By: Goodluck E. Adubazi, Abuja.
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has committed a US$75 million financing facility to the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) to expand access to affordable finance for Nigerian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with particular focus on businesses in the creative economy.
The facility, announced during the Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) WKND 2026 in Lagos, will be channelled through DBN’s participating financial institutions (PFIs) to support eligible businesses with working capital, asset acquisition, pre-export and post-export financing, as well as supply chain activities.
Beneficiaries are expected to include enterprises operating in fashion, film, music, design and other segments of Nigeria’s creative industries.
The ceremonial signing was led by Afreximbank’s Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development, Mrs. Kanayo Awani, and DBN’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Tony Okpanachi, on behalf of their respective institutions.
Beyond providing capital, the partnership will integrate financing with capacity building, export-readiness programmes and access to regional and international markets.
Under Afreximbank’s Export SME Development programme, beneficiary businesses will receive practical support to strengthen their operations, improve competitiveness and position themselves for export opportunities.
The two institutions will also jointly develop capacity-building programmes to enhance the ability of participating financial institutions to identify, finance and support export-oriented SMEs.
Afreximbank will further provide access to its trade platforms, including MANSA, TRADAR, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and ATEX.
The partnership will also facilitate market access through the Africa Buyer Programme, African Trade Distribution Company (ATDC) and the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF).
Speaking on the initiative, Awani said the partnership went beyond providing capital, stressing that combining finance with capacity building and market access would help Nigerian businesses transition from promising local enterprises into sustainable exporters.
“Our objective is to help Nigerian SMEs build productive capacity, strengthen their competitiveness and make the transition from promising local businesses to sustainable exporters,” she said.
She added that the initiative would strengthen participating financial institutions’ capacity to understand and support SMEs throughout their growth journey.
On the creative economy, Awani said the intervention aligned with CANEX’s ambition to transform African talent and ideas into commercially sustainable businesses capable of competing internationally.
Similarly, Okpanachi described the partnership as an important milestone in DBN’s commitment to expanding access to finance for Nigerian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
He said the US$75 million facility would provide much-needed financing through participating financial institutions while creating opportunities for businesses, particularly those in creative and export-oriented sectors, to expand their productive capacity and access new markets.
According to him, the capacity-building and market-access components would help Nigerian enterprises move beyond local operations and become competitive participants in regional and global value chains.
He noted that the initiative aligned with DBN’s mandate to address financing constraints and promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
CANEX is Afreximbank’s flagship programme supporting Africa’s creative and cultural industries through financing, skills development, commercial partnerships, market access and policy support.
CANEX WKND 2026 was held from November 5 to 8 at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Cultural and Creative Arts in Lagos.
The event, organised by Afreximbank and hosted by the Federal Government of Nigeria in partnership with the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat, brought together creatives, investors, buyers and policymakers from Africa, the Caribbean and the diaspora.
Its activities included investment deal-making, intellectual property discussions, export-readiness training and business-to-business engagements aimed at strengthening Africa’s creative economy.
