Experts Call for Collaboration on Financial Inclusion

Governments and relevant agencies in Nigeria have been challenged to work together and execute policies that will promote financial inclusion in the country.

Speakers and discussants at the Financial Inclusion Conference 2017 organised by the Lagos Business School (LBS), in collaboration with BusinessDay, Microsave and International Finance Corporation (IFC) on Tuesday, agreed that Nigeria’s development agenda should incorporate digital financial inclusion. According to a statement, at the conference, the Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Financial Services initiative of LBS launched the Digital Financial Services in Nigeria: State of the Market Report 2017. The report contains evidence-based insights on the state of financial inclusion in the country. Using consumer demographic profiles, the report describes the characteristics of potential financial services customers and also presents an examination of the policy and legal statutes guiding financial inclusion, while proffering market-enabling strategies for attaining the Central Bank of Nigeria’s commitment of 20 percent financial inclusion by 2020. The Dean of LBS, Dr. Enase Okonedo, who delivered the opening remarks, said that financial inclusion has become a global trend and LBS organised the conference so that Nigeria could achieve the desired objectives of the policy. Board Chairman of EfinA, Modupe Ladipo, who was one of the panellists, said that consumer protection was essential in financial inclusion as different consumers have different needs. “As a matter of necessity, we need to embark on research to know what our diverse population of consumers want. Let us move from office-led practice of operations to a consumer-led practice,” she said. She said that Nigeria’s must meet global standards of operations, while urging regulators to be more flexible and drive policies that would satisfy customers.

On his part, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency, Jones Onyereri, assured that despite the challenges encountered, government would give apt attention to the players by creating a favourable avenue for financial inclusion to thrive in the country.

He highlighted the activities of the legislature to ensure that Nigeria is financially inclusive.