The Bank of Industry (BoI) has secured a €60 million credit facility from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to strengthen cocoa value addition and dairy processing in Nigeria, with investments targeted at processing, ingredient production and chocolate manufacturing. The funding initiative was announced by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BoI, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, during the Africa Cocoa Summit held in Abuja on July 14.
The summit, organised by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, focused on accelerating cocoa value addition across Africa under the theme, “From Bean to Brand.” The event brought together government officials, industry stakeholders and delegates from Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon. At the summit, participating countries signed the Abuja Declaration, establishing the Cocoa Value Addition Alliance (CVAA) to promote regional cooperation in processing cocoa locally and increasing Africa’s share of the global chocolate market.
Olusi explained that the €60 million forms part of a broader €85 million EIB–BoI financing package, supported by the European Union through its Global Gateway initiative. According to him, the financing has been specifically structured to support strategic investments in Nigeria’s cocoa and dairy value chains by expanding local processing capacity and encouraging greater industrial development.
The initiative is expected to strengthen domestic manufacturing, create employment opportunities and reduce the country’s dependence on exporting raw agricultural commodities. President Bola Tinubu, represented at the summit by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, urged African cocoa-producing countries to move beyond the traditional export of raw cocoa beans.
He stressed the need for greater cocoa value addition, noting that producing countries must invest in processing, branding and manufacturing to capture a larger share of the global chocolate industry’s economic value. Stakeholders at the summit agreed that increasing local processing capacity would improve export earnings, strengthen industrial growth and position Africa as a more competitive player across the global cocoa value chain.
