Advans Nigeria’s response to the Covid-19 crisis

As soon as the Covid-19 crisis started, Advans Nigeria sought to put in place all the necessary measures to best protect its staff and clients while maintaining business continuity for branches that were not completely affected by the lock down restrictions.

The subsidiary ensured  the provision of customised reusable face masks to each staff whilst Tellers, Client relationship officers, Clients assistants and Client services supervisors received hand gloves and hand sanitisers.

Management reinforced communication via channels to consistently sensitise staff and clients about the need for strict safety measures and the importance of taking responsibility.

Furthermore, the following actions were taken in an effort to best support clients during the crisis:

• a two months grace period was introduced in order to assist existing loan clients whose businesses were affected by the crisis to reduce their monthly repayment costs
• a new range of savings products was introduced to better respond to clients‘ evolving needs during the Covid-19
• the use of Advans Mobile was encouraged as a tool for safe loan repayment, allowing clients to remotely access their accounts
•  the 24/7 availability of the call centre was maintained  in order to attend to clients’ complaints in a consistent and timely manner
• in addition to the MFI’s existing Facebook & Linkedin channels, two additional social media channels, Twitter and Instagram, were launched in order to further enhance continuously providing information to clients and communicating advice on staying safe  during the crisis  
• a large scale distribution of Covid-19 safety kits to clients across the entire branch network was organised

Advans Nigeria continues to closely monitor the individual situations of its clients so that it can keep providing tailor-made solutions, reaffirming the subsidiary’s commitment to accompany and support its clients during these challenging times.