‘Microfinance banks account for 85% PoS terminals’
The President of the Association of Micro Finance Banks (AMFB) has revealed that Microfinance banks in the country account for 85 per cent point of sale terminals in the country. Chairman AMFB FCT chapter, Sir Francis Akie, made the disclosure in Abuja on Wednesday during a specialised training on Corporate governance for managing directors, chairmen […]
The President of the Association of Micro Finance Banks (AMFB) has revealed that Microfinance banks in the country account for 85 per cent point of sale terminals in the country.
Chairman AMFB FCT chapter, Sir Francis Akie, made the disclosure in Abuja on Wednesday during a specialised training on Corporate governance for managing directors, chairmen and non-executive directors of Microfinance banks, with the theme “Corporate Governance: Frameworks for Growth and Sustainability.”
Speaking on the role of microfinance banks in financial inclusion and MSME growth, he said, “If you read what the CBN published in the year 2024, microfinance banks alone contribute 95% of the total lending in the industry.”
“And as we speak, we have over 85% of the point of sales terminal in this country and microfinance banks are in the forefront of financial inclusion drive in this country. Because we deal with the people at the bottom of the pyramid. We are the people who know where they are and what they need from us,” he explained
On the essence of the training, he noted that “This gathering is to enhance our knowledge by teaching us basically what corporate governance is all about. Without corporate governance in our microfinance ecosystem, we will not be able to comply with basic rules and regulations of the Central Bank of Nigeria,” he said
“You know that the Central Bank is even talking about increment in share capital and for people to gather their money and then trust it into the hands of various individuals as Directors to manage those funds, you must build your capacity well in order to manage those finances effectively.
“Therefore we want to be proactive by ensuring that at any point in time that CBN calls on us to increase our capital, our capital is already increased,” he said
The keynote speaker and Founder/CEO of Better Ways, Victor Dare said there is a need to amplify the relevance of corporate governance compliance, which regulators and observers of the financial industry have identified as one of the things that bedeviled the industry.
“Most of the banks that have died, when you track why they died, it is usually due to poor corporate governance, excessive oversight, or some things that are related to poor oversight. So our critical meat in this conversation today is how we can take these banks that are doing well to a better level, and those ones that are weak, how we can strengthen them in terms of internal governance and their structural system.,” he said.