Nigeria needs to leverage technologies to boost national productivity, by BOI
Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BOI), Dr. Olasupo Olusi, has called for increased deliberate efforts to boost innovations and technologies as catalysts for sustainable development of the Nigerian economy. He
- BOI, RMRDC seal deal on agric value-chain
Managing Director, Bank of Industry (BOI), Dr. Olasupo Olusi, has called for increased deliberate efforts to boost innovations and technologies as catalysts for sustainable development of the Nigerian economy.
He said BOI has strategically repositioned to support technology-led growth by embedding digital transformation at the core of its 2025–2027 strategy, with a focus on accelerating access to finance, supporting innovation, and building enterprise capacity.
Olusi delivered the 18th Convocation Lecture at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho, Oyo State, where he emphasised the need to urgently convert Nigeria’s vast reservoir of talents into measurable productivity.
This came as BOI and Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) also at the weekend reached agreement to strengthen Nigeria’s agricultural value-chain and boost the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The agreement, which was formalised with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), would address challenges in critical areas such as value chain development, harvesting, post-harvest losses, seedlings, cultivation, storage, processing, packaging, logistics, and marketing.
Speaking at the convocation, Olusi pointed out that the nation’s economic future depends less on potential and more on deliberate organisation of skills, technology, and capital.
He outlined that as part of its strategic initiatives, BOI is concluding arrangements to launch a digital loan application platform by June 2026, which will enable entrepreneurs to access funding more efficiently.
He said: “If technology multiplies productivity, then development finance must be organised to accelerate technology adoption. Without capital, talent and technology remain mere potential. With it, they become production”.
He also highlighted several BOI-backed interventions across manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure, and sustainability, noting that the bank is increasingly financing technology upgrades that enable businesses to scale, compete globally, and create jobs.
He underscored the need to strengthen the link between academia and industry pointing out that the bank plans to launch an Industrial Innovation Fund aimed at bridging the gap between research and commercialisation.
He added that a student venture capital grant programme designed to support young innovators with funding of up to N50 million is also underway.
Olusi argued that Nigeria’s problem is not a shortage of talent but the failure to translate that talent into economic value.
According to him, productivity, defined as output relative to input, remains the missing link between effort and impact in the country’s development trajectory.
He said: “Nigeria’s challenge is not necessarily to produce more talents. The challenge is to organise that talent pool into productivity”.
He noted while Nigerians are globally competitive, systemic inefficiencies continue to limit economic outcomes.
He drew attention to comparative data showing Nigeria trailing peer economies in manufacturing output and agricultural yields, despite possessing similar starting advantages decades ago, calling for a rethink of the country deploys its resources.
Anchoring his argument on technology, Olusi pointed to ongoing transformations across sectors - from financial technology platforms expanding access to credit, to precision agriculture solutions improving yields and incomes. These examples, he said, demonstrate how innovation can amplify human effort and unlock productivity gains at scale.
“Technology does not replace human effort. It multiplies it, and that is the bridge between talent and productivity,” Olusi stated, urging Nigerian universities to move beyond theoretical knowledge and focus on producing practical, scalable solutions to real economic challenges.
He specifically called on institutions like LAUTECH to lead the charge in innovation, stressing that universities must become engines of production by linking research directly to industry and markets.
Addressing the graduating students, Olusi urged them to prioritise problem-solving, production, and integrity, while encouraging those considering migration to remain connected to Nigeria’s development.
He said: “This nation is still under construction, and she needs her most capable people,” he said, noting that meaningful transformation will occur not in theory but through practical engagement in farms, factories, and enterprises”.
He expressed confidence in Nigeria’s economic outlook, pointing to ongoing reforms and increased investment in digital skills, innovation, and infrastructure as signs of progress.
“I am optimistic about Nigeria, not because the challenges are small, but because I have seen what Nigerians achieve when the right systems are in place. The journey from talent to productivity is not a slogan. It is the work of a generation,” Olusi said.
He concluded with a direct charge to the graduates and the broader Nigerian youth, whom he described as central to the country’s future.
He said: “The question is not whether this transformation will happen. The question is who will do it. And the answer is sitting here. You are the builders. Go and build.”
Meanwhile, to ensure the sustainability of BOI-RMRDC MoU, BOI has established a Joint Steering Committee to oversee the implementation of the objectives which include the development of a comprehensive strategy for minerals value-chain and agricultural value-chain development.
This covers seed development, cultivation, post-harvest management, processing, packaging, and market access, and facilitation of the adoption and scaling of RMRDC’s locally developed machinery for raw materials value-chain development.
To address the challenges of post-harvest losses, the agreement ensures the development of a framework that improves storage, processing, logistics, and undertakes joint feasibility studies and pilot projects for key commodities such as onions, cassava, kenaf, leather, kaolin, and other industrial raw materials.
“This partnership brings together two institutions with complementary strengths: RMRDC’s deep expertise in raw materials research and development, and BOI’s capacity to translate viable projects into financed, executable industrial investments.
“Together, we can do what each institution cannot do effectively on its own. We can convert research into bankable projects that add value, create jobs, and retain wealth within our economy.
“In practical terms, this means identifying and developing raw material-based opportunities across agro-processing, solid minerals, and industrial inputs, and channeling BOI financing to the entrepreneurs and enterprises ready to process local resources into finished and semi-finished goods,” Olusi said.
He noted that Nigeria’s raw materials should not be leaving her shores as commodities; they should be leaving as products.
He said: “At BOI, we are ready. Ready to co-identify opportunities, structure financing, and support the enterprises that will turn this framework into concrete industrial outcomes.
“Let this be the beginning of a collaboration that Nigerians will feel, in the factories that open, the jobs that are created, and the value that stays here at home”.
Director General and Chief Executive Officer, Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), Prof. Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso, said the partnership would boost national industrialisation.
He said: “We are uniting on key aspects, primarily focusing on value exchange development and promoting the advancement of process technologies. These elements serve as the foundation for industrialisation, the creation of prosperity, and the generation of employment, along with all the indicators that guarantee that people live the kind of lives that they deserve.
“The future, the prosperity, the happiness of this country, partially lies in your hands (BOI). So, by accepting to work with us to finance this, we are very grateful.
“We are also grateful that you’re taking us in to work together in co-designing, in co-sharing, data sharing, co-service programmess, and joint implementation of these programmes, as well as joint efforts on advocacy.
“So, by coming up strongly to say you are going to finance and work with us on this, it gives hope, and then it gives hope to the country and all the people who believe that this project will work”.
