Lotus Capital Limited has received a Technical Assistance Grant of $250,000 from Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA) to support its product ‘Lotus Health is Wealth Savings Plan’.
The Lotus Health is Wealth Savings Plan (LHIWSP) is a dynamic non-interest, fixed income savings product that will also offer health insurance. The Plan is structured around monthly collections of deposits from customers, which will be invested in non-interest, low-risk instruments, and non-interest fixed term investments, to give customers returns on their savings.
A small portion of customers’ deposits will be allocated to pay the monthly premiums for health insurance. The project will be piloted in Lagos, Abuja and Kano States. Lotus Capital will target traders, market associations, religious associations, service companies and women pressure groups.
Speaking about the grant, Chidinma Lawanson, CEO, EFInA, said, “The EFInA Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2014 survey revealed that 16.8 million adults representing 18 percent of the adult population who do not use non-interest banking products stated that they are likely to take up such products if they are readily available. The Lotus Health is Wealth products adds to the diversity and range of affordable financial products to low and middle income segments of the population who may be unbanked and under-banked.”
Furthermore, she mentioned that, “insurance penetration is still low in Nigeria, data from the EFInA’s Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2014 survey shows that only one million adults representing 1.1 percent of the total adult population have insurance, while 14.3 million representing 15.3 percent of adults stated that they would be interested in micro insurance products. Through the Project, Lotus Capital will drive awareness on non-interest finance and enhance financial literacy among the low income targets, given that the company’s direct sales agent will interface with customers to showcase the product.”
According to Hajara Adeola, managing director, Lotus Capital, “Since our founding, we have being dedicated to creating wealth ethically for our clients. Our firm belief is that with the right financial plan and education, everyone can and should improve the quality of their life. Through this project, we hope to encourage the development of an investment culture among the low income and financially excluded segment of the population.
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
