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.

The fund is designed to provide financing and project development support to viable greenfield initiatives, with the aim of accelerating the growth of a sustainable and competitive sugar industry in Nigeria.

To deepen stakeholders’ understanding of the initiative, the council organised an interactive session where officials of NSDC and BOI briefed potential beneficiaries on the structure, requirements and opportunities provided by the fund.

Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of NSDC, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, said access to capital alone does not guarantee the success of sugar production projects.

According to him, “Here is a reality that every serious project promoter knows: Capital availability, on its own, will not result in sugar production.”

He noted that while development finance institutions and impact investors are increasingly willing to fund agro-industrial projects in Africa, many proposals fail to meet the standards required to secure financing.

“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 said.

Bakrin explained that a bankable sugar project must be backed by a credible feasibility study covering agronomy, water resources, infrastructure and environmental risks, as well as a strong financial model, clear land tenure arrangement, an outgrower development plan and a credible implementation strategy.

He added that SPAF was created to bridge the gap between early-stage project concepts and bankable investments, stressing that the facility is not a grant but a structured initiative to develop investor-ready sugar projects.

BOI representative, Ms. Hadiza Shuaib, said the bank will serve as fund manager, handling credit appraisal, risk management, loan disbursement and monitoring, while only businesses engaged in sugar or related activities will qualify for the facility.