BoI Digitises Credit Process, Cuts Funding Delays for Businesses

• Eyes 30% rise in credit applications with new ‘MyBOI’ portal •Olusi: faster financing process critical to investment, business growth, says platform to cut friction, improve transparency in development finance James Emejo in Abuja and Nume Ekeghe in Lagos Bank of Industry (BoI) has unveiled a fully digital lending portal, MyBOI, to cut barriers to credit and make financing more accessible to Nigerian businesses. The end-to-end lending portal seeks to simplify credit process for Nigerian enterprises and ease access to business finance, shortening the path to credit, and expanding access for productive activity. Managing Director/Chief Executive, BoI, Dr. Olasupo Olusi, said access to finance should not be measured only by the amount of money available to businesses, but also by how efficiently they could navigate the process of obtaining it. Olusi said, “Access to finance is not only about the availability of funding; it is also about making the journey to that funding simpler and more efficient.” According to him, MyBOI would use technology to “reduce unnecessary friction, improve visibility and give our customers a more seamless way to engage with BOI,” while retaining the security and rigour required of a development finance institution. In a statement, Olusi said, “MyBOI portal represents an important step in our commitment to making development finance more accessible, transparent and responsive to the needs of businesses. “We recognise that access to finance is not only about the availability of funding; it is also about making the journey to that funding simpler and more efficient. “Through MyBOI Portal, we are using technology to reduce unnecessary friction, improve visibility and give our customers a more seamless way to engage with BoI, while maintaining the security, rigour and developmental purpose for which the Bank is known.” The initiative, according to the bank, is designed not merely to digitise its lending process, but to also remove bottlenecks that can delay viable businesses from converting financing opportunities into investments, production and jobs. Under the new platform, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs); large businesses; cooperatives; associations; and other eligible customers can initiate financing applications, complete onboarding, undertake impact and sustainability assessments, submit documents, and track their applications digitally throughout the credit lifecycle. The move seeks to address persistent concerns over the cost, speed, and complexity of accessing finance, particularly for businesses that depend on timely working capital and investment funding to expand operations. The platform replaces significant elements of the traditionally manual and branch-dependent financing journey with automated workflows, digital authentication and real-time application tracking. Essentially, the portal is expected to improve data accuracy, reduce human interface, strengthen compliance, and support faster decision-making, and provide the bank with enhanced reporting and analytics to improve the management of the credit process. The initiative is aligned with BoI’s ambition to become a more digitally enabled, customer-centric Development Finance Institution. The bank’s objectives include increasing qualified digital financing application intake by 30 per cent within 12 months, reducing front-end application initiation turnaround time by at least 40 per cent within nine months, and achieving at least 60 per cent self-service adoption for new applications within 12 months. The launch followed the completion of required cybersecurity certification, CBN validation, pilot execution and successful go-live readiness assessment. The bank had set up a digital help desk across its 36 state offices nationwide to assist customers with navigating the portal. “With MyBOI Portal, the Bank of Industry is taking a significant step towards a more accessible and digitally enabled financing experience, helping businesses spend less time navigating processes and more time pursuing growth,” the bank added. The objective is to ensure that businesses spend less time navigating financing procedures and more time deploying capital towards productive economic activity.