The Managing Director (MD) of the Development Bank of Nigeria Plc (DBN) Mr. Tony Okpanachi, has said that providing financial access for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country was crucial to the economic growth of the country.
He was reported as noting that the sub-sector could not be disregarded because over 17.4 million MSMEs contributed 48 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the previous five years, provided roughly 50% of industrial jobs, and made up nearly 90% of the manufacturing sector.
According to the bank, in a statement, yesterday, the MD told operators at a just concluded MSMEs summit in Kano, “The summit is one of DBN’s stakeholder engagement strategies aimed at creating awareness around our mandate of providing access to finance, capacity building, and partial credit guarantees to the MSMEs in Nigeria.
“This is important because they play a crucial role in accelerating economic growth through poverty alleviation, job, and wealth creation.”
“It has become imperative for us to pull resources together and channel collaborative efforts towards building the capacity of the MSMSE as a way of revitalizing their operations to address the challenge of access to finance.
“This will guarantee their growth and boost the economic potentials of this critical sub-sector.”
Mr. Okopanachi noted that although significant growth has been seen in the MSME sector, there was still much to be done.
Challenges faced by the sub-sector, according to him, included obtaining finance, finding customers, and infrastructure deficits, adding, “It is therefore pertinent for us as a Bank to champion the conversation on how MSMEs can win despite these challenges, by exposing ways through which MSMEs can benefit from our sustainable financial offerings”.
The DBN leader promised that his organization would continue to develop capacity among operators of the MSMEs sub-sector in the nation in addition to facilitating access to financing.
Alhaji Tajudeen Dantata, the CEO of Dantata Foods, praised the DBN and its Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) for their contributions to the financing of sustainable MSMEs in the nation during his keynote speech.
He stressed that this will support the Central Bank of Nigeria’s efforts in that area.
