By Amaka Abayomi

The National Association of Microfinance Banks, Lagos State Chapter, has begun a series of capacity building for its staff with the aim equipping them with the right skills and knowledge required to run a profitable sector.

Themed ‘Under-standing Microfinance’, the training series is aimed at curtailing the practice of commercial banking in the microfinance sector.

Speaking on ‘The Nature of Micro-finance’, the Managing Director of Havilah MFB, and one of the facilitators, Mr. Rufus Oluyole, said equipping the staff with the needed skills would boost the sector’s ability to ensure that more people have access to financial services.

“65 per cent of Nigerians live below the poverty line, but the microfinance sector can change that by providing micro financial services that would enhance their productivity and boost economic activities.

“For the sector to be successful and achieve its goals, we, as practitioners, need to have the right skills and knowledge to be able to make the required difference in the lives of the economically active poor.”

Oluyole listed high rate of staff turnover, inexposure, lack of proper monitoring and lack of lending and marketing skills as some of the challenges the sector is face with.

Pointing out that the training will be a continuous process, the Ag. Chairman, NAMB, Lagos State Chapter, Mr. Olufemi Babajide, said the state chapter has deemed it necessary to train the staff so as to build the critical mass of skilled workforce that would be agents of change.

“The capacity building programme will touch on proper understanding of microfinancing, opera-ting and regulatory environment, efficient and effective delivery of microfinance services, development of micro-finance products and maintaining long term profitable relationship and corporate strategy.

“Others are credit administration, lending models, risk manage-ment processes and procedures, internal audit and control, financial reporting and industry fundamentals, packaging of credit, business challenges and competition, and creating high value customers.”