…BOI Pushes Greater Private Capital Mobilisation For Industrial Growth
Nigeria must improve the efficiency with which capital is deployed if the country is to unlock stronger and more sustainable economic growth, former World Bank Director and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, Dr Asad Alam, has said.
Alam spoke on Tuesday as the Guest Lecturer at the Bank of Industry’s 2026 Annual Public Lecture, held under the theme, “Rethinking Capital for Inclusive Economic Transformation.”
He argued that capital accumulation alone was not sufficient to deliver sustained economic transformation, stressing that the efficiency of capital, human capital, technology, institutions and productivity were equally critical to determining the impact of investment on an economy.
According to him, evidence from different countries shows that investment rates could converge without corresponding convergence in income levels, suggesting that the quantity of capital invested does not necessarily determine the quality of economic outcomes.
He said Nigeria’s experience provided a clear illustration of the challenge, noting that the country had recorded significant investments over the years without achieving a corresponding level of productivity and income growth.
Alam said the efficiency of capital had become increasingly important as economies developed, adding that productivity tended to play a greater role in driving growth as countries moved towards higher income levels.
He said Nigeria therefore needed to shift greater attention towards improving productivity rather than relying primarily on increased capital accumulation to drive economic expansion.
The Georgetown University don also highlighted the importance of human capital, saying investments in education, healthcare, nutrition and skills development were essential to raising the productive capacity of the economy.
He noted that countries with stronger levels of human and physical capital generally had greater capacity to generate income, but warned that the benefits of such capital depended largely on how efficiently it was utilised.
Alam also linked low human capital and productivity to inequality, saying disparities in access to education, skills and productive assets could limit the ability of large sections of the population to participate in economic growth.
He said inclusive economic transformation should therefore mean a development process in which the benefits of growth were broadly shared rather than concentrated among politically connected groups or those with access to economic opportunities.
The former World Bank director further identified institutions and public policy as critical factors in determining how effectively capital contributes to growth.
He said countries seeking sustained economic transformation needed policies and institutions that promoted investment incentives, competition, openness, innovation and efficient allocation of resources.
Alam identified what he described as three critical areas—incentives, institutions and inclusion as essential pillars for policies aimed at achieving sustainable and inclusive growth.
He also highlighted technology and artificial intelligence as emerging drivers of productivity, noting that the scale of global investment in AI infrastructure and related technologies was rapidly increasing.
According to him, while the precise economic impact of AI remains difficult to quantify, emerging evidence suggests that the technology could become an important driver of productivity growth in the future.
He similarly stressed the importance of climate-related investment, arguing that investments in cleaner energy, transport, cities and other infrastructure could generate productivity gains while addressing the economic consequences of climate change.
Earlier, the Managing Director of the Bank of Industry, in his welcome address, said the bank was focused on ensuring that development capital translated into tangible economic opportunities, particularly for businesses and sectors that remained underserved by conventional financing.
He said the bank’s interventions were aimed at supporting sustainable and inclusive industrial development while helping businesses expand their productive capacity.
The BOI MD disclosed that the bank disbursed N645bn in 2025, supporting more than 12,000 businesses and impacting 1.68 million jobs.
He said the figures demonstrated the potential of development finance to influence businesses, employment and broader economic activity when capital was appropriately targeted.
However, he noted that the scale of Nigeria’s financing needs meant that development finance institutions could not meet the challenge alone.
According to him, the country must mobilise more long-term capital and create mechanisms capable of attracting significantly greater private-sector investment into productive activities.
He said, “We need to mobilize more long-term capital, extend financing to businesses and sectors that remain underserved, use development finance to unlock greater private investment, and ensure that financing translates into measurable economic impact.”
The BOI boss said this required a rethink of how capital was mobilised, structured and deployed, as well as greater attention to the development outcomes generated from financing.
He said the issue was particularly important to Nigeria’s industrialisation agenda because businesses required patient and appropriately structured capital to invest in productive capacity, expand operations and create jobs.
He added that BOI’s mandate placed the institution at the centre of efforts to promote sustainable and inclusive industrial development, making effective deployment of capital critical to its operations.
The Managing Director said the annual public lecture was established in 2024 to provide a platform for informed discussion on issues shaping Nigeria’s economic and industrial development.
He said the first edition focused on how MSME support and financing could help address poverty and food insecurity, while the 2025 edition examined development finance imperatives for Nigeria’s economic transformation.
According to him, the 2026 edition builds on those discussions by focusing directly on capital and how it can be mobilised and deployed more effectively to drive inclusive economic transformation.
He said Nigeria needed capital capable of supporting long-term industrial growth, reaching underserved businesses and attracting private investment into productive sectors.
The BOI MD also emphasised the importance of partnerships in achieving the bank’s objectives, acknowledging the support of the Federal Government, state governments, development and funding partners, private-sector institutions and other stakeholders.
He said collaboration would remain important as Nigeria seeks to expand access to capital and ensure that financing produces measurable economic and social outcomes.
He expressed confidence that discussions arising from the lecture would contribute to strengthening the deployment of development capital and improving its impact on Nigeria’s economy.
