Founder of LAPO, Godwin Ehigiamusoe,. Photo: LAPO

The Founder of LAPO, Godwin Ehigiamusoe, has said microfinance institutions seeking to transition from small-scale operations into resilient financial giants must undergo a major structural shift.

Speaking at the 2nd Annual Microfinance Leadership Roundtable hosted by the LAPO Institute for Microfinance and Management Studies in Lagos, he challenged managing directors, chief executive officers, board members, and senior executives from across Nigeria’s microfinance sector to move beyond mere incremental growth.

He emphasised that achieving scale requires deliberate action and visionary leadership, noting that “small is beautiful, but big creates greater value.” Throughout the session, he reminded attendees that microfinance banks become truly great not by chance, but through deliberate strategy, sound governance, and disciplined execution.

“The business owner is the prime mover of the scaling up process, and could also be the factor in keeping the business small,” Ehigiamusoe warned, identifying leadership mindset and legacy operational structures as the primary hurdles to expansion.

To overcome these barriers, he urged leaders to strengthen their institutions’ core pillars, including governance, financial controls, risk management frameworks, human capital, and technology.

A central recommendation from his address was the necessity of carrying out independent diagnostic reviews to identify and fix systemic weaknesses.

“Conducting a diagnostic exercise helps identify systemic weaknesses that have kept the business small and highlights the exact steps needed to sustain growth,” he explained.

He assured executives that institutional readiness naturally attracts the capital required for expansion.

“Funds naturally follow institutions with sound governance, capable management, effective financial control, and superior performance,” he added, pointing out that capital is often the easiest resource to secure once solid frameworks are in place.

Illustrating the impact of this approach, Ehigiamusoe shared how structural reforms transformed LAPO into a benchmark for the sector.

“I desired to become a member of the international microfinance big league, so we invited MicroRate USA to conduct an institutional review, implemented the gaps thrown up by the report, developed a growth plan, and the funds began to flow in,” he recalled.

He concluded by emphasising that building large-scale microfinance banks is vital for national economic development, as scaled-up institutions are uniquely positioned to generate sustainable mass employment and contribute meaningfully to public revenue.