Experts in the financial sector have called for consolidation in microfinance market, if it wants to compete with other around the world.

Mr Michael Barleon, managing director of AB microfinance bank while canvassing for consolidation said, the process should be a situation whereby the bigger microfinance banks consume the smaller ones, to build strong capital base.

However, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has given approval to over 900 operators to operate in the microfinance market. Because of this numbers, over 200 MFBs, representing 22 per cent of the number reside in Lagos State, even though the apex bank has yet to halt MF License.

Reacting to this, Barleon said, though the idea of CBN might be encouraging because of the rate of poverty in the country, he however moved for institutions that are financially strong to empower more lives.

He state that the number of microfinance institutions in the country is too large and are performing below expectation.

He believes that consolidation process will bring about microfinance institutions with strong capital base. Institutions with strong capital base, he said, is capable of making meaningful impact, urging microfinance firms to upgrade their capital strength to really extend financial assistance to the people.

While stating that the N20 million capital base for a unit-based MFB is too small, he called on the regulatory authority to review the capital base, such that, institutions would not face illiquidity, just as it is happening in the industry.

The bank boss however said, after the consolidation must have been concluded, institutions in the market would be very strong to withstand the test of time.

Strong capital base at times, he stressed, may not achieve the desired result if management in place is fraudulent and therefore called for good credit and loan management system from operators.

Deposit mobilisation and good loan recovery, he said should be the two core instruments to drive financially strong MFBs to the land of promise.

According to him, if you have good deposit mobilisation and loan recovery teams coupled with strong capital base, there is strong indication that you are going to dictate the market.

He therefore advised his colleagues to not only build strong capital base, they should also streamline their products to meet the yearnings and aspiration of their customers.

This, he hinted, is key to success in the industry.

Reacting on why some microfinance institutions failed in Nigeria, he noted that their inability to fine tune well packaged products to meet the demands of their customers led to their downfall.

To him, “when you don’t have a good credit product to sell, it makes it difficult to grow a financial institution.

There are a lot of MFIs but as far as I understand, they work with completely different products and concepts, with many of them asking for voluntary saving but are very hesitant to grant loans”.

Also canvassing for consolidation of operators in microfinance industry, Mr Ismail Radwan, senior economist, World Bank, Nigeria says, this is necessary to reduce the number of MFBs to a considerable size capital of creating meaningful impacts.

He therefore called for merger and acquisition in the micro financial sub sector such that a MFB could financially strong and sound, thus having many branches.

“I believe there should be financially strong MFBs with many branches rather than having many microfinance banks with little or no branches”, he observed.

This, he said, would make monitoring and supervision simple and less stressful for the CBN.

The World Bank Chief pointed out that the present system would not give room for rapid growth and development as it is been witnessed in other microfinance markets worldwide.