BOI launches N2bn loan scheme for NYSC members

The Bank of Industry (BOI) has inaugurated a N2 billion entrepreneurship programme offering affordable loans to National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.

Olasupo Olusi, the BOI managing director (MD), announced the initiative, tagged ‘N2bn BOI–NYSC Entrepreneurship Programme’, during an inauguration ceremony on Wednesday in Abuja.

This comes a month after the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) partnered with the NYSC to provide corps members with access to credit facilities of up to N200,000.

Represented by Shekarau Omar, the executive director for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) at BOI, Olusi said the programme is part of efforts to tackle unemployment and promote youth-led enterprises.

The MD said the initiative would enable beneficiaries to access up to N5 million each at a single-digit interest rate of 9 percent per annum.

Olusi noted that the loan is repayable over three years, with a three-month moratorium on both principal and interest.

“The partnership between BOI and NYSC builds on earlier collaborations like the Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF), which trained over 3,000 graduates, financed 609 businesses, and disbursed over one billion naira in loans,” he said.

“These numbers are not just statistics; they represent poultry farms, fashion houses, tech start-ups, and creative studios brought to life.

“When young people receive targeted capacity building, affordable finance, and mentoring, they repay, they employ, and they grow.”

The BOI boss lauded NYSC’s SAED department for empowering corps members through skills acquisition and entrepreneurship training, noting that the new scheme will enhance the initiative’s impact.

He implored corps members to be entrepreneurial and disciplined during their service year.

Olusi said the success of the initiative would be measured by the number of approvals granted, jobs created, and businesses that continue to thrive beyond the NYSC service year.

On his part, Olakunle Nafiu, the NYSC director-general, commended BOI for the funding support, asking the bank to expand the fund to N5 billion to reach more corps members.

According to Nafiu, the BOI and the NYSC have partnered since 2012 to foster youth entrepreneurship and skill development through the SAED programme.

Nafiu added that the event reaffirms their shared vision of building livelihoods for over 400,000 corps members annually through the initiative.