NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, October 10, 2013

The Managing Director, Fortis Micofinance Bank Plc, Mr. Kunle Oketikun has called for more financial empowerment for Nigerians. This is following a breakdown of EFInA’s report, showing that out of 84.7 million Nigerian adults and only 15.9 million individuals in Nigeria borrowed money in the last 12 months and only 7.9 million of individuals who borrowed money used it for business purposes. In this interview with PROVIDENCE OBUH, he said, “With about 900 Microfinance Banks (MfBs) 22 Commercial Banks, and other financial institutions, there is a need for all stakeholders to do more and empower more people.”

How best would you measure the Nigerian Microfinance Industry?

In corporate Nigeria, officially, commercial microfinancing is under a decade and in comparison with what obtains in other climes where micro financing has been practiced for over three to four decades; it will only be fair to say microfinancing in Nigeria is doing well and will do much better in the coming years.