Olusola Bello
The Central Bank of Nigeria and financial sector experts have called for collaborative efforts among microfinance banks to promote the expansion of micro-insurance as a tool for deepening financial inclusion.
According to a statement, titled ‘CBN, experts advocate collaboration among MFBs on micro-insurance’, said the experts described microfinance banks as instrumental to the expansion of micro-insurance services among the populace.
They call was made at the sixth annual symposium of the Nigerian Microfinance Platform organised by the Microfinance Learning and Development Center with the theme ‘Expanding the frontiers of financial inclusion: “The micro-insurance option’.
Aisha Ahmad, the Deputy Governor, Financial Sector Surveillance, CBN, while addressing participants at the symposium, said there was a need for a collective strategy to re-emphasise the importance of micro-insurance as a financial service
She further stated that it was necessary to re-align it as a vital tool in attaining a higher level of financial inclusion within the Nigerian microfinance sub-sector through the security of micro- businesses.
“I consider it vital for us, through collaborative efforts, to look deeper into this shadowed aspect of financial inclusion, exchange ideas with our counterparts from other countries, build regulator/operator capacity and tackle issues within the sector to enhance the provision and availability of and availability of affordable financial services in Nigeria.