In demonstration of its commitment to the development of micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) in the country, the Bank of Industry (BoI) has disclosed that it made a total disbursement of N53 billion to the segment in 2019.
This was a 56.3 per cent year-on-year increase from the N33.9 billion disbursed in 2018. This was announced at the Bank’s 60th Annual General Meeting held virtually in line with COVID-19 protocols of the federal government.
During the year under review, the BoI stated that it disbursed a total of N234 billion to a total 10,145 enterprises, thereby facilitating the creation of an estimated one million direct and indirect jobs.
Presenting the Group’s financial scorecard for the year 2019, the Chairman, Board of Directors, Mr. Aliyu Abdulrahman Dikko, stated “I am also pleased to report that the group’s balance sheet remains strong while our business operations are in line with both regulatory requirements and global best practices.”
According to him, the Group grew its total equity by 13.5 per cent to N293.09 billion for the year ended 2019, over 2018 position of N258.24 billion. However, he noted, the group’s total asset dropped slightly by 2.7 per cent to N1.04 trillion.
The Group also recorded profit before tax increase by 7.3 per cent to N39.34 billion year-on-year, over the N36.66 billion recorded in 2018.