Emma Okonji
The microfinance industry in Nigeria is set to experience a major breakthrough in its operations, as the Microfinance Development Company Ltd (MDCL), plans to launch its Inter-member Liquidity Placement Platform (ILPP), that will further escalate the use of technology to drive financial inclusion.
The platform, which will be launched at a business forum for key stakeholders in the microfinance industry on March 31, 2021 in Lagos, is being organised by MDCL.
It will play host to managing directors of microfinance banks and key decision makers in the banking, technology, SME and financial services industries.
Themed, “The 21st Century MFB: Leveraging Technology to Drive Financial Inclusion in the MFB Industry”, the event will focus on liquidity management, risk asset creation and other macroeconomic challenges faced by the microfinance industry, with a view to proffering viable solutions to them.
The keynote speaker at the event is Lawrence Amadi, a Technology Advisory Partner at KPMG. He will be joined by other seasoned captains of industry and thought leaders drawn from different business verticals.
Speaking about the upcoming event, the Chairman of MDCL and Founder of Hasal Microfinance Bank, Rogers Nwoke, said: “The MFBs are critical to Nigeria’s financial inclusion goals, particularly because of their role in providing financial services to the underserved segments of the Nigerian economy.
However, the industry witnessed a high failure rate in the past, owing largely to issues of poor corporate governance, weak liquidity position, high cost of funds and the harsh realities of the Nigerian business environment, among other factors. This event has been put together to address one of those critical factors, which is the challenge of liquidity.”
He further noted that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has deployed measures to strengthen corporate governance and enhance sustainability, going by the revision of minimum capital requirements for microfinance banks. MDCL is complementing the effort of CBN by providing credit facilities, liquidity management and also strengthening compliance with statutory requirements by the beneficiary MFBs.
