Letshego expands to Nigeria

Letshego Holdings Limited, the Africa-focused micro lending and deposit-taking group has acquired a 100 percent shareholding in FBN Microfinance Bank (FBN MFB) from its parent, FBN Holdings plc.

The latest acquisition is yet another advancement, which will in the long run ensure the group is an integrated pan-African financial group, which controls a sizeable share of the market.

The acquisition of FBN MFB marks Letshego’s entry into West Africa, having successfully built a footprint across East and Southern Africa with 265,000 customers across nine countries.

This development brings Letshego’s footprint to ten countries, with a customer base of over 385,000; Nigeria, in particular, has been a key target market in Letshego’s diversification plans. “As the leading indigenous BSE-company by market capitalisation and profitability, it is an exciting time for us at Letshego.

This opportunity to enter the Nigerian market coincides with the expansion of our range of financially inclusive products and services,” said Letshego’s Managing Director, Chris Low. FBN MFB was established in 2009 and is one of only six microfinance banks in Nigeria to have been awarded a national microfinance banking licence.

Currently, FBN MFB has 28 branches and over 300 team members. Its core business is lending, savings and transactional financial services to micro and small enterprises (MSEs).

With over 80,000 depositors and over 10,000 MSE borrowing customers, the bank’s operations are directly aligned to Letshego’s financial inclusion agenda. Letshego brings its expertise in payroll deduction lending in the public and private sector as well as in micro and small enterprises, with a focus on agriculture, education and health sectors.  FBN MFB will rebrand to Letshego MFB.