The Bank of Industry has said its investments in power and rural infrastructure electrified more than 100 communities and connected 11,777 new customers to electricity in 2025, highlighting the growing role of development finance in addressing Nigeria’s energy access challenges.
The development finance institution disclosed this in its 2025 Development Impact Report obtained by Sunday PUNCH on Friday. The report also showed that the bank’s interventions created and retained 1.68 million jobs, linked 47,508 smallholder farmers to processing facilities and supported thousands of businesses across key sectors of the economy.
According to the report, the power and utilities sector emerged as one of the bank’s strongest-performing areas, with eight businesses supported through interventions that accelerated rural electrification and the deployment of mini-grids.
“The Power and Utilities sector emerged as a top performer, electrifying 100 rural areas and connecting 11,777 new customers through mini-grids,” the report stated. It added that the projects promoted cleaner production practices, noting that “80 per cent adopted cleaner production and emissions control.”
Beyond power, the report highlighted BOI’s expanding role in industrialisation and economic inclusion. It stated, “Impact was felt across several high-priority sectors, each contributing uniquely to the national industrialisation target of a 25 per cent manufacturing GDP share.”
In agriculture and food processing, BOI said it linked 47,508 smallholder farmers to value chains, while supported firms recorded average revenue growth of 17.4 per cent. The agro-processing sector created 2,491 jobs, while more than 71 per cent of supported food-processing firms adopted cleaner production methods.
The report also highlighted gains in manufacturing, stating that N4.6bn was invested to modernise six manufacturing factories, resulting in capacity increases of more than 20 per cent in 63 per cent of the supported firms and supporting 6,178 jobs.
Similarly, the transport and logistics sector received N10bn in financing, creating 516 net jobs, while the pharmaceutical sector introduced nine new product lines and hired 182 women.
According to the report, BOI also mobilised €210m, about N350bn, from international funding partners in 2025, with €125m earmarked for healthcare and €85m for agriculture and food security.