The German-funded Global Project Promotion of Agricultural Finance for Agri-based Enterprises in Rural Areas (GP AgFin) hosted a one-day capacity-building workshop focused on digital transformation in agricultural finance.
The workshop brought together key players from Nigeria’s finance and agriculture sectors, including Microfinance Banks (MFBs), Microfinance Institutions (MFIs), regulators, and stakeholders across the agriculture finance ecosystem.
The event introduced a newly developed Digitalisation Strategy Guide, a practical tool designed to help MFBs and MFIs implement digital strategies explicitly for agricultural lending.
The guide offers a clear roadmap for designing and implementing digital transformation plans, taking into account the unique challenges rural finance providers face.
It includes a built-in readiness assessment tool in Excel format, which allows institutions to evaluate their current systems and plan appropriate digital steps.
During the event, participants engaged in interactive learning sessions where they explored real-life case studies and shared success stories and challenges.
There was a strong emphasis placed on how digital tools can be used to expand access to finance for rural agripreneurs and smallholder farmers, groups that often face significant barriers to credit.
“Digitalising agriculture finance is a unique challenge requiring a tailored approach,” was the key message shared at the session, underlining the need for targeted strategies rather than one-size-fits-all solutions.
Attendees included senior management and agriculture finance officers from the Central Bank of Nigeria (OFISD), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development – PCU, National Association of Microfinance Banks, Microfinance Learning and Development Centre (MLDC NG), and several microfinance institutions such as FCMB Group MFB, Gowans MFB, HASAL Microfinance Bank Ltd, LAPO Microfinance, Accion Microfinance Bank, Grooming People for Better Livelihood Centre, Daylight Microfinance Bank, and LIGHT Microfinance, Inc.
The Digitalisation Strategy Guide is part of GP AgFin’s broader effort to strengthen agricultural finance systems through digital innovation, knowledge sharing, and institutional support.
The project seeks to make credit more accessible to those working in agriculture by equipping microfinance providers with the necessary tools and strategies, particularly smallholder farmers in rural areas.
GP AgFin is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
