Development Bank of Nigeria Named Partner for Africa Social Impact Summit 2024
Sterling One Foundation, co-conveners of the Africa Social Impact Summit, is excited to announce the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) as a partner for the third edition of the summit, scheduled for July 25 – 26, 2024, in Lagos, Nigeria.
With this collaboration, DBN joins a distinguished roster of partners that includes private-sector organizations, international development agencies, public-sector entities, and diplomatic missions.
Established in 2014, the Development Bank of Nigeria is a wholesale finance institution dedicated to addressing the financing challenges faced by Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria. DBN provides financing and partial credit guarantees to qualified financial intermediaries.
Now in its sixth year, DBN has disbursed loans to millions of MSMEs and supported numerous initiatives such as the Entrepreneurship World Cup, Eco Innovation Challenge, and the DBN capacity building program. By the end of 2023, the bank had lent ₦787.47 billion to over 494,819 MSMEs, including 356,451 women-owned businesses.
Dr. Tony Okpanachi, Managing Director and CEO of DBN, highlighted the bank’s longstanding involvement with the Africa Social Impact Summit, noting that their Chief Economist has participated as a panelist since the event’s inception. Dr. Okpanachi emphasized the summit’s role in fostering impact investments to scale sustainable solutions, stating, “We are constantly looking to reach more enterprises building impactful solutions that address Nigeria’s challenges, and this Summit presents a good opportunity to engage them and offer them ways to scale and grow.”
Mrs. Olapeju Ibekwe, CEO of Sterling One Foundation, expressed her enthusiasm for the partnership, praising DBN’s impactful work and valuable insights from serving Nigeria’s dynamic MSME sector. She also mentioned the benefits this partnership offers to summit attendees seeking credit for their impact-focused solutions.
The Africa Social Impact Summit, now in its third year, will be held from July 25 to 26, 2024, at the Eko Convention Centre, Lagos, Nigeria. Registration for in-person attendance is ongoing at www.theimpactsummit.org.
