The Bank of Industry (BOI) and the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) have signed a strategic partnership agreement aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s agricultural value chains and boosting the country’s Gross Domestic Product.
The agreement was formalised on April 17, 2026, with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions following extensive engagements between their stakeholders.
The collaboration is designed to enhance value addition across key agricultural commodities and raw materials while addressing major challenges within the value chain. These include issues related to harvesting, post-harvest losses, seedlings, cultivation, storage, processing, packaging, logistics and market access.
The initiative aligns with BOI’s mission to stimulate economic growth, reduce post-harvest losses, promote import substitution and strengthen entrepreneurship and industrial capacity in Nigeria.
To ensure the sustainability of the agreement, BOI has established a Joint Steering Committee to oversee implementation and coordinate strategic initiatives under the partnership.
The committee will focus on developing a comprehensive strategy for agricultural and mineral value-chain development, covering seed development, cultivation, post-harvest management, processing, packaging and market access.
It will also facilitate the adoption and scaling of locally developed machinery produced by RMRDC to strengthen raw materials value-chain development.
Part of the collaboration includes the development of frameworks to address post-harvest losses by improving storage infrastructure, processing capacity and logistics systems.
The two institutions also plan to conduct joint feasibility studies and pilot projects targeting key commodities such as onions, cassava, kenaf, leather, and kaolin, among other industrial raw materials.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BOI, Olasupo Olusi, said the partnership brings together complementary strengths that can transform research into viable industrial projects.
“This partnership brings together two institutions with complementary strengths: RMRDC’s deep expertise in raw materials research and development, and BOI’s capacity to translate viable projects into financed, executable industrial investments,” he said.
Olusi added that the collaboration would enable both organisations to convert research findings into bankable projects capable of creating jobs, adding value to local resources and retaining wealth within Nigeria’s economy.
He stressed that Nigeria’s raw materials should not continue to leave the country as unprocessed commodities but should instead be exported as finished or semi-finished products.
“At BOI, we are ready to co-identify opportunities, structure financing and support the enterprises that will transform this framework into concrete industrial outcomes,” Olusi said.
In his remarks, Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of RMRDC, Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso, described the partnership as a major step toward strengthening Nigeria’s industrialisation drive.
He noted that the collaboration would focus on value-chain development and the advancement of processing technologies needed to drive economic growth and employment.
According to Ike-Muonso, the partnership will enable both institutions to jointly design programmes, share data and implement initiatives that support industrial development and national prosperity.
The Bank of Industry, established in 1959 and reconstituted in 2001, remains Nigeria’s leading development finance institution supporting industrial growth and inclusive economic development.
Between 2023 and 2025, the bank supported more than one million enterprises and disbursed over ₦1.27 trillion to businesses across the country, helping expand productive capacity and improve access to finance for underserved segments of the economy.
Through its nationwide presence and international partnerships, BOI continues to play a key role in accelerating private sector growth and promoting economic diversification in Nigeria.
