E-Financial
FinTechNGR Seeks More Investment to Drive Access to Affordable Digital Services
FinTech Nigeria (FintechNGR) the umbrella body of financial technology services providers in Nigeria is seeking more investors who see the long-term value of Africa.
Mr. Ade Bajomo, President, FinTechNGR, stated this in his opening remarks at the 7th Nigeria Fintech Week in Lagos.
“Also, we need regulators who foster a supportive environment for innovation. And most importantly, we need a generation of talented fintech entrepreneurs who are passionate about making a difference,” he said.
This is coming against the backdrop of dwindling investments in Fintechs in the continent. Mr. Ade Bajomo, quoting Elevandi report in the first half of 202: “investments in the fintech sector in Africa declined significantly, dropping 77% to US$186 million from US$826 million in 1H 2023. The number of deals decreased 30% year-on-year and average deal size fell to US$4 million in 1H 2024 from US$10.5 million in 1H 2023.
“Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, and South Africa remained the primary recipients of FinTech funding, with their combined contribution of 76% in Q2 2024”.
According to him, “As an industry, we still have several growth opportunities and must up the game in identifying and delivering these, diversifying from payments which have and continue to play a critical role in driving financial inclusion, into broader areas where technology can drive inclusive growth such as InsureTech, InvestTech, AgriTech, EdTech & HealthTech to name a few.
“Of course, with great opportunity comes great responsibility. Challenges posed by inadequate infrastructure, such as limited internet connectivity and unreliable power supply, the need for skilled talent in the fintech industry, exponential rate of increase in electronic fraud (N43bn in Q2 2024), identity theft and with 40 million Nigerians (and 350 million Africans) still financially excluded leave numerous opportunities for our ecosystem to exploit for inclusive growth. Imagine the resulting socio-economic upside of resolving these challenges?
“Though we are facing a period of investment drought and cost of living challenges, we must stay focused on our goals to leverage fintech as a tool for socio-economic development and exploit every opportunity that innovation, technology and leadership can deliver to improve governance, processes, and scale.
“As Peter Drucker said, results are gained by exploiting opportunities. The time is here to exploit the opportunities of the moment and gain the thrust to drive the growth of our fintech ecosystem.
“At FinTechNGR, we have and will continue to play our part in connecting, accelerating the growth of and advocating for Fintechs and in this respect we will continue to:
◦ Deepen relationships with regulators to co-develop policies and address issues that impact the Fintech ecosystem pro-actively.
◦ Enhance our feedback system to understand how best to assist members with regulators and advocate for them as appropriate
◦ Drive the adoption of the Fintech Certification Program, which was developed in collaboration with the Chartered Institute of Bankers in October 2023 to address the acute skills gap in the ecosystem and strengthen governance structures,” he stated.
The naira appreciated to N1,600 per dollar in the parallel market at the close of trading hours on Monday, strengthening from N1,610 per dollar recorded over the weekend.
Similarly, the naira saw a slight gain in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), trading at N1,605 per dollar compared to N1,606 last Friday, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This represents a marginal N1 appreciation.
As a result, the gap between the parallel market and official exchange rate widened slightly to N5 per dollar, up from N4 over the weekend.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spent N315.18bn on currency issue expenses in 2024, marking a sharp increase of 306 per cent compared to N77.67bn recorded in 2023, the apex bank’s audited financial statement for the year has shown.
Currency issue expenses cover the printing, processing, distribution, and disposal of banknotes.
The latest figures reveal that the CBN’s cost of managing physical cash spiralled dramatically during the year under review, as Nigeria grappled with lingering cash shortages and disruptions in the money supply chain.
The surge in expenditure came as the country continued to deal with the effects of the naira redesign policy introduced in late 2022.
Despite efforts to stabilise cash circulation throughout 2023, Nigerians still faced queues at ATMs and difficulties in accessing cash in early and late 2024.
Faced with mounting public outcry, the CBN deployed several emergency measures to address the crisis.
Deposit Money Banks were directed to ensure consistent ATM loading and rural cash distribution, while the Bank also launched public hotlines for citizens to report cash scarcity incidents.
Also, the CBN ramped up enforcement efforts, including deploying monitoring teams, issuing sanctions against non-compliant banks, and mandating improved cash distribution.
PalmPay, a full-service digital bank, has reaffirmed its dedication to advancing the future of payments in Nigeria by promoting the widespread adoption of contactless-enabled payment terminals.
This was made known during the recently concluded BusinessDay Future of Payment Conference, themed “Fintech Evolution: Gateway to Payments.” In his welcome address, BusinessDay Publisher, Frank Aigbogun, emphasized that the next phase of fintech innovation must be driven not only by speed, safety, and simplicity but also by trust, inclusion, and accessibility to ensure broad-based impact across all segments of society.
Talking about PalmPay’s impact in the panel session titled “The Next Wave of Digital Payments: Trends and Innovation,” Ifeanyi Uzoka, Senior Business Development Manager at PalmPay, discussed the evolving landscape of digital payments in Nigeria.
He noted that while regulatory frameworks have supported the introduction of contactless payments, the high level of cash dependency remains a key barrier to widespread adoption.
“At PalmPay, financial inclusion is central to everything we do,” Uzoka stated. “To support this mission, we’ve launched contactless-enabled debit and premium cards, ensuring our users have access to convenient and secure payment experiences. We also understand that trust is critical, which is why all contactless transactions on PalmPay’s platform include an additional layer of authentication for enhanced security.”
PalmPay continues to lead innovation in Nigeria’s digital finance ecosystem by delivering secure, user-friendly, and future-ready solutions. The company’s recently launched debit and premium cards in partnership with Verve are now serving its growing base of over 35 million users nationwide.
This move into contactless payments underscores PalmPay’s alignment with global payment trends and its ongoing commitment to building a more inclusive and digitally empowered economy.
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