LAPO equips 3,304 micro business owners with financial skills

For Lift Above Poverty Organization, LAPO, Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are agents of economic growth, job generation and poverty reduction all over the world. In Nigeria, they are playing an important role in income distribution, employment and wealth creation.

As a part of her contributions to the development of this vital sector of the economy, Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) is engaged in the capacity development of microenterprise operators as well as supports the growth and development of their businesses.

In 2019, 3,304 micro-entrepreneurs mostly women received lectures on bookkeeping, business planning and development, customer relationship, financial literacy and record keeping. Features of the programme include lectures, practical training and experience sharing.

Most of the beneficiaries are now able to track their income and expenditure and save for the future development of their businesses. They are in turn giving back to society by providing opportunities, mentorship, and resources to others in need.

In addition, LAPO has gone ahead to improve the nation’s food security status as well as enhanced the production capacity of 129,637 rural farmers with a loan disbursement of 10,936,270,300 in 2019 financial year.The figure represents 49% increase over the sum of 7,342,503,550 disbursed to the beneficiaries in 2018.

The Executive Director, Sabina Idowu-Osehobo disclosed this while reviewing the performance of the LAPO Rural Development Initiative (LARDI), the financial arm of the organisation during the period.

Idowu-Osehobo who restated LAPO’s commitment to addressing the problem of food security in Nigeria through rural agricultural financing attributes LARDI’s outstanding performance over the years to strong institutional strength, staff commitment to excellence and hard work, adding that the organization was ready to maintain its excellent performance trajectory.