Lotus Capital Limited has received a Technical Assistance Grant of $250,000 (Two hundred and fifty thousand Dollars only) from Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA) to support the “Lotus Health is Wealth Savings Plan”. EFInA is a financial sector development organisation that promotes financial inclusion in Nigeria. Lotus Capital Limited is the pioneer provider of non-interest financial services in Nigeria. The company provides a broad spectrum of fund/portfolio management services for individual, corporate and retail clients.
The Lotus Health is Wealth Savings Plan (LHIWSP) is a dynamic non-interest, fixed income savings product that will also offer health insurance. The Plan is structured around monthly collections of deposits from customers which will be invested in non-interest, low-risk instruments, and non-interest fixed term investments to give customers returns on their savings. A small portion of customers’ deposits will be allocated to pay the monthly premiums for health insurance. The project will be piloted in Lagos, Abuja and Kano States. Lotus Capital will target traders, market associations, religious associations, service companies and women pressure groups.
Speaking about the Grant, the Chief Executive Officer of EFInA, Chidinma Lawanson, stated that, “The EFInA Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2014 survey revealed that 16.8 million adults representing 18% of the adult population who do not use non-interest banking products stated that they are likely to take up such products if they are readily available. The Lotus Health is Wealth products add to the diversity and range of affordable financial products to low and middle income segments of the population who may be unbanked and under-banked.”
Furthermore, she mentioned that, “insurance penetration is still low in Nigeria, data from the EFInA’s Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2014 survey shows that only one million adults representing 1.1% of the total adult population have insurance while 14.3 million representing
15.3% of adults stated that they would be interested in micro insurance products. Through the
Project, Lotus Capital will drive awareness on non-interest finance and enhance financial literacy among the low income targets; given that the company’s direct sales agent will interface with customers to showcase the product.”
According to Hajara Adeola, Managing Director of Lotus Capital, “Since our founding, we have being dedicated to creating wealth ethically for our clients. Our firm belief is that with the right financial plan and education, everyone can and should improve the quality of their life. Through this project, we hope to encourage the development of an investment culture among the low income and financially excluded segment of the population. The Plan’s tie-in with health insurance is intentional as we believe that a healthy body is essential to creating and sustaining wealth. While health insurance is mandatory for workers in the formal sector, there are millions of Nigerians who work outside the formal sector and do not have access to health insurance or even formal financial services. It is for this reason that the Plan is providing both an investment outlet and discounted health insurance. Our vision is a Nigeria where Nigerians regardless of their position on the economic or social ladder will have access to formal financial services and quality healthcare,
“The project is expected to deepen financial inclusion by broadening the array of non-interest products available to the banked, unbanked and under-banked population. The Plan will also contribute to the growth of small and medium scale enterprises via the financial advisory services offered to customers. The Lotus Health is Wealth Savings Plan, and indeed all our services are available to people of all faiths”, she added.