The French Development Agency (AFD) has granted the Bank of Industry a €100 million credit line to support the growth of green finance in Nigeria.
In the past five years, the bank has collaborated with partners to secure nearly $5 billion from various international financial institutions to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision of creating a climate-smart Nigeria.
Dr. Olasupo Olusi, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Bank of Industry (BOI), hinted at this yesterday at the Joint International Chief Executive Officers (CEO) forum of the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFAP) and the Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADF), which was held in Abuja.
“We at BOI are committed to promoting this strategy to deliver on our mandate. As Nigeria’s leading Development Finance Institution (DFI), one of the primary drivers of BOI’s developmental strategy is to accelerate the country’s development through supporting environmentally friendly and sustainable projects across the key sectors of the economy,” he stated.
The forum’s subject, “DFIs’ Strategic Role Towards a Climate Smart Future,” attracted attendees from all across the world.
Dr. Doris Uzoka—Anite, Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, opened the session by stating that DFIs must mobilize and invest in climate infrastructure to address the distinct needs of each nation.
In keeping with the President’s reaffirmed hope agenda, the minister reiterated his commitment to collaborate with stakeholders to promote foreign direct investment inflows into Nigeria.
She promised that if the decisions made at the summit are properly carried out by the relevant countries, African countries will experience wealth and a climate change-friendly atmosphere.
It is no longer news that the world is experiencing the negative effects of climate change and that food and water security, human health and safety, and sustainable socioeconomic development are all at risk. This was stated earlier in a statement made by Thabo Thamane, Chairman of the AADFI and CEO of the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA), Botswana.
He said, “Reports indicate that the world economy will lose more than 10% of its current gross domestic product (GDP) by 2048 if strategic actions are not taken to combat climate change, with the least developed countries, particularly those in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, suffering the worst consequences.”
If immediate action is not taken to mitigate the effects of climate change, Africa, for example, is projected to lose five to fifteen percent of its projected GDP by 2050, with an estimated cost of $10 billion to $30 billion annually by 2030 for climate adaptation. At the same time, the countries of Asia and ASEAN are projected to lose twenty-five and thirty-seven percent of their GDPs by 2048, respectively.
