BOI, France sign £100m agreement to fight climate change in Nigeria

Nigeria’s Bank of Industry has signed a deal valued at 100 million Euros with the French Development Agency (AfD) for the expansion of green finance in Nigeria to tackle climate change.

The deal was signed by Managing Director, BoI, Mr Olukayode Pitan and Mr Xavier Muron, Country Director, AfD in Lagos, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

He stated the transaction was approved by AfD under its Transforming Financial Systems for Climate (TFSC) Programme with the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

BoI disbursed N213.63 billion to over 30,000 Nigerian enterprises in 2021

The BoI Chief said the 10-year facility is priced at 2.47% per annum with a four-year moratorium by mixing various concessional resources, adding that it would focus on financing investments that contribute to climate change mitigation or adaptation.

He said, “This is the beginning of a long-term mutually beneficial relationship and a significant step for BoI as we scale up our green-lending capacity.

The Country Director of AfD, Mr Xavier Muron, revealed that Nigeria was highly vulnerable to climate change with several regions likely to suffer from the effects of global warming. He said that Nigeria needs $400 billion which is between 6% to 13%of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).