In other news, The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) said it has disbursed 700 billion naira as loans to entrepreneurs with about 137 billion Naira to women and women owned businesses

 in the last seven years to SMEs.

The Managing Director of DBN, Mr Tony Okpanachi made this known during the celebration of the 2024 International Women’s Day at Wuye Ultra Modern Market, Abuja.

The Bank’s theme of this year’s celebration is: “Celebrating the Amazons in the Market Place- Inspire Inclusion”.

Executive Director, Finance and Corporate Services, Mrs Ijeoma Ozulumba who represented Mr Okpanachi at the occasion said about 60 Percent of the total disbursement went to women and noted that reports from Participation Financial Institutions (PFIs) indicate that Non-Performing loans (NPLs) from disbursement to women was the lowest in the industry.

Ozulumba noted that specific training is also given to women on how they can manage their business and keep their books, how they can manage their operations, access to market access to networks as well.