A national micro-finance bank is to be established to promote access to credit finance for small, medium enterprises (SMEs) and other unbanked groups in the country, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Thursday.
The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, who announced this in Abuja, said the bank will be established in collaboration with the Bankers Committee, the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST).
Mr Emefiele was represented by the deputy governor, Financial Systems Stability of the CBN, Aishah Ahmad, at the maiden two-day National Financial Literacy Stakeholders’ conference organised by the bank in Abuja.
The CBN governor said the new national MFB which shall be technology driven will leverage on the NIPOST’s presence in 774 local government areas of the country to reach its target beneficiaries.
“The bank will serve as an efficient channel for the disbursement and monitoring of key intervention funds by the CBN, such as the Anchor Borrowers fund, SME fund, etc, to farmers and SMEs at the grassroots level,” Mr Emefiele said.
He said the conference will provide the platform for participants to deliberate on key imperatives for achieving the country’s financial inclusion targets, promoting financial stability and entrenching sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
The theme of the conference, “Implementing Financial Literacy and Consumer Protection to advance Financial Inclusion in Nigeria”, the CBN governor noted, was selected to help focus on the need to redress the challenges limiting financial inclusion in the country.
Building an inclusive financial system, he said, has positively impacted efforts towards poverty reduction and enhancement of economic prosperity.
