The Bank of Industry (BOI) has secured a $200 million sovereign-guaranteed thematic financing facility from the African Development Bank Group for onward lending to enterprises in the industrial sector of the economy including infrastructure and transport, agro-food processing and health.

The facility will also support climate-resilient and low-carbon investments, including renewable energy, energy-efficient industrial processes, climate-smart agriculture, and sustainable infrastructure solutions.

These investments are expected to improve productivity, promote local manufacturing, strengthen healthcare and pharmaceutical value chains, and reduce dependence on imports.

The package is strengthened by a $650,000 technical assistance grant from the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA) to boost SME capacity, improve environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, support climate-smart initiatives, and enhance BOI’s impact measurement systems.

Dr. Abdul Kamara, Director General of the African Development Bank Group Nigeria Country Department, said the approval demonstrates the Bank’s continued commitment to supporting Nigeria’s private sector and industrial growth ambitions.

Reacting, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry, said: “BOI is pleased to deepen its long-standing partnership with the African Development Bank through this landmark facility, building on the successful collaboration under the bank’s previous $100 million line to BOI, which was fully repaid in 2025.

This new facility will further strengthen our capacity to provide long-term financing to enterprises operating in sectors critical to Nigeria’s economic transformation.

•Aliko Dangote

President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has announced a significant increase in the Group’s investment in Ethiopia, rising from $2.5 billion to over $4 billion.

“This makes Ethiopia the second-largest recipient of our investments in Africa, accounting for nearly nine percent of our continental outlay between now and 2030,” said Dangote, describing Ethiopia as a key strategic destination for Dangote Group’s long-term investments.

The expanded scope includes critical infrastructure such as a 110-kilometre pipeline, a 120MW power plant, a polypropylene packaging facility, and a two-million-tonne NPK blending plant, among other new components.

Dangote stated this while addressing journalists in Gode, Ethiopia’s Somali region, during a high-profile visit hosted by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, a statement by Dangote Group said.

According to the statement, the prime minister personally received Dangote and accompanied him to inspect the site of the proposed fertiliser plant, where construction activities are already underway.

Speaking on the strategic importance of fertiliser in agricultural productivity, Dangote noted that Africa’s food insecurity challenges were largely due to limited access to key inputs.

“Africa holds immense agricultural potential, yet continues to grapple with food insecurity due to limited access to fertiliser.

Through our investments, we are committed to reversing this trend by boosting productivity, empowering farmers, and advancing a sustainable path to food self-sufficiency”, he said.

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has approved the investment of pension assets in the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, opening the door for pension fund administrators (PFAs) to participate in one of Africa’s biggest industrial projects.

The decision effectively grants PFAs access to part of Nigeria’s N29.5 trillion pension assets for investment in the refinery, marking it one of the most significant regulatory adjustments in the pension industry in recent years.

PenCom, in a circular displayed on its website, described the approval as a “specific and singular exception” to existing investment regulations because of the refinery’s strategic importance to the Nigerian economy.

Under current pension investment guidelines, PFAs are generally prohibited from investing contributors’ funds in companies without a proven history of profitability and dividend payments.

However, the commission said the refinery’s scale, financial structure and expected economic impact justified the waiver.