The Bank of Industry recently announced a 2021 performance that showed its strength and resilience despite the difficulties generated by fall in crude oil prices and the general dwindling nature of business in the Nation.
The Bank of Industry Group in May 2022 reported a profit before tax (PAT) of N62.28 billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2021, 75 per cent higher than the N35.54 billion it posted the previous year.
This was contained in the Group’s summary financial information released in the week. Discounted for tax, the profit for the year under review comes to N53.41 billion, compared to N31.59 billion in 2020.
Also consistent with its growth trajectory, the Group grew its total equity to ₦384.84 billion for the year, which is much higher than ₦336.48 billion recorded in 2020.
However, its total assets dropped slightly to ₦1.71 trillion.
The Group comprises the Bank of Industry and its subsidiary companies.
The Bank made a PAT profit of N52.6 billion in 2021, compared to N30.9 billion in 2020.
The Managing Director, Bank of industry, Olukayode Pitan, has been a major source of inspiration to the entire workforce of the Financial institution.
A visionary leader, he once said in realization of the critical role of technology in development, the bank, through its Corporate Social Responsibility, proactively supported the establishment of 10 technology hubs so far in six states across the country.
He has many times reiterated the bank’s commitment to making available all its financing products and services to bankable projects that emanate from builders in the tech hub.
In every hitch, Pitan sees an opportunity. With his wide lens of opportunities he penetrates into the environment and sees why and where to provide a conducive atmosphere for young professionals through innovative hubs and business loans. Not just this, the Bank ably led by Pitan builds businesses up, incubates them, collaborates and scales up, such that such businesses will become employers of labour as well as contributors to national development.
Establishing high-impact tech entrepreneurship as a sustainable source of employment is critical for nations with young populations, such as Nigeria with over 70 per cent of its population below 35 years, adding that there is the need for new sources of job creation.
Not just that, the Bank’s strategic partnerships and unwavering support for enterprises throughout the country have been pivotal to its long-term success. The Federal Government of Nigeria’s (FGN’s) social-intervention programme—Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP)—that targets market women and artisans, amongst others, are good examples. BOI was the implementing agent. This programme supported 2.9 million microenterprises, a significant portion of these beneficiaries are women.Other projects executed on behalf of the federal government include N-Power, which supports youth entrepreneurs, and the MSME Survival Fund, which was introduced in response to the hardships experienced by businesses at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The scheme was created as a component of the National Social Investment Program to provide a structure for large-scale and relevant work-skills acquisition and development and ensure that each participant will learn and practice most of what is necessary to find or create work. N-Power has already provided funding worth ₦29.9 billion and has supported a total of 500,000 youths to date, while the MSME Survival fund has disbursed ₦65.2 billion to 1,189,088 beneficiaries.Obviously, the Bank of Industry (BOI), is fully committed to transforming Nigeria’s industrial sector by providing financial assistance to enterprises of all sizes. Its business model cuts across micro, small, medium and large business segments, and it leverages on both direct and indirect lending models to support these business groups in a bid to spread our reach.
For large enterprises and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises), the bank leverages its head and corporate offices in Lagos and Abuja, respectively, as well as 30 offices in 29 states across the country. This is supplemented by its on-lending partnerships with various commercial and microfinance banks, as they have a large footprint and enable us to spread our reach even wider.
Microenterprises, on the other hand, are served indirectly through microfinance banks and other non-banking financial institutions, as these institutions have the necessary platforms to access and adequately manage these types of customers.
The Olukayode Pitan led-Bank has consistently demonstrated resilience in the face of macro-economic headwinds and recorded remarkable growth even in face of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bank’s traditional commitment to growing local industries got a boost as loans and advances to its numerous customers rose from N748.9 billion in 2020 to N779.29 billion in 2021.
The increased support for industries in 2021 was consistent with its mandate to transform Nigeria’s industrial sector by providing long-term financing and counter-cyclical loans to various industries such as agro-processing, gender businesses and renewable energy among others.
In the five years up to 2021, BOI promoted financial inclusion by supporting the expansion of over three million enterprises, thereby creating over seven million jobs.
To expand its capital base to meet the needs of its customers, and contribute to the economic growth of Nigeria, the bank made successful forays into the international market and raised about $3.8bn in the last 4 years.
This includes a $750mn syndicated medium-term loan in 2018 (fully paid); a €1bn syndicated loan in March 2020; a $1bn syndicated loan in December 2020; and in addition, a €750mn Senior Eurobond (the first by any African national DFI) in February 2022.
Investor confidence in BOI is reflected in its balance sheet which has more than doubled since 2017, growing significantly from N713 billion to about N1.7 trillion as at December 2021.
BOI’s performance is reflected in its favorable credit ratings from global rating agencies. Recently, Fitch Ratings upgraded the bank’s National Long-Term Rating to ‘AAA (nga)’ from ‘AA+ (nga)’ and affirmed the bank’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B’ with a Stable Outlook.
To bridge the gap in technology development, the Bank of Industry (BOI) in partnership with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), commissioned a multi-million-naira technology innovation hub domiciled at the facility of ICAN in Ebute Metta, Lagos.
The project, tagged, as ‘lCAN-BOI technology innovation hub’, consists of 250 co-working spaces, meeting rooms and private offices, high breed areas for organising competitions, provision for all fibre networks and IT equipment, power supply and all staffing required to make the tech-hub function optimally.
The project also provides facilities to innovate, debate, ideate, incubate and scale up new ideas and businesses that will create new jobs and deliver greater economic benefits to the country.
The hub would no doubt help the institute, its members and the participating public to leverage the growing community of tech and innovation talent for delivering new accounting and business-related digital products and services to Nigerians, and possibly the world at large.
Interestingly, some of the primary objectives of establishing the hub are to train members and the public in the areas of software development, digital skills and entrepreneurial skills, incubate start-ups, refer start-ups to potential angel investors, and venture capitalists, build a network of trained tech-preneurs and mentor start-ups into sustainable and successful companies.
The commissioning of the hub is a further manifestation of BOI’s resolve to continue to produce future-ready professionals who apply technology in providing top-notch services to the public.
The hub would also benefit the public and serve as a platform for crystallising digital ideas into marketable products, especially for the teeming young population.
The hubs include the lCAN-BOI innovation hub, Unilag innovation hub, Unilag innovation centre, the Ajah BOI innovation centre, one in Kaduna, Bayelsa, Kebbi, the Obafemi Awolowo University, Osun State University and others.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the editorial team of TheScript Newspaper
