FINCA dishes out 1tr/- in 20 years

By ALVAR MWAKYUSA

Finca Chief Executive Officer Issa Ngwegwe

FROM a humble beginning as a micro-lender, which later transformed into FINCA Microfinance Bank, the financial institution has so far dished out loans close to 1trl/- to over one million small and medium enterprises during the past 20 years.

FINCA Microfinance established its first village community bank in 1998 in Mwanza and fifteen years later in 2013 it became the first microfinance institution (MFI) in Tanzania to be granted a licence from the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) as a fully-fledged microfinance bank. “About 53 per cent of the loan beneficiaries are women entrepreneurs across the country.
The credit recipients have expanded their businesses and created indirect jobs for more than two million people,” the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of FINCA Microfinance Bank, Mr Issa Ngwegwe, explained. The CEO was speaking at a news conference in Dar es Salaam yesterday at the climax of one week of activities to mark the 20th anniversary since the institution was established in Tanzania.
The event was also attended by President and CEO of FINCA Microfinance Holding Company, Ms Andree Simon and the FINCA Tanzania’s Board Chairman, Mr Mike Gama-Lobo. Available statistics indicate that only 16 per cent of Tanzanians have access to formal financial services and the institution is determined to have more people included in banking services.
“FINCA is committed to alleviate poverty towards financial inclusion by providing lasting solutions to help people build their assets, create jobs and raise their standards of living,” he explained.
The CEO explained further that the bank has over 140 agents providing agency banking countrywide. According to him, 56 per cent of all transactions worth 15bn/- per month are channelled through the new initiative.
“We have also invested in mobile banking, where 24 per cent of transactions are conducted with a value of 3bn/- every month,” he explained. On her part, Ms Simon congratulated FINCA Tanzania for the transformation, which enabled the institution to morph from a humble beginning as a micro-lender to become a fully-fledged microfinance bank. “FINCA’s shareholders are committed to provide responsible financial services to low income earners and their communities. Our aim is to put financial power in the hands of our customers,” she asserted.
The Board chair pointed that the institution is now focused on rolling out high-breed digital business model to bring banking services close to the people throughout the country, particularly in underserved rural communities. Through a partnership with mobile phone company Halotel, FINCA introduced recently a product ‘Halo Yako’, where customers can open a bank account and make direct deposits to the bank through their mobile services.