Nigeria's Bank of Industry Unveils EUR85 Million Cocoa Processing Loan

Nigeria's Bank of Industry has unveiled an 85 million euro long-term financing facility aimed at expanding local cocoa processing, reducing the country's dependence on raw bean exports and strengthening value addition across the cocoa value chain. The commitment was announced by the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry, Olasupo Olusi, during the Cocoa Value Addition Summit 2026 in Abuja, themed "From Bean to Brand." Speaking at the summit, Olusi said the bank's financing strategy would prioritise value addition over the export of raw agricultural commodities.

A Partnership With the European Investment Bank

The facility is being provided through a partnership between the European Investment Bank and the Bank of Industry, with funding support from the European Union under its Global Gateway initiative. "We are particularly focused on cocoa value chains, which provide livelihoods for thousands of Nigerians," Olusi said, adding that the initiative is intended to improve productivity, encourage value addition and strengthen access to markets in ways that directly raise the incomes of farmers and processors. About 70% of the 85 million euro facility will be channelled to Nigeria's cocoa and dairy sectors, which the bank considers among the industries with the greatest potential to create jobs and retain foreign exchange earnings.

The Gap Between Raw Beans and Finished Chocolate

Olusi argued that Nigeria continues to lose significant economic value by exporting raw cocoa beans instead of processing them into finished products such as chocolate, noting that local processing could let Nigeria earn as much as $30,000 per tonne from processed cocoa products, compared with roughly $9,000 per tonne from exporting raw beans. To close that gap, the Bank of Industry will provide not just financing but also technical support to help beneficiaries meet international quality, climate and sustainability requirements, including the European Union's Deforestation Regulation. The bank also plans dedicated financing windows for smallholder farmers organised in cooperatives, offering concessionary loans to widen access to funding.

More Than 80 Percent of Cocoa Still Leaves as Raw Beans

Chris Isokpunwu, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, represented at the summit by the ministry's Director of Industrial Development, Mohammed Bala, said more than 80% of Nigeria's cocoa is still exported as raw beans despite the industry's substantial processing potential. Olusi said the Bank of Industry's long-term objective is to encourage processing factories within cocoa-producing communities themselves, so that jobs, tax revenue and a larger share of the crop's economic value stay inside Nigeria rather than accruing to buyers abroad.

The announcement lands at a moment when cocoa prices have been volatile across West Africa, with prices for the commodity recently hitting multi-week highs amid heavy rains affecting crops in Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast, the three countries that dominate global cocoa production. For Nigeria, which ranks among the world's largest cocoa producers but has historically processed only a small share of its own crop domestically, the new facility is aimed squarely at capturing more of the value that currently flows to processors and chocolate makers overseas.

Source: Nairametrics