BOI: Climate Change Weakening Competitiveness, Economic Resilience of Nigerian Manufacturing, Agriculture, Infrastructure

The Bank of Industry (BOI) has declared that climate change pressures are collectively weakening the competitiveness and economic resilience of Nigerian enterprises, especially in the manufacturing, agriculture, and infrastructure sectors. These pressures also hinder businesses' ability to adapt and fully realize their potential. Mr. Rotimi Akinde, Executive Director of Corporate Finance and Risk Management at BOI, stated during a virtual session that rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, flash floods, and heatwaves are now a reality across Nigeria. These phenomena threaten food security, erode livelihoods, displace communities, and exacerbate gender inequalities, impacting farmers in Kebbi State, manufacturers in Kano, and communities in Lagos and the Niger Delta. Akinde explained that BOI is taking deliberate steps through targeted financing to help enterprises build the resilience needed to withstand the evolving climate landscape. He emphasized that climate adaptation is not merely an environmental concern but an economic one, and businesses unable to adapt will struggle for sustainability. Sectors lacking climate proofing will find it difficult to attract long-term investment. Akinde stressed that failing to address these climate-related issues would compromise BOI's fitness for purpose as a development financial institution. The "BOI Climate Resilience Knowledge Series" aims to advance the conversation on climate resilience, which is central to Nigeria's industrial future. He noted that Nigeria possesses vast human and natural resources, but this potential is increasingly threatened by the accelerating impacts of climate change, which must be urgently confronted.

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collectively weakening the competitiveness and economic resilience of Nigerian enterprises, particularly across sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, infrastructure.