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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) and the Bank of Industry (BOI) have established a N10 billion Sugar Project Acceleration Fund (SPAF) to support the development of greenfield sugar projects across the country and strengthen local sugar production.
The fund is designed to provide financing and project development support to viable greenfield initiatives, with the aim of accelerating the emergence of a sustainable and competitive sugar industry in Nigeria.
NSDC hosted an interactive session where officials of the council and BOI engaged potential beneficiaries of the fund, educating greenfield project promoters on the structure, requirements and opportunities under the initiative.
Speaking at the session, Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of NSDC, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, said the new fund was created to address the gap between available financing and the readiness of projects seeking investment.
According to him, access to capital alone does not automatically translate to increased sugar production.
“Here is a reality that every serious project promoter knows: capital availability, on its own, will not result in sugar production. Development finance institutions manage billions of dollars in agro-industrial finance and are under pressure to deploy capital,” he said.
Bakrin noted that the real challenge often lies in the availability of projects that are properly structured and prepared to meet financing requirements.
“The constraint, far more often than people appreciate, is not the availability of money. It is the availability of projects that are structured, documented and de-risked to the standard required to receive financing,” he stated.
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He explained that bankable projects require credible feasibility studies, strong financial models, clear land tenure arrangements, an outgrower model, and a management team capable of delivering results.
Bakrin added that SPAF was created as a structured pre-investment facility to support project promoters in developing their concepts into investor-ready ventures.
He stressed that the initiative was not a grant programme but a performance-driven facility with clear eligibility requirements and deliverables.
Also speaking at the event, Ms Hadiza Shuaib, who led the BOI delegation, said the bank would serve as the fund manager while NSDC would provide sector leadership and technical guidance.
She explained that BOI would be responsible for credit appraisal, risk management, loan disbursement, monitoring and evaluation as well as account closure after full repayment.
“As Fund Manager, BOI will ensure that projects are properly structured, risks are effectively managed and funds are deployed responsibly. We are also strong advocates for skills development, because financing alone is not sufficient to deliver sustainable outcomes,” she said.
Shuaib added that only businesses engaged in sugar or sugar-related activities would qualify to benefit from the fund.
Some of the greenfield projects represented at the session include Illaj Sugar, Brent Foods, Crystal Sugar, Legacy Sugar, Saro Sugar, Awaa, Ganic and Confluence Sugar.
