The Development Bank of Nigeria has disbursed loans exceeding N700 billion to entrepreneurs, with a notable allocation of N137 billion directed towards women and female-owned businesses.
This announcement was made by the Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Services at DBN, Mrs Ijeoma Ozulumba, during the International Women’s Day event themed “Celebrating Amazons in the Marketplace” at the Wuye Ultra Modern Market in Abuja.
Ozulumba highlighted the substantial representation of women in DBN’s loan beneficiaries, stating, “Out of the total number of end borrowers for our loans, 50 percent have been women.”
To ensure a low default rate, Ozulumba emphasized the bank’s commitment to providing targeted training for entrepreneurs. This training encompasses effective business management, bookkeeping, operational strategies, market access, and networking opportunities.
“We give specific training on how they can manage their business. How they can keep their books, how they can manage your operations, access to market access to networks as well. So beyond funding, we do a lot of training. We also do a lot of location-specific training,” explained Ozulumba.
Furthermore, Ozulumba outlined DBN’s holistic approach to support small and medium enterprises. Apart from financial assistance, the bank offers training programs and grants aimed at scaling up businesses and enhancing management effectiveness.
“We work through banks, we don’t lend directly to customers. We lend to what we call our participating financial institutions, and these financial institutions then make these funds available to women. So far from the intervention that we’ve seen, our banks have reported to us that our portfolio has the lowest non-performing loans, there’s a good recovery in the loans, and also the women’s portfolio is even lower in terms of default,” she added.
The International Women’s Day event at the Wuye Ultra Modern Market attracted women from diverse backgrounds, reflecting the broad impact of DBN’s initiatives on traders, professionals, and women across various sectors.
