AfDB approves $61m financing package for DBN to support women-owned businesses

By Abubakar Yunusa

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) says it has approved a $61 million financing package for the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) to expand access to affordable credit for women-owned and women-led businesses across the country.
The approval, granted on April 29 by the board of directors, is targeted at supporting women entrepreneurs, particularly those operating in the agricultural sector.
The AfDB, in a statement over the weekend, said the financing package comprises a $50 million gender-focused line of credit, an $8 million concessional facility under the agri-food SME catalytic financing mechanism (ACFM), and a $3 million grant under the bank’s affirmative finance action for women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative funded by the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi).
The AfDB said the funds would be channelled through DBN’s participating financial institutions to strengthen lending to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and support inclusive economic growth.
“A defining feature of this operation is its strong gender focus, with more than 95 percent of the total financing earmarked for women-owned and women-led SMEs,” the statement reads.
The bank said the initiative aligns with its broader commitment to closing the gender financing gap across Africa while supporting entrepreneurship and agricultural development in Nigeria.
Commenting on the approval, Abdul Kamara, director-general of the AfDB Nigeria country office, described women entrepreneurs as one of Nigeria’s most underutilised economic assets.
“Women entrepreneurs are one of Nigeria’s greatest economic assets and one of its most underleveraged,” Kamara said.
“This operation reflects the African Development Bank’s commitment to unlocking economic opportunities for women.
“By working through DBN to reach women-owned businesses in agriculture, clean energy, healthcare, and beyond, we are not just expanding access to credit; the Bank is investing in the engine of Nigeria’s inclusive economic transformation.”
The AfDB said the operation would combine long-term financing, concessional resources, partial credit guarantees, and capacity-building support to improve MSME financing in Nigeria.
According to the bank, performance-based incentives under the AFAWA programme are expected to increase the number of eligible women-owned enterprises and expand women-focused lending within DBN’s MSME portfolio.
“The approval also deepens AfDB’s existing partnership with DBN, which dates back to the establishment of the development finance institution through equity investment, long-term financing and governance support,” the statement said.
The bank noted that the intervention aligns with its 10-year strategy (2024-2033), Nigeria’s country strategy paper (2025-2030), and broader goals around inclusive growth, private sector development and gender equality.