The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has taken a major step in strengthening Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem with the launch of its first regional Innovation Hub in Kaduna, marking a shift from purely providing finance to fostering an innovation-driven MSME landscape. The Kaduna Hub is the first of six planned across the country.
At the launch, DBN’s Chief Economist, Prof. Joseph Nnanna, highlighted the Bank’s track record in supporting entrepreneurs. Since its inception, DBN has disbursed N322 billion to 723,000 women-led MSMEs, N151 billion to 260,000 youth-led enterprises, and N119 billion to over 106,000 startups nationwide. Additionally, more than 50,000 MSMEs have benefited from DBN’s capacity-building programs through hybrid learning platforms.
“These numbers are not mere statistics; they represent courage, resilience, and thousands of enterprise stories that show what access to finance can achieve,” Nnanna said.
He explained that the Kaduna Innovation Hub will serve as a bridge between early-stage entrepreneurs and the capital they need to scale. The Hub will provide structured incubation, technical assistance, investment readiness programmes, and linkages to venture capital, with DBN acting as an anchor limited partner to attract private sector investment.
By 2028, DBN projects that its Innovation Hub network will deliver thousands of investment-ready startups, enhance participation of women, youth, and persons with disabilities in innovation, and strengthen regional ecosystems that contribute to national growth.
“Our vision is to accelerate Nigeria’s transition to a sustainable, knowledge-based economy,” Nnanna said. “But this requires partnership from the private sector, investors, development partners, and the entrepreneurial community.”
The Kaduna Hub positions DBN not only as a financier but as a national catalyst for innovation-led MSME growth, signalling a new era of entrepreneurship support in Nigeria.
“Today’s launch is a historic milestone. Welcome to the DBN Innovation Hub,” Nnanna concluded.
