Poverty Reduction In Nigeria: MFBs Need To Be Dynamic

An economic policy researcher at the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Sade Taiwo has said that the contribution of micro finance to poverty reduction is questionable in the country.In her paper entitled “Can Micro finance reduce poverty in Nigeria? The Imperative of a Policy Revisit”, the economic researcher stressed the need for the micro finance practice to continue to be dynamic in its approach in different contexts. While advocating an urgent need for the Federal Government to initiate robust financial education for the masses, Taiwo said this strategy is one of the best ways to empower them to take control of their financial lives. According to the economic researcher, this will also have a ripple effect to all areas of their lives, if implemented. In her presentation at the monthly NISER Research Seminar Series (NRSS) which focused on the impact of micro finance in poverty reduction in the country she reeled out the poverty index in the country saying 54.7per cent of Nigerians were living in poverty in 2004 but this increased to 60.9 percent (or 99.2million Nigerians) in 2010. “Furthermore, by the dollar per day measure, 61.2 percent of Nigerians were considered poor in 2010 compared to 51.6 per cent in 2004,” she said. “This trend implies that the welfare of a majority of people is getting worse in Nigeria,” she stated. According to her, the reach of micro finance institutions in the country is rather limited and micro finance banks are found to be averse to dealing with the poor due to the institutions urge to maximise profit and their limited experience in dealing with this group. Source: http://businessdayonline.com