PROVIDENCE OBUH

…as UN envoy calls for proper coordination of NFIS
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has pushed forward the launch of the N220 billion Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF).

The Fund to be launched before the end of this year is currently at the stage where all stakeholders are looking at it and making inputs into the structure, CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido has said.

Sanusi who said this during the launch of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) by President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja, disclosed that 60 per cent of the Fund is targeted at businesses owned and managed by women to provide long-term funding at single digit interest rate and specific incentives.

He explained that about 39.2 million out of the estimated 84.7 million adult populations in the country are excluded from financial services. A breakdown of the data showed that 80.4 per cent of the excluded adults reside in the rural areas, 54.4 per cent are women, 73.8 per cent are those under 45 years of age while 34.0 per cent are those without formal education.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development, Princess Maxima of the Netherlands urged CBN to ensure a proper coordination of the NFIS so as to give room to even the last consumer, access to financial services at very affordable prices.

Maxima said that the CBN alone cannot accomplish the implementation of the NFIS, calling on Nigerians to give priority to the strategy.

“Implementation of the strategy is a key to this country’s economic development, therefore the CBN should work in conjunction with the different states, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Communications, all the population and enterprises,” she added.

Commending the CBN, she said; “Writing a strategy is just the beginning of the whole process. So, the key issue here is to coordinate and to cooperate, so that we can jointly get to the last man and the last consumer can actually have access to financial services at very affordable prices.

Earlier, the UN envoy commended President Goodluck Jonathan for supporting the financial inclusion strategy and the Economic Management Team for the effective coordination of the relevant ministries and departments.