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Development Bank Of Nigeria Commits To MSME Funding In The North-East

MSME - Funding, Lending & Credit	4419 VIEWS
MSME - Funding, Lending & Credit
4419 VIEWS

Friday, November 01, 2019 / 6:50 PM / DBN / Header Image Credit: @DevBankNG

The Managing Director of Development Bank of Nigeria, DBN, Mr. Anthony Okpanachi, has pledged to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development in the North-East region.

Mr. Okpanachi disclosed this at the DBN MSME that was hosted recently in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno state.

Okpanachi assured that the Development Bank would support the rejuvenation of North-Eastern city to its blooming commercial status, which has been devastated by insurgency in the last decade.

The DBN boss said over N100bn has been disbursed this year to over 95,000 MSMEs across various sectors of the economy.

Keynote speaker at the event Mr. Ibrahim Boyi, the MD/CEO of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria, called for stakeholders support for Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) describing them as having the capacity to absorb the nation's growing workforce.

He also noted that the current supply of credit of about $3.7trillion is low compared to the $8.9 trillion potential demand for MSME financing.

The automobile group boss noted that the sector (MSMEs) had made a total employment contribution of over 60 million persons, and if given the needed support, funding and enabling environment would do more.

According to him, "There are five major economic sectors that have thrived within the MSME sector in Nigeria, these are Wholesale/Retail Trade; Agriculture; Other Services; Manufacturing, Accommodation & Food Services. These sectors have made a total employment contribution of about 60 million persons, while 10 million persons from these statistics do not have Western Education".

He said that quick implementation of innovative ideas would set MSMEs apart; Boyi enjoined participants at the summit and MSMEs, in general, to formalize their operations to help them position to receiving the necessary support needed to scale up their businesses.

Boyi and Okpanachi both agreed that "MSME business owners need to get their businesses structured with bankable business plans."

The perceived absence of a bankable business plan and structure is responsible for their classification as high risk by banks and thereby limiting their access to finance.

Panel discussants at the summit included Romoke Adebo, Founder/CEO, Epicentre Global Events Limited; RilwanHassan, Executive Secretary, Kaduna State Scholarships and Loans Board; FantisMohammed, Founder, Santis Foods and Beverage Limited and Ibrahim Balami, MD/CEO, IBBA 36 Global Concept.