ABUJA — Alternative Bank has opened a new branch in Gwarinpa, Abuja, expanding its presence in the capital while pushing financing into renewable energy and other areas beyond conventional banking services.
The bank launched the branch on Wednesday before traditional leaders, government representatives and institutional partners.
Alternative Bank Executive Director, North-Central, South-East and South-South, Garba Mohammed, said the new location would give customers easier access to the bank’s financing products, including Alt Power.
Alt Power allows customers to finance renewable energy installations and repay the cost over time.
“We provide services that give people access to renewable energy. We call the product ‘Alt Power’,” Mohammed said.
“We bankroll the cost of setting up renewable energy systems in people’s homes and give them the opportunity to pay over a period of time.”
Mohammed said the product reflects a broader approach in which the bank uses partnership financing to widen access to capital.
The Federal Ministry of Environment also used the Gwarinpa launch to call for a stronger role for financial institutions in funding Nigeria’s environmental priorities.
Representing Environment Minister Balarabe Lawal, the ministry’s Deputy Director, Policy and Planning, identified renewable energy, waste management, climate-smart entrepreneurship and green businesses as areas requiring greater financing.
The ministry said government cannot meet environmental goals alone and called for stronger participation from financial institutions, businesses, development partners and communities.
The discussion placed the new Gwarinpa branch within a wider question: how banks can finance practical responses to energy and environmental challenges.
The Emir of Nasarawa, HRH Ibrahim Usman Jibril, also urged Alternative Bank to expand beyond major urban centres.
He said many semi-urban and rural communities still lack nearby banking services. Greater physical access, he argued, could bring more people into formal finance and encourage savings.
For Alternative Bank, the Gwarinpa launch adds another physical location to its expansion while creating a new access point for products such as Alt Power.
The branch also gives the bank a platform to connect customers with agriculture, business and other partnership-based financing services.
About Alternative Bank: Alternative Bank operates a partnership-based, non-interest banking model. The bank provides banking and financing solutions to individuals and businesses, including renewable energy financing through Alt Power. More information is available at altbank.ng.