Nigeria and other African countries have benefited from €108 million invested through the European Investment Bank’s (EIB) Boost Africa initiative over the past decade.

European Union Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, disclosed this on Wednesday during a media briefing in Abuja.

Mignot said the initiative had also attracted nearly €400 million in additional investments and contributed to the creation of about 15,000 jobs across sub-Saharan Africa.

According to him, Boost Africa was designed not only to provide funding but also to strengthen the wider business ecosystem required for startups and growing companies to survive, expand and compete.

Mignot described Africa’s young entrepreneurs as one of the continent’s greatest assets, noting that innovative businesses could create jobs, strengthen local value chains and promote sustainable economic growth.

“Nigeria is one of Africa’s most dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystems, and we believe that supporting innovation and enterprise is essential for sustainable economic growth and job creation,” he said.

He said the expansion of Nigerian businesses into other African markets would help drive stronger value creation and contribute to the development of genuinely pan-African companies.

Also speaking, EIB Country Relationship Manager for Nigeria, Moussa Nkoulima, said Boost Africa combines capital, technical assistance and ecosystem development.

Nkoulima explained that the initiative was launched in 2016 by the EIB and African Development Bank, with support from the EU and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), to address the shortage of early-stage funding for African entrepreneurs.

He added that the EIB had worked with six venture capital funds under the initiative, with its €108 million investment helping to attract an additional €400 million from other investors.