Washington, D.C. October 16, 2018 – The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) became the newest member of the SME Finance Forum, a global membership network that brings together financial institutions, technology companies, and development finance institutions to share knowledge, spur innovation, and promote the growth of SMEs.
“200 million businesses worldwide need financing to invest, grow and create new jobs. We are proud to have the Development Bank of Nigeria join our network of 140 members who work to expand access to finance for small and medium businesses,” said Matthew Gamser, CEO of the Forum.
Founded in 2014, DBN focuses on alleviating financing constraints faced by MSMEs and small corporations in Nigeria through the provision of financing and partial credit guarantees to eligible financial intermediaries, on a market-conforming and fully financially sustainable basis.
The bank supports inclusive growth and provides wholesale funding to fill identified enterprise financing gaps in the MSME sector. In 2017, the bank disbursed a total of N5bn to microfinance institutions for on-lending to over 20,000 MSMEs across the country.
“We are excited to expand our knowledge of SME financing and believe participation in the SME Finance Forum member working groups will afford us with a plethora of networking and developmental opportunities,” said Anthony Okpanachi, Managing Director and CEO of Development Bank of Nigeria.
To see all SME Finance Forum members, please visit: https://www.smefinanceforum.org/members/member-list
About SME Finance Forum
The SME Finance Forum was established by the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) in 2012 as a knowledge center for data, research and best practice in promoting SME finance. As an implementing partner for the GPFI, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) was tasked with managing the initiative. In 2015, the SME Finance Forum partnered with CapitalPlus Exchange to expand and upgrade the former Small Business Banking Network.
About Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN)
The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) was conceived by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) in collaboration with global development partners to address the major financing challenges facing Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.
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