The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently reported that the country is not on track to meet the goals it set in the 2012 National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS). According to a CBN statement, “Nigeria has failed to meet its financial inclusion targets due to a variety of factors;
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MICROFINANCE EVENT: Remittance Africa 2018: “Unlocking Opportunities in Money Transfer and Payment Systems in Africa;” October 23-24, 2018; Lagos, Nigeria
Event Summary: Themed “Unlocking Opportunities in Money Transfer and Payment Systems in Africa,” this event is intended is “to create a continental dialogue on deepening the remittance and payment ecosystems in Africa.” Attendees representing electronic payment providers, financial service providers,
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Industry (BOI) of Nigeria to Debut Government’s TraderMoni Microenterprise Lending Program
The government of Nigeria recently announced plans for a national rollout of TraderMoni, a lending service for microenterprises whose inventories do not exceed NGN 10,000 (USD 30). During the pilot phase of the project, 368 microentrepreneurs in Nigeria’s Edo State each borrowed
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria, Service Providers Partner to Establish 500k Financial Service Points via Shared Agent Network Expansion (SANE) Program
Under Nigeria’s new Shared Agent Network Expansion (SANE) program, the Central Bank of Nigeria, mobile-money operators, retail banks and “super agents” – organizations of 50 or more financial services agents – have agreed to create a network of 500,000 agents to offer services such as transferring funds to and from family members, vendors and the government. As part of the scheme, 50 million people will acquire biometric-based
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Syndicates $100m Loan to Access Bank for Agricultural Value Chains in Nigeria with Participation from Norfund, Proparco, Finnfund, Swedfund
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a development bank controlled by the Dutch government, recently arranged a syndicated loan totaling USD 100 million for Access Bank, which has 385 service points, mostly in Nigeria. The funding is intended for lending in USD to firms involved in the production, processing and distribution of agricultural goods. The focus is to be on export goods, such as
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Opportunity International EduFinance, FINCA Microfinance Bank Nigeria to Offer Education Loans to Students’ Families, Schools
FINCA Microfinance Bank Nigeria, an affiliate of the US-based Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), recently partnered with Opportunity International (OI) EduFinance to lend money for
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Africa Banking & Finance Conference; April 10 – 11, 2018; Lagos, Nigeria
Event Name: Africa Banking & Finance Conference
Event Date: April 10 – April 11, 2018
Event Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Summary of Event: This is the seventh iteration of this event, which will focus again on financial inclusion. In addition to a trade show, the conference will include sessions on insurance, savings, payments, capacity building, measuring success, regulation, agent banking, serving women and youth, and how banks can downscale
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigerian Government, Bank of Industry (BOI) Launch National Women Empowerment Fund (NAWEF), Charging Flat 5% Fee for Microloans Totaling $4.5m
The Nigerian government recently issued NGN 1.6 billion (USD 4.5 million) to the National Women Empowerment Fund (NAWEF), a new funding mechanism that will provide women with 6-month, collateral-free loans of between NGN 10,000 (USD 28) and NGN 100,000 (USD 278). The borrowers will pay a 5-percent administrative fee, but
MICROFINANCE EVENT: 3rd African International Conference on Islamic Finance; October 16-17, 2017; Abuja, Nigeria
Event Name: Third African International Conference on Islamic Finance
Event Location: Transcorp Hilton Abuja; Abuja, Nigeria
Summary of Event: This conference aims to highlight the ethics and impact of Islamic finance, primarily in West Africa. The agenda topics include ethical investment; regulations; financial technology; the alignment between Islamic finance and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals; and Islamic capital markets, including sukuk (bond) markets. One of the major ways that Islamic lending differs from mainstream loans is the use of mechanisms such as the sharing of profit and loss in lieu of conventional interest payments.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: CGAP, Pula Announce Microinsurance Partnership for Farmers in Nigeria
CGAP (the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor), a US-based, nonprofit research center that aims to facilitate the expansion of financial access, and Pula, a Kenya-based, agricultural insurance intermediary that serves small-scale farmers by leveraging satellite technology, recently announced that they are partnering to deliver “satellite-based agricultural insurance” to farmers in Nigeria.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria’s Lagos State Creates IBILE Microfinance Bank to Boost Lending to MSMEs
The government of the Nigerian state of Lagos recently established Ikeja Badagry Ikorodu Lagos Island Epe (IBILE) Microfinance Bank with the aim of boosting economic growth and reducing poverty.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Accion Microfinance Bank to Borrow $1.6m from Citibank Nigeria to Support 5k MSEs
Accion Microfinance Bank (Accion Nigeria), the Nigerian partner of US-based nonprofit Accion, recently announced it will borrow NGN 500 million (USD 1.58 million) from Citibank Nigeria, an arm of US-based financial services provider Citigroup, for on-lending to “support the development of approximately 5,000 micro and small enterprises in the country.”
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FMO Lending $4m to Babban Gona to Provide Business Services on Credit to Farmers in Nigeria
Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden, a development bank controlled by the Dutch government, recently offered a loan of USD 4 million to Babban Gona, a Nigerian for-profit company that provides business services to small-scale farmers such as assistance with crop insurance; soil analysis; marketing; distribution; and access to seeds, fertilizer and storage facilities.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: FINCA Nigeria Expands FINCA eXpress Agent Banking Service in Imo
FINCA Microfinance Bank Limited, the Nigerian affiliate of the US-based Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA International), is serving 20,700 customers via 20 agents in the state of Imo.
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria’s Access Bank, FMO Launch Female Leadership Programme in Ghana
Access Bank Ghana, an affiliate of Nigeria’s Access Bank Plc, recently partnered with the Netherlands Development Finance Company, a government-backed institution also known by its Dutch acronym FMO, to launch a Female Leadership Programme for entrepreneurs in Ghana.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Cashless Africa: The Future of Finance; March 22 – 23, 2017; Lagos, Nigeria
Event Name: Cashless Africa: The Future of Finance
Event Date: March 22 – 23, 2017
Event Location: Lagos Oriental Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria
Summary of Event: This year’s theme for the Cashless Africa Conference is “The Future of Finance.” It will highlight
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Nigeria to Disburse $462m in Loans to 1.7m Traders, Artisans, Farmers; $231m in Conditional Cash Transfers
The Nigerian government recently announced that NGN 68.7 billion (approximately USD 231 million) of its NGN 500 billion (approximately USD 1.7 billion) social investment programme will be used as a conditional cash transfer (CCT) scheme for 1 million “extremely poor and vulnerable Nigerians”[2].
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Releases Categorization System for “Non-interest Islamic Microfinance Banks”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the country’s central banking authority, recently released a new categorization system for “Non-Interest Islamic Microfinance Banks” (NIMFBs). Such institutions operate under Islamic principles that prohibit charging interest, instead using arrangements such as the sharing of profit and loss.