Bank of Industry Secures €60 Million for Cocoa and Dairy Enhancements
The Bank of Industry (BOI), Nigeria’s premier development finance institution, has successfully secured a €60 million loan facility from the European Investment Bank (EIB). This funding is intended to elevate Nigeria’s cocoa and dairy sectors, concentrating on processing, sourcing raw materials, and chocolate production.
BOI’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Olasupo Orsi, made this announcement during the African Cocoa Summit, organized by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in Abuja. The summit aims to transition Africa from simply exporting unprocessed goods to engaging in local processing and branding.
Titled the Cocoa Value Added Summit and themed “From Beans to Brands,” the event attracted industry leaders and stakeholders from Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Cameroon, culminating in the signing of the Abuja Declaration, which sought to establish the Cocoa Value Added Alliance (CVAA).
EIB-BOI Facility Boosts Nigeria’s Cocoa and Dairy Production
Orsi noted that the €60 million is part of a broader €85 million facility, supported by the European Union’s Global Gateway Initiative, designed to bolster critical sectors within Nigeria. Approximately 70% of this funding will be directed towards the country’s cocoa and dairy industries, which BOI identifies as having immense potential for job creation and retention of foreign exchange.
Expanding the Cocoa Value Chain
Orsi emphasized that the bank will prioritize local value-added processors, cooperatives, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). He criticized the country’s reliance on exporting raw materials, highlighting the financial losses incurred through the transport of beans and the importation of finished chocolate. The aim is to establish processing facilities within cocoa-growing communities, ensuring that value, job opportunities, and tax revenues remain in Nigeria.
Comprehensive Support Through Technical Assistance
However, Orsi pointed out that financial loans are only part of the solution. BOI plans to complement its funding with technical assistance related to compliance, climate standards, and access to European markets. The bank will aid farmers and processors in meeting EU regulations on deforestation and other critical international standards.
Highlighting BOI’s successful track record, Orsi mentioned that the institution has extended over £164 billion to more than 3,500 agri-food processing companies in 2025 alone. This has permitted financing for factories, mills, packhouses, and cold storage facilities, directly linking approximately 48,000 smallholder farmers into industrial value chains.
Investment in Domestic Cocoa Processing
At the summit, President Bola Tinubu, who represented the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, advocated for a fundamental shift away from Africa’s longstanding reliance on exporting unprocessed cocoa beans. He expressed the need for producing countries to focus on value addition in order to gain a more significant share of the global chocolate industry’s profits. Despite Africa contributing around 70% of the world’s cocoa, only 6 cents of every dollar in the global chocolate market remains within the continent.
Tinubu underlined Nigeria’s commitment to enhancing domestic cocoa processing, expanding chocolate manufacturing, and fostering indigenous brands to effectively compete on the international stage. He revealed that an investor is developing a 70,000-ton cocoa processing facility in Shagamu, Ogun State, and noted that Nigeria’s cocoa crushing capacity has already surpassed 120,000 tons annually.
Strategic Goals for Economic Growth
In alignment with the Federal Government’s vision to create a $1 trillion economy by 2030, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Jumoke Oduwole, illuminated the necessity for Nigeria to capitalize on its position within the global cocoa production landscape. Despite its prominence, the country captures only a small portion of the generated value across the cocoa value chain. She emphasized the government’s intent to promote value addition through manufacturing incentives, investment promotion, and enhanced collaboration across relevant institutions.
Establishing the Cocoa Value Added Alliance
Minister of State for Industry, John Owan Hainaut, marked the summit as a pivotal step in advancing Nigeria’s industrial policy. He announced plans to create a Cocoa Value Added Alliance, bringing together Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Cameroon, which collectively represent roughly 75% of global cocoa production. This collaborative effort aims to strengthen regional ties, promote local processing, and enable countries to retain a greater share of value from the international cocoa market.
Hainaut reiterated the need for African cocoa-producing nations to evolve beyond exporting raw beans and to invest in branded cocoa products capable of competing globally. Ghana Cocoa Board’s Chief Executive, Lunsford Abbey, supported this initiative, stressing the importance of enhancing domestic processing to increase farmers’ earnings and overall economic benefit.
Abbey noted that while Africa produces around 75% of the world’s cocoa, it captures less than 10% of the associated wealth from the chocolate industry. He urged a paradigm shift, calling for stronger regional cooperation, investment, and technology transfer to ensure that African nations optimize their advantages within the global cocoa economy.
Massimo De Luca, Head of Cooperation at the European Union’s Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, underlined the critical nature of adding value to the cocoa supply chain and urged governments to establish a suitable framework to support this initiative effectively.
