MICROCAPITAL STORY: Nigerian Nonprofit Microfinance Institution, Development Exchange Centre (DEC), Loans Approximately $2.5m to Women in Northern Nigerian States

Development Exchange Centre (DEC) of Nigeria recently loaned NGN 292 million (approximately USD 2.5 million) to 30,000 women in various Nigerian northern states. In a set of statistics released by DEC, the organization said the loan was made in hopes to reduce poverty and enhance the economic status of women in the affected states.

Founded in 1987 as a non-government organization (NGO), DEC was established through a joint venture between Canadian University Services Overseas (CUSO), a nonprofit organization that promotes development in developing nations, and the Adult and Non-formal Education Agency (ANFEA), a Nigerian state agency whose objective is to increase literacy. DEC first started as a resource center for groups of women to share and exchange development information. Since then, it has expanded its objectives to include microfinance services, community development initiatives, literacy classes and various capacity building and entrepreneurship skill development workshops. The organization is split into two units‚ one which concentrates on microfinance and another which focuses social development issues such as adult literacy, gender awareness, water, sanitation and hygiene. Currently, DEC operates through 20 branches and has 12 microfinance offices

According to 2006 financial data provided by the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX), DEC had total assets of USD 2.7 million with a gross loan portfolio of USD 1.5 million. More recent data from the Grameen Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Washington D.C., shows that DEC had a gross loan portfolio of USD 2.3 million in December 2007. No further information is available regarding DEC or the funding source of DEC’s current loan of USD 2.5 million. DEC obtains most of its funding through membership fees, income from consultancy services and donations from nonprofit and non-governmental organizations such as the Ford Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme and ActionAid International Nigeria.

At the end of 2006, DEC reported a return on assets of -2.32 percent and a return on equity of -3.13 percent. These numbers are down from 2005, when DEC’s return on assets was 8.47 percent and its return on equity was 11.62 percent. As of December 2007, DEC had 35,726 active borrowers. The organization focuses its development efforts on women, as it was originally established after research findings by CUSO and ANFEA showed that women in rural areas of Nigeria are greatly disadvantaged socially and economically.

DEC is currently working with Oxfam Novib, the Dutch subsidiary of Oxfam International, a confederation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) founded in 1995 with the purpose of reducing poverty. Oxfam Novib has lent DEC EUR 339,500 in an effort to help the organization increase its active clients by 73,132 and its total branches by 26.

Additional Resources:

ActionAid International: Home

AllAfrica.com: “Nigeria: NGO Disburses N292 Million Credit to 30,000 Women”

Canadian University Services Overseas: Home

Ford Foundation: Home

Grameen Foundation: Home, Development Education Centre

Leadershipnigeria.com: “NGO Disburses N292m Credit To 30,000 Women”

MIX Market: Profile for DEC

Oxfam International: Home, About

Oxfam Novib: Home, DEC Microfinance Programme 2008-2010

“Reflect, Rights and Governance: Insights from Nigeria and South Africa” by Kate Newman, ActionAid International

United Nations Development Programme: Home