BOI disbursed N164bn to 3,500 agro processors, secures $60m to boost cocoa value addition

…says Nigeria’s cocoa windfall must fund factories, not raw exports

The Bank of Industry (BOI) says it has disbursed more than N164 billion to over 3,500 agro- and food-processing businesses while securing a $60 million credit facility from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to accelerate cocoa value addition and strengthen Nigeria’s position in the global chocolate industry.

Speaking at the Cocoa Value Addition Summit 2026, themed “From Bean to Brand,” in Abuja on Tuesday, Olasupo Olusi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BOI, said the financing forms part of a broader strategy to shift Nigeria away from exporting raw cocoa beans towards processing and manufacturing higher-value cocoa products.

Olusi said the summit marked one of the first steps in implementing Nigeria’s industrial policy, stressing that the country must move beyond its historical dependence on raw commodity exports.

He recalled how cocoa revenues financed landmark infrastructure and social investments in Nigeria during the 1960s, including the Cocoa House in Ibadan, the first television station in Africa, free education in the old Western Region, Liberty Stadium and the then University of Ife.

“Cocoa did not merely earn money for Nigeria. Cocoa revenues shaped one of the most remarkable episodes of Nigeria’s socio-economic development,” he said.

According to him, while Africa produces about 70 percent of the world’s cocoa, it captures only a fraction of the value generated from the global chocolate industry, estimated at over $130 billion annually.

He noted that Nigeria produces more than 300,000 metric tonnes of cocoa each year but has an effective grinding capacity of only about 50,000 tonnes, much of which remains underutilised.

Read also: Nigeria bets on cocoa processing to break raw commodity export cycle

“Closing this processing gap alone can multiply the export value of the same crop two to four times,” Olusi said.

He described Nigeria’s continued importation of cocoa powder despite being a major cocoa producer as an anomaly that should be eliminated within the next two to five years.

Olusi explained that current developments in the global cocoa market have created a rare opportunity for Nigeria to reposition itself in the industry, citing unprecedented price volatility as a catalyst for change.

According to him, cocoa prices surged from below $3,000 per tonne to a record nearly $13,000 per tonne in December 2024 before falling back to about $3,000 per tonne in February 2025. Prices have since recovered to around $6,000 per tonne.

“Disruption of this kind reshuffles an industry, and it reshuffles it precisely when new entrants find a seat at the table,” he said.

The BOI MD also noted that Nigeria had benefited from the recent price rally, with cocoa exports generating about N2.7 trillion in 2024 as farmers received prices close to international market levels.

He, however, warned against treating the earnings as another commodity windfall, drawing parallels with the oil boom of the 1970s.

“Our country has seen windfalls before. We’ve seen the oil windfalls of the 70s which were consumed. The cocoa windfall can be consumed the same way, or it can be converted into processing plants, replanted farms and traceable infrastructure,” Olusi said.

He argued that investing the proceeds in processing capacity, farm rehabilitation and traceability systems would enable Nigeria to capture significantly more value from the global cocoa industry rather than continue exporting raw beans.

To support the transformation of the sector, Olusi said BOI is providing long-term financing tailored to the unique needs of the cocoa value chain, from plantation development to industrial processing.

“In 2025, we disbursed over N164 billion to more than 3,500 agro- and food-processing businesses, financing factories, mills, warehouses and cold chains while linking nearly 48,000 smallholder farmers into the industrial value chain,” he said.

He disclosed that the bank had also secured a $60 million credit facility from the European Investment Bank this year to help Nigerian cocoa processors access affordable financing and compete more effectively with multinational firms.

According to him, BOI is also mobilising blended finance from development partners, combining concessional funding with guarantees and risk-sharing arrangements to de-risk investments across the cocoa value chain.

Olusi noted that the bank would explore financing shared infrastructure such as cocoa value-addition parks equipped with processing lines, quality laboratories, reliable power supply, effluent treatment facilities and digital traceability systems to reduce costs for local processors.

He added that financing would be complemented with business development services, technical advisory support, enterprise training and assistance on quality standards and export documentation.

The BOI chief said Nigeria could draw lessons from Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, where deliberate policy incentives have attracted major cocoa processors and strengthened the industry’s competitiveness.

He stressed that industrial transformation requires coordinated investments involving governments, financial institutions, farmers and private investors.

“Nigeria’s first cocoa century was built on the bean and lost with the bean. The next one must be built on what Nigeria does with the cocoa bean, from commodity to value, from bean to brand,” he said.

Also speaking at the summit, Ransford Anertey Abbey, Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board, urged Nigeria and Cameroon to join the existing Ghana-Côte d’Ivoire Cocoa Initiative to create a four-country alliance that would account for about 75 percent of global cocoa production.

Abbey said Africa currently produces between 75 and 77 percent of the world’s cocoa beans but earns less than 10 percent of the value generated by the global chocolate industry because most cocoa is exported in raw form.

He said expanding domestic processing, strengthening regional cooperation under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and coordinating pricing policies among major producers would improve farmers’ incomes and increase Africa’s share of the global cocoa value chain.

Abbey noted that Ghana plans to process at least 50 percent of its cocoa beans domestically beginning with the 2026/2027 crop season, supported by a new local financing model designed to improve access to beans and working capital for domestic processors.

He said bringing Nigeria and Cameroon into the Ghana-Côte d’Ivoire Cocoa Initiative would strengthen Africa’s bargaining power, help stabilise global cocoa prices and ensure better returns for millions of cocoa farmers across the continent.

“Our cocoa farmers will be incredibly proud that Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are formally united with Nigeria and Cameroon to adopt a common framework that ensures fair prices, increases domestic value addition, and promotes intra-African trade and consumption of cocoa products.

“It is my hope and prayer that today’s summit will lead to an expanded initiative that includes Nigeria and Cameroon, and as a unified bloc, we’ll be able to coordinate global supply by synchronizing our crop calendars and supply management so that international markets can no longer artificially depress our prices. We will be able to negotiate with multinational buyers with one voice.

“This will ensure commensurate value for our hard-working farmers. Western markets constantly impose stringent regulations demanding absolute compliance while refusing to pay a sustainable price. Our cooperation will send a clear message.

“We will protect our environment, but we will no longer tolerate sustainability without fair compensation,” he said