By Danhassan Abubakar
To strengthen Village Savings Groups in Bauchi State aimed at strengthening microeconomic businesses at the community level, the Director General of Bauchi State Agency for Sustainable Microfinance Alhaji Nura Muhammad Danmadami has inaugurated the first ever Microfinance at the Savings Group Implementers Platform (GIP)
The inauguration ceremony, which took place recently at the Hazibal Hotel Conference Hall Bauchi, had in attendance over 20 Microfinance Civil Society Organisations (CSO) that are currently managing Village Savings Groups across the State.
Speaking shortly after the inauguration, Danmadami said Savings and Loans Groups play a critical role in promoting financial inclusion, and that the collective goal was to support and strengthen the work of the CSOs in that regard
The DG said that Bauchi State was the first in Nigeria to bring together CSOs as thinkers and implementers in steering the affairs of the village savings groups.
He said that in line with Bauchi State Governments objective of financial inclusion, the Agency is committed to facilitating the needed support for seamless take off of the Group Implementers Platform.
“We will continue to build the capacity of the CSOs, VSLAs and MFIs, by providing them with capital and also facilitate appropriate linkages while allowing the MFIs to serve as medium for channeling finance to the vulnerable and underserved”.
“I would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the CARE Nigeria team for the collaboration that brings about these developments. Your contributions are invaluable, and together, we can achieve even greater success” said Danmadami.
In a goodwill message , CARE Nigeria’s Partnership and Advocacy Coordinator Fa’iza Muntaka said that the inaugural meeting and articulation of the Bauchi State Savings Group Implementers Platform Executive Members (BS-SGIP) is milestone that should be accorded attention by stakeholders.
Muntaka said that the platform was created not just as a network, but as a united front to improve the coordination, sustainability, and impact of savings groups in Bauchi State.
She said that the GIP will provide an avenue that could promote learning, taking collective action, and forming stronger partnerships between CSOs, Government, and the Private Sector.
“Over the past weeks, we have made commendable progress — from co-developing our Terms of Reference, to shaping a work plan, and conducting a ToT on the Savix MIS. Now, it’s time to bring our leadership structure to life and begin implementing what we have planned.
“This meeting will not only formalize our executive structure, but also kick off our journey toward developing a state-level Operational Guideline for VSLAs — a document that will provide minimum standards and coordination frameworks for all of us implementing savings groups across Bauchi”, said Muntaka.
Our Correspondent reports that the GIP is being domiciled in Bauchi State Agency for Sustainable Microfinance with the DG serving as the Chairperson, while the positions of Co-chair, Secretary and Treasurer were shared among the CSOs.