The Bank bagged the following strategic awards; “Platinum Service Ambassador”; “Bank with the Highest impact on Women Issues”, and “Bank with the Highest impact on MSMEs Accessing Credit for the first time”.

The DBN Ambassadors Programme was designed to increase the sense of ownership among participating financial institutions, build capacity, increase on-lending to Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) and ultimately deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria. Ecobank is a participating financial institution in partnership with DBN to provide credit facilities, credit guarantee and technical support to MSMEs.

Receiving the awards at the event, Carol Oyedeji, Deputy Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria,  said this a testament to the bank’s commitment to supporting and empowering women owned businesses and assisting small businesses to access loans conveniently at cheaper interest rates for the development of the overall MSME subsector.

Ecobank had the highest volume and value of transactions in these award categories

She reiterated that, Ecobank remains a women-friendly bank with many initiatives and innovative products targeted at empowering and sustaining female entrepreneurs in Africa such as ‘Ellevate’ and ‘Ecobank Female Entrepreneurs Initiative (EFEI)’, which are designed to empower and support female entrepreneurs.

Mrs. Oyedeji noted that Ecobank recently signed a USD200 million risk-sharing agreement with African Guarantee Fund (AGF), a specialized pan-African guarantee provider, stressing that it is aimed at catalyzing economic growth and supporting entrepreneurial ventures – including women-owned SMEs on the continent.

“Through this partnership, both organisations are taking bold steps to enhance green financing and gender financing. It would eliminate the rigorous and restrictive requirements for collateral, particularly hindering women-focused businesses’ access to credit.”

According to her, “We have both financial and social empowerment initiatives for female entrepreneurs because we recognise women as the bedrock of most families and entrepreneurship in the society.  We aim to eliminate the rigorous and restrictive requirements for collateral, hindering access to credit.”

In his welcome address, Tony Okpanachi, managing director, DBN, saluted the awardees, stating that their collaboration and commitment is impacting positively on the sustainable growth of the MSME sub-sector of the economy.

According to him, “your unwavering commitment to forging a lasting impact on the MSMEs through our collaboration is a testament to your dedication to fueling sustainable growth. The true essence of the DBN Awards shines through a celebration of sustainable triumph, where today’s aspirations evolve into tomorrow’s achievements.”

He explained that the DBN leverages its partnership with Participating Financial Institutions (PFI) to provide relatively cheaper loans as well as capacity building initiatives to small businesses.

The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) was conceived by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) in collaboration with global development partners to address the major financing challenges facing Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.

DBN’s objective is to alleviate financing constraints faced by MSMEs and small Corporates in Nigeria through the provision of financing and partial credit guarantees to eligible financial intermediaries on a market-conforming and fully financially sustainable basis.

African Guarantee Fund, a leading non-bank financial institution, will leverage this grant, as well as $20,000,000 of private equity, to support its two-part COVID-19 Guarantee Facility.  

The combined $22,500,000 co-investment will allow African Guarantee Fund to absorb additional pandemic-related risk and provide guarantees to its partner financial institutions (PFIs) on more favourable terms and conditions while remaining financially sustainable.

The goal is to solve the limited access to capital which remains a high barrier to growth for many small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in West Africa, a challenge compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Through the COVID-19 Guarantee Facility, AGF expects to issue loan guarantees to 30 partner financial institutions (PFIs), allowing them to unlock up to $160,000,000 in financing for approximately 3,000 West Africa-based SMEs impacted by the pandemic. 

In addition, it will provide technical assistance to the PFIs and SMEs benefiting from the COVID-19 Guarantee Facility to accelerate their post-pandemic recovery.

During AGF’s three-year partnership with the Trade Hub, the COVID-19 Guarantee Facility is expected to help SMEs create 15,000 new jobs, maintain 20,000 existing jobs, and collectively generate $100,000,000 in sales and $8,000,000 in exports.

“Despite the internationally recognized importance of SMEs, African small businesses often have difficulties accessing financing for growth and innovation from the formal financial sector. Over the past two years, SME financing challenges have further escalated due to economic uncertainties brought about by the impact of the pandemic,” said Jules Ngankam, AGF’s Group chief executive officer.  

“Our COVID-19 Guarantee Facility is a response to this challenge, and we are excited to partner with the Trade Hub to increase our capacity in bridging the SME financing gap through this innovative initiative,” he added.

The Trade Hub’s partnerships with AGF represent its forward-thinking approach to helping high-potential West Africa-based businesses with the financing needed to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Similar partnerships with Cordaid Investment Management and CrossBoundary, launched in 2021, are already showing success in bringing together the partners, capital, and resources that create a more stable environment for SMEs to grow and make a positive impact in the region,” says Robin Wheeler, the Trade Hub’s chief of party. “We are excited to add AGF as a co-investment partner,” he added.