Bank of Industry

Managing Director/CEO Olasupo Olusi leads the executive management team and reports to a board chaired by the Central Bank governor. Loan decisions follow a tiered approval process, with larger transactions requiring board-level clearance. Olusi, a former World Bank senior financial sector specialist, took substantive leadership in October 2023 after serving as acting MD.

Deal flow arrives through three main channels: direct applications from large industrial enterprises, partnerships with 13 commercial banks that serve as on-lending intermediaries for SME loans, and government-directed intervention programs. BOI also operates 31 state offices that actively identify and develop projects in underserved regions.

BOI primarily provides long-term debt at single-digit interest rates, significantly below Nigeria's commercial lending rates. Through its subsidiary BOI Investment and Trust Company, the bank manages a portfolio of equity stakes in enterprises that have graduated from its loan programs, typically taking minority positions to support growth without seeking control.

The bank's published priority sectors are agro-processing, solid minerals, manufacturing, and renewable energy. It also manages dedicated intervention funds for creative industries, youth entrepreneurship, and women-owned enterprises. BOI does not lend to primary agriculture, retail trade, or unregistered informal businesses.

BOI's capital base comes from the Federal Government of Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and retained earnings. The bank also borrows from multilateral institutions like the African Development Bank and European DFIs, and issues commercial bonds in the domestic capital market. It most recently announced plans for a N50 billion recapitalization to meet new regulatory requirements.

BOI does not take customer deposits, does not offer current or savings accounts, and does not engage in short-term trade finance. Its sole mandate is providing patient, long-term capital for industrial expansion at interest rates commercial banks cannot match. The bank also administers government economic intervention funds that commercial lenders disburse but do not design.

BOI's lending activity is exclusively domestic, covering all 36 Nigerian states and the Federal Capital Territory. Its borrowing and partnership activities extend internationally, with active relationships with the African Development Bank, Agence Française de Développement, and China Exim Bank to mobilize co-financing for Nigerian industrial projects.