France Boosts Micro
Finance With 1m Euro
France
has granted Nigeria one million euro to build the capacity of
its micro-finance sector.
The Ambassador of France to Nigeria, Mr Jean–Michel Dumond, said
in Abuja that the grant, under the Agence Francaise Development
initiative, was part of efforts to implement bilateral
cooperation programmes in Nigeria.
Dumond spoke at the signing ceremony with MicroCred Nigeria, a
Kaduna-based micro-finance institution.
The ambassador said the financial institution was capable of
providing more than thirty-eight active loans and fifty-five
active savings accounts by 2014.
He said MicroCred would have had fifty branches and more than
four hundred employees in at least three states during the
period.
Areas of support
In Nigeria, Agence Francaise Development's priorities include
support for the delivery of public services in urban areas.
These services include water, electricity, mass transit,
agricultural production and distribution systems, energy
efficiency and renewable energies.
The organisation also supports the development of high leverage
infrastructure as well as offer direct and indirect support to
small and medium enterprises.
NAN/Williams/Yinka
