Just as the Bank of Industry (BoI) since the beginning of this has been growing the consolidation of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) via loans, training and grants, the newly licensed Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) will finance about 20,000 Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises in the first year of its operations.
Managing Director of DBN, Mr. Tony Okpanachi, gave the hint of what DBN plans to achieve weekend, saying the bank would be taking off with a total of $1.3bn, adding that this would be used to provide wholesale long-term funding to small businesses.
According to him, fresh long-term funds would be provided to microfinance banks for on-lending to the MSMEs, adding that this would enable the sector create jobs and contribute significantly to economic growth.
Again, he hinted that part of the strategies of the bank was to de-risk the sector by making sure that loans were provided at a longer period of 10 years, with a moratorium that would enable the loans to be repaid within 12 years.
Okpanachi said, “The DBN is a new dawn for MSMEs because we will provide small businesses with funds and this will impact on the economy. We will create a sustainable funding model and also ensure financial inclusion through access to funding.
“We are also looking at more female participation and about 20,000 SMEs will be funded in the first year of our operation.”
