Rural Finance in Nigeria : Integrating New Approaches
The rural space is home to 53 percent of Nigeria's population and more than 70 percent of its poor. While it is well understood in Nigeria that financial exclusion of the rural population stunts development, still fewer than 2 percent of rural...
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| Format: | Other Financial Sector Study |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/04/9846810/rural-finance-nigeria-integrating-new-approaches http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8108 |
| Summary: | The rural space is home to 53 percent of
Nigeria's population and more than 70 percent of its
poor. While it is well understood in Nigeria that financial
exclusion of the rural population stunts development, still
fewer than 2 percent of rural households have access to any
sort of institutional finance. Access to financial services
is a key ingredient to rural development: it increases
incomes through productive investment, helps create
employment opportunities, facilitates investments in health
and education, and reduces the vulnerability of the poor by
helping them to smooth their income patterns over time. A
lack of rural access to financial services not only retards
rural economic growth, but also increases poverty and
inequality. While Nigeria's own long history with
rural finance shows a clear appreciation for the importance
of rural access, the persistent absence of sustainable
access yields important lessons for the future. |
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