MASERU — Lesotho Post Bank has introduced a micro-financing scheme in a move the bank says will help alleviate poverty.
The marketing director at Lesotho Post Bank, Lehlohonolo Moea, told the Lesotho Times this week that the bank started giving out loans to clients beginning this month.
Moea said the bank has in the past five years spearheaded a campaign to offer banking services to the “unbanked” communities mostly in rural Lesotho.
He said it had always been the bank’s plan to offer loans to clients after five years of offering a savings scheme.
The bank is targeting individuals who receive a monthly income.
“We now offer personal loan advancements for people who receive a monthly income,” Moea said.
He said the bank is in the process of introducing other types of credit accounts during the first quarter of this year.
“The loans are for both personal and income generating purposes,” he said.
According to Moea, the introduction of micro loans is part of the government’s poverty relief strategy by offering financial services to traditionally unbanked individuals.
“Poverty alleviation can be through empowering people through offering small loans, and providing savings facilities to the public,” Moea said.
He said the introduction of micro-loans should be good news to the public as there was now a good spread of institutions which offer small loans.
The micro-lending industry serves quite a sizable market in Lesotho that struggles to access loans from more established financial institutions.
For the majority of small businesses in Lesotho accessing financing has been quite a problem because of the strict requirements of local banks.
Lesotho Post Bank, which was set up in 2004, has 12 branches scattered around the country’s districts.
