How to Get a BOI Loan in Nigeria

The Bank of Industry has been a major flag-bearer in the business of providing long term financial support for various industries in the Nigerian economy. BOI has a mandate of providing financial assistance for the establishment of large, medium and small enterprises as well as the expansion, diversification and modernization of existing ones or rehabilitation of failing ones.

BOI is a development finance institution focused on providing loan credit facilities for industrial equipment used in manufacturing. This bank is owned by the federal government and does not disburse loans to borrowers in cash but to the vendors and suppliers of the equipment that the loan application is for, making little room for misappropriation of funds.

BOI concentrates on sub-sectors such as agro-processing, information technology, oil and gas, solid minerals etc. A major advantage they give business owners is that they accept collateral other than landed property. It was incorporated in 1964 as the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) Limited; BOI is the oldest and largest financial institution in the country, restructured in 2001 into the present day BOI. 

Click here to see the list of SME products clusters that BOI support.

BOI’s loan support for SME’s start from 5 million naira, loans below this amount are provided for on their matching fund platform which is operated in collaboration with various state governments and their BOP (Bottom of the Pyramid) scheme operated through micro-finance banks. Click here to see guidelines to apply for this category of loan.

Before requesting for a bank of Industry loan you need to know the kind collateral requirements they accept:

• Collateral must be worth at least 150% your intended loan facility
• Legal mortgage on landed property. The property must be duly registered with a certificate of Occupancy.
• Debenture on assets of the company
• Bank Guarantee
• External Guarantors with Notarized Statement of Net worth for loans below 10 million naira

There are other requirements/ criteria required for accessing a BOI loan. When intending to access a BOI loan please be ready to do a lot of work as regards the documents to tender. Below are these requirements:

• A formal letter of application
• Photocopy of certificate of registration or incorporation
• Certified true copies of forms CO2 and CO7
• A photocopy of the certified true copy of memorandum and articles of association of the company.
• Feasibility study report ( 4 copies)
• Quotations for items of equipment( at least 2 or 3 quotations from different sources) where applicable
•  A completed copy of bank of Industry questionnaire
•  Tax clearance certificate for the company and two directors.
• Eight recent passport photographs of each director and company secretary
• Statement of account from the last 6 months from company’s bankers.
• Declaration of total outstanding liabilities of the company
• Registered intellectual property/proprietary assets
• Acceptable securities shall include a charge/security interest over all of the applicant’s assets, copyrights, rights etc. and on the equipment / assets financed and or the under-listed securities among others.
• Insurance cover from any acceptable/reputable insurance company for short term lending of not more than one year. 
•  Producers would be required to tie up the advances from the distributors to cover 35% to 40% of the budget.
• Ordinary producers would be required to bring 25% of the project cost as promoters’ contribution.
• First Hypothecation charge on all the tangible moveable assets under the project. 
• Marketable financial instruments.
• A trust and retention account may be maintained for all capital as well as revenue inflows and outflows. Thus receivables on the sale of all IPRs would be credited to TRA. 
•  Assignment of receivable /lien on proceeds/deposits and the right of set-off.

Now that you know the documents to prepare let’s go into the procedure in applying for a BOI loan. 

How to apply For a BOI loan

a) Visit the BOI website

b) Scroll down to registration and provide ‘YES or NO’ answer to question of whether your business is registered or not.

c) If YES you will proceed to filling the form and click on ‘register’

OR 

a) Visit any of the bank branches around you.

b) Collect the banks form

c) Submit the forms 

d) Download copies of the completed forms.

The bank of Industry was not established to merely disburse funds for projects but they also have an interest in the success of your business. No form of fraud, corruption or misrepresentation would be tolerated by the BOI. In case you are merely trying to start your business, Startups would need to provide proof of cognate experience in the business area and would need to have highly qualified management and operational team with a sound management structure.

We at SME360 are committed to keeping you informed always. Also, see 5 things required for business owners to get loans from the bank. Please leave a comment below if you have further questions on the subject or have a topic you would like us to shed light on.