LAPO Microfinance Bank limited is a pro-poor financial institution "committed to the social and economic empowerment of low-income households through provision of access to responsive financial services on a sustainable basis". The Institution was established in the late 1980s as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) by Godwin Ehigiamusoe in response to the effects of the implementation of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) in 1986.
In 2010, LAPO MfB obtained the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to operate as a state microfinance bank and in 2012, it got an approval as a national microfinance bank.
Milestones
2014 LAPO MfB was awarded ‘Microfinance Bank of the Year 2013’ by BusinessDay and Leadership Newspaper.
2013 LAPO MfB celebrated one million client base, one billion dollars cumulative disbursement
2012 LAPO MfB obtained approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to operate as a National Microfinance Bank
2012 LAPO MfB commenced the implementation of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiative
2010 LAPO MfB obtained approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to operate as a regulated State Microfinance Bank
2008 The LAPO MfB Scholarship Scheme was instituted with the $10,000 cash prize from Grameen Foundation Award for excellence
2006 LAPO MfB won the Grameen Foundation Award for Excellence in Microfinance which came with a cash prize of $10,000
2004 LAPO scaled up as a sustainable and effective lending institution drawing inspiration from best practice model of Grameen and ASA methodology in Bangladesh
1993 LAPO was formally incorporated as a non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO) with the Corporate Affairs Commission, a federal agency
1991 Ford Foundation gave first grant to LAPO
1987 LAPO started as a non-profit entity at Ogwashi-Uku in present-day Delta State