Diamond Bank partners Women’s world club on SME lending

Tier two lender Diamond Bank Plc, has given over N1 billion  in loans under the cash flow-based SME lending scheme.The scheme was launched in January 2017 in partnership with Women’s Word Banking (WWB), a non governmental organization.

How were beneficiaries picked ? 

Eligible SME’s were picked based on their cash flow, net asset capacity, character and proficiency.

“This milestone is a demonstration of our resolve to develop innovative ways of advancing financial inclusion in Nigeria and a signal to many more successes to come as we push through our technology-driven retail-focused strategy, designed to position Diamond Bank as the most profitable and fastest growing retail bank franchise in Nigeria by the year 2020”.

How much has been lent so far? 

Under the lending scheme, the Bank was able to disburse a total of ₦267 Million during the pilot phase, while it disbursed ₦750 Million between June and August 2018.

Diamond Bank closed at N1.11 in Monday’s trading session, on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) up 1.83%. Year to date, the stock is down 26%.

Results for the half year ended June 2018 show gross earnings increased from N97.8 billion in 2017 to N98.5billion in 2018. Profit before tax, however, fell from N9.5 billion in 2017 to N2.9 billion in 2018. Profit after tax also dropped from N8 billion to N1.7 billion.

Women World’s Banking was founded in 1976 by Esther Afua Ocloo, Ela Blatt and Michaela Walsh. It is a non-profit corporation devoted to expanding the economic assets, participation, and power of low-income women and their households by helping them access financial services, knowledge, and markets.