BANK OF INDUSTRY ASSURES FUNDING MACHINERY FROM FEDERAL INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH OSHODI

The Bank of industry (BoI) has assured industrialists in the country funding supports if they purchase equipment fabricated by the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO).
Rasheed Olaoluwa , Managing Director/Chief Executive of BoI,  gave the assurance when he visited the management of  FIIRO in Lagos. Rather than appeal to industrialists to utilise FIIRO inventions, we will support those who come to take up equipment from FIIRO,” he said.
He disclosed that the bank was in the process of procuring the services of professional Business Support Service Providers (BSSP) and urged FIIRO to key into the initiative in order to help prospective loan seekers acquire information and develop bankable applications.
One of our key strategic development initiatives is to pursue linkages between industrialists and centres of innovative development solutions that can produce indigenous and low cost technology that would help accelerate growth industrially,” he said.
He pointed out that in every state of the country, Nigeria has at least one agricultural product that can be focused on for commercial and industrial development and that industrialization based on agriculture will make a lot of impact on the population.
Recently President Goodluck Jonathan launched the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan NIRP, the document identifies four key sectors of Nigeria’s comparative advantage and one of them is agricultural processing which FIIRO has an edge in helping to accelerate development in that sector,he said.
He said that the bank and FIIRO were in alignment in helping to create jobs and assured the researchers of BoI  support in terms of collaboration; informing and sensitising Nigerians; the promotion of developed technology through exhibition and other avenues to ensure their visibility and availability.
It is essential to build capacity for accredited equipment fabricators to improve our local technology by making it more effective, attractive and low cost in order to also encourage the youths to participate in Nigeria’s industrial revolution in this digital age,” he said.
On her part, the Director-General/Chief Executive of FIIRO, Dr. Gloria Elemo, affirmed that the institute was indeed relevant in its developmental contributions to the agro-allied, agro-processing and minerals sector of the economy and home for industrial technology for the MSME sector.
The Institute has contributed through processing of local raw materials and the production of indigenous technology to the growth of SMEs in the country and have conducted researches into all the natural agro and mineral based resources of the country,” she said.
She noted that the strategic partnership between FIIRO and BoI continues to have an unprecedented impact on Nigeria’s industrial landscape and must be properly harnessed