In 2023, the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) intends to distribute $150 billion to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.
Prof. Joseph Nnanna, DBN’s Chief Economist, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday. Nnanna stated that the funds would be distributed through cooperating financial institutions for further lending to MSMEs in various sectors of the economy.
According to him, the goal is to enroll 120,000 MSMEs by 2023.
“I think we are on track to get there so we have a target to disburse around ₦150 billion this year and so far we are making some good progress but the year isn’t over yet and the state of the economy is a bit influx.
“A lot of Nigerians are challenged, a lot of businesses are challenged, the interest rate is increasing and as a result we know that these business owners will need some able room to breathe,’’ Nnanna said.
Nnanna, on the other hand, stated that DBN had seen growth in the MSME sector as the employment rate increased.
”If you look at 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.
“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.
“Over 240, 000 jobs have been created so far and that is commendable,’’he said.
Nnanna urged the participating financial institutions to provide the necessary assistance for MSMEs to continue to expand in the face of the country’s current economic woes.
“We know we are trying to create jobs and we know that the economy is a bit challenged now, the high interest rates and uncertainty with the agriculture sector 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 this is the peak when we should be harvesting crops.
“Consequently, I sincerely believe there is probably more now than ever development financial institutions have to spring into action to come to their aid.
“So our commercial banks and micro finance banks will surely intervene and support those actors in their space who need some cushion to continue to grow,’’ Nnanna said.
According to the economist, DBN will strengthen interactions with sector stakeholders in order to meet its financial inclusion aim.
“With support from the regulators, with support from our partner institutions; we need support broadly because in the end I will restate that we suddenly need to collaborate more to achieve inclusive growth.
“Without collaboration and if we are competing among ourselves, it is never going to work because somebody will feel cheated whether it is in 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.
“So that is why we have to collaborate, we have to keep on revisiting the things that are working and tweaking them to ensure they are fit for purpose that ultimately becomes the key to success,’’ Nnanna said.
He stated that DBN’s Financial Inclusion Project (FIP) alongside Ubola Rural Community Foundation (URCF) aims to reach out to more rural Nigerians using simple financial tools and to develop a financial inclusive sustainable system.
NAN reports that in February, DBN, in cooperation with Ubola Rural Community Foundation, launched the North East Financial Inclusion Project. Musa Etubi, the Executive Chairman of URCF, stated that the project aims to reach 1000 rural beneficiaries through financial inclusion.
According to Etubi, more than 73% of the financially excluded population lives in rural areas.
Etubi stated that, so yet, the FIP project has not been extended out to other geopolitical zones. The initiative provided financial and material assistance to 110 impoverished farmers and modest traders.
To improve and expand farm productivity, he said, materials such as water pumping devices for agricultural irrigation and improved seedlings with organic fertilizer that also serves as insecticides were provided.
“The traders, who are mainly women and girls were also sensitised and provided with starter packs for their petty trading,’’ he said.
