BOI, AFD Sign $30 Million Credit Facility to Support Nigeria’s Creative Industries

The Bank of Industry (BOI) and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD)have signed a $30 million credit facility to support Nigeria’s creative and cultural industries. The agreement was signed at a ceremony in Abuja attended by BOI Managing Director, Dr Olasupo Olusi, and AFD Group Chief Executive Officer, Christophe Lecourtier.

The facility expands the institutions’ existing partnership into a sector that includes music, film, fashion, design and gaming. Olusi described the agreement as an important step in extending cooperation between the two institutions to an industry with significant potential for job creation, youth inclusion and economic diversification.

He said Nigeria’s creative sector could provide employment opportunities for young people and contribute to the Federal Government’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

He also identified limited access to affordable financing as a major challenge for creative businesses, adding that the facility would help address the funding gap, with priority for women-led and youth-led enterprises and businesses often excluded from conventional financing.

Lecourtier described BOI as AFD’s leading development banking partner in Nigeria and its largest partner for non-sovereign loans. He cited their previous collaboration under the Transforming Financial Systems for Climate (TFSC) programme, which included a credit line of more than €100 million for climate-related financing.

He also highlighted Nigeria’s growing international influence in music and film, expressing confidence that support for the creative sector could encourage further international partnerships. According to Lecourtier, discussions are already underway on a subsequent credit line aligned with Nigeria’s changing development priorities.