Microfinance banks contribute N185bn to economy

Microfinance institutions in Nigeria on Monday said they have contributed a total of N185 billion into the country’s formal economy.
President, Association of Non-Bank Microfinance Institutions of Nigeria (ANMFIN), Hamid G. Afolabi made this disclosure in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital on the “occasion of corporate governance and ANMFIN inclusion exchange.”
The institutions added that they had rescued no fewer than 100,000 Nigerians from poverty through linkage to finances, sensitisation, capacity building and networking.
Giwa said: “As we march towards expanding outreach to rural areas, the subsector is still bedeviled with regulatory bottlenecks; many of our non-governmental organisations that want to engage in providing microfinance credit to their target audience cannot because of legal impediments,” he said.
The Micro Small and Medium Enterprise Development Funds set up by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to increase access have largely remained inaccessible due to collateral requirements.
“However, we are confident in the consistent support that we have received from Rural Finance Institution Building Programme (RUFIN) and CBN with regards to the review of these provisions that militate against the effectual and efficient delivery of the financial inclusion agenda to the rural areas.”
ANMFIN boss added that “we have weathered the storm because the association is currently working with over 3,000 informal savings to be linked to microfinance banks in the North West. A feat we are about to replicate across the country with Kwara State as our next focal state.”

Read also: TSA: CBN gets N2tn from banks

He urged the micro finance practitioners to partner together, saying that with that “we can do more and we can achieve more. This inclusion exchange provides us the opportunity to look beyond our fears and perceptions. It is time for us to forge a common front and I welcome you on board”.

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