The Financial institution of Business has reaffirmed its unwavering dedication to empowering Nigerian artisans and technicians, describing them because the spine of inclusive financial progress and the way forward for the nation’s industrial growth.
Talking on the Nigerian Artisans Management Summit 2025, Olasupo Olusi, Managing Director, BOI, mentioned the financial institution views Nigeria’s over 12 million artisans as key drivers of grassroots enterprise and nationwide transformation.
The occasion themed, “Unlocking the Inherent Potential of Nigerian Artisans and Technicians” introduced collectively leaders of the artisan neighborhood, growth companions, authorities representatives, and stakeholders to highlight the challenges confronted by craftsmen, whereas additionally charting a brand new course for his or her empowerment and integration into the formal economic system.
Represented by Mabel Ndagi, Government Director, Public Sector and Intervention Programmes, the BOI boss mentioned the theme goes to the guts of inclusive growth.
He famous additional that the theme speaks to a imaginative and prescient of Nigeria the place expertise just isn’t wasted as a consequence of lack of assist, the place enterprise just isn’t stifled by lack of entry, and the place casual expertise will not be excluded from formal alternatives.
In keeping with BOI MD, the challenges confronted by artisans resembling restricted entry to inexpensive finance, lack of analysis and growth, outdated gear, insufficient coaching, poor enterprise constructions, and minimal export participation require pressing and structured intervention.
To handle these systemic points, he defined that the financial institution is anchoring its 2025–2027 Company Technique on six thematic pillars.
These embrace strengthening Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, selling youth empowerment and expertise growth, increasing alternatives inside the digital economic system, advancing local weather resilience and sustainability initiatives, investing in important infrastructure, and making certain gender inclusion throughout all interventions.
“These focus areas will not be simply bureaucratic classes, they’re lenses by which we’re reimagining assist for artisans and grassroots entrepreneurs,” Olusi famous.
He underscored BOI’s mission to supply each monetary and advisory assist to Nigerian enterprises that maintain native economies and catalyze nationwide progress.
“Our imaginative and prescient as a growth finance establishment is to remodel Nigeria’s industrial panorama by empowering the enterprises that energy this nation. On the coronary heart of this imaginative and prescient are artisans and grassroots entrepreneurs such as you,” he acknowledged.
The BOI Boss reminded the artisans that growth can’t be outsourced or imported, including that, “It should be constructed by hand, by talent, by ardour, and by function. That’s what artisans symbolize. That’s what BOI helps. That’s the future we should form collectively,”
