The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) said it has completed all arrangements to boost the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through a capacity building exercise, which is one of its core mandates.
The bank also said it is providing access to finance to MSMEs and partial credit guarantee to the participating financial institution on a market conforming basis to enable them to lend to small businesses.
Specifically, the development finance institution said it is committed to building the capacity of the Nigerian MSMEs to enable them to formalize, grow and become more bankable to get easy access to available credit.
Commenting on the initiative, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, DBN, Tony Okpanachi said part of DBN’s role is to partner with financial institutions and collaborate with them to provide financing facilities to MSMEs.
In many cases, DBN also offers technical assistance programmes to these institutions to augment their capacity to lend to MSMEs. According to him, “In the short term, we plan to strengthen our catalytic role in the Nigerian economy by expanding our reach to more MSMEs in underserved regions such as crisis-impacted areas and enhancing development impact in other key areas such as women- and youth-owned enterprises, startups, and first-time borrowers.
The portal is open to all Nigerian MSMEs who are interested in acquiring the right knowledge needed to succeed in doing business in Nigeria. In addition, Salihu stated, that DBN will be selecting the best 200 businesses to attend face-to-face training in Lagos and Abuja.
This physical session would be an opportunity for businesses to practically apply important principles to their various businesses, discuss; and receive business support in specific areas of need, he stressed. He further explained that all businesses will be eligible to apply for the capacity-building programme.
In an earlier statement, DBN noted that all businesses who have completed the 4 courses by September 23rd will receive an email with a link to apply for the face-to-face training. Upon submission of the application form, an email confirming receipt will be sent to the applicant within 24 hours.
