By Amaka Abayomi
Microfinance op-erators have said that the knowledge and skill gap challenges hindering the growth of the sector must be addressed for the sector to witness remarkable growth.

Tackling the skill gap hurdle, operators say, has become necessary as a result of poor corporate governance and weak internal control that have resulted in the closure of some of microfinance banks, MFBs.

Kingsley Moghalu, deputy governor, Financial System Stability, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), earlier stressing the need for more training in MFB as against over-emphasis on capital, said “People emphasise too much on capital in this country, but they do not know that you can have all the capital in this world yet your bank fails because you have poor corporate governance and weak internal controls.

“If you have all the capital in the world, what is destroyed is the larger capital than if your capital was small. People who run MFBs need to be well trained.

“They need to understand the concept of what microfinance is, which is not commercial banking. That is why we are undertaking a lot of training for all the operators of the sector.”

Godwin Ehigiamusoe, Executive Director, Lift Above Poverty Organisa-tion (LAPO), said this year’s outlook for the sector is extremely bright due to a large market of exceptionally enterprising people.

Expressing optimism that the knowledge/skill gap in the industry will soon be addressed, while the regulatory environment will certainly improve, Ehigiamusoe said “Attention will likely be on managing cost and liquidity risk. Activities of institutions skilled in microfinance operations will rub off on microfi-nance practice in the country. MFBs will be ready to learn if they are to survive.”

For Mrs. Bunmi Lawson, MD, Accion MFB, “2011 is an election year, but I am positive that with the number of healthy MFBs, we will see sustained growth in the industry.

Though some measures still need to be put in place, I see 2011 as a good year for all in the sector.”
However, despite the harsh business environment and market turns last year, Lawson observed that performance has been very commendable.

“Studies have shown that an increasing number of low-income persons now have access to financial services and know or have heard about the MFBs. The recent sanitisation done by the CBN will ensure that it will not be business as usual for any MFB that wants to remain in business as customers now know who to entrust their money with.”