Nigeria’s Bank of
Industry has launched a N5 billion ($30.5 million) Cottage Agro Processing
(CAP) Fund which the bank’s Managing Director Rasheed Olaoluwa says will be
used to aid operators in the sector as well as assist prospective young
Nigerians who want to go into farming to establish mini mills for processing
agro products such as cassava, cashew, oil palm, rice paddy, and several
others.
The Bank
of Industry Limited (BOI) is Nigeria’s oldest and largest development financing
institution charged with providing financial assistance for the establishment
of large, medium and small projects; as well as expansion, diversification and
modernization of existing enterprises; and rehabilitation of ailing industries.
Reconstructed
in 2001 out of the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) Limited, the
BOI’s initial share capital of N50 billion ($305.3 million) was increased to
N250 billion ($1.5 billion) in order to put the bank in a better position to
address the nation’s rising economic profile in line with its mandate.
To
achieve this mandate, the BOI said it established the Cottage Agro-Processors
Fund to support the establishment of cottage agro processing plants that will
produce food products and raw materials for industries within and outside the
Staple Crop Processing Zones (SCPZs) across Nigeria.
