€85 million in long-term financing was unveiled by Nigeria’s Bank of Industry to expand domestic cocoa processing, with the programme announced at the Cocoa Value Addition Summit in Abuja.
About 70% of the EIB- and EU-backed facility will go to cocoa and dairy, targeting higher productivity, stronger market access and more local processing instead of raw bean exports.
BOI said it will pair funding with technical support on international quality, sustainability and EU deforestation rules, while opening concessionary lending windows for smallholder cooperatives.
Processed cocoa products can earn up to $30,000 per tonne versus roughly $9,000 for raw beans, a gap BOI says Nigeria is missing while more than 80% of its cocoa is exported unprocessed.
The push comes after cocoa prices fell more than 70% from 2024 highs before recovering to above $4,400 a tonne in May, underscoring the case for buffering farmers against global price swings.
Can Nigeria's €85 million cocoa plan truly triple export values and break its dependence on raw bean exports?
With multiple new agricultural programs in Nigeria, how will benefits reach small farmers instead of being lost in bureaucracy?
As the EU's Global Gateway rivals China's initiatives, how will African nations ensure genuine partnership over geopolitical pawnship?
Nigeria’s Cocoa Leap: €85 Million Investment, Regional Alliance, and the End of Raw Bean Exports
Overview
In July 2026, Nigeria hosted the Cocoa Value Addition Summit in Abuja, where African nations adopted the Abuja Declaration and Cocoa Value Addition Accord, marking a major shift toward regional collaboration and value addition in the cocoa sector. This summit laid the foundation for the Cocoa Value Addition Alliance (CVA), uniting key producers to move beyond decades of exporting raw cocoa beans and instead focus on local processing, harmonized standards, and stronger collective bargaining. The CVA aims to help African countries capture more economic value from cocoa, transform their global market role, and improve livelihoods for millions of farmers across the continent.