DBN launches DAWN for women-led businesses, signs $61m AfDB credit line
- DBN has launched DAWN, a support package for women-led businesses that mixes loans, guarantees, grants and market access.
- It also signed a $61 million credit line with the African Development Bank at its annual lecture in Abuja.
- The bank says it has disbursed ₦1.4 trillion to small businesses through 84 lenders, supporting about 1.6 million jobs.
Women who run their own businesses in Nigeria now have another route to funding. The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) on Wednesday launched a programme called DBN Action for Women in Nigeria, or DAWN, at its seventh annual lecture in Abuja.
The same event produced a $61 million credit line for women entrepreneurs, signed with the African Development Bank (AfDB). DBN did not disclose the lending terms, when the money will be released, or how many businesses it expects to reach.
DAWN is not just a loan window. DBN says it bundles financing with credit guarantees that share risk with lenders, technical help to get businesses ready to grow, grants tied to results, and links to customers, trade platforms and business associations.
Money will flow through commercial banks, microfinance institutions, fintechs, aggregators, cooperatives and some direct channels. The programme will focus on agriculture and exports, healthcare, arts and creatives, technology, and green businesses.
Why it matters for small businesses
DBN managing director Tony Okpanachi said lending alone has not been enough to help women-led firms expand, and that growth needs more than money.
He described DAWN as a way of turning good intentions into real chances for women borrowers.
The backdrop is familiar to many Nigerian traders and founders: costly credit, unstable electricity, thin markets and short working capital. Those problems make it hard to buy equipment, raise output or hire staff.
DBN said it had disbursed ₦1.4 trillion to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through 84 participating financial institutions as of December 2025, supporting about 1.6 million jobs. Under a new five-year plan, it wants to reach more than two million MSMEs, with targets for women-led and youth-led businesses and for states where finance is scarce.
Okpanachi framed the task as making sure government reforms reach ordinary business owners, naming the trader in Onitsha, the fabricator in Aba, the farmer in Kebbi and the young founder in Yaba. He also said reforms only count when small businesses feel them.
Representing the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Augusta Warrens Bekaredebo said the 2026 tax reforms should bring relief to eligible small businesses through exemptions, and that "a lot of businesses will be smiling" by next year. She urged lenders to look at viable businesses that lack the usual collateral.
DBN also presented an impact report and a set of open MSME data meant to help policymakers, lenders and researchers make better decisions.
What happens next
The details that matter to borrowers, such as interest rates, repayment periods and how to apply, are still to come. Women running registered businesses can ask their banks, microfinance institutions or fintech lenders about DAWN, and should keep proper records, which DBN says lenders will expect.
