BOI, AFD Sign $30m Facility to Boost Nigeria’s Creative Economy

The Bank of Industry (BOI) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) have forged a $30 million credit facility to bolster Nigeria's creative and cultural industries. The pact was inked in Abuja by BOI's Managing Director, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, and AFD Group's Chief Executive Officer, Christophe Lecourtier. Olusi heralded the deal as a "major milestone," building on their enduring partnership and extending their collaboration into a vital growth sector of the Nigerian economy.

He underscored the immense potential of the creative sector, encompassing music, film, fashion, design, and gaming, in generating jobs, fostering youth inclusion, and diversifying the economy. According to Olusi, the agreement is in line with President Bola Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda and the federal government's objective to transform Nigeria into a $1 trillion economy.

He emphasized that the facility would prioritize women-led and youth-led businesses, as well as sectors often sidelined from financing. Lecourtier, in his address, reaffirmed BOI as AFD's top development banking partner in Nigeria and its largest non-sovereign loan provider. He reminisced about their initial collaboration, a 100 million euro credit line aimed at climate issues under the Transforming Financial Systems for Climate (TFSC) programme, and reiterated their shared strategic priorities.