LAPO Microfinance Bank (MfB) will host the second edition of its Sustainability Conference in Lagos on October 31, 2025, with a focus on how microfinance can help vulnerable communities adapt to the growing risks of climate change.
Themed “Microfinance for Climate Resilience: Empowering Communities, Driving Innovation, Shaping Policy,” the event is expected to bring together policymakers, development partners, academics, entrepreneurs, industry leaders, and grassroots changemakers.
The first edition of the conference, held in November 2019, was widely regarded as a landmark for linking sustainability with financial inclusion.
That gathering sparked cross-sector collaborations, which led to community-based renewable energy projects and policy recommendations still referenced in Nigeria’s development space.
Since then, LAPO MfB has broadened its sustainability initiatives through partnerships with local and international organisations.
Working with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), the bank has promoted biodiversity through large-scale tree-planting. Its partnership with Water.org has expanded clean water and sanitation access under a WASH loan programme targeting underserved households.
The bank has also teamed up with Baobab+ Nigeria to deliver affordable solar-powered solutions to off-grid households and small businesses, while its collaboration with Sun King has scaled the distribution of solar lanterns in rural and peri-urban communities.
In addition, its alliance with the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI) has strengthened global best practices in sustainable finance and climate-responsive banking.
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LAPO MfB says it has financed solar home systems, energy-efficient cookstoves, and sustainable farming practices, alongside financial inclusion programmes that have reached more than three million clients, 70 per cent of them women.
Dorcas Thorpe, head of strategy and transformation at LAPO MfB, said the upcoming conference will spotlight practical solutions at the intersection of finance, innovation, and policy.
“Climate change poses a serious threat to the communities we serve, but it also presents an opportunity for innovation and transformative action. This conference will spotlight practical solutions that blend microfinance, technology, and policy reforms to protect livelihoods while advancing sustainable development,” she said.
Oluremi Akande, the bank’s director of marketing and communications, added that the conference reinforces LAPO MfB’s mission of embedding sustainability into its operations.
“At LAPO MfB, sustainability is not an afterthought, it is central to how we design products, build partnerships, and engage communities. This conference reinforces our belief that finance can and must be a tool for resilience, ensuring that vulnerable populations are not left behind in the climate transition,” he said.
The bank expects the October conference to attract both local and international participants committed to reshaping how finance serves people and the planet.
