Baoba Microfinance disburses N4.5bn to SMEs in 2017

Baoba Microfinance Bank, a leading player in the micro credit space, has disbursed N4.5 billion to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in 2017, representing a 45 percent jump from N3 billion given to players in the sector in 2016.

“In 2017, our loan disbursement increased by 45 percent from N3 billion to N4.5 billion. Our staff strength also increased from 293 in 2016 to 408 in 2017,” Kazeem Olanrewaju, chief executive of Baoba Microfinance Bank, said at the bank’s 2018 feedback meeting with customers in Lagos at the weekend.

“We have also moved our deposit from N650 million to N1.3 billion and we aim to reach N2.5-N3 billion by the end of the year,” Olanrewaju said.

He said the bank’s customer base rose from 11000 to 18000, signalling growth in every area.

Olanrewaju noted that the bank was also working on deregulating all forms of stringent policies that had been hindering the flow of efficient loaning between the company and SMEs, including high lending/interest rate, weekend repayment of borrowed funds and also stringent cash collateral deposit (CCD).

“Prior to this time, it took us eight days to process a typical loan request. Now, it is four days and we are working on bringing it to a maximum of two days,” he said.

“We also plan to open about two more branches in Lagos and Abuja so as to enable us expand our reach in serving the sector better, and we are hoping that before the year runs out, we would have increase this number to 20.”

The micro lender said as part of the firm’s efforts towards driving financial inclusion in the micro credit space, the bank was launching a digital micro credit platform where it could transfer funds to customers in any part of the country, thereby helping in easing excess traffic in the bank. He said this would be launched before the end of the year.

“Baoba is the first Microfinance bank that the Central Bank of Nigeria gave the National Housing fund to lend to the middle income class to tackle issue of poor housing in the country,” he disclosed.

He noted that though the funds were in excess of N10 to N20 billion, they would be disbursed in tranches since this was the first time something like that would happen in the country.

The first tranche of the funds is N500 million and has been disbursed already, he said.

Olanrewaju, who explained the meaning of Baoba as a tree that provides shelter, said the financial institution, formerly known as Microcred, had grown beyond loan to other product offerings, stressing that its customers would have enough funds to grow their businesses, even as it planned to extend its branches within the region, with over 408 staff on its payroll, to effectively manage its client’s portfolio

He said 2017 was a tremendous year for the bank in terms of increase in customer base, assets, efficiency and productivity despite the economic downturn that ravaged the economy.

MICHAEL ANI