The Managing Director of Development Bank of Nigeria, Tony Okpanachi, says economic reforms must translate to growth for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

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‎Okpanachi spoke at the 2026 DBN Annual Lecture held at Transcorp Hilton in Abuja on Wednesday.

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‎He said the theme of the lecture, “From Policy to Prosperity: Translating Economic Reforms into MSME Growth,” asks how benefits of reforms can reach traders, fabricators, farmers and young founders.

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‎He said MSMEs account for close to half of Nigeria’s GDP and more than eight in 10 jobs, citing a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics and SMEDAN.

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‎He said reform becomes prosperity only when entrepreneurs can get long-term loans, banks are willing to take risks, and businesses have skills and records to grow.

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‎He said DBN was established to address the gap through its wholesale model, working through Participating Financial Institutions.

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‎He listed three ways DBN supports lenders, including longer-term funding for MSMEs, partial credit guarantees through its subsidiary Impact Credit Guarantee Limited, and capacity building for lenders and entrepreneurs.

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‎He said as of December 2025, DBN had disbursed 1.4 trillion naira to MSMEs through 84 participating institutions and created about 1.6 million jobs.

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‎He said under its new five-year strategy, DBN aims to reach more than two million MSMEs, with targets for women-led, youth-led businesses and underserved states.

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‎He said the event would feature presentation of DBN MSME Data Assets, launch of DBN Impact Report and launch of DAWN: DBN Action for Women in Nigeria.

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‎He said DAWN combines financing, guarantees, technical assistance, targeted grants and market linkages to help women-owned businesses scale.

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‎He urged banks to extend lending to underserved sectors and states, urged policymakers to measure reform by impact on businesses, and urged MSMEs to formalise and keep good records.