Toprate, a prominent Micro Finance Company in Imo State, on Friday, January 31st, 2025, held an Agricultural Training Seminar, at its Corporate Headquarters, on Izombe Road, Ogbaku, Mbaitoli LGA of Imo State.
According to the Chairman of the Micro Finance Bank, Barr. Sir Chudi Akurunwa, the aim of the Seminar was to make participants to acquire knowledge which will help them update their farming and crop tendering techniques, even as he hinted that it is on that strength that the Finance Company can then empower them with loans to run their businesses. He also hinted that the farmers can obtain the loan when they form Cooperative Societies.
Said Akurunwa: “My name is Barr. Sir Chudi Akurunwa. I am the Chairman of Toprate Micro Finance Bank, Ogbaku. It’s been great. The Bank is growing from strength to strength, complying with all CBN regulations. We are here empowering the community, where I come from. We are involved in touching the lives of the traders, the farmers, every level of business ventures.”
Furthering, he said: “We are actually in the final stage of our integration with LIMPS. Every customer will be able to receive money in their accounts directly from any bank in the country, as well as pay to any bank, by deployment of POS, to do all activities that are commercial banking. If you want to reach us for any more information, you can reach us on our website: www.topratefmb.com.”
Akurunwa stated that the Bank is a one-unit Micro Finance Bank and so only have their headquarters and one Branch in Ogbaku.
“Today is actually a great and successful day. We had an Agric Summit. Central Bank was here. The Young Farmers Cooperatives were here. The AAC Cooperatives and their members were here: a lot of farmers. We had over 200 members. Our main objective is to support the farmers by giving them loan, to empower them and as well work with the Central Bank and then tap on some of the incentives they make available to farmers through Micro Finance Bank,” Akurunwa further hinted.
Regarding those who could not attend the Seminar, he said: “The people who are not here should try and obtain information from people who came or go online to checkout our Facebook and Instagram Page and follow us up online and they will obtain a lot of information that will help them to harness the whole goodies they are offering to farmers.”
The Managing Director (MD)/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Toprate Micro Finance Bank Kalu Agbosu, had this to add: “Today, we are organizing Agricultural Training and Seminar between us and AAC, for us to train people on how to improve on their agricultural farming activities. We have brought some products here which are mainly technology based, that they can use to improve their agricultural products. We have one for animal husbandry and we have one for crop production.”
Continuing, the MD said: “As a Micro Finance Bank, the essence of Central Bank allowing Micro Finance Bank to exist in the country Nigeria is to allow the private sector to intervene in the Banking sector.
“Most of our farmers do not have banks they operate and when they go to commercial banks, they may find it difficult to obtain loans. So, that is why we are here. It is an intervention programme to assist them to lean everything on how to manage their farms and the agricultural product is to assist them through these Cooperatives they have formed, to fund them, at least each of them with N500,000 to start. Within the next circle we can increase the capital.”
Regarding mode of obtaining loan, the MD said: “They will open savings account and they will open current account. Opening savings account is for them because we also encourage them to sell. But the current account is according to CBN conditionality. It is through this current account we are going to grant them the loan.”
According to him, the loan duration is from four months, eight months and one year, depending on what the debtor is into. He also said that they don’t envisage any default but if default is proven, CBN bankrolls them up to 75 percent of the total sum.
“Our office is located at Plot 10, Kilometer 2, Izombe Road, Uzele Ogbaku, just at the Park, in a place they call Ogbo Osisi.,” the MD volunteered.