The Bank of Industry has set a target of creating and sustaining three million jobs and increasing its annual lending to N1.85tn by 2027, while extending financing to 24,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
The Managing Director of BOI, Olasupo Olusi, disclosed this on Thursday, October 22, 2026, during an engagement with media executives in Lagos, where he outlined the bank’s lending, employment and business financing targets.
The targets are part of BOI’s 2025–2027 corporate strategy, which aims to double its loan portfolio, disbursements and development impact, with priority given to manufacturing, agriculture, local healthcare, climate-friendly businesses and technology-driven enterprises.
Olusi said the strategy is built around six thematic areas, with 2025 designated as the foundation year, 2026 focused on implementation and expansion, and 2027 set aside for consolidating the gains.
Olusi said the bank would focus on financing sectors with the capacity to boost domestic production, reduce reliance on imports and create sustainable employment opportunities.
“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.
“This is so that Nigeria is able to provide more of the stuff of the food that it consumes and of medicines, all the relevant key materials.”
He disclosed that BOI disbursed N625bn in 2025, reaching 12,501 businesses and supporting the creation and sustenance of 1.6 million jobs.
He added that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises accounted for more than 31 per cent of the bank’s funding in 2025, while about N120bn was disbursed to women-owned businesses.
To expand access to finance, BOI plans to allocate 35 per cent of its funding to MSMEs and 15 per cent to women-owned businesses, while reserving 20 per cent of MSME financing for youth-led enterprises.
The bank also plans to commit at least 10 per cent of its loan portfolio to climate-related investments and leverage the $617.7m Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises programme to support technology and creative businesses.
“Our mission is very simple. We have to finance what Nigeria makes,” Olusi said.
