Fortis MFB, Primlaks sign MoU to fund entrepreneurs

December 23, 2013 by Agency Reporter

Fortis Microfinance Bank and Primlaks Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Gems 4 to enable the trio to create wealth opportunities for 129,000 indigent women in eight states across the country.

The development will help the firms to achieve the vision to improve 100 million lives by 2020.

At its initial stage, the partnership hopes to impact the lives of 63,000 women entrepreneurs at grass roots locations that will include, Kubwa, Maraba, Kuje, Kabusa, Gwagwalada and Abaji all in the Federal Capital Territory.

A company statement quoted the Executive Consulting Adviser, Primlaks Group, Mr. Piyush Nair, as saying that the partnership would create more women entrepreneurs at the grass roots level, who can boldly reshape their circumstances by leveraging available opportunities.

"Our partnership will create an avenue to wealth for indigent business women, especially because it provides direct manufacturer-distributor interface as well as distributor-financier alignment," he said, adding, "The resultant cooperative scheme will enable women at the grass roots to access Primlaks’ diverse products."

To commence the scheme, Nair stated that the women would be offered the company’s solar-powered lanterns through the platform of the Fortis-Micro-Distributors Savings Account.

Nair said, "In practical terms, this translates to better pricing, instalment payments, access to soft loans, pooling of resources through a cooperative system and training on sales techniques.

"The partnership will provide a platform for women, especially at the grass roots, to enjoy a better life and contribute towards building their homes and families."

The statement quoted the Group Chief Executive Officer of Primlaks, Mr. Ravi Hemnani, as saying, "The participation of Primlaks in this women empowerment project is in line with our social objective of a positive return to society.

"We are focused on food, shelter and light; essentials for better living and see many opportunities to partner with Fortis, FMTI, DFID- GEMS 4 to educate, train and create jobs for women across Nigeria."

The Chief Executive Officer, Fortis Micro Finance Bank, Mr. Kunle Oketikun, said the bank’s micro-credit scheme was established because research had shown that the capacity of women to succeed economically was constrained by inadequate access to funds