L-R: Ayo Sotinrin, MD/CEO, Bank of Agriculture; Massimo De-Luca, Head of Cooperation of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS; Olasupo Olusi, MD/CEO, Bank of Industry (BoI); Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security; John Owan Enoh, Minister of state for Industry and Investment, and Dennis Idahosa, Deputy Governor, Edo State during the Africa Cocoa Value Addition Summit, with the theme “From Bean to Brand” held in Abuja
By ebosele@hotmail.com –
Nigeria’s foremost development finance institution, the Bank of Industry (BOI), has secured a €60 million credit facility from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to accelerate cocoa and dairy value addition, with a strong focus on local processing, ingredients production and chocolate manufacturing.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BOI, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, announced the development during the Africa Cocoa Summit, also known as the Cocoa Value Addition Summit, held in Abuja.
City Business News reports that the summit, organised by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment under the theme “From Bean to Brand,” brought together government officials and industry stakeholders from Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon.
The summit culminated in the signing of the Abuja Declaration establishing the Cocoa Value Addition Alliance (CVAA), aimed at promoting regional cooperation in cocoa processing and value addition.
Olusi disclosed that the €60 million allocation forms part of an €85 million EIB-BOI financing facility backed by the European Union under its Global Gateway initiative.
According to him, about 70 per cent of the total financing will be channelled to Nigeria’s cocoa and dairy sectors, which BOI considers strategic industries capable of creating jobs, boosting industrialisation and conserving foreign exchange.
“This agreement reinforces the Bank of Industry’s commitment to unlocking long-term, affordable finance for priority sectors that drive inclusive growth,” Olusi said.
He explained that BOI would prioritise lending to cocoa processors, cooperatives and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that add value locally rather than businesses exporting raw cocoa beans.
“The era of celebrating the volume of raw exports must end. Nigeria loses billions by exporting cocoa beans and importing finished chocolate products. Our objective is to establish processing factories close to cocoa-producing communities so that jobs, taxes and economic value remain within the country,” he said.
Beyond financing, Olusi noted that BOI would provide technical assistance to beneficiaries on climate compliance, quality standards and access to European markets. He added that the bank would support farmers and processors in meeting the European Union Deforestation Regulation and other international environmental and social standards.
Highlighting BOI’s contribution to Nigeria’s agricultural sector, Olusi revealed that the bank disbursed more than ₦164 billion to over 3,500 agro-processing and food businesses in 2025. The intervention, he said, financed factories, processing mills, packhouses and cold chain infrastructure while integrating nearly 48,000 smallholder farmers into industrial value chains.
He added that the new financing would support the entire cocoa ecosystem, including nurseries, farmer cooperatives, grinding plants, ingredient manufacturers, packaging companies and chocolate producers.
Speaking at the summit, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu called for a decisive shift from Africa’s long-standing dependence on exporting raw cocoa beans, urging producing countries to prioritise value addition and retain a greater share of the global chocolate industry’s wealth.
Represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, the President observed that although Africa accounts for about 70 per cent of global cocoa production, the continent earns only about six cents of every dollar generated by the global chocolate industry.
Tinubu reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to increasing local cocoa processing, expanding chocolate manufacturing, developing indigenous brands and strengthening the country’s competitiveness in international markets.
He disclosed that investors are developing a 70,000-tonne cocoa processing facility in Shagamu, Ogun State, while Nigeria’s cocoa grinding capacity has already exceeded 120,000 tonnes annually.
Earlier, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, said the summit aligns with the Federal Government’s ambition of building a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2030.
She noted that despite Nigeria’s significant contribution to global cocoa production, the country continues to capture only a small portion of the value generated across the cocoa value chain.
Oduwole said the government is promoting greater value addition through manufacturing incentives, investment promotion and stronger institutional collaboration, while leveraging opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to expand market access.
Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, described the summit as another milestone in implementing Nigeria’s Industrial Policy and announced the establishment of the Cocoa Value Addition Alliance involving Nigeria, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon, which together account for about 75 per cent of global cocoa production.
According to Enoh, the alliance will strengthen regional cooperation, promote local processing and enable African producers to capture greater value from the global cocoa market.
“We are not here to disrupt existing partnerships but to expand them,” he said, urging cocoa-producing countries to move beyond exporting raw beans and focus on developing globally competitive branded cocoa products.
Also speaking, Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Dr. Ransford Abbey, called for deeper collaboration among African cocoa-producing countries to expand domestic processing.
“Africa produces about 75 per cent of the world’s cocoa but earns less than 10 per cent of the wealth generated by the global chocolate industry. This system cannot continue. We must shift from exporting raw poverty to creating refined wealth on the African continent,” he said.
The Head of Cooperation of the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr. Massimo De Luca, reaffirmed the EU’s support for cocoa value addition and urged participating governments to establish the necessary policy and regulatory frameworks to ensure the success of the initiative.
