DBN advocates capacity development for MSMEs

  The Development Bank of Nigeria Plc. has advocated for more funding to capacity development for Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria. The Managing of the bank Tony Okpanachi, made the call at the second Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) summit recently in Kano. DBN said the choice of Kano […]

 

The Development Bank of Nigeria Plc. has advocated for more funding to capacity development for Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.

The Managing of the bank Tony Okpanachi, made the call at the second Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) summit recently in Kano.

DBN said the choice of Kano was informed by the economic importance of the great city of Kano to commercial activities in northern Nigeria.

The summit was attended by Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in Kano and across the northwestern region as well as government agencies and stakeholders across sectors including traditional rulers. 

The event was themed on the role of Development Bank in Inclusive Financing.

Okpanachi noted, “According to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria have contributed about 48% of the national GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the last five years. With a total number of about 17.4 million, they account for about 50% of industrial jobs and nearly 90% of the manufacturing sector.

“Though significant growth has been achieved in the MSME sector, there is still much to be done. Kano plays a major economic role in the northern business terrain and the challenges that MSMEs have to contend with are not different from those faced internationally. They include access to finance, value chains, and markets. A PwC report in 2020 identified obtaining finance, finding customers, and infrastructure deficits as the most pressing problems of MSMEs in Nigeria. It is therefore pertinent for us as a bank to champion the conversation on how MSMEs can win despite these challenges, by exposing ways through which MSMEs can benefit from our sustainable financial offerings.

“Hosting this event in Kano is apt as it will help us better understand the financial constraints faced by MSMEs in the state.” He concluded with a commitment that, “DBN will continue to work towards building the capacity of MSMEs, eliminating the financing constraints faced by this sector of the economy and transforming them into instruments of positive and sustained change.”

In his keynote address, Alhaji Tajudeen Dantata, CEO of Dantata Foods, said; “For us to discuss inclusive financing, we must recognise the important role of the MSMEs as key players in the Nigerian economy, the role of the DBN working in conjunction with their participating financial institutions in addressing the financial constraints faced by the MSMEs.”