The Development Bank of Nigeria is changing how it supports small businesses, shifting from credit alone to a package that includes funding, training, technical assistance, technology and market links. Managing Director Tony Okpanachi told BusinessDay that access to finance on its own is not enough to help small firms grow, raise productivity and survive. The bank is also pursuing new funding commitments and global partnerships to widen its reach.
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How the bank works today
DBN does not lend directly to most small businesses. It funds participating financial institutions, including commercial, non-interest, merchant and microfinance banks, which then lend to MSMEs. Through its subsidiary, Impact Credit Guarantee Limited, it also offers partial credit guarantees, so lenders can back viable businesses that lack the collateral banks usually ask for.
As at December 2025, DBN had disbursed N1.4 trillion to MSMEs through 84 participating institutions, facilitating about 1.6 million jobs. Its five-year strategy aims to reach more than two million businesses, with a focus on women-led and youth-led firms and those in underserved states.
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What the new approach adds
Okpanachi named four priorities: expanding financing through partner institutions, scaling up capacity building, strengthening technical support to lenders, and improving cooperation across the business ecosystem. The focus on lenders is deliberate. Banks that understand a borrower’s business model and risks make better decisions, and viable firms are more likely to get formal credit.
For entrepreneurs, the bank is expanding training in financial management, business planning and credit readiness. Its new DBN Action for Women in Nigeria programme, known as DAWN, shows the approach in practice. It combines finance, guarantees, technical assistance, targeted grants and market linkages for women-owned businesses. Okpanachi said the bank wants to be judged by results for businesses and the economy, not mainly by the amount it disburses.
What it learned abroad
Okpanachi spoke on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok. DBN held talks with Germany’s KfW and the African Development Bank, an existing shareholder, and explored closer ties with Italy’s Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. It also met Indian companies and development finance institutions. He pointed to Thailand and India as useful MSME models, and to the Development Bank of Southern Africa’s green finance work, while stressing that foreign models must be adapted to Nigerian conditions.
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Where artificial intelligence fits
DBN already uses analytical and predictive tools in parts of its work, including data analysis and engagement with lenders and MSMEs. Okpanachi said AI will help staff do their jobs and will not replace them, and that better data on how small businesses actually perform should help the bank design programmes around evidence. He also wants MSMEs to use digital tools for market research, customer insight and product development, since smaller firms cannot afford large research teams.
What to watch
The numbers invite a closer look. N1.4 trillion across 1.6 million jobs works out at roughly N875,000 of lending per job facilitated, a useful yardstick as the bank widens its scope. The World Bank approved a $500 million project in December 2025 that DBN will implement, with guarantees delivered through Impact Credit Guarantee, which adds pressure to show results.
The shift from credit to capability is sensible, because many small firms are turned away for weak records, not weak ideas. The test is whether training and technical help reach borrowers outside the big cities and change lending decisions at partner banks. If the support stays at lender level and never reaches the market trader or workshop owner, the new model will look better on paper than in practice.
