In the Beginning | Objectives | Operating Assumptions | Strengths | Our Team |

In the Beginning

1980's represented the years, of unprecedented economic crises in Africa.

For Nigeria, the sharp decline in oil revenue in 1982 brought to the fore,
the fragile nature of single product - dependent economy. The then Federal Government adopted elements of the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) ostensibly to propel the economy on the path of sustainable growth. Deregulation of the foreign exchange market and removal of subsidies had instant biting effects on the people, especially the poor. This was the setting, in which a small town of Ogwashi-Uku, Delta State, Lift Above Poverty Organisation (LAPO) was initiated by Mr. Godwin Ehigiamusoe.

In 1987, He delivered N100 each to three women in his parish with interest rate of 10% per annum. Contact with the famous Grameen Bank in 1990 greatly influenced the scale and features of LAPO.