Bank of Industry (BoI), Nigeria’s maiden development financial institution (DFI), was established in 1959 with the singular mission of transforming Nigeria’s industrial and private sectors by providing financial and business support services to enterprises of any size.
For many reasons, there were high expectations about the coming of the institution. First, the country was transiting from a colonial outpost of the British government. It, thus, needed to start building its independent financial infrastructure to drive its economic growth and independence as it were.
Also, Nigeria was at the cusp of the industrial revolution with a huge hole in financial services. Back then, the few available financial institutions were controlled by foreign investors who were not very keen onsupporting indigenous enterprises.
These made the coming more like a child of necessity. But for some years, it was like a stillborn, struggling…
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