The Development Bank of Nigeria has launched a comprehensive support programme for women entrepreneurs, combining financing, credit guarantees, grants and market access to address longstanding barriers to business expansion. The initiative, called DBN Action for Women in Nigeria (DAWN), was announced on Wednesday at the bank's seventh annual lecture in Abuja, where DBN also signed a $61 million gender-focused credit line with the African Development Bank (AfDB).
DAWN moves beyond traditional lending by pairing finance with technical assistance, outcome-linked grants and market linkages. The programme will reach women-owned and women-led businesses through commercial banks, microfinance institutions, fintechs, aggregators, cooperatives and direct channels. Priority sectors include agriculture and exports, healthcare, arts and creatives, technology and green business. Tony Okpanachi, managing director and chief executive officer of DBN, said access to credit alone had not been enough to help women-led enterprises expand. "DAWN is about moving gender-focused lending beyond intention and turning access into opportunity," Okpanachi said.
The bank said it had disbursed N1.4 trillion to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through 84 participating financial institutions as of December 2025, supporting the creation of around 1.6 million jobs nationwide. Under its new five-year strategy, DBN aims to reach more than two million MSMEs, with specific targets for women-led enterprises, youth-led businesses and underserved states.
Nigerian businesses continue to face expensive credit, unreliable electricity, limited market access and working-capital shortages, constraints that prevent entrepreneurs from investing in equipment, expanding production and creating jobs. Representing the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Augusta Warrens Bekaredebo said the government's 2026 tax reforms were expected to provide relief to eligible small businesses. She urged financial institutions to consider viable enterprises that lacked conventional collateral, and stressed the importance of combining financing with training, skills development and monitoring to improve business survival.
Okpanachi highlighted the need to ensure that economic reforms translated into practical improvements for businesses. "The major reforms are now in place. How do we make sure their benefits reach the trader in Onitsha, the fabricator in Aba, the farmer in Kebbi and the young founder in Yaba?" he asked. DBN also launched MSME Data Assets, an open data resource for policymakers, lenders and researchers, and presented an impact report on its interventions.