DBN is drawing lessons from other development finance institutions to identify proven models for improving access to finance and supporting the growth of Nigerian MSMEs.\n<\/p>\n
At the Bangkok meetings, job creation featured prominently in discussions on economic growth, particularly in developing economies where MSMEs are expected to play a major role in expanding employment and economic participation.\n<\/p>\n
For DBN, those discussions provided an opportunity to examine how other countries and development finance institutions are addressing similar challenges, including the need to expand access to long-term funding, improve enterprise capacity and build stronger partnerships across the private sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe message is clear: MSMEs are major drivers of job creation in any economy, including Nigeria. Therefore, whatever we do to support these businesses, create an enabling environment for them and improve their access to finance will directly or indirectly create employment opportunities.\u201d Okpanachi told BusinessDay.\n<\/p>\n
On the sidelines, DBN held bilateral engagements with Germany\u2019s KfW and the African Development Bank (AfDB), an existing shareholder, while exploring deeper ties with Italy\u2019s Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP). It also met Indian companies and development finance institutions to attract resources, technical expertise and identify practices adaptable to Nigeria.\n<\/p>\n
Thailand and India offered useful MSME models, with Okpanachi highlighting the visibility and economic contribution of small businesses in Thailand and India\u2019s thriving enterprise sector as learning opportunities for strengthening support to Nigerian businesses.\n<\/p>\n
DBN is also keen to learn from the Development Bank of Southern Africa\u2019s green finance experience to expand its existing interventions.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are already doing this, but we want to scale. We have engaged with them to understand their achievements and identify the practices that have worked well,\u201d Okpanachi said, stressing that foreign models must be adapted to Nigeria\u2019s economic conditions and business needs.<\/p>\n
Beyond lending to building businesses<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n While additional funding commitments expand lending through its partner financial institutions, DBN\u2019s next phase goes beyond credit delivery to strengthening lenders\u2019 capacity, building entrepreneurs\u2019 business skills and improving access to finance.\n<\/p>\n Okpanachi said the bank\u2019s four priorities include expanding financing through participating institutions, scaling up capacity-building, strengthening technical assistance to lenders and improving collaboration across the business ecosystem.\n<\/p>\n The focus on financial institutions reflects their role as direct lenders to MSMEs. Strengthening understanding of borrowers\u2019 business models, risks, financing needs and growth prospects, he said, improves lending decisions and helps viable enterprises access formal credit.\n<\/p>\n DBN is also expanding entrepreneur training and business development support to improve financial management, business plans and credit readiness.<\/p>\n Its partial credit guarantee scheme complements these efforts by sharing lending risks with partner institutions and encouraging credit to viable businesses that lack conventional collateral.\n<\/p>\n The wider ecosystem is equally important. MSME development depends not only on access to finance but also on the availability of business networks, technical expertise, market opportunities and partnerships that help enterprises compete and expand.\n<\/p>\n Okpanachi said DBN is therefore seeking to involve stakeholders beyond the financial system in its interventions. \u201cIt is not just about the financial system; it is about bringing other players into the ecosystem and fostering collaboration that can deliver greater impact,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n The bank\u2019s newly launched DBN Action for Women in Nigeria (DAWN) programme illustrates this approach, as the initiative combines financing with credit guarantees, technical assistance, targeted grants and market linkages to address barriers confronting women-owned businesses.\n<\/p>\n Okpanachi explained that the broader objective is to measure the effectiveness of DBN\u2019s interventions by the results they produce for businesses and the economy, rather than focusing mainly on the amount of money disbursed.<\/p>\n \u201cAs enterprises expand, they employ more people, strengthen supply chains, increase production, contribute to government revenue through taxes, and the economy is strengthened.\u201d\n<\/p>\n AI emerges as next frontier for MSME growth<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n Technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), is emerging as another important part of DBN\u2019s strategy to improve its operations and help small businesses become more productive and competitive.\n<\/p>\n AI featured prominently in discussions at the Bangkok meetings, where participants examined its potential to transform business operations, improve productivity and create new economic opportunities. Okpanachi said DBN had already adopted the technology in aspects of its operations, including information gathering, data analysis and engagement with financial institutions and MSMEs.\n<\/p>\n The bank uses analytical and predictive tools to help staff assess information, identify patterns and understand possible outcomes. These capabilities can support better decisions about the needs of businesses and the interventions required to address them.<\/p>\n \u201cOur view is that AI will not displace jobs but will serve as an enabler, making work easier and improving efficiency,\u201d Okpanachi said.\n<\/p>\n For DBN, the technology also offers a way to improve how it understands the businesses it supports. By analysing information on MSME activities and performance, the bank can develop interventions that respond more closely to actual business needs instead of designing programmes without sufficient evidence, Okpanachi explained.\n<\/p>\n The bank is also encouraging MSMEs to adopt AI in their own operations to access market intelligence beyond their immediate environments, identify new opportunities, anticipate the possible effects of business decisions and improve product development and resource allocation.\n<\/p>\n Okpanachi further explained that this approach is particularly useful for smaller enterprises that lack the resources to maintain large research, marketing or analytical teams. According to him, access to appropriate digital tools can help them understand customers, assess competition and make more informed decisions about expansion.\n<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Nigeria investors\u2019 forum, also held on the sidelines of the Bangkok meetings, provided a platform to showcase investment opportunities across sectors, while the deal room facilitated direct engagement between international investors and Nigerian project promoters. Onyinye Nwachukwu is the Abuja Bureau Chief of BusinessDay, overseeing coverage across Abuja and Northern Nigeria. With more than two decades of experience in economic and financial journalism, she reports on business, policy, and market trends, linking local developments to the global economy. A fellow of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and recipient of the P. Vishwanathan Memorial Award for Excellence in Financial Journalism, she is known for her insightful storytelling and interviews with senior policymakers, diplomats, and business leaders. Well traveled and globally minded, Onyinye brings depth and international perspective to her reporting.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Source: <\/p>\n The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) is repositioning its approach to financing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), moving beyond the provision of credit to a broader model that combines… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8393,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Okpanachi said such engagements were critical to linking Nigeria\u2019s reform efforts with bankable investment opportunities and connecting MSMEs to wider sectoral value chains, potentially expanding their access to investment and new markets.<\/p>\nRelated News<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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