The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has stated that the Development Bank of Nigeria is being positioned to galvanise the Small and Medium-scale Enterprises sector for the overall development of the nation’s economy.
According to her, the present administration is aware of the role of SMEs in the economy, hence the resolve to position the DBN as a catalyst for their development, adding that the wide range of SMEs in the country was a reflection of economic diversity.
The minister, who spoke during the DBN board/management/development partners’ retreat in Abuja on Monday, also assured the Board that the Federal Government was ready to provide support for the new development financial institution.
The DBN had assembled its development partners and incoming management team and Board of Directors for an inaugural strategy retreat in order to ready itself for immediate operation upon the issuance of its licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Adesoun decried the present situation where SMEs accounted for 45 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product but just 10 per cent of bank credit.
She pointed out that financing of MSMEs in Nigeria was lagging significantly behind other countries, including Brazil (63 per cent), Ghana (36 per cent), China (30 per cent), Kenya (24 per cent), and South Africa (21 per cent).
However, the minister, who disclosed that the operating licence for the DBN was imminently being expected, believed that through the activities of the bank, some of the problems discouraging the growth of the SME sector would be effectively tackled.
