RenMoney expands network, opens branch in Ajah, Lagos

RenMoney, a consumer finance organization with expertise in the provision of simple money solutions has opened its sixth office at Ikota Shopping Complex in Ajah area of Lagos as part of its expansion drive.

The finance organisation with about 50,000 customers established in 2012 to provide simple cash loans as well as savings and fixed deposit products to its customers is targeting a total of 11 branches by end of 2016.

Graham Lee, the CEO of the firm expressed satisfaction at the successful opening of the branch and the continued expansion of the company which presently has state license and aims to secure national license next year. “We are delighted to have opened a shop here in Ikota”. He further stated that RenMoney is committed to becoming the foremost consumer finance organization in Nigeria; that means “we have to be near our customers physically through our branches as well as virtually through mediums such as mails, websites, phones and other channels”

According to him, the Ikota branch is “closer and convenient for our clients who live in this part of Lagos -in Lekki, Ajah and its environs. It is also an expansion move and demonstration of our vision to be the foremost consumer finance organization in Nigeria”.

The finance firm offers very competitive interest rate at a flat rate of 10 percent per annum. According to Lee, in conventional banking, this is not normally available to small scale savers. This rate is available to only people with a large amount of money who are able to fix their money or buy treasury bills.

Also speaking at the opening of the branch, the chairman, board of directors of  the firm, Rotimi Oyekanmi who targets more customers next year reiterated that the company has done analysis of its clients and where they live and where they work. “What clearly showed in that analysis is that a lot of our clients live on this side of the town and the branch is to get closer to them”, he said.

“Rather than get a lot of people travel from Ajah, VGC, Lekki to Ikoyi or Lagos Island and Ikeja where we have other branches already, we have brought the branch closer to the people to access the products we have”

“The products we have are deposits and savings and since a lot of Nigerians are entrepreneurial and have their own business, what we have done was to develop a new product that they would be able to access. We want to serve as many customers as possible”, Oyekanmi said.

Explaining to BusinessDay recently in an interview on the difference between the operation of RenMoney and microfinance, Lee said there is a great deal of overlap. “We operate under microfinance bank license in Nigeria.

To understand our mission properly, it is to lead inclusive consumer finance. So there is very significant overlap between that and traditional microfinance. Where we differ slightly is that while our products can be seen as microfinance banking products, they are offered to individuals and not companies or SMEs.

We deal with individuals and we provide them with simple solutions based on their precise needs. We also offer individuals saving products and fixed deposit investments and products. We provide loans to individuals. We don’t deal with corporate organisations and we will never deal with them”, he said.

 

Daniel Obi