The contribution of micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to Nigeria’s economy is not in doubt. Interestingly, according to a survey Nigeria has 39 million MSMEs, but many of them are in need of capacity building in the form of business skills and grants in order to scale up.
By offering grants and loans, the Development Bank of Nigeria helps Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria overcome their financial difficulties.
The Development Bank of Nigeria’s primary responsibility is to build capacity, and the bank is dedicated to doing so for Nigerian MSMEs in order to help them formalize, develop, and become more bankable so that they can more easily access available loans.
The DBN Learning Management System (LMS), a free learning platform with carefully chosen self-paced courses, will be implemented this year and the platform is accessible to MSMEs in Nigeria who are interested in learning the skills necessary to succeed in running a business in Nigeria.
The top 200 companies will also be chosen by DBN to participate in a face-to-face training in Lagos and Abuja. Businesses would have the chance to talk and receive business support in certain need areas during this physical session, which would allow them to practically apply fundamental principles to their unique businesses.
All participants will be eligible to pitch their business value proposition after which 14 of them will be selected to receive grant funding.
Application process for the face to face training
- All applications must be submitted electronically via the application portal.
- Interested businesses must register on the DBN BizAid application and complete at least four mandatory courses on the BizAid Learning management platform with a 70% average score. The following courses must be completed:
- Accounting & Bookkeeping
- Sustainability for MSMEs
- Marketing and Sales Techniques
- Credit Management/Access to Finance.
All businesses that have completed the four courses by September 23rd will be emailed a link to apply for the face-to-face training.
- Within 24 hours of submitting the application form, an email confirming receipt will be sent to the applicant.
- Applicants will be screened and shortlisted based on the eligibility criteria after the application closes
- From the pool of shortlisted applications, selection will be made based on the defined selection criteria
- Successful applicants will be contacted via email to the email address provided and phone call to the phone number provided on the application form.
- On site training for selected applicants will commence on October 17th to October 21st 2022 in Lagos and Abuja.
Eligibility Criteria
- The business owner of business must be 18 years and above
- Business owner must be a citizen or legal resident of Nigeria
- The business must be based in Nigeria
- The business must be for profit from any sector
- Applicant must be available to commit to the training schedule once accepted
Selection Criteria
- Bankability- Level of readiness to access credit
- Feasibility and Sustainability of the business model
- Scalability- Demonstrates potential for growth of business to create jobs
For questions or feedback on the application process or learning platform, kindly contact: learningadmin@devbankng.com