Nume Ekeghe
Alert Microfinance Bank has grown its total assets to N50 billion from about N2.5 billion three years ago, reflecting the increasing demand for credit in Nigeria’s inflationary environment and the lender’s aggressive expansion strategy following the grant of a national microfinance banking licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The bank’s parent company, Alert Group, has also expanded its balance sheet, with total assets rising to about N120 billion, as it deepens financial inclusion and extends its operations across the country.
In a statement, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Alert Group, Olanrewaju Kazeem, attributed the growth to a deliberate long-term strategy focused on serving underserved and unbanked Nigerians.
“The growth that you see in Alert Microfinance Bank and Alert Group as a whole is a deliberate plan to ensure that we are able to deliver quality service and also to extend our services to as many Nigerians as possible,” he said.
“What you have today in terms of total assets for the group is about N120 billion and for Alert Microfinance Bank is about N50 billion, coming from where we started about three years ago with about N2.5 billion.”
According to him, the bank’s expansion has been driven by a board-approved strategy aimed at extending financial services to communities with limited access to formal banking.
“The need for us to extend our services to other parts of the country where there is yearning for such services, particularly ensuring that we improve financial inclusion and help the underbanked and unbanked in Nigeria, is what is driving us,” he said.
He added that the national licence and growing acceptance of the Alert brand have accelerated its expansion plans across the country.
Despite the growth, Kazeem said operators continue to grapple with a challenging operating environment marked by elevated inflation, high interest rates, rising operating costs and difficulty in attracting skilled personnel.
“The industry is still relatively young and getting quality personnel to oversee our plans and strategy remains very challenging,” he said.