Nigerian Creative Businesses Get $75m Boost As Afreximbank Backs DBN Lending
By Sunday Etuka
Small businesses in Nigeria’s fashion, film, music and design industries, along with other eligible SMEs, can now tap a US$75 million credit line after the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) committed the funds to the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN).
The facility was announced during CANEX WKND 2026 in Lagos. Mrs. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President, Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank, and Dr. Tony Okpanachi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of DBN, led the ceremonial signing on behalf of their institutions.
DBN will channel the loan through its partner financial institutions to eligible small businesses. The money will support working capital, asset acquisition, pre-export, post-export and supply chain activities.
Under Afreximbank’s Export SME Development programme, the financing will come with capacity building and export-readiness support. The aim is to equip beneficiary businesses with the skills, tools and market knowledge needed to become export-ready and reach regional and international markets.
Afreximbank and DBN will also jointly develop a capacity-building programme to strengthen the ability of partner financial institutions to serve export-oriented SMEs. In addition, Afreximbank will give beneficiaries access to its trade platforms, including MANSA, TRADAR, PAPSS and ATEX.
It will also support market access through the Africa Buyer Programme, ATDC and the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF).
Awani said the partnership goes beyond providing capital. “We are taking an integrated approach that combines finance with capacity building, export-readiness support and access to markets. Our objective is to help Nigerian SMEs build productive capacity, strengthen their competitiveness and make the transition from promising local businesses to sustainable exporters. At the same time, we will work with participating financial institutions to strengthen their capacity to better understand, finance and support SMEs throughout their growth journey,” she said.
She added that combining finance with practical support would help businesses prepare for export markets and connect with buyers across Africa and beyond. “For creative enterprises, that advances CANEX’s ambition to turn African talent and ideas into sustainable businesses that can compete internationally,” she said.
The partnership pairs DBN’s wholesale lending network with Afreximbank’s trade finance expertise, capacity building and market access support, strengthening local institutions’ ability to serve export-oriented SMEs.
Okpanachi said the agreement marks another step in DBN’s commitment to widening access to finance for Nigerian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). “The US$75 million facility will provide much-needed financing through our Participating Financial Institutions, while creating greater opportunities for businesses, particularly those in the creative and export-oriented sectors, to strengthen their productive capacity and access new markets,” he said.
He also stressed the non-financial components of the deal. “By strengthening the ability of financial institutions to support export-ready businesses and connecting Nigerian enterprises to wider African and international markets, we are helping MSMEs move from local businesses to competitive participants in regional and global value chains. This aligns strongly with DBN’s mandate to address financing constraints and support inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Nigeria,” he said.
The Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) is Afreximbank’s flagship programme for Africa’s creative and cultural industries. It supports commercially sustainable, export-ready creative businesses through access to finance, skills, markets, commercial partnerships and policy support.
CANEX WKND 2026 ran from 5 to 8 November at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Cultural & Creative Arts in Lagos. It was organised by Afreximbank, hosted by the Government of Nigeria and delivered in partnership with the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat.
The event brought together creatives, investors, buyers and policymakers from Africa, the Caribbean and the diaspora, with a programme that included a Deal Room, finance and intellectual property sessions, export-readiness training and business-to-business opportunities.
