BY PETER EGWUATU

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has signed an agreement to invest N650 million ($4 million) in Nigerian microfinance institution Grooming Centre to increase access to finance for up to 780,000 micro enterprises by 2018.

The project will improve financial inclusion, and promote job creation and growth in Nigeria.

Commenting on the investment, Dr. Godwin Nwabunka, Chief Executive Officer of Grooming Centre said “Grooming Centre’s mission is to empower the economically active low income earners by bringing a range of tailor-made microfinance services to their doorstep using globally-tested best practice methodologies.

Our partnership with IFC will help us strengthen the microfinance market in Nigeria, expand our coverage on a sustainable basis, and create greater income for our members.”

Solomon Adegbie-Quaynor, IFC Country Manager for Nigeria, said, “IFC is supporting Grooming Centre to improve financial inclusion and help grow Nigeria’s economy. This loan will provide local currency finance and empower entrepreneurs and microenterprises that cannot yet access the formal banking sector.”

IFC’s local currency loan will help Grooming Centre offer increased financial services to economically active low income earners engaged in small-scale trading and productive microenterprises. Grooming Centre will use IFC’s funding to reach entrepreneurs in more than half of Nigeria’s 36 states, including those in remote rural areas largely unserved by other lenders.

Grooming Centre provides access to finance for entrepreneurs at the base of Nigeria’s economic pyramid. It currently serves over 300,000 member clients with loans as small as N30,000 (about $200). The organization has built a NGN 7 billion loan portfolio and employs over 1,200 people.