The Chairman of Kanke Transition Implementation Committee, Hon. Shikir Nuhu Caleb says he has concluded plans to commission a feasibility studies and financial projections on the planned establishment of a Microfinance bank in the area.
To actualize his plans , the Chairman has set up a non partisan expert committee comprising of mostly private sector and home base financial players who will soon be inaugurated with specific terms of reference towards the actualisation of the huge project.
In a statement Senior Special Assistant, Media & Protocol to the Chairman, Tea Gomos, said the Chairman Kick started the vision during a consultation tour to some Financial regulators at the Central Bank of Nigeria recently.
He said the Chairman highlighted the major ongoing efforts especially in the areas of feasibility study and financial projection for the sustainability of operations, Enterprise Risk Management Framework, identifying and shortlisting of some key Kanke Stakeholders for business advocacy and engagements meetings with the aim of reaching out for their buy-in.
The Chairman said it is achievable and sustainable and will be very beneficial to the people as he further stressed that the plan efforts to raise capital for category of the MFB that will be suitable for operations within Kanke and it’s environs to meet the kind of financial services in terms of a robust e-banking channels, Micro-insurance products & services, collections & payments of staff salaries, payment remittances, deposits and withdrawals of cash, etc.
According to him, the MFB is not in competition with any deposit money bank (DMB) but to provide financial services that will be attractive and second to none for it’s teaming citizens.
Shikir added that the Local Government will contribute the seed funds with other individual(s), Cooperative Societies especially Rityil Multi-purpose Cooperative Society Ltd, Development Associations among others which he emphasized that it should be privately driven for it’s continuity even after his tenure as the Council Chairman.
The Chairman said it’s not likely that any DMB will be willing to open a branch in Kanke at the moment due to current business harshness, but a Tier 2 Microfinance Bank can operate comfortably to provide the financial service needs of any economically active person, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
He stated that the MFB will also create a platform for diaspora remittances for their families back home and that a Microfinance bank has a lot of potentials to meet the financial services of the people, if properly harnessed.
“In fact, the MFB will provide double bottom line which is the Social and it’s profitability/sustainability components. It’s a known fact, that the economic activities within Kanke and it’s environs is substantially driven by none indigenes and we must change the narrative of yester-years by giving our indigenes a chance to venture into businesses”.
The Chairman emphasized that as a council, we must embrace and take an aggressive business approach or else our situation will continue to be deteriorating. “As part of the work-in-progress, we have reached out to some external investors that are ever willing to invest substantially in the MFB whenever they are invited (in the event we are unable to raise required capital)”. He called on other interested investors to give it a shot.
He said, “It will interest you to know that, Microfinance Bank, is one basic tool for economic empowerment which can create a lot of opportunities especially for start-ups, capacity building, school fees, loans etc. The potentials is huge and enormous”.
The Chairman used the opportunity to call on those who are known for unnecessary and non-objective criticism to hold their peace and let the new administration give this vision the necessary bite and concrete efforts it deserved to actualize the set goal, cautioning that it’s not everything that must be politicized.
He called on all to join hands with him to “rejig our economic potentials and come up with meaningful criticism that will help shape our democratic existence”.