In a bid to reverse Nigeria’s over reliance on imports, the Central Bank of Nigeria has created a platform that supports companies and projects with the potential to transform and jumpstart the productive base of the economy in the nation and revealed the criteria for participating in its 100 for 100 policy on Production and Productivity.
The project will provide funding and foreign exchange to projects that potentially have significant economic impact in terms of job creation, foreign exchange earnings, and ease of doing business. Funding will be provided under existing CBN Intervention Processes and complete FX funding for new machinery, the bank said. It also stated that all funding under the project would be made public and published in national dailies.
The criteria were revealed in a statement by CBN’s Director, Development Finance Department, titled “Selection criteria for private sector companies’ participation under the 100 for 100 Policy on Production and Productivity, PPP”.
“The projects for consideration shall be new projects in existing companies requiring new machinery and other support and must have the greatest potential to achieve significant scale in their in-country production and for domestic consumption and exports,” the statements said.
The included criteria were but not limited to local content, job creation and human capital development, contribution to economic growth, and production efficiency and scalability.
The bank added that 80 per cent of jobs created by the project should be taken by Nigerians, and 50 per cent of raw materials should be sourced locally.
