Creative Economy: DBN Gets $75m Afreximbank Loan for Eligible Nigerian SMEs

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

A $75 million finance facility tailored to expand access to finance for Nigerian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including eligible businesses in the creative economy, has been secured by the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN).

The funding package was secured by the Nigerian lender from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to support the country’s creative economy.

This was one of the benefits of the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) WKND 2026, held from November 5 to 8 in Lagos. It aligns with Afreximbank’s Export SME Development programme.

DBN will route the loan through its partner financial institutions to fund eligible small businesses. The facility will support working capital, asset acquisition, pre-export, post-export and supply chain activities, with businesses in fashion, film, music, design and the wider creative industries among the intended beneficiaries.

The facility will combine financing with capacity-building and export-readiness support for beneficiary SMEs, equipping them with the skills, tools and market knowledge required to strengthen their businesses, become export-ready and access regional and international markets.

The loan will help businesses prepare for export markets and connect with buyers across Africa and beyond.

“For creative enterprises, that advances CANEX’s ambition to turn African talent and ideas into sustainable businesses that can compete internationally,” the Executive Vice President for Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank, Mrs Kanayo Awani, stated.

“Our partnership with DBN goes beyond providing capital. We are taking an integrated approach that combines finance with capacity building, export-readiness support and access to markets.

“Our objective is to help Nigerian SMEs build productive capacity, strengthen their competitiveness and make the transition from promising local businesses to sustainable exporters.

“At the same time, we will work with participating financial institutions to strengthen their capacity to better understand, finance and support SMEs throughout their growth journey,” she added.

Also commenting, the chief executive of DBN, Mr Tony Okpanachi, said, “This partnership with Afreximbank represents another important step in DBN’s commitment to expanding access to finance for Nigerian MSMEs and enabling them to build resilient, competitive and sustainable businesses.

“The $75 million facility will provide much-needed financing through our Participating Financial Institutions, while creating greater opportunities for businesses, particularly those in the creative and export-oriented sectors, to strengthen their productive capacity and access new markets.”

“Beyond financing, the capacity-building and market-access components of this partnership are particularly important to us.

“By strengthening the ability of financial institutions to support export-ready businesses and connecting Nigerian enterprises to wider African and international markets, we are helping MSMEs move from local businesses to competitive participants in regional and global value chains.

“This aligns strongly with DBN’s mandate to address financing constraints and support inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Nigeria,” he added.