The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) and the Bank of Industry (BOI) have established a N10 billion Sugar Project Acceleration Fund aimed at supporting the development of new sugar projects and strengthening Nigeria’s domestic sugar industry.
The initiative, known as the Sugar Project Acceleration Fund (SPAF), is designed to provide financing and project development support for viable greenfield sugar projects across the country.
The Council hosted an interactive session where officials from both institutions engaged potential beneficiaries and guided project promoters seeking to access the facility.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the NSDC, Kamar Bakrin, said the fund was created to help bridge the gap between project ideas and investor-ready ventures.
“Here is a reality that every serious project promoter knows: Capital availability, on its own, will not result in sugar production,” Bakrin said.
He explained that while development finance institutions and investors have funds available for agro-industrial projects, the major challenge often lies in the readiness of projects to meet financing standards.
“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 added.
According to Bakrin, successful projects must meet strict technical and financial requirements before they can attract investment.
“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,” the NSDC Executive Secretary and CEO explained.
Bakrin stressed that the SPAF facility was specifically created to help promoters move their projects from early-stage concepts to bankable investments.
“SPAF is NSDC’s structured pre-investment facility is established to provide qualifying project promoters with the technical, financial, and advisory support required to develop their projects to bankable standard,” he said.
“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.”
Also speaking at the session, Ms. Hadiza Shuaib, who led the BOI delegation, said the bank would serve as the fund manager for SPAF while the NSDC would provide sector leadership and technical oversight.
“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.
Shuaib explained that the bank would oversee key aspects of the programme, including credit appraisal, risk management, loan disbursement, monitoring and evaluation, and account closure after full repayment.
She also noted that the fund is specifically targeted at businesses involved in sugar and sugar-related activities.
Greenfield project promoters represented at the session included Illaj Sugar, Brent Foods, Crystal Sugar, Legacy Sugar, Saro Sugar, Awaa, Ganic and Confluence Sugar, all seeking to participate in the programme aimed at accelerating Nigeria’s sugar industry development.