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Letshego Holdings, the Gaborone-based microfinance holding company in Botswana, has completed the acquisition of FBN Microfinance Bank, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings.

In a press statement released on Monday, Letshego said it acquired 100 percent stake in FBN Microfinance Bank, which is one of only six microfinance banks in Nigeria with a national microfinance banking license.

FBN Microfinance Bank, which was established in 2009, was a wholly owned subsidiary of FBN Holdings, which also has Nigeria’s oldest bank – First Bank – as its subsidiary. FBN Microfinance Bank has 28 branches and over 300 employees as well as over 80,000 depositors and 10,000 micro and small borrowers.

With the acquisition of FBN Microfinance Bank, Letshego Holdings makes an entry into the West Africa’s micro and small enterprise (MSE) lending market. Letshego Holdings has built footprints in East and Southern Africa with over 265,000 customers across nine countries. The company is the largest indigenous company quoted on the Botswana Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of about $600 million and a profit before tax of about $52 million in the year ended on June 30, 2015.

“This opportunity to enter the Nigerian market coincides with the expansion of our range of financially inclusive products and services,” said Chris Low, Letshego Holding’s Group Managing Director.

“We believe Nigeria’s growth prospects in our targeted low-and-middle income, and MSE, customer segments have significant upside potential, and that, by bringing our skills to this market we can further financial inclusion and improve lives across Nigeria.”

Chibuike Oguh is Financial Nigeria's Frontier Markets Analyst