FG charges BoI, other DFIs on adequate funding for emerging sectors

The federal government has charged the Bank of Industry and other Development Finance Institutions in Nigeria to provide adequate funding for the emerging sectors of the economy.

 The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite gave the charge on Thursday in Abuja at the opening session of the 4th Annual General Assembly of the Association of Nigerian Development Finance Institutions, which was attended by its chairman and MD of BoI, Olasupo Olusi.

 Speaking at the event which had the theme, “Financing emerging sectors for growth-The role of DFIs” said “Emerging sectors of the economy such as renewable energy, biotechnology,  information technology, sustainable agriculture, and culture, hold the key to unlocking the country’s economic growth as they represent the future of the global economy,”

 Quoting statistics from the World Bank, the trade and investment minister who was represented by the Chairman of BOI Shareholders Committee, Mohammed Bala said that Nigeria’s infrastructure deficits, which amounts to about 30 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product, falls short of the international benchmark of 70 per cent set by the World Bank, adding that the country has projected the  need to invest $3tn to reduce this infrastructure deficit.

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 Earlier in his address of welcome, the Managing Director of the BOI, Olasupo Olusi said DFIs globally play a significant role in ensuring sustainable socio-economic development while urging members of ANDFI to work together by combining their expertise, resources, and network to unlock transformative projects.

 He said “The government of President Bola Tinubu has taken a renewed agenda, setting the blueprint for driving Nigeria towards a trillion-dollar economy.

 “Given our mandate as DFIs, our role cannot be re-emphasised. Recently, on behalf of the globalisation program of the federal government, and particularly the associated fiscal stimulus plan, attests to the fact that DFIs in Nigeria must help to engineer the transformation we hope to see in our country in the near term,” he said.