LAPO boosts access to finance

The Lift Above Poverty Organisation Microfinance Bank says it is committed to boosting access to finance and has launched a product called the Social Impact Deposit account.

The product is aimed at simplifying access to financial services for the public, especially the low-income earners.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, LAPO MfB, Dr. Godwin Ehigiamusoe, said the SID account would enable socially-minded men and women to join the bank and be part of its economic empowerment.

Highlighting the benefits of the SID account, the CEO described the product as an innovative deposit and investment platform, which would allow individuals to make deposits that could be used to improve on the social needs of low-income people.

Ehigiamusoe said, “Limited access to financial services, particularly credit, remains the toughest challenge, which owners of micro and small business contend with. Many women and young people desire to start or expand their businesses, but cannot because they lack access to affordable credit.

“After several years of supporting micro and small businesses owned by women, we have come to realise that they have the capacity to actively participate in the economic space, if sufficiently empowered.”

The scheme, the CEO noted, was successfully implemented in Edo State, adding that microfinance was about empowerment of the people.

He added that the SID account was not just a financial product but an instrument for the economic empowerment of low-income Nigerians.