The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) Kamar Bakrin, has secured a N10 billion Sugar Project Acceleration Fund (SPAF) to support the development of greenfield sugar projects across the country and strengthen Nigeria’s sugar industry.
The N10 billion is provided by the sugar council and the Bank of Industry who is also the fund manager.
Greenfield projects currently in the industry are Illaj Sugar, Brent Foods, Crystal Sugar, Legacy Sugar, Saro Sugar, Awaa, Ganic and Confluence Sugar.
Bakrin said that the fund is designed to provide financing and project development support to viable greenfield projects in a bid to accelerate the emergence of a sustainable and competitive sugar industry.
Bakrin emphasised that access to capital alone does not guarantee sugar production, noting that many development finance institutions and investors already have significant funds available for agro-industrial projects.
“SPAF is NSDC’s structured pre-investment facility established to provide qualifying project promoters with the technical, financial and advisory support required to develop their projects to bankable standard.
It is not a grant programme but a facility designed to build a credible pipeline of investor-ready Nigerian sugar projects,” he added.
The Executive Director of Public Sector and Intervention Programmes at BOI, Hadiza Shuaib, disclosed that the bank will serve as the fund manager for SPAF while NSDC will provide sector leadership and technical guidance.
” 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.
