The National Sugar Development Council and the Bank of Industry have established the Sugar Project Acceleration Fund as part of efforts to support the emergence and advancement of greenfield projects across the country.
The N10bn fund was introduced to provide financing and project development support to viable greenfield projects, with the aim of accelerating the development of a sustainable and competitive sugar industry in Nigeria.
A statement from the NSDC on Sunday stated that the council hosted an interactive session during which NSDC and BOI educated greenfield promoters who are potential beneficiaries of the fund.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the NSDC, Kamar Bakrin, said capital availability alone would not automatically translate into increased sugar production.
“Here is a reality that every serious project promoter knows: Capital availability, on its own, will not result in sugar production. Development finance institutions manage billions of dollars in agro-industrial finance and are under pressure to deploy capital. Impact investors are actively seeking credible opportunities in African food systems.
“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 project must begin with a technically credible feasibility study that addresses agronomy, water balance, infrastructure requirements, and social and environmental risks with the same level of rigour applied by financiers during due diligence.
“What does a bankable project look like? It begins with a technically credible feasibility study — one that addresses agronomy, water balance, infrastructure requirements, and social and environmental risks with the same rigour that a financier’s due diligence team will apply. It requires a robust financial model — one that stress-tests assumptions, demonstrates debt service capacity under adverse scenarios, and presents a capital structure that appropriately allocates risk.
“It demands a clear land tenure framework, an articulated outgrower model, a credible implementation plan with realistic milestones, and a management team whose track record inspires confidence. It must satisfy the ESG standards of the institutions whose capital it seeks — standards that are neither optional nor declining in rigour.
“Most projects that come to us do not yet meet this bar. That is not a criticism — it is the nature of early-stage project development. But it means that the journey from concept to financial close requires deliberate, structured investment in project preparation — investment that is frequently beyond the individual capacity of project promoters to absorb independently,” he said.
The NSDC boss emphasised that 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.”
“SPAF is not a grant programme, and it is not a gesture. It is a rigorous, output-oriented facility with clear eligibility criteria, defined deliverables, and an explicit objective: to build a credible, investor-ready pipeline of Nigerian sugar projects that can absorb the financing we are working to mobilise,” he added.
Also speaking at the event, Hadiza Shuaib, who led the BOI team to the meeting, said the bank would serve as the fund manager for SPAF, while the NSDC would provide sector leadership and technical guidance.
She added that beyond financing, the programme places strong emphasis on skills development and capacity building before and alongside funding. Shuaib outlined the bank’s responsibilities in managing the fund, including credit appraisal, risk management, loan disbursement, monitoring and evaluation, and account closure following full repayment.
“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.
She further noted that only businesses engaged in sugar or sugar-related activities would be eligible to benefit from the fund. Greenfield projects represented at the interactive session included Illaj Sugar, Brent Foods, Crystal Sugar, Legacy Sugar, Saro Sugar, Awaa, Ganic, and Confluence Sugar.