BoI to Invest 70% of €85m EIB Facility in Nigeria's Cocoa, Dairy Value Chains

The Bank of Industry (BoI) has announced plans to channel 70 per cent of an €85 million financing package secured from the European Investment Bank (EIB) into Nigeria's cocoa and dairy value chains, as part of efforts to deepen local processing, industrialisation and value addition.

The development finance institution said the funding will support investments across cocoa processing, ingredient production, chocolate manufacturing and dairy value addition, helping Nigeria move beyond the export of raw agricultural commodities.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BoI, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, disclosed the initiative during the Africa Cocoa Summit held in Abuja on July 14. The summit, organised by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, focused on accelerating Africa's transition from exporting raw cocoa beans to producing finished products for regional and global markets.

Speaking at the summit, Olusi revealed that €60 million of the financing package is specifically earmarked for cocoa and dairy development. The funding forms part of the broader €85 million European Investment Bank–Bank of Industry facility, supported by the European Union under its Global Gateway initiative.

According to him, the financing is intended to strengthen critical segments of Nigeria's agricultural value chains by expanding processing capacity, encouraging local manufacturing and creating opportunities for businesses engaged in value-added production.

The summit, themed "From Bean to Brand," brought together government officials, development partners, investors and industry leaders from Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Cameroon to chart a new course for Africa's cocoa industry.

A major outcome of the meeting was the signing of the Abuja Declaration, through which participating countries agreed to establish the Cocoa Value Addition Alliance (CVAA), a regional platform designed to promote greater collaboration in cocoa processing, manufacturing and market development.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented at the event by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, urged African cocoa-producing nations to break away from decades of dependence on exporting raw cocoa beans.

The President said the continent must focus on processing its cocoa locally, building globally competitive brands and capturing a greater share of the multibillion-dollar global chocolate industry.

He stressed that increasing domestic value addition would generate more employment, attract investment, strengthen manufacturing capacity and improve export earnings across cocoa-producing countries.

The Bank of Industry said its latest financing initiative aligns with Nigeria's broader industrialisation agenda by supporting businesses capable of transforming agricultural commodities into higher-value products for domestic consumption and export.

Industry stakeholders believe that expanding local cocoa processing could significantly increase Nigeria's earnings from the global cocoa value chain, while reducing the country's reliance on exports of unprocessed raw materials and positioning it as a stronger player in Africa's manufacturing and agro-processing sectors.