Abuja: The Bank of Industry (BOI) has unveiled a two billion Naira entrepreneurship programme designed to provide affordable loans to National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members. The BOI Managing Director, Dr Olasupo Olusi, announced this at the inauguration of the fund in Abuja. Represented by Mr Shekarau Omar, the Executive Director for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) at BOI, Olusi emphasized the initiative as part of efforts to tackle unemployment and promote youth-led enterprises.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the programme, named the '2bn BOI-NYSC Entrepreneurship Programme', will enable beneficiaries to access up to five million Naira each at a single-digit interest rate of nine per cent per annum. The loan is repayable over three years, with a three-month moratorium on both principal and interest. Olusi described the initiative as a practical step towards moving young Nigerians from job seekers to job creators.
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. These numbers represent various enterprises such as poultry farms, fashion houses, tech start-ups, and creative studios. When young people receive targeted capacity building, affordable finance, and mentoring, they are able to repay, employ, and grow their businesses.
Olusi commended the NYSC's Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) Department for its role in training corps members to become self-reliant. He noted that the new scheme would help further strengthen the initiative's impact, advising corps members to view their service year as a launch pad rather than a waiting room. He encouraged them to start small, plan well, and remain disciplined about cash flow and compliance.
The BOI boss also appreciated the NYSC Director-General, Brig.-Gen. Olakunle Nafiu, the Director of SAED, and other officials of both institutions for their roles in designing and implementing the programme. The success of the initiative will be measured by the number of approvals granted, jobs created, and businesses that continue to thrive beyond the NYSC service year.
In his remarks, the NYSC director-general commended BOI for the funding support and urged the bank to expand the fund to five billion Naira to reach more corps members. He recalled the longstanding partnership between BOI and NYSC, which began in 2012 with the inauguration of the SAED programme, laying the foundation for youth entrepreneurship and skill development.
The new loan scheme underscores BOI's responsiveness to one of the biggest challenges in the youth entrepreneurship ecosystem: access to affordable financing. The NYSC boss expressed the commitment of the corps to put in place strong measures to ensure that the programme delivered its intended impact. The initiative is expected to stimulate small business growth, strengthen youth empowerment, and deepen public-private partnerships in driving inclusive economic development.