CEM REPORT, MSME | The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has announced earnings of N47.6 billion and profit before tax of N29.5 billion for the close of the 2022 financial year.
The bank in the year disbursed over N631 billion to over 313,000 micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs).
While its cost-to-income ratio stood at 15.9 per cent, the disbursed funds in the year in review increased by 31 per cent from N482 billion disbursed in 2021.
The number of MSMEs impacted in the year grew by 50 per cent.
At the annual general meeting of the bank, the Managing Director, Tony Okpanachi, stated that among the top sectors financed by DBN in 2022, women-dominated businesses such as trade and commerce were top, which helps the bank to strengthen MSME support.
He also stated that the average tenor of MSME loans by the bank records has increased to 36 months from 18 months resulting from the impact of the long-term facility, adding that utilisation of the long-term product was N150 billion by the close of 2022.
He noted that the 2022 financial year ended with N5 billion already channelled through the product
Speaking on the challenges of MSMEs in accessing loans, Okpanachi said continuous efforts and strategies is been developed by bank to eliminate barriers to accessing funding.
On strengthening MSMEs, he noted that the DBN developed a new partnership with Google Nigeria, a learning management platform and other organisations through which MSMEs can enrol in entrepreneurship courses for necessary upskilling.
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According to him, the DBN had created well over 250,000 jobs in five years, noting that of the total beneficiaries of DBN funds in five years, 67 per cent were women while 27 per cent were young people.
