Search Results for: nigeria

Nigerian president Umaru Musa Yar’Adua has approved that the construction of a NGN 200 billion (USD 1.35 billion) agricultural fund to be disbursed to commercial farmers in Kano at an interest rate of nine percent through commercial banks. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is responsible for overseeing and creating guidelines for the distribution of the fund. For more on the CBN, please read this MicroCapital article. CBN will also collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources to monitor the fund’s implementation.

The Nigerian microfinance sector is facing a setback in the wake of several issues plaguing the country’s microfinance institutions (MFIs), according to a press release on the Nigerian weekly NEXT. NEXT is a publication of Timbuktu Media, a media and information company based in Lagos, Nigeria, and founded by Dele Olojede, Africa’s first winner of the Pulitzer Prize (for International Reporting). Stating that the country’s microfinance sector has been ‘caught’ in the midst of an ‘inefficient Nigerian economic system’, the release cites several reasons why MFIs in Nigeria are not in alignment with their goal of increasing financial access to the poor.

Much Ado About Nothing: The Case of the Nigerian, Microfinance Policy Measures, Institutions and Operations; By B. O. Iganiga and published in The Journal of Social Science. The original paper is 13 pages and available here.

The Lagos State Government has provided loans worth NGN 7 million (approximately equivalent to USD 48k) in an effort to provide access to financial services to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the city of Ikorodu. According to a press release on the Nigerian daily, punchng.com the loan was facilitated by Ms. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, a member of the House of Representatives. punchng.com is owned and operated by the Nigerian newspaper, The Punch. Speaking during the presentation of checks to the beneficiaries of the scheme, Ms. Dabiri-Erewa described poverty as ‘multi-dimensional’ and called for effective implementation of microfinance schemes as a means to address poverty in Nigeria. The release quoted her as saying that microfinance was a vital instrument for self-empowerment, enabling the poor to become agents of economic ‘change’. This loan by the Lagos State Government is among a series of efforts by other local and state governments in Nigeria to address poverty through microfinance.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced at the 3^rd Annual Microfinance and Microfinance Entrepreneurship Awards Ceremony that it has licensed a total of 840 microfinance institutions throughout the country in, 25 of which have been licensed since September 2008. CBN Governor Chukwuma Soludo stated that despite this increase in MFIs, as well as an increase in branches of universal banks by two thousand since 2003, access to formal finance in Nigeria remains at 35 percent. Local and state governments were challenged to establish and mainstream microfinance programmes while praising particular microfinance initiatives such as the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGSF), the insurance deposits for microfinance by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) as well the development of a credit bureau, the Credit Reference Company.

The Federal Government of Nigeria disbursed loans worth Naira 81 million (approximately USD 543k) to encourage employment generation in the country. According to a press release on AllAfrica.com, these loans were disbursed in the capital city of Ajuba and chaired by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Alhaji Yayale Ahmed. The loan drawn was from the Enterprises Creation Fund which was launched by The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in partnership with the Nigerian Agricultural Cooperative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB). According to the release, the partnership between NDE and NACRDB was established in 2004. The loans were provided as soft loans to 370 beneficiaries to help them establish small business enterprises in keeping with the Directorate’s efforts to create and promote small businesses. Soft loans are loans that have extended grace periods and below-market rates of interest. No information on the interest rate charged for these loans is available.

Integrated Microfinance Bank Plc (IMFB), a Nigerian based microfinance institution (MFI) has commenced operations in the Nigerian State of Kaduna. This announcement was made by Mr. Simon Ankinteye, the managing director and chief executive officer of IMFB during a chat with reporters in Lagos, Nigeria, according to a press release found on the news portal, NigerianBulletin. The release quoted Mr. Akinteye as saying that IMFB would offer the people of Kaduna banking services and other products such as lease financing, partnership financing, investment account for children, a trust fund and a savings account. He also added that specialized skill training would be provided to empower the people of Kaduna to ‘live above poverty levels’.

Microfinance is being proposed as a potential solution to the large number of commercial motorcycle operators known as ‘Okada’ who have recently found themselves unemployed in the Rivers State of Nigeria. The government recently banned the motorcycles in the state capital of Port Harcourt as a part of its urban renewal programme. The government has asked all willing ‘indigenes’ who are displaced by the ban to access the N2 billion (USD 12.8 million) microfinance programme with First City Monument Bank (FCMB) to venture into a taxi business, which is being managed by Skye Bank. The state Transport Commissioner, George Tolofari said that the measure was a part of a government effort to ensure that former Okada operators of Rivers State origin are provided with assistance and continue to feel a sense of belonging. He also stressed that the credit facilities must be used as intended by government.

Kings Microfinance Bank (KMFB), a Nigerian based microfinance provider announced that it has disbursed loans worth Naira 50 million, approximately equivalent to USD 367 thousand, to nearly 5000 Nigerians over the last several months. This announcement was made by Mr. Laide Adebayo, the Managing Director of KMFB during a chat with journalists at Lagos, Nigeria, according to a press release found on Vanguard – Nigeria. KMFB is one of the 815 organizations that have been licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to supply credit to the marginalized poor and thereby support the Nigerian Government in its efforts to address poverty and meet the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Originally founded as Maryland Community Bank, KMFB registered as a Microfinance Bank in January, 2008. KMFB does not report to the MIX Market, the microfinance information clearing house, nor has it published its financial data on its website. Hence information on its total assets, loan portfolio and client base is not available.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced a new condition of receiving Microfinance Bank (MFB) licenses.  Going forward, only microfinance institutions that are ready to operate in rural areas will be given licenses.  This new condition follows the recent statements, reported on MicroCapital, by Charles Soludo, Governor of the CBN, that only 12 of 36 Nigerian states contribute to microfinance.  On a combined basis, these 12 states have contributed USD 1.26 million to microfinance.  The new condition is an attempt to create more balance in the availability of financial services across the rural and urban areas.  Mr. Tunde Lemo, Deputy Governor, Financial Sector Surveillance, CBN, said that the central bank will give special, rapid consideration to any microfinance institutions seeking to begin operations in rural, underserved  states. 

The Nigeria Police Force Microfinance Bank Plc (NPFMB), posted gross earnings of N943m, approximately USD 8 million, representing 48 percent growth over last year’s earnings.  Total assets increased by 8.4 percent to N4.6 billion, or USD 39.5 million and loans and advances grew by 12.8 percent.  The bank announced a dividend of N146 million, or USD 1.24 million, representing 51 percent of after tax profit.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Charles Soludo, said in Lagos on Tuesday that only 12 out of 36 states in the country have contributed to microfinance activities in their states to the tune of N12.08 billion, approximately USD 1.26 million.  The governor of the apex bank who was speaking at the launch of Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFINA), a nongovernmental organization, named the states (rank by population) as Zamfara (21), Delta (12), Lagos (2), Ekiti (29), Kebbi (23), Kwara (30), Ondo (18), Kogi (20), Cross River (27), Benue (9), Anambra (10), Osun (19) and Oyo (5).  Lagos state has disbursed N620 million, or USD 5.3 million, within one year through selected microfinance banks, Delta state has disbursed N600 million, approximately USD 5.1 million, through Oceanic Bank and some microfinance banks while Osun disbursed N99.78 million, approximately  USD 8.5 million, through the Nigerian Agricultural Cooperative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB).

Source: All Africa.
Original news wire here.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) granted licenses to 815 microfinance institutions (MFIs) at a ceremony officially launching of the results of an EFINA survey on the adult banking population. The organizations to which licenses were granted were not listed, however a complete list of MFIs operating in Nigeria can be found on the CBN website. Representatives from CBN addressed the need for additional MFIs operating throughout Nigeria, acknowledging that there is a fragmentation of the concentration of MFIs throughout the different states of Nigeria. It was stressed, however, that although the CBN will endeavour to increase the licenses granted to MFIs, the CBN will not hesitate to withdraw licenses from MFIs who fail to adhere to the regulations.

In an attempt to further poverty reduction efforts, the Kano State Government in Nigeria will inject capital into area microfinance institutions (MFIs). The announcement was made by the State Deputy Governor at a recent Poverty Day celebration organized by the National Program to Eradicate Poverty (NAPEP).

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized a seminar on private sector partnerships titled “Fostering the World Bank and SMEs Partnership in Nigeria to Enhance Economic Growth.” Ismail Radwan, Senior Economist of World Bank Africa spoke at the event and disclosed that worldwide small and medium enterprises have been projected to grow as a sector to USD 250 billion from its present size of USD 17 billion within ten years, further adding that the findings reflect a vast untapped market not only for SMEs, but for microfinance institutions as well. He cited that the potential for microfinance in Africa and Nigeria remains largely unexploited.