The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) recently rewarded its Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) for facilitating access to finance for micro, small and medium-scale enterprises in Nigeria, at the 4th annual service ambassadors’ award ceremony.
The DBN annual service ambassadors’ award is an event that recognises and rewards participating financial institutions for their commitment to supporting small businesses in the most critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.
“This annual event is a testament to our unwavering commitment to fostering sustainable economic growth in Nigeria. It is an opportunity to recognise and appreciate the invaluable contributions of our PFIs in ensuring that MSMEs have access to the much-needed financial resources they require to thrive,” Tony Okpanachi, the managing director, DBN, stated whilst recognising the PFIs.
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According to him, the partnership with PFIs has continued to evolve over the past years, resulting in significant growth and development of MSMEs across the country. “Together, we have provided critical funding, technical assistance, and capacity-building programmes to empower MSMEs to realise their full potential.”
Taiwo Joda, MD/CEO, Accion Microfinance Bank, commended DBN for creating the environment that enables the bank as a PFI to support the sustainable growth of Nigerian MSMEs and impact the national economy in a significant way.
According to him, DBN has been providing liquidity to fund the MfB’s numerous businesses and also to spread its tentacles. He further disclosed that Accion intends to open branches in four new states with DBN’s support next year.
“The awards first recognised our hard work and also to inspire and spur us onto greater works. But more importantly, the biggest award should go to the Development Bank of Nigeria, which has created an enabling environment for us to be able to do this because, without the support of DBN, we probably would not be able to make our impact felt in those places that have been highlighted,” Joda stated.
Ezinne Nwokafor, group head, business banking, Sterling Bank, stated that through collaboration with DBN, Sterling Bank has reached many MSMEs across the country with its banking solutions. “DBN has significantly helped us to reach out to MSMEs across the country, and we are excited and look forward to doing much more with DBN.”
Oluseyi Soetan, group head, financial institution, First Bank, stated that the partnership with DBN has offered a veritable platform to the bank to impact the under-served MSMEs by empowering them with the funds to scale their business.
According to Soetan, the partnership has also helped in giving MSMEs a voice in the marketplace, as well as enabling job creation across the country. “What DBN has done with us is a partnership to reach certain areas of the economy or the society that they would like to impact.
“We have been able to do gender-based lending; we have lent to MSMEs, your normal mom-and-dad grocery that would not normally get good prices for their activities.”
