The Nation Newspaper

Tag: BoI

  • BoI, Gombe N3b entrepreneurship scheme enters phase two

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Gombe State Government have begun the second phase of the N3 billion Gombe State Government/Bol Entrepreneurship Development Scheme.

    Speaking during the kick off of the scheme, the Managing Director of BoI, Ms Evelyn Oputu, said transparency and transformative strategy should be deployed in the disbursement of the loan.

    She praised the strict professionalism deployed by officials and the 13-man Loan Monitoring Committee in ensuring that the loans are repaid a promptly, adding that this has made the state to carve a niche for itself in fund management.

    Ms. Oputu while pledging the support of the bank to ensuring that the newly established industrial cluster gains access to renewable energy through the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), called on the Dankwambo to consider the provision of land for cotton production, saying the Bank was in talks with investors from Madagascar and Malaysia who are willing to come because the state is rich in cotton production.

    She said in line with the objective of the government to encourage the exploitation of the state’s natural resource endowment, 80 per cent of the approved loan has been committed to agribusiness, with the balance reserved for construction and asquisition of chemical products

    Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo said his administration, two years ago, took the step by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with BoI to reposition the economic fortunes of the State.

    He said the move entails the creation of a “Matching Fund” of N1 billion through a joint contribution of N500 million each by the state government and BoI to Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) engaged in value addition activities in fertiliser blending, groundnut oil processing, rice, poultry feeds, fish feeds and tomato processing.

    Others are cosmetic manufacturing, aluminum long span roofing sheet manufacturing, poultry farming, printing, metal fabrication, block/interlocking moulding, carpentry and furniture making.

    He said the fund would provide soft and affordable loans to indigenes of the state, to invest in.

     

     

     

     

     

    And as part of value addition for the budding entrepreneurs to form a synergy and produce at a cheap cost, Dankwambo disclosed that his administration has provided a site for Industrial Cluster/Enterprise Zone for groundnut oil millers and rice processors who were hitherto scattered around.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • BoI, UNDP train 115 people on renewable energy

    The United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) and the Bank of Industry(BoI) yesterday began sensitisation, training and capacity building on renewable energy products for youths, women and artisans in Ogun State.

    This followed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed early this year by the state government through the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs with UNDP and BOI.

    About 115 peoples participated in the three-day course on how to derive energy from solar, dust and wind.

    Prototypes of renewable energy products, such as cooking stoves and torchlight, among others, were on display at the workshop.

    Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs Basorun Muyiwa Oladipo said the agreement with UNDP and BoI is targeted at giving rural dwellers access to renewable energy sources and creating wealth through it.

    He said the training would empower participants to be self-employed and employers of labour.

    Oladipo said: “The scope of the partnership is to create awareness on renewable energy technology among people, train the unemployed and help potential renewable energy entrepreneurs identify the business opportunities in the sector.”

    Commissioner for Commerce and Industry Abimbola Ashiru said the workshop is pivotal to the economic growth of the state.

    Ashiru said it would ensure access to modern energy services and support micro, small and medium enterprises.

    He said: “Funds would be made available to the participants.”

  • BoI, Ogun embark on N100m projects for women

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Ogun State government, have set aside N100 million to build an agricultural packaging and processing plant to address local capacity utilisation.

    The project, tagged ‘Tomato production and processing,’ is expected to empower over 1,000 women in Ogun State.

    Managing Director of BoI, Ms. Evelyn Oputu, told wife of Ogun State governor, Mrs Olufunsho Amosun, who visited the bank’s corporate office in Lagos, that the move is in line with the bank’s empowerment programme to address the “bottom pyramid of the society,” especially those relating to the feminine gender.

    Ms. Oputu, while affirming the bank’s commitment to support Mrs Amosun in her ambition to build an agricultural packaging and processing plant, said women empowerment is vital to economic development. She said the bank introduced the policy to ensure that 85 per cent of its fund is geared towards developing SMEs, adding that the SMEs’ desk was introduced to facilitate their access to loan in key areas where such loans are most needed.

    Ms. Oputu, who noted that women have the tendency to get to higher levels when given the opportunity, stressed the need to make women empowerment prominent in the rural areas where majority of them still live in poverty.

    Mrs. Amosun, who is the project convener and the founder of Uplift Development Foundation, said her mission was to uplift and empower women of the state, especially the widows and other cadres in the state.

    She said her mission is in line with the vision of the state government to uplift agriculture and create jobs for the unemployed, especially the women and the youths.

  • BoI, FMBN, NEXIM, others assets hit N380b

    THE assets of Bank of Industry (BOI), Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM), Bank of Agriculture (BoA), and Infrastructure Bank (IB) rose by 5.8 per cent to N380.3 billion at the end of the second quarter of this year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said.

    The apex bank said paid-up share capital, deposits and loans/advances increased by 3.1, 28.7 and 25.0 per cent to N70.5 billion, N94.2 billion and N162.2 billion.

    Total shareholders’funds, however, declined by 8.1 per cent to N23.7 billion, while a profile of the asset base of the institutions indicated that BoI, FMBN, NEXIM, BoA and IB accounted for 56.6, 18.2, 12.4, 10.0, and 2.8 per cent of the total.

    With the exception of the BoI, the other DFIs were faced with dire operational challenges as evidenced in the increase in their aggregate losses from N42.6 billion at end of December 2011 to N47.1 billion at end of June 2012.

    The Federal Government has also called for the recapitalisation of the DFIs. The government had directed the CBN Governor Lamido Sanusi, and Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to meet with Minister of Trade and Investment Olusegun Aganga, to come up with modalities, which would enable it to increase the capital base of the DFIs.

    It said the move to recapitalise the bank was not to only to improve its capacity to fund the country’s industrial sector, but to also align its operational practices with international best practices.

  • Fed Govt to reduce banks lending rate

    Fed Govt to reduce banks lending rate

    The Federal Government has assured that it is bringing down lending interest rates to single digit before the end of the administration.

    The objective is to address the worsening state of industrialisation and economic growth in the country.

    The Minister of Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, gave the assurance yesterday at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Funduk Intravenous Fluids Factory at Moniya, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    Aganga, who expressed grave concern over the prohibitive cost of doing business as a result of high interest rates, said the issue was discussed at a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting some weeks ago and a decision has been taken on the need to reduce the rate of lending.

    President Goodluck Jonathan, he said, has approved the re-capitalisation of the Bank of Industry ( BoI) to boost industrial and economic development.

    He said: “The need to industrialise this country is of paramount importance to the present administration. Nigeria is a blessed nation. I see opportunity of growing the economy of this country. It is time to get our acts together.

    “We have commenced our industrial revolution plan. Our aim is to create access through affordable loan, encouraging local patronage, industrial development and innovation.

    “Our nation is richly endowed with human and material resources.This attributes are very compelling. I have been in about 29 countries, investors realise that there is great prospect in Nigeria. You can move capital and innovation but you cannot move market. Nigeria has a vast market.

    “Regardless of our challenges, Nigeria continues to attract investment. In no distant time we shall begin to reap the fruits of this effort. Only in 2002, the country had capacity for producing 2.2m metric tonnes of cement; today we have the capacity of producing more than 28m metric tonnes.”

    Governor Abiola Ajimobi in his address said the foundation laying ceremony is a milestone in the quest of our administration to industrialise the state.

    “ In Oyo State, we have coordinated ourselves to providing conducive atmosphere for industrialisation”, the governor stressed.

    He corroborated the fact that the cost of funds, security and safety are paramount, adding that no investor will come to any environment where there is no security.

    “Our attitude to productivity is very discouraging. Near my house in the morning you will see people drinking alchohol and playing draft. Most of those saying they are employed are in fact not employable. Many people don’t even have the skills to work. Many of us are traders and they trade on the streets,”he added..

  • Benue partners BOI on N1bn loan

    Benue partners BOI on N1bn loan

    Governor Gabriel Suswan of Benue State has said that the state government had entered into an agreement with Bank of Industry (BOI) to provide N1 billion loan to entrepreneurs.

    Suswan disclosed this during the Benue State Special Day at the ongoing 2012 Lagos International Trade Fair with the theme : Promoting Trade for Sustainable Economic Transformation.

    The governor was represented at the occasion by Secretary to the State Government, Dr David Salifu.

    According to him, the aim is to encourage entrepreneurship development in the state.

    “Already, the state government has made her counterpart contribution of N500 million and the N1 billion loan facilities are now ready for businesses to access,” he said.

    He said that the state government was also creating enabling environment for more investors to come to the state to do business.

    Suswan said that the state had made a mark in agriculture which gave it the appellation: “Food Basket of the Nation”.

    He said that all its agricultural products were being cultivated in commercial quantities that could sustain investments in agro allied industries in the state.

    He said that there were also large quantities of solid minerals that had not been tapped.

    The governor said that the state government was providing critical infrastructure as well as investing in Independent Power Projects.

    He said that the state government was also privatising its companies and using public-private partnerships to encourage private sector involvement in growing the potentials of the state.

  • BoI to create special funds for ICT entrepreneurs

    BoI to create special funds for ICT entrepreneurs

    THE Bank of Industry (BoI) will provide special funds for the information communication and technology entrepreneurs that meet its requirements, its Managing Director, Ms Evelyn Oputu, has said.

    Speaking in Lagos, Oputu said funding was the major problem of many operators.

    The bank, she said, did not have a special desk for ICT, despite the industry being one of the major contributors to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in recent times.

    She said: “We do not have sector specific for ICT. As situation arises, we give loans to ICT firms that have shown willingness to do business and achieve results. We take seriously every sector that has impact on the people. ICT is one of those sectors, though its yet to realise its potentials in the country.

    “At the Bank of Industry, we reject any aspect of the economy that do not impact on the country’s Gross Domestic Product. We lay emphasis on value added creations. We have a lot of schemes in the bank. That is why we are coming out with a unique way of lending to businesses. However, the funds would be given to only the serious ICT entrepreneurs who have shown a lot of commitments to his/her businesses. I wants you to be rest assured that you have a banker that would support you, may be at a single-digit rate or very close.

    She urged entrepreneurs to come out with transactions that are deserving and above- board, adding that the bank would not hesitate to finance such business owners.

    “Our responsibility is to support any transactions you are bringing, but would vet them and see whether they are qualified for loans. Once you are coming with your technology and capacity , we would give you funds to scale up your operations. What we are trying to do is to get those funds out there back to BoI, for onward lending to entrepreneurs in the ICT industry at a single-digit rate,“she added.

    She said the bank would see lend to the industry to create value propositions, and further attract foreign investments into the country.

    According to her, the decision to support ICT entrepreneurs was based on their growing contributions to the nation’s economy.