The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has pledged to mobilise N1.3 trillion in fresh debt and equity capital as part of a new five‑year strategy aimed at broadening access to finance for small businesses and deepening financial inclusion nationwide.
Unveiling the strategy at a media briefing in Lagos over the weekend, DBN managing director, Dr Tony Okpanachi, said the plan will prioritise support for women‑led and youth‑led enterprises, channel additional funding to economically disadvantaged states and expand the bank’s guarantees and green‑finance offerings.
“We have reached an important milestone — more than N1 trillion in cumulative disbursements to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises through our partner financial institutions,” Okpanachi said.
“Now we are setting out an ambitious growth path to scale that impact further by mobilising N1.3 trillion of fresh capital and directing 40 per cent of our lending to women‑owned businesses over the next five years.”
DBN, a wholesale development finance institution that began operations in November 2017, has worked through a network of 84 participating financial institutions. Since its inception, the bank says it has channelled over N1 trillion to MSMEs, reached more than one million end‑borrowers and supported the creation of over 1.6 million jobs.
The new strategy sets explicit targets for the next five years, including: Increasing loans outstanding to N1 trillion; Growing guarantees issued to N500 billion.
Mobilising N1.3 trillion in fresh debt and equity capital; Directing 40 per cent of lending to women‑led businesses and 30 per cent to youth‑led enterprises; generating an estimated two million direct and indirect jobs as well as delivering cumulative profit before tax of about N300 billion.
Okpanachi said the gender- and youth-focused targets align with DBN’s experience to date, noting that women have been the largest beneficiaries of its interventions. Since 2017, women have received 77 per cent of DBN‑supported funding, while youth‑owned enterprises account for 28 per cent.
In 2025 alone, DBN disbursed more than N358 billion to over 289,000 MSMEs, with women comprising 81 per cent of beneficiaries. The bank also channelled N59 billion to more than 63,000 businesses in economically disadvantaged regions during the year.
Targeting underserved areas
As part of its geographic outreach, DBN said it has disbursed over N108 billion to more than 132,000 MSMEs in economically disadvantaged states, including Borno, Adamawa, Katsina, Yobe and Zamfara. The new plan will intensify efforts to expand financing in other underserved geopolitical zones and states facing heightened economic challenges.
Okpanachi emphasised that the bank’s interventions combine finance with capacity building. “Beyond loans and guarantees, we have trained more than 52,000 MSMEs and provided technical assistance to over 20 participating financial institutions to strengthen their ability to lend to small businesses,” he said.
DBN’s credit guarantee arm has also expanded, issuing more than N512 billion in guarantees to over 100,000 MSMEs since 2019. In 2025, guarantees worth N233 billion were extended to more than 39,000 businesses, the bank said.
Under the new strategy DBN will aim to grow guarantees to N500 billion and deepen its green finance portfolio, targeting between N75 billion and N100 billion in green loans outstanding.
The bank also plans to scale entrepreneurship programmes and technical assistance, with a cumulative target of reaching 500,000 MSMEs through training and capacity building.
Officials said the N1.3 trillion mobilisation target will be achieved through a mix of debt and equity fundraising from local and international development partners, institutional investors and impact funds, while continuing to leverage participating financial institutions as delivery channels.
“We will pursue a blended‑finance approach that attracts concessional and commercial capital to de‑risk lending to underserved segments,” Okpanachi said. “This will enable partner banks and non‑bank financiers to extend more affordable credit to women and young entrepreneurs across Nigeria.”
DBN projects that the five‑year plan will support the creation of two million direct and indirect jobs and deliver cumulative profit before tax of around N300 billion. The strategy also aims to contribute to broader government objectives on inclusive growth, job creation and sustainable development.
DBN was established to improve access to finance for MSMEs by providing wholesale funding, guarantees and technical assistance to eligible financial intermediaries. Over the past eight years, it has positioned itself as a key catalyst for small business financing and economic development in Nigeria by partnering with banks, microfinance institutions and other lenders.
Looking ahead, the bank said it will intensify efforts to measure and report development outcomes, strengthen risk management and pursue partnerships that widen the pool of capital available to support small businesses, particularly women‑owned and youth‑led enterprises.