IFAD projects and programmes

NIGERIA - Planned project: Rural Finance Institution-Building Project

Project description: Through the capacity-building of RMFIs component, community banks and microfinance institutions will receive support to improve their outreach and sustainability. The project will also support and strengthen the umbrella organizations of RMFIs to enable them to play a more important role in capacity-building, supervision and self-regulation. It will provide intensive support to about 330 community banks in nine states (starting initially in only three). The capacity-building of CBN component will strengthen the capacity of the CBN as the regulator and supervisor of RMFIs. Capacity-building will include staff training and exposure, infrastructure development of the CBN, training material development for RMFIs, research capacity-building and developing and refining supervisory and regulatory instruments. Under the project management, linkages and policy environment component, the project will: (i) set up a project management unit in the CBN to coordinate and manage project-related activities; (ii) promote linkages between RMFIs and banks, and facilitate access of farmer groups and other client groups supported by ongoing rural development projects to rehabilitated and strengthened RMFIs; and (iii) undertake a wide range of research activities on rural and microfinance to provide policy and decision-makers with accurate information about the changing requirements of the sector with a view to creating a suitable legal and economic environment for RMFIs.
Tentative project start: March 2006
More about Rural Finance Institution-Building Project on IFAD web site