Nigeria’s foremost development finance institution, the Bank of Industry (BOI), has secured a €60 million credit facility from the European Investment Bank to fund Nigeria’s cocoa and dairy value-addition drive, with a focus on processing, ingredients, and chocolate manufacturing.
The Managing Director/CEO of BOI, Olasupo Olusi, disclosed this on Tuesday, during the Africa Cocoa Summit convened in Abuja by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
With the summit, the ministry aims to transition Africa from exporting raw beans to local processing and branding.
Also known as the Cocoa Value Addition Summit, with the theme ‘From Bean to Brand,’ it was attended by leaders and stakeholders from Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Cameroon, who signed the Abuja Declaration to establish the Cocoa Value Addition Alliance (CVAA).
According to Mr Olusi, the €60 million forms part of the €85 million EIB–BOI facility, backed by the European Union under the Global Gateway initiative, and designed specifically to strengthen these critical sectors in Nigeria.
