A truly holistic and real-time financial inclusion of several Nigerians in remote communities would have been impossible without a determined drive for a robust Financial Technology being pursued by the efforts of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) under his committed leadership, says the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida.
According to him, it would have been regrettably impossibly to avail the critical remote population in the far-flung under-served and totally un-served communities across the country the opportunity of financial inclusion offered by the Financial Technology (FinTech) industry as a critical driver of national economic growth and development.
Dr. Aminu Maida made this known in a keynote address at the 2023 edition of the annual Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) FinTech Forum which took place in Lagos recently under the theme, “Harnessing Nigeria’s Fintech Potential: Challenges and Opportunities”.
The EVC, who was represented at the event by the Controller of NCC Lagos Zonal Office, Mr Henry Ojiokpota, stated that the theme of the forum was suitable at this time for a discourse about the financial industry given the significant rise in digital financial services across the nation.
The EVC who described FinTech as a revolutionizing force in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem representing a positive disruption to the conventional financial system maintained that financial technology’s emergence to leverage technology and enhance financial services such as mobile banking, borrowing, investment and cryptocurrency came as an enabler and a total game changer in business in the sphere of innovation, job creation and investment stimulating economic growth.
The EVC stated that FinTech applications such as robo-advisors, payment apps, peer-to-peer (P2P) lending apps, investment apps, and crypto apps, among others, had created business opportunities for individuals, pointing out that the adoption of such applications for socioeconomic gains by over 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population dominated by the youths would add immense value to the economy.
Dr. Maida recalled recent industry statistics citing active subscriptions across mobile networks in Nigeria, which hit 220.7 million in August 2023, to further back up his conviction that the Nigerian FinTech ecosystem offered avalanche of financial services to telecom subscribers.
He gave assurance that the Commission would continue to expand and enhance telecommunications infrastructure to enable robust Fintech services address consumer concerns and regulatory challenges in the sector, contending that optimal utilization of digital technologies would enhance the provision of financial services to rural communities and the underserved segments of the population through leveraging of high mobile phone penetration in Nigeria.
“Therefore, Fintech has the potential to deepen the existing payment and financial system infrastructure to reach unserved and underserved areas and further stimulate economic growth”, Maida said.
He said the Commission had begun implementing new strategies to meet the new its target of 70 per cent Broadband penetration by the year 2025 as contained in the Nigerian National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 and the blueprint released by the Honourable Minister of Communication and Digital Economy for accelerating the growth of the digital economy sector through technology.
The EVC further said that the policies and strategies had huge implications for enhancing derivable benefits of the Fintech industry as well as significantly and positively impacting Nigeria’s goals on financial inclusion and the digital economy at large.
The NCC boss promised that the Commission would continue to support the Fintech industry in harnessing its enormous potential and will not rest on its oars in its strides to address the challenges in the sector, including improving the provision of secured infrastructure that support the delivery of digital financial services in efficient ways.
He reiterated the Commission’s focus on maintaining minimum standards in Quality of Service (QOS) to ensure uninterrupted connectivity to enhance sectoral contribution to the economy.
The EVC stated that the Commission, in support of its vision in this sphere, has implemented a Memorandum of Understanding with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on boosting payment systems and financial inclusion, in line with the Nigeria Payments System Vision 2025.
He also informed the forum that NCC would continue to play an important role in harnessing the potential of Fintech through maximum support for Fintech policies, enforcing regulations, and strengthening collaborations with relevant authorities.
