BOI donates N700 million to aid fight against coronavirus

The Bank of Industry (BOI) has donated a total of N700 million in relief funding towards supporting the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria.

The development bank disclosed this through a statement that was released to the general public.

Breakdown of the funding: BOI specified that N500 million be contributed to the Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), while N100 million should be provided to the FCT Ministerial Committee. The remaining N100 million would be used to support the Lagos State Government.

According to the bank, the donation will go towards a fund that has been created to provide more testing, isolation, and treatment centres across all geo-political zones. Some part of BOI’s statement said:

“In addition, we are providing financial support of N100 million to the FCT Ministerial Committee on COVID-19. We are also supporting the Lagos State Government with a donation of N100 million to advance regional efforts to combat the spread of the pandemic through the supply of critical care equipment, facilities and essential relief aid. 

“We reaffirm our commitment to continue to provide access to finance to Nigerian enterprises in line with our strategic mandate,” the statement read in part.

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While commenting on the donation, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BOI, Olukayode Pitan, said:

“At this pivotal moment in the history of our great nation, we stand in solidarity with the Federal Government and our colleagues across various industries. We are optimistic that if we all play our parts, we will beat COVID-19, and we will see Nigeria recover and thrive.”

Our #COVID19Nigeria update:
We are supporting efforts to fight #COVID19 in Nigeria with N700 million in relief funding.
– N500m as contribution to the CACOVID initiative;
– N100m to the FCT Ministerial Committee on COVID-19; and
– N100m to the @followlasg to support their efforts pic.twitter.com/BEW9bLU8pL

— Bank of Industry, Nigeria (@BOINigeria) April 4, 2020

About BoI: The Bank of Industry Limited is Nigeria’s oldest, largest, and most successful development financing institution. It was established in 2001 out of the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) Limited, which was incorporated in 1964. The bank took off in 1964 with an authorised share capital of N2 million.