Nigeria: EFInA grants $1.5m to Diamond Bank to support financial inclusion

Jul 11, 2016

Diamond Bank wants to improve access to financial services in northern Nigeria.

Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA) - a financial sector development organisation - has granted $1.5 million (€1.35 million) to support Diamond Bank's Diamond Y'ello project.

This project - which aims to boost financial inclusion among unbanked individuals in Nigeria - is based on a mobile savings service launched by Diamond Bank in partnership with MTN.

The funds will enable Diamond Bank to reach customers who do not have access to formal financial services in Northern Nigeria.

EFInA's chief executive Chidinma Lawanson told Vanguard that the Diamond Y'ello project seeks to drive financial inclusion by addressing the barrier of proximity to financial services through digital financial services and agent banking, while also serving as an effective means of deepening financial literacy nationally.

"This aligns with EFInA's objectives to increase access to financial products and services to the low income population, especially women," she added.

In Nigeria, 57.1 million adults have never had a deposit money bank account, with 16.3 percent of them indicating that they did not operate an account because commercial banks were far away from them, according to a survey carried out by EFInA.ADNFCR-2976-ID-801821562-ADNFCR