LAPO Microfinance bank grows deposit base with My Pikin product

LAPO Microfinance Bank Limited has grown its client base, registering 200,000 new customers through its flagship product called ‘My Pikin’.

This was disclosed by Dorcas Thorpe, head corporate planning department, LAPO, during a raffle draw that saw 50 winners rewarded with various items in Lagos.

The items included a tricycle popularly called ‘Keke’, which was the star price. Others were refrigerators, generators, and blending machines among others.

Explaining the product, she said, “saving money for your child’s future is as important as raising them well. My Pikin is a savings account designed to provide clients with the opportunity to save towards the welfare of their children/dependents. With an opening balance of as little as N200, the savings account allows you to secure a child’s future until he/she attains adulthood.”

She noted that the bank has given 170 full scholarships so far to the children of their customers who participated and passed the scholarship exam.

Responding to a question on the harsh economy and the ability of the customers to save, she said, “at first we were worried that the economy is deteriorating, with impact of covid-19 and all of that but we were very surprise with the data that over the three years we had about N14 billion that has been saved by small savers of N200, N500 and N1,000 daily. People have to save but I think the challenge is convenience of going to the bank to save and that already reduces their interest. What we did was to have our staff go to them to collect their daily savings. We have people who are saving N10,000 daily. A lot of people want to save. We are trying to teach people to have that savings culture.”

Thorpe noted that the product has “helped in growing our deposit. For the N14 billion over a couple of years, we have a deposit balance of N1.3 billion. It has helped to grow our client base. About 200,000 new people have come on board and it has helped to grow the brand LAPO.”

The features for My Pikin account product include account opening with N200 (minimum), 1.25 percent per annum interest rate on savings, a chance for your child to win the LAPO MfB Scholarship, convenient and easy withdrawal anytime, anywhere nationwide, and payments can be made anywhere nationwide with the bank’s pocket money banking service.

Other features are very low entry balance, easy access to your account, secured future for your child, available to Groups and Individuals, and expert financial advice.

Hope Moses-Ashike

Hope Moses-Ashike is an Associate Editor, Banking and Finance, with more than a decade of experience reporting on Nigeria’s financial system and broader economy. She closely tracks market movements, monetary policy decisions, company disclosures, regulatory actions, economic indicators, and global developments, and interprets what they mean for businesses, investors, policymakers, and households. Her reporting helps readers understand complex issues such as inflation trends, foreign exchange market dynamics, interest rate decisions, bank performance, and investment risks. She also covers major international events and periodically travels to Washington, D.C., to report on the World Bank/IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Her dedication to financial journalism has earned her multiple recognitions and invitations to high-level professional development programmes. She is an alumna of the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP) in the United States and holds an Advanced Financial Journalism Certificate from the Press Association Training in London, UK. Her other notable achievements include completing the Lagos Business School CMC Programme, the Bloomberg Media Africa Initiative Programme, and a Master Class in Journalism at Rhodes University in South Africa.