and Anyama by EmemIsong.

    This is aside the bank’s current successful intervention is the N10 billion Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) Programme that is designed to address youth unemployment in Nigeria. The scheme has earned the bank considerable accolades both domestically and internationally. Within six weeks of the online business ideas completion, almost 40,000 entries were received, with at least 10,000 beneficiaries expected to emerge within the first year of the Programme.

    Meanwhile, filmmakers have been pouring encomiums on the bank over a recent favourable review of the terms of the NollyFund loan.

    “We are happy to confirm that BOI Nollyfund Product has been further reviewed:

    1) Advisory Fee of N2Million has been waived. 2) Deposit of N2Million by Distribution Companies has been waived. 3) Interest rate is 10% p.a. We shall continue to work with stakeholders to build an amiable industry in Nigeria. Thank you all for the support and feedback,” announced Mrs. UcheNwuka, Head of the Creative Desk at BoI.

    An industry stakeholder and Special Adviser to former Director General of National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), Mr. Emeka Mba, Mr. Obiora Chukumba, says of the development: “Good step @ Uche. Anything and everything necessary to stimulate greater interest of practitioners and investors in creating bankable businesses in Nollywood is always a win-win.”

    For Alex Eyengho, President of Association of Nollywood Core Producers (ANCOP), who had harped on the need for such favourable review, it is “Thanks to the BoI team (Mrs. Uche, Mr. OkeyMadu et al) for being a listening and responsive partner in progress.”

    Also thanking BOI, Mr. OsezuahImobhio, president of Independent Television Practitioners of Nigeria (ITPAN) said; “On behalf of our members (ITPAN) I must say a big thank you to BoI, Uche and her amiable team for working effortlessly towards making things much better for the independent producers. More grease to your elbow.”

    Giving more cheerful news, Nwukasaid BOI is already working on a single digit proposal of between one and nine percent interest rate.

    “This is the best news by far of today! God keep you as you are doing the best for the industry…cheers to you and the team @BOI!” said another filmmaker, Justin Morgan, on Tuesday.

  • BoI restates commitment to youth empowerment

    Capacity building is a potent tool for business development, Bank of Industry (BoI) Acting Managing Director Mr Waheed Olagunju has said.

    Declaring open the Ife Youths Economic Summit at Ile Ife, Osun State, Olagunju restated the bank’s readiness to help youths become successful business owners.

    The summit was co-sponsored by the Ooni of Ile-Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi and Senator Babajide Omoworare.

    Speaking on the theme: “IFEPRENEURSHIP : Building Entrepreneurship Competency and Self-Reliance Among Ife Youths,” he advised youths to be empowered in capacity before venturing into business.

    Olagunju urged participants at the summit not to see whatever financial benefit in terms of loans, grants or financial assistance by individual or corporate organisations extended to them as national cake meant to be enjoyed and squandered, but that such grants should be utilised to build a solid, endurable and sustainable investment.

    Giving tips on how to set up successful business, Olagunju said rather than seek capital before capacity, capacity should come first to forestall loss of resources.

  • 40,000 apply for BoI’s 10,000 ‘YES’ scheme

    40,000 apply for BoI’s 10,000 ‘YES’ scheme

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) received 40,000 applications  for its 10,000 Youth Entrepreneurship Support Programme (YES-Programme), Industry, Trade and Investment Minister Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah has said. The applications exceeded the 10,000 target by 300 per cent.

    BoI introduced the YES-Programme with N10 billion last March as part of the Federal Government’s job and wealth creation programmes aimed at addressing unemployment.

    Enelamah, who spoke at a forum in Lagos, said the development showed the youth’s desire to work.

    He said the Federal Government might have found the panacea to  youth unemployment. The minister assured youths of the government’s commitment to its financial inclusion programme, promising that it would assist BoI to  implement the YES-Programme.

    BoI Acting Managing Director Mr. Waheed Olagunju said the bank realised that youths have demonstrated their desire to contribute to economic development. He said the bank received 13,272 online applications as at April 1, 2016 – two weeks after the scheme was launched – which is in excess of the 10,000 applications that were projected to be filed in six weeks.

    He said the geo-political analysis of the applicants was an indication of the wide acceptance of YES among youths. Olagunju noted that the Northeast is leading with 1,300 applicants, followed by Southwest with 1,150 and North Central with 663.

    According to him, considering the enthusiastic response to the scheme, the bank and its 11 partnering enterprise development institutions are taking proactive steps to increase the number of applicants that would attend the five-day capacity building sessions at eight centres in the six geo-political zones.

    He added that the fund size would also be increased to meet the increasing number of applicants that could potentially be transformed into successful entrepreneurs in the required critical mass and ultimately employers of labour.

  • BoI plans capacity building for ex-militants

    BoI plans capacity building for ex-militants

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Office of the Presidential Amnesty Programme for the Niger Delta are to provide capacity and funding support for ex-militants.

    The deal is being struck by the two agencies of the Federal Government  to wind down the amnesty programme by 2018.

    Speaking during the meeting, which took place at the head office of BoI in Abuja, the Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme for the Niger Delta, Brig-Gen. Paul Boro (rtd), said the programme office would need the support of the development finance institution on capacity building to enable the ex-militants channel their energies into productive ventures.

    Boro, who is also the Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta, noted that apart from the provision of adequate funding support, the ex-militants require training in various Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) value chain.

    He noted that he needed to draw up a two-year exit plan for the ex-agitators to enable them acquire relevant skills that would enable them contribute their own quota to the economic development of the country.

    He explained that 5, 000 ex-militants would exit the programme in each quarter for the next two years after receiving requisite capacity building and skills acquisition trainings.

    BoI Acting Managing Director, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, noted that the bank had drawn up specific programmes targeted towards harnessing the potential of the youths to enable them provide employment, not only for themselves, but also for others.

    He, however, argued that various researches had indicated that contrary to some widely held views, capacity, not inadequate capital, is actually the problem of small business operators in Nigeria.

    To increase access to loans, particularly for the youth, Waheed said  the bank had adjusted its risk acceptance criteria, moving it away from provision of collateral to having officials, either from the private or public sector who is not below level 12 standing as surety in case of default.

    He said it is in the bank’s interest to provide capacity for not only the youths in the restive Niger Delta, but also in the entire nation.

    “And BoI has been in the vanguard of that through its youth centred initiatives such as Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF) designed for serving members of the National Youth Service Corps, in partnership with the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) scheme and Vocational Skills Competition programme,” Waheed said.

  • Fed Govt urges BoI to increase lending to agric sector

    Fed Govt urges BoI to increase lending to agric sector

    The Federal Government has called on the Bank of Industry (BOI) to increase its lending rate to the agricultural sector. This is part of its strategies to accelerate the diversification process of the nation’s economic base.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe, made this call during  a visit by the management team of BoI led by the bank’s Acting Managing Director,  Waheed Olagunju in Abuja. He said there is urgent need to boost productivity along the agricultural value chain, particularly with the attention of the current administration focusing on diversifying the economy away from oil.

    Ogbe said: “There is a lot of disenchantment in the country as a result of the huge level of unemployment. I commend the management of the bank for its zeal in the development of the financial institution.

    “I will like to request your bank to see what you can do to assist us in financing young people in agro processing business. Young people are finding it difficult to access loans. If we want young people to live and achieve their aspiration, we need to do what we can to shift the focus by creating a platform for them to access loan and become entrepreneurs.

    “The degree of frustration and disenchantment among the youth is very high and it’s time we did something to make funding available for businesses. Government would put in place adequate mechanism as well as the needed support to ensure that the loans are repaid by borrowers.

    “To achieve this, the ministry is planning to build an agro-processing park for young people, which will assist in reducing some of their operating costs. We are also trying to move industries to the villages so that people don’t have to migrate into the big cities for  jobs.”

    Responding, Olagunju said the request by the minister was in line with the objective of the bank in reducing the level of poverty and unemployment in the country.