Association Seeks N500m For Microfinance Cooperative

The Association of Finan
cial Analysts of Nigeria (AFAN), says it needs N500 million to commence its microfinance cooperative in six geopolitical zones in Nigeria and six African countries.
The President of the association, Dr Abdullahi Usman, made this known at the AFAN Annual workshop in Dutse on Sunday.
Usman said microfinance bank was established to provide financial inclusiveness to people at the grassroots and to enable them have access to financial services.
He said the initiative would also help the poor to access credit facilities as well as addressing housing deficit in the country.
According to him, the microfinance cooperative do not require so much money to commence because it will take from the rich to empower the down trodden.
“We are mobilising resources from surplus sectors and invest them in deficit sectors, the project is self-financing and sustainable and all we need is commitment from our partners.
“We have started mobilising resources from donors and people that is interested in microfinance cooperative,” he said.
He said that the project named `PEGRO Africa’, which means, `People for Growth in Africa’ would in the long run cover all local government areas in the country as well as six other African countries.
The AFAN president said that the financial institution would be located in Ghana, Sudan, Tanzania, Central Africa Republic, South Africa and Cameroon.
In his remarks, the Accountant-General of Federation, Alhaji Ahmed Idris, urged members of AFAN to work to raise professional standards for good governance in the country.
Represented by Alhaji Abdullahi Madaki, Director of Account, Idris enjoined financial analysts to key into government’s reform programme which was information technology-driven to professionalism.