Advans vision is to build a model group of financial institutions which contribute to strengthening local businesses, creating and sustaining jobs and improving clients’ living standards in order to foster private sector-led economic and social development in Africa, the Middle-East and Asia.
It's mission is to respond to the need for financial services of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and other populations who have ill-adapted, limited or no access to formal financial services through providing tailored financial services in a sustainable and responsible manner.
Advans SA SICAR (Advans) is a Luxembourg-based investment company established in 2005 by Advans International (formerly Horus Development Finance) and several Development Finance Institutions. Its current shareholders are the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO), CDC Group Plc. (CDC), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), KfW Development bank (KfW) and FISEA (AFD Group).
The Advans group is active in ten countries in Africa and Asia: Cambodia, Cameroon, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Tunisia. Operations will begin in Myanmar in 2017. At December 2016 the group had over 730,000 clients and more than 6,200 staff with EUR 690 million in outstanding loans and a total deposit portfolio of over EUR 350 million.
Advans Nigeria makes loans available to small businesses in Nigeria and therefore encourages the growth of the MSME sector
History and vision: Created in June 2012 and formally incorporated as La Fayette Microfinance Bank Ltd, Advans Nigeria is the seventh greenfield of the Advans Network. Advans Nigeria’s objective is to target MSMEs in urban areas of Nigeria, where market studies have shown that only one in ten entrepreneurs has access to credit.
Network: Advans Nigeria opened its first branch in Ibadan, the country’s third largest city, at the end of January 2013. A second branch opened in May 2013, three further branches in 2014 and two branches outside of Ibadan in 2016. In the coming years, Advans Nigeria plans to continue its expansion to cover other regions of Oyo State, home to about 5.5 million inhabitants.
Services: As a registered microfinance bank, Advans Nigeria offers a full spectrum of financial services for MSMEs, including loans ranging from NGN 30,000 (about EUR 140) to NGN 20,000,000 (about EUR 93,600). The MFB also offers current and savings accounts for both individuals and MSMEs.
