Bank of Industry (BoI) has secured a €60 million credit facility from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support Nigeria’s cocoa processing and dairy industries, as the country intensifies efforts to move beyond exporting raw agricultural commodities.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BoI, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, who announced the credit support at the Africa Cocoa Summit held in Abuja, Tuesday, explained that the €60 million forms part of a broader €85 million EIB-BoI financing package backed by the EU under its Global Gateway initiative.

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Olusi also noted that the EU facility is also intended boost the country’s efforts to move beyond exporting raw agricultural commodities.

The summit, convened by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, brought together government officials and industry stakeholders from Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon to promote local cocoa processing and value addition.

According to Olusi, the facility will finance investments across Nigeria’s cocoa and dairy value chains, with a focus on local processing, ingredient production and chocolate manufacturing.

He said the funding aligns with BoI’s commitment to supporting industrialisation, expanding local manufacturing capacity and creating jobs by increasing value addition within the agricultural sector.

The summit concluded with participating countries signing the Abuja Declaration, establishing the Cocoa Value Addition Alliance (CVAA), a regional platform aimed at reducing Africa’s dependence on raw cocoa exports and strengthening domestic processing and branding.

Earlier, President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, had urged African cocoa-producing countries to prioritise value addition and capture a greater share of the global chocolate market, saying the continent must move from exporting raw beans to producing finished products.