By Uche Usim, Abuja and Isaac Anumihe

Former Deputy Managing Director and Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Mr Tony Okpanachi has been appointed the Managing Director and Chief Executive of the newly-licensed Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN).

Okpanachi will be supported by the Chief Financial Officer, Mrs. Ijeoma Ozulumba and Chief Risk Officer, Mr. Olu Adegbola. The board members include:  Chairman, Dr. Shehu Yahaya (who was the interim MD of DBN and former Executive Director, AfDB); Managing Director/Chief Executive, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Uche Orji and Mohammed  Kalif, of the African Development Bank.

Independent Directors of the DBN are former Group Managing Director/CEO of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Mr. Philips Oduoza; President and CEO, African  Finance Corporation,  Mr. Andrew Alli; Chairman, FBN Merchant Bank, Alhaji Bello Maccido; Founder/Managing Director, JNC International Limited, Mrs Clare Omatseye and the Managing Director, CEO Excel Professional Service Limited, Mr. Oladimeji Alo.

Before his appointment as Managing Director/ CEO of Development Bank of Nigeria, Okpanachi  was the Deputy Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria Limited. Prior to that, he was the Managing Director, Ecobank Kenya and Cluster Managing Director for East Africa (comprising Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan and Ethiopia). He was also at various times Managing Director of Ecobank Malawi and Regional Coordinator for Lagos and South West of Ecobank Nigeria.

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A statement by the Director of Information, Salisu Na’inna Dambatta said Okpanachi is a seasoned banker with over 26 years’ experience and  he  holds a masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Manchester Business School UK and a Master of Science degree in Economics from University of Lagos.

Speaking at a recent strategy retreat with the management team, board members, and other key stakeholders of DBN in attendance, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun reaffirmed the importance of the DBN’s mandate and assured them of the public sector support needed to ensure its success.

According to Adeosun, “despite limited access to financing, MSMEs contribute a significant 45 per cent to the national economy.  If these institutions could have reliable access to working and investment capital at low cost, the multiplier effect on economic growth and job creation would be significant”.

Recall that the  Finance Ministry had on Wednesday received notice from the regulator that it was free to commence operations of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) focused Development Bank of Nigeria.