FMO congratulates Fortis Microfinance Bank Plc (Fortis MFB) with its recently obtained Client Protection Principle (CPP) Certification. Fortis MFB is the first microfinance institution (MFI) in Nigeria and second MFI in sub-Saharan African that achieved this certification. FMO has supported Fortis MFB through this process with MASSIF funding, which FMO manages on behalf of the Dutch government, and additional capacity development funds.
CPP Certification for Fortis Microfinance Bank
Fortis MFB is a Nigerian MFI that was founded in 2007. Since inception, Fortis MFB has grown considerably and became one of the largest MFIs in the country.Fortis MFB provides microfinance banking services to support entrepreneurship and the empowerment of the large unbanked population with a focus on (mostly female) micro clients and small enterprises.
In December 2013, through the MASSIF fund, FMO provided a local currency debt facility equaling EUR 5 million to Fortis MFB. This funding is used to provide loans to its micro clients and small enterprises, thereby stimulate financial inclusion. As part of this practice, FMO assisted Fortis MFB with obtaining the CPP Certification.
Being CPP certified, Fortis MFB will further contribute to financial inclusion and stimulate the further development of financial services in Nigeria. With almost half the Nigerian population excluded from financial services, microfinance is still at the developing stage, which is dominated by high interest rates and emerging client protection standards.
On behalf of FMO, Investment Officer Jeroen Harteveld expressed satisfaction over the achievement: “We congratulate Fortis MFB on this milestone and encourage the management to continue on this path of placing the customers at the forefront of its activities.”
FMO and the Smart Campaign
The CPP Certification is set up by the Smart Campaign, a global campaign committed to embedding client protection practices into the institutional culture and operations of the microfinance industry. Their work embodies a set of core principles for the treatment of microfinance clients - the minimum standards that clients should expect to receive when doing business with a microfinance institution.
The seven principles to support MFIs practice good ethics and smart business comprise appropriate product design and delivery; prevention of over-indebtedness; transparency; responsible pricing; fair and respectful treatment of clients; privacy of client data; and mechanisms for complaint resolution. In this way, microfinance leaders are urged to keep clients as the driving force of the industry.
FMO is an endorser of the Smart Campaign and has integrated the CPP in its investment process since 2013.
