The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) Plc has launched DAWN: DBN Action for Women in Nigeria, unveiled its DBN Impact Report and offered the DBN MSME Data Assets on the seventh version of its Annual Lecture, held on the Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
Themed: ‘From Policy to Prosperity: Translating Economic Reforms into MSME Growth’, the 2026 lecture introduced collectively authorities officers, regulators, improvement companions, monetary establishments and entrepreneurs to look at how nationwide financial reforms can ship actual positive factors for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Delivering the welcome deal with, the Managing Director/CEO of DBN, Dr. Tony Okpanachi, stated the central problem was not the reforms themselves however guaranteeing their advantages attain companies on the finish of the chain.
“The major reforms are now in place. How do we make sure their benefits reach the trader in Onitsha, the fabricator in Aba, the farmer in Kebbi and the young founder in Yaba?” he requested.
He famous that MSMEs accounted for near half of Nigeria’s GDP and greater than eight in each ten jobs, including: “When reform works for MSMEs, it works for most Nigerians.”
Okpanachi defined {that a} reform turns into prosperity solely when an entrepreneur might act on it, whether or not via long-tenor loans to purchase gear, a financial institution keen to take the danger, or the abilities and data wanted to develop. Working via Participating Financial Institutions, DBN offers longer-term funding, partial credit score ensures via its subsidiary, Impact Credit Guarantee Limited, and capability constructing, together with its Entrepreneurship Training Programme.
He reported that as at December 2025, DBN had disbursed a cumulative N1.4 trillion to MSMEs via 84 Participating Financial Institutions, creating about 1.6 million jobs nationwide. Under its new five-year technique, the Bank goals to succeed in greater than two million MSMEs, with deliberate targets for women-led companies, youth-led companies and underserved states.
