Depending on the nature of your business and loan purpose, you may have up to 18 months moratorium on principal repayment for working capital & investment projects, and up to 10 years to repay the loan.

DBN loan offers flexible interest rates that are based on tenure and referenced to market rates.

MSMEs are classified into Micro, Small and Medium Sized Businesses based on asset size, sales volume and number of employees, as defined by The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).

DBN loan is specifically targeted at small businesses to ensure that such businesses have increased access to financing. In addition, DBN loans have a longer tenure than other commercial loans, which are usually short-term.

GCF seeks to have an impact within eight mitigation and adaptation result areas:

• Health, Food and Water Security
• Livelihoods of People and Communities
• Energy Generation and Access
• Transport
• Infrastructure and Built Environment
• Ecosystems and ecosystem services
• Buildings, cities, industries and appliances
• Forests and land use

These priority areas cut across different sectors and are relevant in many zones of the planet. The GCF investment framework will ensure coherence in the Fund’s resource allocation and focus upon scalable projects that will help deliver paradigm changes across the developing world and make a real difference to the climate and the lives of millions.

The Green Climate Fund is unique in its ability to engage directly with both the public and private sector in transformational climate-sensitive investments. The Fund traditionally works through a wide range of entities to channel its resources to projects and programmes. Such entities may be international, regional, national, or subnational, public or private institutions that meet the standards of the Fund. Countries may access the Fund through multiple sources simultaneously.

As part of its innovative framework, the Fund has the capacity to bear significant climate-related risk, allowing it to leverage and crowd in additional financing. The Fund offers a wide range of financial products, enabling it to match project needs and adapt to specific investment contexts, including the use of its funding to overcome market barriers for private finance.

The accreditation process is designed to assess whether applicant entities have the ability to manage GCF's resources in line with the Fund's fiduciary standards for the scale and type of funding sought, as well as the ability to manage environmental and social risks that may arise at the project level.

Accredited entities may carry out a range of activities, including:

• Developing and submitting funding proposals for projects and programmes;
• Overseeing management and implementation of projects and programmes;
• Overseeing management and implementation of projects and programmes;
• Deploying a range of financial instruments within their respective capacities (grants, concessional loans, equity & guarantees); and
• Mobilizing private sector capital.

The accreditation process is designed to ensure that accredited entities have the ability to manage the Fund’s resources in line with best-practice fiduciary standards for the scale and type of funding sought, as well as the ability to manage environmental and social risks that may arise at the project level.

Direct Access Entities are sub-national, national or regional organizations that need to be nominated by developing country National Designated Authorities (NDAs) or focal points. Organizations nominated to become Direct Access Entities may be eligible to receive GCF readiness support.

The National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) is the National Designated Authority and official Focal Point working to address the impacts of climate change in Nigeria

No, the Bank’s original mandate remains the same. Operationalization of the new structure will be in strict compliance with the Bank’s original mandate. The inclusion of the GCF structure just enhances strategy and plans already in place.

• Basic Fiduciary Standards
• Specialized Fiduciary Standards
• Project Management
• On-lending and or blending for loans
• ESS Risk: Category B
• Medium Sized Projects

Some of the areas in which Nigerians are likely to benefit from through the fund include but not limited to: reduction of the effects of climate change (desertification, global warming unpredictable rainfall patterns, storms, floods), sustainable development, promotion of environmentally friendly technologies i.e. agriculture, industries, poverty reduction, greater awareness on climate change, greater involvement of Nigerian’s in climate change activities, shift towards green economy, raising the Nigerian portfolio in climate financing globally and access to more funds.

The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) is accredited by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) as a Direct Access Entity (DAE). This accreditation allows DBN to access and manage GCF resources directly to support climate-resilient and low-carbon development projects in Nigeria, particularly through the private sector and financial intermediaries. DBN’s accreditation covers the following areas:

• Project Size: DBN is accredited to manage Micro and Small-sized projects, with total project values from USD 50 million to USD 250 million.
• Financial Instruments: DBN can deploy concessional loans to finance climate projects, tailored especially for MSMEs and Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs).
• Focus Areas: DBN’s accreditation spans both Climate Mitigation and Adaptation activities. This includes renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable agriculture, green infrastructure, and climate-resilient MSME financing.

All project proposals must be routed through the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC). This ensures a centralized entry point and an initial assessment to confirm alignment with Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and other climate priorities. Upon receiving a No-objection letter from the NCCC, projects are forwarded to DBN to assess and develop funding proposals to the GCF.

The typical project cycle under DBN’s Green Climate Fund (GCF) engagement follows an 18-month timeline. This 18-month timeline serves as a guideline for project execution, ensuring alignment with GCF.

• a. DBN will designate a select list of Banks to work with on GCF funded projects
• b. These Banks will commit a size of their portfolio to climate finance and create a aggregated portfolio for climate finance
• c. Based on the size of the portfolio, GCF funds will be assessed to match the portfolio size and blended with the PFI’s portfolio. Most likely GCF funding will be subordinated debt to the Banks and this will help reduce the cost of capital as well
• d. Other instruments such as grants and guarantees will be used to derisk the projects
• e. The underlying type of projects will be pre-agreed with GCF covering mitigation and adaptation project types
• f. Finally, all interested parties will be required to get a no-objection from NCCC and on obtaining it will be directed to go to the designated banks to access the climate finance for their projects.