Grace and Mercy Households Improvement Initiative is a Non-Governmental organisation, focus on providing financial services to the poor who are traditionally served by conventional banks.
The organisation (NGO) was founded in April 2012, and registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) Certificate Number 52145, to address the near absence of financial services to the large population of economically disadvantaged and marginalised poor women engaged in small trading and micro productive activities in rural parts of Nigeria.
Microfinance essentially is about providing financial services to the marginalised poor who are not catered for by conventional financial institutions and this goes in line with its mission and vision as an organisation providing financial services to low-income earners in Nigeria.
The characteristics that distinguish microfinance from other forms of formal financial products are; Absence of asset-based collateral, Smallness of loans advanced and or savings collected; And ease of operations.
Grace & Mercy Households Initiative as an organisation is focused only on providing small loans to economically active poor women who are deprived and vulnerable in society.
These activities contribute substantially to the local economy by providing useful goods and services thereby improving the conditions in the households and the community at large.
Grace and Mercy households improvement initiative celebrated its 10h Anniversary last year May 2022 with a Vision to be the one-stop institution providing financial services to low-income earners in Nigeria, and a mission to strengthen the economy of low-income earners by providing easy access to financial services for the poor, excluded and disadvantaged.
Over four years, the organisation has witnessed growth in the number of clients being serviced under its Royal Loan.
The current loan portfolio of the Rotary Club termed ROYAL LOAN stands at 101,244,500 (One hundred and one million two hundred and forty-four thousand and five hundred naira) and the total beneficiaries stand at 2,037.
As observed, the fund granted by Rotary Club Gbagada could not adequately cater for these above 2,000 beneficiaries so Grace and Mercy Households Improvement Initiative supplied her funding to level up this deficit.
Another loan product has been introduced to its qualified 64 clients at the third stage in Igbogbo termed Resource loan which can be paid over 10 months.
Also, there is a Festival loan product for 4 months with 39 clients. This team affiliation between Rotary Club Gbagada and Grace and Mercy Households Improvement Initiative has alleviated not just individuals but also households of poverty and the result is there for all to see and feel.
Number of Staff; 5 – Number of Active Savers; 2,098 – Number of Active Loanees; 2,037 – Loan Balance 101,244,500.
In addition to this, it has opened Igbogbo 2 branches to have more beneficiaries from the Loan.
Grace and Mercy Households Improvement Initiative as an institution has a presence in 17 states of the federation; Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Number of States Covered; Lagos, Kwara, Kogi, Edo, Delta, Abuja, Nassarawa, Niger, Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa-Ibom and Cross Rivers State.
Number of Branches; 292, Number of Staff; 1,260, Number of Active Savers; 247,475, Number of Active Loanees; 228,069.
