The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) Plc on Wednesday launched the DBN Action for Women in Nigeria (DAWN) aimed at providing financing for women, youth-led businesses and underserved states.
The launching of the initiative was held during the seventh Annual DBN Lecture in Abuja under the theme: “From Policy to Prosperity: Translating Economic Reforms into MSME Growth.”
The event, attended by government officials, regulators, development partners, financial institutions and entrepreneurs to examine how national economic reforms can deliver real gains for MSMEs, also featured the unveiling of the DBN Impact Report as well as the presentation of the DBN micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) Data Assets.
In his welcome remarks, the Managing Director/CEO of DBN, Dr Tony Okpanachi, said the central challenge was no longer the reforms in the financial sector, but how to ensure their benefits reachee businesses at the end of the value chain.
“The major reforms are now in place. How do we make sure their benefits reached the trader in Onitsha, the fabricator in Aba, the farmer in Kebbi and the young founder in Yaba?” Okpanachi asked.
Noting that MSMEs account for close to half of Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) and more than eight in every ten jobs, Okpanachi said whhen reform works for MSMEs, it would work for most Nigerians.
He explained that a reform becomes prosperity only when an entrepreneur can act on it, whether through long-tenor loans to buy equipment, a bank willing to take the risk, or the skills and records needed to grow.
Working through Participating Financial Institutions, he said DBN provides longer-term funding, partial credit guarantees through its subsidiary, Impact Credit Guarantee Limited, and capacity building, including its Entrepreneurship Training Programme.
He reported that as at December 2025, DBN had disbursed a cumulative ₦1.4 trillion to MSMEs through 84 Participating Financial Institutions, creating about 1.6 million jobs nationwide.
Under its new five-year strategy, he said the Bank aims to reach more than two million MSMEs, with deliberate targets for women-led businesses, youth-led businesses and underserved states.
On DAWN, Dr Okpanachi said finance alone had not enabled enough women-led businesses to scale, adding that the initiative brings together financing, guarantees and credit support, technical assistance, outcome-linked grants and market linkages, delivered through banks, microfinance institutions, fintechs, aggregators, cooperatives and direct channels.
He said DAWN priority sectors include agriculture and exports, healthcare, arts and creatives, technology, and green business.
“DAWN is about moving gender-focused lending beyond intention and turning access into opportunity,” he said.
On the sidelines of the lecture, DBN and the African Development Bank (AfDB) also held the signing ceremony of the AfDB–DBN $61 million Gender Line of Credit, a development that reinforces the Bank’s commitment to women-led enterprises.
Dr Okpanachi urged Participating Financial Institutions to extend lending into sectors and states where access to finance has been limited; policymakers and regulators to “measure reform by what changes for the business at the end of the chain” and MSMEs to formalise, keep good records and use the support now available to them.
The event was attended by the Senior Technical Adviser in the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on the Economy, Dr Fred Iklaga, who represented the Vice President; the CEO of MTN Nigeria, Dr Karl Toriola, and the Chairman of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Dr Segun Ogunsanya.
A fireside chat featured the CEO of Sterling Bank, Mr Abubakar Suleiman; manufacturing and trade entrepreneur Mrs Omoyemi Chukwurah, and Mr Kola Masha of Babban Gona, who attended virtually.
Representing the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mrs Augusta Warrens Bekaredebo, said the 2026 tax reforms would bring relief to many small businesses, expressing optimism that “a lot of businesses will be smiling” by next year because they will be exempted from tax.
