In spite of the challenges induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Umuchinemere Pro-credit Micro Finance Bank (UPMFB) has disbursed N518.8 million loans to empower a total of 2,356 active poor in Enugu State in the first half of the year (H1’2020).
A breakdown of the gender distribution of the beneficiaries shows that 1,007 women received N288 million while 1,349 men received N231 million.
According to the UPMFB’s Head of Credit department, Mr. Charles Udeani, “There was a general decline in loan disbursement, both in terms of amount and volume and number of beneficiaries from the preceding year, with a 147 percent decline in the number of the beneficiaries in 2019.”
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Recall that the bank, in a bid to boost agriculture and local production of food to fight hunger in the land, took the first position in the in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s assessment of loans granted to the agriculture sector by microfinance banks in Nigeria
To this end, N37 million was granted to farmers as agriculture loans, as against N50 million that was given to farmers within the same period in 2019.
