…With the 2027 deadline approaching, the Bank of Industry must show how its promises of three million jobs and increased lending are translating into measurable results.
The Bank of Industry (BOI) has set an ambitious target of creating and sustaining three million jobs and increasing annual lending to N1.85 trillion by 2027. But with its 2025–2027 corporate strategy already well underway, the critical question is how much progress the development finance institution has made towards delivering on its promises.
Olasupo Olusi, BOI Managing Director, announced the targets on Thursday, October 22, 2026, during an engagement with media executives in Lagos. He also disclosed plans to finance 24,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The targets are significant in an economy grappling with high operating costs, unemployment, limited access to affordable credit and weak domestic production. However, the announcement raises questions about implementation, measurable outcomes and the gap between ambition and delivery.
According to Olusi, 2025 was the foundation year for the strategy, 2026 the execution and expansion phase, and 2027 the year for consolidating results. Nigerians should therefore expect more than projections. They need evidence of what has been accomplished, what remains outstanding and whether BOI is on course.
Olusi disclosed that BOI disbursed N625 billion in 2025, reaching 12,501 businesses and supporting the creation and sustenance of 1.6 million jobs.
While these figures provide a starting point for assessing performance, they raise important questions. How many of the 1.6 million jobs were newly created, and how many existing jobs were sustained? How many remain active, and what proportion represents permanent employment?
These distinctions matter. Jobs supported are not necessarily new jobs, while reported employment gains do not automatically establish that financing caused them.
BOI should explain how it measures and verifies employment outcomes. Without a transparent methodology, the headline figure offers only a partial picture of its development impact.
The bank said MSMEs accounted for more than 31 per cent of its 2025 funding, while approximately N120 billion went to women-owned businesses. Further details on the number of beneficiaries, loan sizes, repayment performance and business survival rates would help establish the impact of this funding.
Ultimately, a development finance institution should be judged not simply by how much money it disburses, but by what that money enables businesses to produce and the sustainable jobs it generates.
One striking feature of BOI’s announcement is its emphasis on what the bank plans to do.
It intends to increase annual lending to N1.85 trillion, finance 24,000 MSMEs, allocate 35 per cent of funding to small businesses and 15 per cent to women-owned enterprises. It also plans to direct 20 per cent of MSME financing to youth-led businesses and dedicate at least 10 per cent of its loan portfolio to climate-related investments.
These commitments are commendable. But with the strategy approaching its final year, where are the implementation figures?
How much has BOI lent in 2026? How many MSMEs has it financed so far? What proportion of its funding has reached women-owned and youth-led businesses? How much has gone into climate-related investments?
The N1.85 trillion annual lending target is particularly ambitious. BOI disbursed N625 billion in 2025. Reaching N1.85 trillion would mean almost tripling that amount.
Such an expansion requires substantial capital mobilisation, stronger lending capacity and effective risk management. BOI should explain the milestones established to achieve this growth, the resources available and the progress recorded so far.
Without these details, the target remains an ambition rather than evidence of delivery.
Olusi said BOI would prioritise manufacturing, agriculture, local healthcare, climate-friendly businesses and technology-driven enterprises.
“We will deploy many of the resources that we need for growth in our country, in areas such as agriculture, local healthcare and manufacturing,” he said.
He added that Nigeria needed to produce more of the food it consumes, manufacture essential medicines and develop local capacity to supply critical materials.
This is a sound policy direction. Reducing import dependence requires investment in productive capacity. However, access to credit is only part of the challenge.
Manufacturers face high electricity costs, foreign exchange pressures, expensive logistics and unpredictable operating conditions. Agricultural businesses contend with insecurity, inadequate storage and poor infrastructure, while pharmaceutical manufacturers need reliable raw materials and technology.
Loans can help businesses acquire equipment and expand production, but they cannot compensate for an unfavourable operating environment. BOI should demonstrate how its financing complements broader efforts to address these structural constraints.
BOI has pursued several initiatives to improve access to finance. In 2024, the Federal Government announced plans to raise the maximum single-digit-interest loan available to MSMEs from N1 million to N5 million under its N200 billion Presidential Intervention Fund.
In October 2025, BOI launched a N2 billion entrepreneurship programme for National Youth Service Corps members, offering eligible beneficiaries loans of up to N5 million at an annual interest rate of nine per cent.
The bank is also leveraging the $617.7 million Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme to support technology and creative businesses.
Beyond domestic initiatives, BOI has pursued international funding partnerships. In July 2026, it highlighted an €85 million financing arrangement with the European Investment Bank to strengthen agricultural value chains, particularly local cocoa and dairy processing.
These initiatives offer opportunities to support businesses, but their value depends on the funding reaching beneficiaries and producing measurable results. Regular reporting should show how much has been disbursed under each programme, how many businesses have benefited and what outcomes have followed.
BOI’s ambition to finance what Nigeria produces is sound. Its focus on MSMEs, women, young entrepreneurs and climate-related investments also addresses important development priorities.
But ambition must be matched by accountability. The bank should demonstrate progress against existing commitments, explain how it will manage credit risks and show whether its interventions are generating lasting employment and stronger domestic production.
With the 2027 deadline approaching, BOI’s most important announcement is not what it hopes to achieve, but what it has already delivered, what remains outstanding and how it intends to close the gap.
