Development Bank Partners NSE To Promote MSMEs

• Development Bank Partners NSE To Promote MSMEs

The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has partnered with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) to build the capacity of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to get them listed on the exchange.

The Chief Executive Officer of DBN, Tony Okpanachi, said the proposed collaboration would involve sourcing or prospecting for MSME companies in line with the NSE’s objective of assisting MSMEs to become listed companies in the stock market.

“We would explore ways of working effectively with the NSE on how we can make an impact in the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises in terms of capital raising and equity.

“The DBN is a wholesale institution, but a lot of MSMEs require equity to function and grow optimally. Equally, this partnership is in line with the NSE’s objective of trying to bring MSMEs to the stock market,” he said.

Okpanachi further disclosed that the DBN is also planning to get listed on the exchange in the long term to raise capital beyond its current funding.

He said: “Ultimately, our long-term plan is to be able to list on the NSE. This is not immediate on the horizon but in the long term, there will an opportunity for us to raise capital beyond the current funding we have at the moment”

On his part, the Head, Listing Business at the NSE, Olumide Bolumole, said both parties will build each other skills to achieve their objective.

“This partnership is all about both parties leveraging each other’s expertise to better the financial ecosystem. We are happy to be collaborating with the DBN as we believe that we share the same synergies, especially in the area of our corporate social responsibility (CSR).

“However, the NSE has come up with a lot of initiatives to ameliorate these challenges and this should encourage MSMEs. For example, the exchange has reduced the number of required shareholders before an MSME can come on the exchange platform and they have also streamlined the cost of listing in order to make it affordable for MSMEs to get listed.

“The idea is for them to raise capital in a structured way,” he said.