DBN to disburse N150bn MSME fund in 2023
By Patience Ikpeme
The Development Bank of Nigeria also intends to enlist 120,000 MSMES in the country in 2023.
This disclosure was made in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria by the Chief Economist in DBN, Prof. Joseph Nnanna on Monday in Abuja.
Prof. Nnanna disclosed that the intended disbursement will be don through participating financial institutions for onward lending to MSMEs across various sectors of the economy.
Prof. Nnanna clearly stated that ” the objective is t enlist 120,000 MSMEs in 2023″.
Prof. Further pointed out that ” I think we are on track to get there so we have a target to disburse around N150 billion this year and so far we are making good progress but the year isn’t over yet and the state of the economy is a bit in flux”.
Speaking on the challenges facing the country currently, Prof. Nnanna said ” a lot of Nigerians are challenged, the interest rate is increasing and as a result, we know that these business owners will need some able room to breath”.
The Prof. expressed joy at the level of growth DBN have been able to make in the MSME sector , there by increasing the rate of employment.
“If you look a what we have done across the country, we have been able to impact over 300,000 MSMEs and this cuts across trade, education, manufacturing, agriculture and ICT” he said.
“By and large we have seen some growth across the MSME space because we measure the job creation levels of the money we disburse through our participating financial institutions ” he said.
Prof. Nnanna also disclosed that “over 240,000 jobs have been created so far” and he described this as being commendable.
Prof. Nnanna encouraged participating financial institutions to provide the needed aid for MSMEs to continue to grow amidst the prevailing economic challenges in the country.
Speaking on challenges faced in the agricultural sector, Prof. Stated that ” we know we are trying t create jobs, and we know that the economy is a bit challenged now, the high- interest rates and uncertainty with the agrisector given that the Cameroon government is going to open up the dam”.
“This might increase flooding risks which will basically damage a lot of crop production, and his is the peak when we should be harvesting ” he also said.
Nnanna stated that “so our commercial banks will surely intervene and support those actors in their space who need some cushion to continue to grow”.
Prof. Nnanna also disclosed that DBN would strengthen collaborations with stakeholders in the sector to achieve it’s target of financial inclusion.
“With support from the regulators and with support from our partner institutions, we need to support broadly because in the end I will restate that we suddenly need to collaborate more to achieve inclusive growth” he said.
Prof. highlighted the need for collaboration, the need to revisit the things working and tweaking them to ensure they are fit for purpose which will ultimately become the key to success.
Prof. Further stated “without collaboration and if we are competing among ourselves, it is never going to work. Because somebody will feel cheated whether it is the MSME lanes, commercial or micro finance bank lanes or even the regulators will feel like you guys are breaking the rules to achieve some targets”.
Nnanna stated that the DBN’s financial inclusion project with Ubola Rural Community Foundation targets to reach more rural Nigerians with a simple financial tools approach and create a financially inclusive sustainability system.
