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 credit for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a focus on export-oriented businesses and the country’s growing creative economy.
The facility will enable DBN to channel affordable financing to eligible businesses through its network of participating financial institutions (PFIs), supporting working capital, asset acquisition, pre-export and post-export financing, as well as supply chain activities.
Businesses operating in fashion, film, music, design and other creative industries are among the intended beneficiaries, reflecting growing efforts to position Africa’s creative economy as a source of jobs, investment and export revenue.
Announced during the Creative Africa Nexus Weekend (CANEX WKND) 2026 in Lagos, the agreement brings together Afreximbank’s trade finance expertise and DBN’s wholesale lending network to address financing constraints facing Nigerian businesses.
The ceremonial signing was led by Mrs Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President for Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank, and Dr Tony Okpanachi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of DBN.
Beyond providing capital, the partnership will integrate financing with business development, capacity building and export-readiness programmes to help SMEs strengthen their competitiveness and access regional and international markets.
Under Afreximbank’s Export SME Development programme, beneficiary businesses will receive support to improve their productive capacity, understand export requirements and connect with potential buyers.
The two institutions will also develop a joint capacity-building programme to strengthen participating financial institutions’ ability to assess and finance export-oriented SMEs.
Afreximbank will further provide access to its trade platforms, including MANSA, TRADAR, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) and the African Trade Exchange (ATEX).
Market access initiatives will include the Africa Buyer Programme, African Trade and Distribution Company (ATDC) and the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF), creating additional opportunities for Nigerian enterprises to participate in regional and global value chains.
“Our partnership with DBN goes beyond providing capital. We are taking an integrated approach that combines finance with capacity building, export-readiness support and access to markets,” said Awani.
She said the objective was to help Nigerian SMEs build productive capacity, improve competitiveness and transition from local businesses into sustainable exporters.
“For creative enterprises, that advances CANEX’s ambition to turn African talent and ideas into sustainable businesses that can compete internationally,” she added.
Okpanachi said the US$75 million facility would strengthen DBN’s efforts to address financing gaps facing Nigerian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), particularly those operating in creative and export-oriented sectors.
“This partnership with Afreximbank represents another important step in DBN’s commitment to expanding access to finance for Nigerian MSMEs and enabling them to build resilient, competitive and sustainable businesses,” he said.
He added that combining financing with capacity building and market access would help Nigerian businesses move beyond domestic markets and participate more actively in regional and international trade.
The partnership comes amid growing recognition of the creative industries as an important contributor to Africa’s economic diversification, employment creation and export growth.
Afreximbank’s Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme is designed to develop commercially sustainable creative and cultural enterprises through financing, skills development, market access and commercial partnerships.
CANEX WKND 2026, held from November 5 to 8 at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Cultural and Creative Arts in Lagos, brought together creatives, investors, buyers and policymakers from Africa, the Caribbean and the diaspora.
Organised by Afreximbank and hosted by the Nigerian Government in partnership with the African Union Commission and the AfCFTA Secretariat, the event featured investment and business matchmaking sessions, intellectual property discussions, export-readiness training and business-to-business engagements.
