The Nigerian Microfinance Policy: A Perspective from Cooperative Societies

The focus of the Nigerian government microfinance policy is to make financial services accessible to a large segment of the potentially productive Nigerian population which otherwise would have little or no access to financial services. However, less emphasis had been placed on the role cooperative societies could play in achieving the policy objective This paper examined the micro finance reforms of the Nigerian Government and the role that cooperative societies can play with a view to providing solutions to the problems. The study adopts largely an exploratory methodology and submitted that appropriate legal frameworks be put in place to ensure that cooperative methods are fully integrated in to the microfinance policy framework. Analysis of the information obtained revealed the unutilized capacity and potentials of cooperative societies that have contributed to the growth of other countries of the world. Therefore government should ensure that the Microfinance banks are made to relate with the poor and low income group through the cooperative societies for sustainable growth and development.