Ayade Commissions BOI Office in Cross River
Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River state Tuesday commissioned the 15th office of the Bank of Industry (BOI) in the state capital along the popular marian road . Commissioning the BOI office complex ,Ayade said his administration was desirous of moving the economy of the state from third world to first class world economy.
The governor who was represented by his deputy Ivara Isu said ” This informs the resolved of my administration to encourage industralists, financial institutions and other investors with private sector friendly initiative to pay active roles in galvanizing the state economy.
He said the commissioning of the calabar office is a clear indication of an enduring partnership that will create a huge impact on his administration drive and ultimately, job creation, economic development and sustained socio-economic growth.
The managing Director/ chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bank of Industry limited Rasheed Olaoluwa in his address at the commissioning ceremony said Cross River State is reputed as the tourist hub of not just Nigeria, but also of the Global Community.
The State is famous for its annual Christmas Festival/Carnival and is endowed with many centres of tourist attraction, prominent among which are the Obudu Ranch Resort and Tinapa Business Resort. The market opportunities that exist in the State are therefore enormous. This is coupled with the fact that the people of Cross River State are renowned for their friendliness, resourcefulness and entrepreneurial spirit.
The State is also richly endowed with agricultural and solid mineral resources such as oil palm, cassava, rice, limestone, granite, among others.
Olaoluwa noted that It is worthy of note that the Cross River State Office is BOI’s 15th office in Nigeria.
He thanked Governor, Ben Ayade, for providing thes edifice to serve as the Cross River State Office of the Bank of Industry.
“With this strategic and visionary initiative, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Cross River State now have access to BOI’s development finance and business advisory services.
We believe that the establishment of the State Office will further strengthen the existing partnership between BOI and the Cross River State Government and improve our service Turn-Around-Time to our customers”.
He said ” this is better appreciated when viewed against the fact that entrepreneurs in Cross River State were previously served by our Delta State Office, which is a driving distance of at least six (6) hours.
BOI has a N500 million Matching Fund partnership with the Cross River State Government in which each party contributed the sum of N250 million. This pool of funds is for the industrial development of the State, as well as economic empowerment of the people and is provided as loans at a subsidized interest rate of 8 percent per annum.
The establishment of BOI’s Cross River State Office he said will enable the Bank reach as many entrepreneurs as possible I am pleased to state that BOI had been promoting industrialization in Cross River State long before now. As at 30th September, 2015, BOI had approved loans in the sum of N6.9 billion to many enterprises in the State, including such well-known companies a Eastern Premier Feeds Limited, Niger Mills Limited,United Cement Company Limited.
He said the Bank of Industry has adopted a cluster-based SME financing approach in our lending activities by identifying 35 SME Clusters across the country.
MIKE ABANG