Bank Of Industry to invest $6 million in businesses

According to various media reports, Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BOI) has announced that it will invest $6 million in small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The investment will be carried out through a $60 million venture capital fund being raised by Grow Africa Equity Partners Limited, according to a Daily Trust report.

The report states that the Bank of Industry (BoI) and Grow Africa Equity Partners Limited had reached an agreement to raise a $60 million venture fund for small businesses with the BOI investing $6 million to provide equity capital for SMEs.

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“Nigerian businesses cannot be built on debt alone. It has long been part of the bank’s vision to find ways to provide sorely needed equity capital and business advice to promising Nigerian businesses,” said managing director of the Bank of Industry, Rasheed Olaoluwa. “Our partnership with Grow Africa is one of the avenues for realising this vision and we remain committed to the pursuit of our core mandate of providing long-term financial support to small, medium and large companies and projects in Nigeria’s key sectors,” he added.

According to TechCabal, the BOI invested in a Lagos-based mobile payments company, SimplePay and a renewable energy provider, Arnergy Solar, a few months ago.