The Bank of Industry(BoI) will in November host 100 member countries in a conference organised by the Association of Development Financed institutions (AADFI), which is focused on strengthening the institutions of the DFIs globally for greater impact on the economy.
The event will also present the opportunity to review operations, exchange programmes, and promote cross border transactions in AADFI operations.
Joseph Alfred Amihere, Secretary General of AADFI, said the event would be attended by member countries from Europe and Asia and other African countries.
“This is a prestigious event to host a large number of member countries and we have our members outside the continent coming for this event. The hosting rite was narrowed down to about three countries,and Nigeria emerged victorious.” he said.
“There was a time we faced the battle of liquidation of the DFIs, but we fought back and made our case known to the World Bank, and got a positive response. The AADFI is the only institution in the continent which has got observer status at the World Bank. This is so because the World Bank has seen that the DFIs in Africa play a key role in economic development,” he said.
The conference, he added, would be looking for ways of strengthening various development financial institutions.
”DFIs should be able to examine the ratings of all the institutions,how they perform individually in their various countries,and also award them new grades to prepare various managing directors to review practices globally.It would also afford various DFIS to learn from one another through their various institutions,” he said.
Olukayode Pitan, the Managing director of the BoI, noted that the conference would offer the bank opportunity to review some of its practices from their global peers for improvement.
“We are lending money on rates below the market even taken more risks in lending than the commercial banks. So we must find a creative way to boost our financial base and ensure the best people pilot the affairs,” Pitan said.
He also expects the conference to open doors for exchange programmes, cross border transactions and learning from country to country experience to ensure best global practices in lending.
