* Targets 200,000 indigenes with loans, business capital and funding opportunities
Whitecrust Investment Limited has announced plans to introduce Halal investment and financing options as it expands its operations into Kano State, with a target of reaching more than 200,000 indigenes and potential customers within its first year in the state.
The company disclosed this on Tuesday at the commissioning of its 10th operational branch in Kano, an expansion that attracted traders, entrepreneurs and civil servants.
The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Whitecrust Investment Limited, Kingsley Eremionkhale, FCA, said the company’s entry into Kano was driven by the need to extend financial services to people who had been excluded from mainstream financial opportunities.
He said the company would tailor its products to the cultural and religious environment of the state, including the planned introduction of Halal investment and financing options.
“Our core mission in coming to Kano is to financially include those who have been excluded from mainstream financial services,” Eremionkhale said.
“Our products are specifically tailored towards Kano’s rich cultural and religious diversity. We have investments structured for micro and small-scale businesses, and we should also start our Halal investment and financing options very soon to ensure full participation across board.”
Whitecrust targets 200,000 beneficiaries
Eremionkhale said Whitecrust expected to empower more than 200,000 Kano indigenes and potential customers with investment and loan opportunities during its first year of operations in the state.
“In one year, we are looking at empowering over 200,000 Kano indigenes and potential customers with investment and loan opportunities,” he said.
He said the company would also place emphasis on financial literacy, arguing that access to finance should be accompanied by the knowledge required to use financial opportunities effectively.
“We intend to empower them through financial literacy because education is key,” he said.
The company, he added, also had a Corporate Social Responsibility programme, while some of its financial products came with Health Maintenance Organisation coverage.
Company seeks stronger private sector role
The Whitecrust chief executive said private businesses had an important role to play in complementing government efforts to address funding challenges affecting civil servants, traders and informal businesses.
“Kano civil servants and traders need better support, and private businesses must complement the efforts of government,” he said.
Eremionkhale said the company’s objective was to create lasting economic value through empowerment and sustainable employment, adding that taking its services physically closer to communities was important to achieving that goal.
He also said Whitecrust had recruited local employees to support its operations in Kano.
“We have recruited locally. Servicing the businessmen and artisans in Kano will not be a problem,” he said.
According to him, the company had been operating for about five years, while its management and promoters had experience in banking and financial advisory services.
“We are well-equipped to understand what is required in this part of the country,” he added.
Digital services, long-term expansion
Eremionkhale also highlighted the company’s digital infrastructure, saying customers would be able to access its services remotely from anywhere in the country.
“Our businesses are fully digitalized. Customers can connect with us remotely from anywhere in the country,” he said.
He said the Kano expansion formed part of a broader long-term corporate vision driven by what he described as a legacy mindset.
Looking ahead, Eremionkhale said the company hoped to obtain a full commercial banking licence within the next 10 years.
“We operate with a clear focus and a legacy mindset,” he said.
“Looking ahead, in the next 10 years, we should have achieved a full commercial banking license.”
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