The Bank of Industry has secured a credit line of €100 million from the French Development Agency (AFD)] for the expansion of green finance in Nigeria.

The bank has also worked with its partners to raise over $5 billion from several International Financial Institutions in the last five years for building a climate –smart Nigeria in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Bank of Industry (BOI), Dr. Olasupo Olusi, dropped the hint yesterday, while addressing the Joint International Chief Executive Officers (CEO) forum of the Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADF) and the Association of Development Financing Institutions in Asia and the Pacific (ADFAP) held in Abuja.

He said: “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 environmental-friendly and sustainable projects across the key sectors of the economy, we at BOI is committed to promoting this strategy to deliver on our mandate.”

The forum, which drew participants from across the globe, has as its theme: “DFIs’ Strategic Role Towards a Climate Smart Future.’’

Declaring the forum open, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka—Anite, said DFIs needed to mobilise and invest in climate infrastructure to meet the unique needs of every country.

The minister restated the commitment to work with stakeholders to encourage foreign direct investment inflows to Nigeria in line with the President’s renewed hope agenda.

She assured that the decision reached at the forum will lead to prosperity and a sustainable climate change friendly environment for African countries if well executed by concerned nations.

Earlier in his remarks, the AADFI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), of Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA), Botswana, Thabo Thamane, said it is no longer news that the world is facing the negative impact of climate change, human health and safety, food and water security and sustainable socio-economic development are threatened globally.

According to him, “reports predict that if strategic actions are not taken to combat climate change, the world economy will lose more than 10 per cent of its current gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2048 and the least developed countries particularly those in Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America will suffer the worst consequences.

“Africa, for instance, is estimated to lose five per cent to 15 per cent of its projected GDP by 2050 with a projected climate adaptation cost of $10 billion to $30 billion yearly by 2030, at the same time, the Asia and ASEAN countries are projected to lose 26.5 per cent and 37.4 per cent of their GDPs by 2048 if immediate action is not taken to mitigate the efforts of climate change.”