BY BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

Nobel laureate and founder of the first microfinance bank in the world, Prof Mohammad Yunus has faulted the profit oriented nature of microfinance banks in Nigeria

“We should remember where microfinance came from; it is banking for the poor”, he said in an address at the First Bank Impact Series,

Speaking on Mirco-financing as a tool for poverty eradication and economic growth in Nigeria, Yunus said the goal of microfinance is not profit but poverty eradication, adding that this is what distinguishes microfinance banking from conventional banks.

He said the need to help the poor and the poorest poor prompted him to found, the first microfinance bank in the world 35 years ago

He said the bank which is known as Gramen Bank was designed to operate only in the rural areas and serve the poor adding that this inspired the choice of Gramen, which means rural in Bangladesh language.