NSDC and BOI Establish ₦10bn Sugar Project Acceleration Fund to Boost Greenfield Ventures

The National Sugar Development Council and the Bank of Industry have partnered to launch the Sugar Project Acceleration Fund, a ₦10 billion facility dedicated to the advancement of greenfield sugar projects in Nigeria.

This initiative is designed to provide critical financing and project development support to viable new ventures, with the ultimate goal of creating a competitive and sustainable domestic sugar industry. During a recent interactive session with potential beneficiaries, the leadership of both organizations explained that the fund will serve as a pre-investment facility to help promoters bring their projects up to the rigorous standards required by global financiers.

Executive Secretary of the NSDC, Kamar Bakrin, pointed out that the availability of money is rarely the primary obstacle to industrial growth; rather, the challenge lies in the scarcity of projects that are properly structured and de-risked. He emphasized that for a sugar project to be considered bankable, it must be backed by technically credible feasibility studies addressing agronomy, water infrastructure, and social risks. Bakrin noted that the fund is not a grant but a rigorous, output-oriented tool intended to build a pipeline of investor-ready projects capable of absorbing large-scale international capital.

The Bank of Industry will act as the manager for the fund, overseeing essential functions such as credit appraisal, risk management, and monitoring. Hadiza Shuaib, representing the bank, stated that the program would prioritize skills development alongside financial support to ensure long-term operational success. Only businesses directly engaged in sugar-related activities are eligible for the facility, with several emerging companies like Brent Foods, Crystal Sugar, and Saro Sugar already participating in the initial rollout. This collaboration marks a significant step toward achieving national sugar self-sufficiency by helping local promoters move from early-stage concepts to fully funded, operational refineries.