The Bank of Industry and the Raw Materials Research and Development Council have formalized a strategic partnership aimed at closing the gap between research and industrial production, with a shared mission to convert Nigeria’s abundant agricultural raw materials and mineral resources into manufactured goods that create jobs, generate value, and retain wealth within the domestic economy.
The agreement, signed in Abuja, brings together two institutions with complementary strengths and is designed to address longstanding bottlenecks across the agricultural value chain, including challenges in cultivation, post-harvest management, storage, processing, packaging, logistics, and market access.
BOI Managing Director Dr. Olasupo Olusi described the partnership as a practical mechanism for translating viable research outputs into financed, executable industrial investments, arguing that Nigeria’s raw materials should not leave the country as unprocessed commodities.
“Together, we can do what each institution cannot do as effectively on its own. We can convert research into bankable projects that add value, create jobs, and retain wealth within our economy. Nigeria’s raw materials should not be leaving our shores as commodities. They should be leaving as products,” Olusi said.
He outlined the operational ambition behind the collaboration: identifying and developing raw material-based opportunities across agro-processing, solid minerals, and industrial inputs, then channeling BOI financing toward the entrepreneurs and enterprises ready to process those local resources into finished and semi-finished goods.
RMRDC Director General Professor Nnanyelugo Martin Ike-Muonso described the partnership as a foundation for industrialization, prosperity creation, and employment generation, expressing deep appreciation for BOI’s commitment to co-designing programmes, sharing data, and jointly implementing initiatives that would move the needle on Nigeria’s industrial transformation.
To ensure sustained delivery on the agreement’s objectives, BOI has established a Joint Steering Committee to oversee implementation. Priority areas include developing a comprehensive minerals value chain strategy, building out agricultural value chain systems covering seed development through to market access, facilitating the adoption and scaling of locally developed machinery for raw materials processing, and conducting joint feasibility studies and pilot projects for key commodities including onions, cassava, kenaf, leather, kaolin, and other industrial raw materials.
