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The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has committed a $75 million financing facility to the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) to expand access to funding for Nigerian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including businesses in the country’s growing creative economy.

The facility, announced during CANEX WKND 2026 in Lagos, will be channelled through DBN’s network of participating financial institutions to support eligible SMEs across sectors. The financing will cover working capital needs, asset acquisition, pre-export and post-export activities, and supply chain financing.

Businesses in the fashion, film, music, design and broader creative industries are among the intended beneficiaries, reflecting the objectives of CANEX, Afreximbank’s flagship initiative for Africa’s creative and cultural sectors.

The agreement was formally signed by Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President for Intra-African Trade and Export Development at Afreximbank, and Tony Okpanachi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of DBN.

Beyond financing, the programme will include capacity-building and export-readiness support designed to help participating SMEs strengthen their operations and access regional and international markets.

“Our partnership with DBN goes beyond providing capital,” Awani said. “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.”

She added that creative enterprises would benefit from support that helps transform African talent and innovation into internationally competitive businesses.

As part of the initiative, Afreximbank and DBN will jointly develop training programmes for participating financial institutions to improve their ability to finance and support export-oriented SMEs. Beneficiaries will also gain access to Afreximbank’s trade and market-access platforms, including MANSA, TRADAR, the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), and the African Trade Exchange (ATEX).

The programme will further connect businesses to potential buyers and commercial opportunities through initiatives such as the Africa Buyer Programme, the African Trade Distribution Centre (ATDC), and the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF).

Okpanachi described the agreement as a significant step towards addressing longstanding financing challenges facing Nigerian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

“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.

“The $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 the partnership’s market-access and capacity-building components would help SMEs evolve from locally focused enterprises into competitive participants in regional and global value chains.

CANEX WKND 2026, held from Nov. 5 to 8 at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Cultural & Creative Arts in Lagos, brought together creatives, investors, buyers and policymakers from Africa, the Caribbean and the global diaspora. The event featured investment forums, export-readiness training, intellectual property discussions and business matchmaking opportunities aimed at unlocking growth across Africa’s creative sector.

The new financing arrangement underscores growing efforts by African development finance institutions to combine funding with technical support and market access, enabling SMEs to scale operations, increase exports and contribute more significantly to economic growth.