The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria’s central bank and main financial regulator, reportedly has partnered with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a US-based nonprofit organization, to form a new initiative called “Geospatial Mapping of Financial Institutions” that aims to increase the financial inclusion of low-income Nigerians [1]. According to a statement attributed to CBN Governor Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the new service will map all financial access points in Nigeria, including “every microfinance bank, every microfinance institution (MFI), every motor park [public transportation depots], post offices and off-site automated teller machines (ATMs),” that Nigerians will be able to see online or on their mobile phones [2]. The program reportedly will not only make it easier for financially excluded Nigerians to identify access points around them, but also enable the government and banks to determine whether certain regions of the country lack access to an appropriate number of financial services. Sanusi expressed hope that Geospatial Mapping will also “encourage financial institutions to reach out to undeserved segments” of the population. GMGF will provide a monetary grant of an unspecified amount in order to pursue this goal [1].
This new project is part of CBN’s initiative, the Nigeria Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), which was launched in 2012 and aims to reduce the unbanked population of the country from 46.3 percent to 20 percent by 2020 [1]. In addition to the “Geospatial Mapping of Financial Institutions” program, NFIS also promotes services in mobile banking, financial literacy, agent banking and consumer protection [3]. The amount of monetary support that CBN has contributed to NFIS is unavailable.
In the year 2012, CBN reported total assets of NGN 13.3 trillion (USD 82.4 billion). As of July 2013, BMGF has a total endowment of USD 36.4 billion, 1,100 employees, operations in approximately 100 countries and has awarded USD 26.1 billion in grants since its inception in 1994.
By Michael Averell, Research Associate
About Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was established in 1958 as Nigeria’s central banking authority. As defined by the act of parliament that created CBN, its statutory mandates are as follows: “to issue legal tender currency; to maintain external reserves; to safeguard the international value of the legal tender currency; to promote monetary stability and a sound financial system in Nigeria; and to act as banker and financial adviser to the Federal Government.” As of November 2012, CBN reports total assets of NGN 13.3 trillion (USD 82.4 billion).
About Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF)
Launched in 1994, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) is a US-based nonprofit organization that provides grants to organizations with the aim of enhancing health care, reducing poverty and expanding access to education and information technology. The foundation’s “Financial Services for the Poor” initiative focuses on providing people with secure places to save money. To support this initiative, the foundation works with financial organizations to increase access to technology and to forge partnerships among mobile phone companies, banks and microfinance institutions. As of July 2013, BMGF has a total endowment of USD 36.4 billion, 1,100 employees, operations in approximately 100 countries and has awarded USD 26.1 billion in grants since its inception.
Sources and Additional Resources
[1] Leadership Nigeria News: “CBN Adopts Mapping Technology To Leverage Financial Inclusion,” http://leadership.ng/news/080713/cbn-adopts-mapping-technology-leverage-financial-inclusion
[2] All Africa News: “Nigeria: CBN Starts Nationwide GIS Mapping for Financial Access Points,” http://allafrica.com/stories/201307091265.html
[3] Microfinance Gateway: “National Financial Inclusion Strategy,” http://www.microfinancegateway.org/p/site/m/template.rc/1.9.60413/
MicroCapital story, March 12, 2013, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria Agrees to Extend Deadline for Smaller Microfinance Banks to Raise Capital Until December 2013,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-central-bank-of-nigeria-agrees-to-extend-deadline-for-smaller-microfinance-banks-to-raise-capital-until-december-2013/
MicroCapital story, February 19, 2013, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), National Association of Microfinance Banks to Establish Technical Committee to Address Implication of Microfinance Policy, Including Recapitalization of MFBs,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-central-bank-of-nigeria-cbn-national-association-of-microfinance-banks-to-establish-technical-committee-to-address-implication-of-microfinance-policy-including-recapitalization/
MicroCapital story, January 30, 2012, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Beyond Microfinance, Metafinance can Serve Communal Needs Such as Access to Clean Water, Reports Melanies Walker of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-beyond-microfinance-metafinance-can-serve-communal-needs-such-as-access-to-clean-water-reports-melanie-walker-of-bill-and-melinda-gates-foundation/
MicroCapital story, June 14, 2013, “MICROCAPITAL PAPER WRAP-UP: “Financial Impact Evaluation of the Saving for Chang Program in Mali, 2009-2012;” by the Bureau of Application Research in Anthropology at the University of Arizona and Innovations for Poverty Action; published by Oxfam America and Freedom from Hunger,” https://www.microcapital.org/microfinance-paper-wrap-up-final-impact-evaluation-of-the-saving-for-change-program-in-mali-2009-2012-by-the-bureau-of-applied-research-in-anthropology-at-the-un/
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Central+Bank+of+Nigeria+%28CBN%29
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Bill+and+Melinda+Gates+Foundation
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