Going forward, International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, will mobilise deposit money banks in the country to finance microfinance banks, a development aimed at enhancing financial inclusion and employment generation.
IFC has been focusing on innovations that support microfinance institutions, as a result has invested about $25 million to five microfinance institutions in the country.
In microfinance, IFC is a leading investor in sub-Saharan Africa with a fast-growing, well-performing portfolio of equity, debt and advisory projects. IFC’s portfolio includes investments in 26 microfinance institutions in 12 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, which reach over 3 million micro-enterprises and low-income households.
“We are going to finance market leaders and those who can set the right standard and have other microfinance institutions understand what it means to operate well”, Solomon Adegbie-Quaynor, country manager, Nigeria Africa department, IFC, has said.
In mobilising the banks, IFC will provide some sort of guarantee and provide them with support that hopefully with time the local banks will see that it is a viable business and they will be able to do it themselves and develop wide products and also be able to structure properly.
Adegbie-Quaynor disclosed that IFC has issued a naira bond in February aimed at raising fund in local currency and lending same to clients.
International Finance Corporation on Monday signed an agreement to invest N650 million ($4 million) in Grooming Centre, a Nigerian microfinance institution to increase access to finance for up to 780,000 micro-enterprises by 2018.
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
