Alert MFB assets hit N50bn amid rising credit demand

Alert Microfinance Bank has achieved remarkable growth, expanding its total assets to N50 billion and its parent group, Alert Group, to N120 billion within just three years. This rapid expansion, a nearly 20-fold increase for the bank, highlights its success in capitalizing on the rising demand for credit in Nigeria, even amidst a difficult macroeconomic climate.

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The growth you see in Alert Microfinance Bank and Alert Group as a whole is a deliberate plan to deliver quality service and extend our reach to as many Nigerians as possible.

The lender's strategic focus on financial inclusion and serving the underbanked population has been a key driver of its success. This strategy is further supported by the Central Bank of Nigeria's issuance of a national microfinance banking license earlier this year, which has facilitated the bank's nationwide rollout and strengthened public confidence.

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What we have today in terms of total assets for the group is about N120bn, and N50bn for Alert Microfinance Bank, coming from where we started about three years ago with just N2.5 billion.

Olanrewaju Kazeem, Group Chief Executive Officer of Alert Group, stated that the expansion is a deliberate plan to deliver quality service and extend their reach across Nigeria. He emphasized the goal of improving financial inclusion for the millions of Nigerians who remain excluded from the formal financial system, with an eye toward future regional expansion into other African countries.

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The need to extend our services to parts of the country yearning for them, particularly ensuring we improve financial inclusion for the underbanked and unbanked, is what drives us.

Despite this impressive growth, the Nigerian microfinance industry faces significant headwinds. Persistently high inflation, elevated funding costs, and surging operating expenses are major challenges. Kazeem noted that access to skilled human capital is a considerable bottleneck, and the increased cost of funds, with the Monetary Policy Rate at 26.5%, makes lending more expensive. This inevitably raises repayment pressure on borrowers and increases default risks across the industry.

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The industry is still relatively young, and securing quality personnel to oversee our growth plans and strategy remains very challenging.