KEY POINTS
- BOI Managing Director Olasupo Olusi says Nigeria needs more long-term capital directed towards productive sectors and underserved businesses.
- Guest lecturer Asad Alam says the efficiency of capital, rather than capital accumulation alone, is critical to sustained economic growth.
- BOI reported N645 billion in disbursements to more than 12,000 businesses in 2025, with the financing linked to 1.68 million jobs.
MAIN STORY
The Bank of Industry (BOI) is seeking a broader approach to development finance, with its management and economic experts arguing that the volume of capital entering Nigeria’s economy must be matched by how effectively it is deployed.
The issue was at the centre of BOI’s 2026 Annual Public Lecture in Abuja on Tuesday, where the bank’s Managing Director, Dr Olasupo Olusi, said Nigeria needed long-term financing capable of reaching underserved businesses and drawing more private investment into productive sectors.
The lecture, themed “Rethinking Capital for Inclusive Economic Transformation”, examined the relationship between financing, productivity and the distribution of economic gains.
Olusi said the question was no longer simply how to mobilise capital, but how to structure and deploy it in ways that produce measurable development outcomes.
He said BOI’s financing activities illustrated the scale of demand for productive capital, noting that the bank disbursed N645 billion in 2025 to more than 12,000 businesses, with an estimated impact on 1.68 million jobs.
According to him, more capital would be required to extend financing to sectors and businesses that remain underserved and to support wider economic transformation.
The lecture’s guest speaker, Dr Asad Alam, former World Bank Director and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, approached the issue from the perspective of productivity.
Alam argued that the development challenge for poorer economies cannot be addressed simply by increasing the amount of physical capital available. As economies develop, he said, the efficiency with which capital, labour and other resources are combined becomes increasingly important.
“Global evidence shows that as countries grow, TFP becomes more important than physical capital, while human capital contribution remains modest but holds huge potential given existing gaps with high-income countries.” — Asad Alam, former World Bank Director.
Total Factor Productivity (TFP), he explained, measures how efficiently inputs such as capital, labour, land and natural resources are combined to generate output.
Alam traced the evolution of economic thinking from early development models that placed capital shortages at the centre of underdevelopment to later approaches that incorporated technology, innovation, human capital, institutions, inequality and climate change.
He said the experience of developing economies showed that capital on its own had not been sufficient to produce sustained growth, making productivity and the quality of institutions increasingly important.
Alam also linked inequality to economic performance, saying greater inequality was associated with weaker accumulation of physical and human capital and lower productivity.
He said technology, including artificial intelligence, and climate-related investment could contribute to productivity and structural transformation if supported by appropriate institutions and policies.
However, the Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs, Dr Tope Fasua, questioned the idea that capital was becoming less important.
Fasua argued that Nigeria’s infrastructure and production constraints still require substantial financing and said factors such as information, knowledge and technology should also be considered forms of capital.
He challenged African economists to examine the components of TFP more closely and identify factors particularly relevant to the continent’s development.
The lecture also featured a panel discussion involving representatives of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, InfraCredit, Policy Innovation Centre and Flour Mills Nigeria.
Panelists commended BOI’s financing of SMEs and industrial businesses while calling for additional funding to strengthen the bank’s capacity to meet growing demand for development finance.
THE ISSUES
- The discussion highlights a distinction between the availability of capital and the productivity of capital. While financing remains necessary for infrastructure, industry and business expansion, the economic return depends on how efficiently those resources are deployed.
- Access remains another part of the challenge. BOI’s emphasis on underserved businesses reflects the need to extend productive financing beyond businesses that already have easier access to formal sources of capital.
- The lecture also broadened the growth debate to include human capital, technology, institutions, inequality and climate action. These factors can influence how effectively financial resources translate into output, employment and wider economic benefits.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
“Global evidence shows that as countries grow, TFP becomes more important than physical capital, while human capital contribution remains modest but holds huge potential given existing gaps with high-income countries.” — Asad Alam, former World Bank Director.
“But that did not do the trick.” — Asad Alam, former World Bank Director.
“The time has come for Africa, especially Nigeria, to break down TFP further and recognise new factors such as technology, information, knowledge and AI as stand-alone factors of production.” — Tope Fasua, Special Adviser to the President on Economic Affairs.
WHAT’S NEXT
The debate at the BOI lecture is likely to feed into broader discussions around development finance, private-sector investment and the role of institutions such as BOI in expanding access to long-term capital.
For BOI, the immediate challenge is to scale financing while ensuring that funds reach productive businesses and sectors capable of generating employment and economic activity.
BOTTOM LINE
BOI’s annual lecture placed the focus not only on raising more capital for Nigeria’s development, but on improving the efficiency, reach and economic impact of the capital already being mobilised.
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