MICRO SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES, MSMEs, in Nigeria, received N31 billon from Development Bank of Nigeria, DBN, in 2018, first full year of the bank’s operation, according Tony Okpanachi, Managing Director of the bank, at Spring Meetings of International Monetary Fund, IMF, and World Bank in Washington, USE.
Okpanachi’s presentation to a World Bank Group team and international investors on achievements and future plans of DBN, said his team was working towards disbursing about N100 billion to MSMEs at the end of 2019; and intends to move up to N389 billion disbursement at the end of 2023, when DBN would be five years in lending.
Okpanachi said Partnering Finance Institutions, PFI, grew from two in 2017, when DBN began operations, to 22 at the end of 2018. The target for 2019 was put at 30 PFI. “Financial sustainability is our key focus from first day with steady profits in the last two years and a robust projection for 2019 and beyond”, he added.
Investors and stakeholders were informed the bank had taken risk management seriously in its frameworks and policies, and, so far, recorded zero Non-Performing Loans, NPL. He said DBN has changed landscape of MSMEs funding in Nigeria with innovative lending and focus on long-term loans to MSMEs sector of the economy.
