Originally published: May 7, 2007
Source: Grameen Foundation
Grameen Foundation has announced its first Growth Guarantee transaction in Sub-Saharan Africa, US$1 million for Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO), a leading microfinance institution (MFI) in Nigeria. Citibank, acting through its subsidiary in the country, The Nigeria International Bank (NIB), structured the US$1mln Naira equivalent loan supported by a US$500,000 guarantee from Grameen Foundation. This marks the first transaction between a Nigerian MFI and NIB/Citibank, and it is also LAPO’s first leveraged commercial bank transaction.
This financing will support LAPO’s aggressive expansion plans to serve an increasing number of customers in Nigeria that currently lack access to formal financial products and services. It will also allow LAPO to tap new sources of funding, previously only available from donors or subsidized loans.
"LAPO has made tremendous strides over the past few years to become a key player in Nigeria’s microfinance industry, and we are pleased to support their continued growth. There are an estimated 40 million Nigerians who could benefit from microfinance, and we hope this watershed transaction will encourage greater support for microfinance from Nigeria’s commercial institutions," said Alex Counts, President and CEO of Grameen Foundation. LAPO has been a Grameen Foundation partner since 2002, growing from 15,000 clients to its current outreach of 90,000. It intends to reach more than 225,000 clients by 2008.
To read the complete article, please click here.