DBN Plans Training Programme for Entrepreneurs

By Dipo Olowookere

Small business owners looking to improve earnings and stay up to date with the latest ways of doing business will have the opportunity to do so.

This is because the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) is planning to organise a training programme for those in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector in Nigeria.

The bank has concluded plans to hold the 2020 edition of its Entrepreneurship Training Programme in a demonstration of its commitment to provide capacity building for business owners in the country.

According to a statement from the lender, participants will be equipped with required skills to improve their competence in developing and defending a viable business plan, improve their capacity to access funding, as well as efficient utilization of the funds.

The Managing Director of DBN, Mr Tony Okpanachi, while speaking on the exercise scheduled to take place in phases between August and October 2020, said the initiative is an integral part of the bank’s mandate to drive economic growth by empowering MSMEs with the needed skills to improve their capacity and productivity, especially in the face of the COVID 19-induced economic reality.

“As a Development Financial Institution established to bridge the financial gap through our Participating Financial Institutions, the aim for us is to become Nigeria’s primary development finance institution promoting sustainable growth for the country’s fast-growing population.

“While funding is a major problem for MSMEs in Nigeria, there’s also the need to equip our entrepreneurs with management skills to ensure they are better structured and able to effectively manage their respective businesses,” he said.

“Our strategic focus is providing liquidity, credit guarantee, and capacity building for MSMEs for them to be more productive.

“The training, which started in 2019, is geared towards equipping entrepreneurs across sectors of the Nigerian economy with requisite management skills to develop viable business plans, access funds, and effectively manage their business growth.

“Realities enforced on the global economy by the COVID-19 pandemic have affected mostly the SMEs who are major drivers of economic growth. Through this training, we will enhance their entrepreneurial and managerial competencies,” the bank chief said

Business Post gathered that DBN initiated the MSME capacity building programme in 2019 with 100 participants drawn from the six geographical zones of the country who converged in Abuja and Lagos for the training.

This year, the number has increased to 150 participants and the focus is on impacting Nigerian MSMEs with the resilience needed for survival and sustenance in the wake of COVID-19 global pandemic.

The DBN, in addition to providing funding and risk-sharing facilities to MSMEs and small corporates through participating financial institutions, has a mandate for building capacity for PFIS and ultimately, Nigerian MSMEs.