Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) has organised a Financial Technology (FinTech) breakfast meeting in Lagos.
The group is targeting the economically-deprived population by focusing on agent networks, electronic payment, financial inclusive products and services, especially across Northern Nigeria, women and financial literacy projects.
EFInA’s Board Chairman, Segun Akerele, said the “essence of the forum is to request information from FinTechs on how EFInA can stimulate innovation targeted at the financially excluded through its grants, advocacy, research and capacity building”. He addressed over 40 different FinTech companies, regulators and digital financial service consultants that attended the forum.
Akerele also appealed to the forum to see the financially excluded as partners and an asset in the bid to boost economic growth and increase Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
EFInA’s Programme Specialists – Payments, Folasade Agbejule, said the body’s access to 2016 financials survey, which covers about 23,000 respondents across Nigeria, 41.6 per cent of adults are financially excluded even though they have access to mobile phones. Also, these adults do not have access to formal and informal financial services. The digital financial service system has a role to play in this situation to reach low income earners and people in the rural areas.
Also, Associate Principal at Mckinsey and Company, Topsy Kola Oyeneyin, said there are huge potentials for digital involvement in Nigeria’s financial services, but this can only be attained if the three required building blocks are put in place.