IFC invests $10.5m to promote cashless society in Nigeria

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group is investing an amount of $10.5 million into Nigeria’s Interswitch Limited, an electronic payments company, in order to help consumers have low-cost access to financial services.

The IFC said in a statement September 5, 2011, that the investment will allow Interswitch to “offer better access to easier forms of electronic payments and reduce cash in circulation, which has been a source of crime, fraud and corruption.”

It will also allow low-income consumers to access sophisticated financial services and products.

The IFC says it’s investment is part of an acquisition of Interswitch by a syndicate that includes Helios Investment Partners and Adlevo Capital Partners.

Meanwhile, the IFC on September 7, 2011 signed an agreement with Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) to help train its sub-contractors and farmers in order to increase their productivity and efficiency, enhancing the sustainability of its programs and projects.

The CDC, which develops and operates extensive plantations of tropical crops, will introduce IFC’s Business Edge services and tools to train its smallholder farmers by customizing courses for 80 farmers in the pilot phase.

By Ekow Quandzie