The federal government of Nigeria has directed the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) to step up its efforts to increase its funding for MSMEs.
Following the impact of the Russian-Ukraine war that has disrupted business activities in different countries across the world, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) during this period have continued to face increased difficulties.
Noting that MSMEs occupy a critical part of the Nigerian economy and contribute 48 percent to Nigeria’s GDP, the FG has demanded the DBN to expand its funding windows to provide affordable financing to a wider cross-section of MSMEs.
In a response to the demand of the federal government, the Managing Director of DBN Dr. Tony Okpanachi while speaking at DBN’s 3rd annual lecture series with the theme: “Thriving in the Face of Domestic and Global Disruptions”, assured that despite the adverse effect of domestic and global disruptions on MSMEs in Nigeria, the bank would continue to empower and drive the critical sub-sector of the economy to deploy innovative strategic solutions in the management of their businesses.
The Bank also assured of its continuous partnership with its Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) to eliminate the financing constraints faced by MSMEs.
His words, “In Nigeria, we’re currently plagued with rising inflation of 20.52% (as of September 2022). We are as well afflicted with rising food and commodity prices, coupled with the rising and unstable exchange rates among others.
“The effects of Global disruption on international trade often come as a shock to businesses. These series of events have led to uncertainty and radical changes to companies’ well-established strategies across the globe and MSMEs are not exempted.
“The future of work is currently in a state of flux, with many old and new challenges hitting MSMEs particularly hard. Hence, Governments, corporate bodies, and individuals, mostly MSMEs must find ways to adapt to the changing times and the volatility of the market, deal with uncertainty, and figure out how to convert that into opportunities.”
The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) was conceived by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) in collaboration with global development partners to address financing constraints faced by MSMEs and small Corporates in Nigeria.
The bank has successfully disbursed over N512 billion in loans to no less than 225,000 Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria since it was established five years ago.