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The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has launched a $275 million climate finance programme to help Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) adopt clean energy solutions, improve climate resilience and expand sustainable business operations.
DBN Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Tony Okpanachi, disclosed this on Friday, on the sidelines of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye.
The programme, known as the DBN Enterprise Lending for Transition and Adaptation (DELTA), is designed to bridge the financing gap facing Nigerian businesses seeking to invest in renewable energy, energy-efficient technologies and climate-resilient agriculture.
The programme is expected to include a $100 million contribution from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and benefit approximately 1.3 million people while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 4.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
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What the DBN climate finance programme will cover
Okpanachi said climate change was already affecting Nigerian businesses through unpredictable weather patterns, disruptions to production and supply chains, and rising energy costs.
- He explained that the initiative represented an expansion of DBN’s mandate to address financing challenges facing productive and underserved enterprises, with a renewed focus on climate-related investments.
- According to him, the programme will combine lending, risk-sharing mechanisms and technical assistance to address barriers such as high upfront investment costs, collateral constraints, inadequate access to credit and limited project preparation capacity.
- The facility will support businesses seeking to replace expensive diesel-powered generators with solar energy, invest in efficient irrigation systems and strengthen agricultural production against increasingly unpredictable rainfall.
Okpanachi said DBN would commit its own resources to the programme while collaborating with the Green Climate Fund and other development partners to mobilise additional capital, technical expertise and risk-sharing instruments.
He added that the success of DELTA would be measured not merely by the size of its financing facility but by its impact on businesses through lower energy costs, increased productivity, stronger resilience and sustainable economic growth.
FG expects programme to expand access to climate finance
In his welcome address, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, described the initiative as an important step towards translating Nigeria’s climate commitments into practical financial solutions.
Oyedele, who was represented by the Deputy Director of IERD in the ministry, Abubakar Matazu, said climate change had become an economic, fiscal and development challenge for Nigeria, with growing implications for agricultural productivity, food security, energy access, infrastructure and livelihoods.
He said the $275 million programme, including a $100 million contribution from the Green Climate Fund, was expected to expand access to affordable, long-term financing for MSMEs.
The minister reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to creating an enabling fiscal, policy and institutional environment to mobilise climate finance and attract private-sector investment.
Previous financing initiatives targeting Nigerian MSMEs
The new climate finance programme builds on previous efforts by DBN and other development finance institutions to expand access to funding for Nigerian businesses, particularly MSMEs and enterprises operating in sectors critical to the country’s economic and energy transition.
- In June 2026, Nairametrics reported that the European Investment Bank (EIB), through its development arm EIB Global, had partnered with DBN on a €200 million financing facility to support Nigerian MSMEs and mid-sized businesses in agriculture, renewable energy, digitalisation and innovation.
- Earlier in June 2026, DBN disclosed that it had disbursed more than N1 trillion to over one million MSMEs since commencing operations, supporting the creation of more than 1.6 million jobs.
Also, in May 2026, the African Development Bank approved a $61 million financing package for DBN to expand access to affordable credit for women-owned and women-led MSMEs. The package comprised a $50 million line of credit, an $8 million concessional facility for agricultural businesses and a $3 million grant.
