The Bank of Industry (BOI) will deploy €60 million from an €85 million financing facility provided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to accelerate value addition across Nigeria’s cocoa and dairy industries, with investments targeted at local processing, ingredient production and chocolate manufacturing.
The funding forms part of an EIB-BOI partnership backed by the European Union’s Global Gateway initiative and is designed to strengthen Nigeria’s agro-processing sector by expanding local manufacturing, supporting farmers and increasing export competitiveness.
The financing commitment was announced during the Africa Cocoa Summit in Abuja, where African cocoa-producing countries agreed to deepen regional collaboration on value addition and industrial development, Brandspur Banking News Desk reports. About 70 per cent of the €85 million facility will be directed towards Nigeria’s cocoa and dairy sectors, reflecting their potential to generate employment, boost foreign exchange earnings and stimulate inclusive economic growth.
BOI said the programme will prioritise financing for cocoa processors, cooperatives and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises engaged in local value addition rather than businesses focused solely on exporting raw agricultural commodities.
The development finance institution also plans to complement lending with technical assistance that will help beneficiaries comply with international environmental, sustainability and export standards, including the European Union Deforestation Regulation, improving access to global markets.
According to the bank, the initiative will support the entire cocoa value chain, covering seedling production, farmer cooperatives, processing plants, ingredient manufacturing, packaging operations and chocolate production.
The funding announcement coincided with renewed calls by the Federal Government for African cocoa-producing nations to shift from exporting raw cocoa beans to developing competitive processing industries capable of capturing a larger share of the global chocolate market.
President Bola Tinubu reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to expanding domestic cocoa processing, increasing chocolate manufacturing capacity and developing globally competitive indigenous brands as part of the country’s industrialisation agenda.
The President also highlighted ongoing private sector investments, including a planned 70,000-tonne cocoa processing facility in Ogun State, while noting that Nigeria’s cocoa grinding capacity has already exceeded 120,000 tonnes annually.
During the summit, Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon signed the Abuja Declaration establishing the Cocoa Value Addition Alliance, a regional platform aimed at strengthening cooperation among countries that collectively account for about three-quarters of global cocoa production while promoting greater local processing and higher-value exports.
Federal officials said the initiative aligns with Nigeria’s ambition of building a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030 through increased manufacturing, stronger regional trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area and greater participation in global agricultural value chains.
