The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) and the Bank of Industry (BoI) have launched a N10 billion Sugar Project Acceleration Fund (SPAF) to support the development of greenfield sugar projects and accelerate the growth of Nigeria’s domestic sugar industry.
The fund is designed to provide financing and project development support to viable greenfield projects, helping to fast-track investments aimed at building a sustainable and competitive sugar production value chain in the country.
To kick-start the initiative, the Council hosted an interactive session where officials of NSDC and BoI engaged greenfield project promoters expected to benefit from the facility, outlining the requirements and support structure of the programme.
Speaking at the event, the executive secretary and chief executive officer of NSDC, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, said the initiative was designed to address one of the most critical challenges facing large agro-industrial projects in Nigeria — the lack of well-structured, bankable projects.
“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,”Bakrin said.
He also explained that bankable projects must be supported by technically credible feasibility studies covering agronomy, water balance, infrastructure requirements, and environmental and social risks, alongside robust financial models capable of demonstrating debt servicing capacity even under adverse conditions.
Bakrin added that such projects must also have clearly defined land tenure arrangements, structured outgrower models, realistic implementation timelines, and credible management teams capable of inspiring investor confidence while meeting strict environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards required by financiers.
According to him, many early-stage projects fall short of these requirements, making it difficult for promoters to secure financing despite the availability of capital in the market.
“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.
Bakrin described SPAF as a structured pre-investment facility designed to help qualifying promoters develop projects to bankable standards.
“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 said.
Also speaking, Ms. Hadiza Shuaib, who led the BoI delegation to the session, said the Bank of Industry will serve as the fund manager for SPAF, while the NSDC will provide sector leadership and technical guidance.
She explained that beyond financing, the programme places strong emphasis on skills development and capacity building to ensure that supported projects achieve sustainable outcomes.
Shuaib said BoI’s responsibilities as fund manager will include credit appraisal, risk management, loan disbursement, monitoring and evaluation, as well as account closure after 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 added that only businesses engaged in sugar production or sugar-related activities will qualify to benefit from the facility.
Greenfield projects represented at the interactive session included Illaj Sugar, Brent Foods, Crystal Sugar, Legacy Sugar, Saro Sugar, Awaa, Ganic and Confluence Sugar.
