E-Financial
Stakeholders Converge at the Maiden International Financial Inclusion Conference, Lead Conversations on Financial Inclusion
Nigeria, on 24th and 25th November 2022 hosted the largest convening of the global Financial Inclusion ecosystem since the launch of its National Financial Inclusion Strategy in 2012.
L-R: Lai Mohammed CON, Minister of Information and Culture; Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; Alhaji Mohammed Musa Bello CON, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria and Aishah N. Ahmad, CFA– Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria and Philip Yila Yusuf, Director, Development Finance Department, Central Bank of Nigeria at the maiden edition of the International Financial Inclusion Conference 2022, which was held at Transcorp Hilton hotel Abuja on Thursday, November 24th, 2022.
The 2022 International Financial Inclusion Conference organized by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and its partners within the financial inclusion governance committees themed: “Financial Inclusion for all: Scaling Innovative Digital Models” had in attendance over 5000 participants from at least 78 countries around the world.
Among the major dignitaries in attendance were His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR), who was represented by the Honorable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mallam Mohammad Musa Bello (CON); United Nations Secretary-General Special Advocate (UNSGSA) on Inclusive Finance, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha; the Honorable Minister for Communication and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Pantami; the Honorable Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen; the Honorable Minister for Information and Culture, Mr. Lai Mohammed; the Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, and Dr Kayode Fayemi, former Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum and former Governor of Ekiti State.
Also in attendance were financial sector regulators such as the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr. Femi Lijadu; Managing Director of the NDIC, Mr Hassan Bello; the Commissioner of NAICOM, Mr Sunday Thomas; Board Members of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Chief Executive Officer of Brittania-U Nigeria Limited, Mr. Uju Ifejika, amongst others.
During the conference, attendees witnessed the launch of 7 key policies and products that would enable the achievement of 95% Financial Inclusion in Nigeria by 2024 such as the revised National Financial Inclusion Strategy (3.0), the Strategy for Leveraging Agent Networks for Women’s Financial Inclusion, the National Fintech Strategy, the Payment System Vision (PSV) 2025, the Nigeria Financial Services Maps, the CBN Regulatory Sandbox and a Fintech Bridge between the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Central Bank of Egypt.
Giving a keynote address during the conference, the Governor Central Bank of Nigeria – Mr. Godwin Emefiele who chairs the National Financial Inclusion Steering Committee pointed to CBN’s long-standing effort to achieve the financial inclusion targets through creating enabling environments and providing supports.
He said, “From 2012 to date, over 59 policies and initiatives have been implemented by stakeholders to achieve the objectives of financial inclusion.
“These policies and initiatives cut across the banking sector, the insurance sector, the capital market sector and the institutions responsible for infrastructural development for financial inclusion in Nigeria.
“We have prioritized financial inclusion through our invention for over four million smallholder farmers and SMEs creating over two million jobs. By the end of 2024, we aim to be at 95% rate of financial inclusion in Nigeria”.
The Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, CBN, Mrs. Aishah N. Ahmad, CFA in her welcome remarks highlighted that the conference was holding at a critical time in Nigeria’s Financial Inclusion journey. “Nigeria is indeed at an important tipping point for financial inclusion.
“At no time has there been a prevalence of an enabling regulatory environment, proliferation of digital technology, innovation and collaborative platforms between the public and private sector – all strategic levers required to scale financial inclusion in Nigeria”. In her engaging plenary session, she also stressed the role of policy making in advancing Financial Inclusion in Nigeria.
In a special keynote address by the United Nations Secretary-General Special Advocate (UNSGSA) on Inclusive Finance – Her Majesty Queen Maxima of the Netherlands highlighted the role to be played by the new National Financial Inclusion Strategy in providing a genuine chance for improving livelihoods, such as strategies leveraging the National Insurance Number, Bank Verification Number amongst other policies
The conference featured nine plenary sessions including Scaling Digital Models for the Last Mile, Catalyzing Global Partnerships for Financial Inclusion, Country Experiences, Expert Dialogue on Women’s Financial Inclusion, Fostering Partnerships for Inclusive growth amongst others. Four breakout sessions focused on Digital Infrastructure, Data Privacy & Consumer Protection, Deepening Digital Financial Services and Strategies for reaching Youth & Rural Areas.
Speakers cut across global policy makers and business leaders including Dr Alfred Hannig, Executive Director AFI, Ambassador Chad Blackman, Special Adviser to the DG ILO, Mrs Elsie Addo- Awadzi, Deputy Governor, Bank of Ghana, Mr Folashodun Shonubi, Deputy Governor Operations, CBN, Mr Herbert Wigwe, Managing Director, Access Corporation and Professor Olayinka David-West of Lagos Business School, etc
The IFIC 2022 conference agenda included the first Financial Inclusion Awards Dinner themed ‘Celebrating Champions of Inclusion’. Nine (9) deserving institutions and one individual were recognized for their contributions to advancing financial inclusion in Nigeria through a rigorous nomination and selection process superintended by Price WaterHouse Coopers (PWC).
The winners included Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFINA) who won the Financial Inclusion Innovation Award and Access Bank and Jaiz Bank who won the national women’s financial inclusion award and the inclusive bank of the year award respectively. TeamApt, Remita, Interswitch, E transact, Lapo MFB and Ms Modupe Ladipo also took away awards.
The conference also showcased 20 fintech and start up companies at its Innovation Labs exhibition focusing on various solutions targeted at facilitating payments, digitizing informal financial services platforms and bridging the financial inclusion gap.
The SIIPS Report which offers valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges facing Africa’s digital payment systems has said that 2023 was a landmark year, with 49 billion transactions processed across the continent—the highest volume recorded to date.
This staggering number underscores a broader trend: the shift towards digital, fast, and efficient payments is becoming a cornerstone of Africa’s economic growth.
The SIIPS Report 2024, launched in Accra on Thursday, showcases the remarkable growth of Instant Payment Systems (IPS) across Africa, emphasizing their role in advancing financial inclusion.
With 31 operational IPS in 26 countries and another 27 on the way, the report reveals a 37% growth in transaction volume over five years.
While digital payment adoption surges, barriers remain for vulnerable groups, especially women, who face security and fraud concerns.
Despite progress, no system has fully achieved inclusive access, affordability, or transparency.
The report emphasizes the need for collective efforts to expand IPS, particularly in rural areas, to ensure universal financial inclusion by 2030.
Supported by partners like the World Bank and UNECA, the SIIPS Report offers valuable insights into the opportunities and challenges facing Africa’s digital payment systems, calling for innovation and regulatory support to achieve seamless, cross-border payments across the continent.
More importantly, the total value transacted surged at a remarkable average annual growth rate of 39% from 2019 to 2023, reaching over $1 trillion last year.
Such figures highlight Africa’s increasing reliance on digital financial systems and indicate a seismic shift in how money moves.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has advised bank customers to be cautious about the use of fake SWIFT messages during foreign exchange (FX) remittances.
SWIFT messages are sent through the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication network to facilitate financial transactions between banks and financial institutions.
The CBN gave the warning in a statement signed by Hakama Sidi-Ali, acting director of corporate communications department, on Tuesday in Abuja.
The apex bank said it had been inundated with claims by some stakeholders about the conclusion of foreign currency transfer to their Nigeria bank accounts.
According to Sidi Ali, stakeholders like private entities, individuals, law firms, and government agencies complained that foreign currency funds allegedly transferred to them by foreign entities have yet to be credited to their accounts with Nigerian banks.
“In some instances, the claimants alleged that the funds were withheld by either the beneficiary bank in Nigeria or the CBN and requested assistance towards releasing the funds to them,” She said.
“The requests are usually supported with fake documents such as SWIFT MT103, SWIFT Ack copy, etc.
“It has become imperative to state that the SWIFT ack copy and SWIFT MT103 that these claimants usually attach as evidence of remittance to beneficiary banks in Nigeria are not reliable.”
Sidi Ali added that the SWIFT messages are always not traceable on the SWIFT platform and the funds are not received to enable their application to the beneficiary’s account.
“In a situation where a fund transfer beneficiary receiving bank claims non-receipt of funds remitted by the foreign entity, the standard practice is for the sending customer to contact the sending bank.
“The purpose for the sending bank to send a tracer to trace where the fund is hanging and recall it.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to state emphatically that the CBN neither provides correspondent banking services for Nigerian banks in foreign payments nor maintains accounts for private business entities.
“Consequently, petitioners’ claim that the alleged expected inflows for onward credit into the accounts of private business entities are trapped in the CBN is not only spurious but deceitful.”
The CBN spokesperson urged the general public to be careful with such unauthentic SWIFT messages and documents containing spurious claims of non-application of substantial foreign currency funds allegedly transferred into the beneficiary’s account.
She also warned that the CBN would not hesitate to report any bank customer making unsubstantiated and illegitimate claims to law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution.
Federal Government is to establish a National Youth Development Bank and a Youth Data Bank, according to President Bola Tinubu.
President Bola Tinubu, represented by Kashim Shettima, his vice, , disclosed this at a Stakeholders Roundtable on Northern Youth Development organised by the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, in Abuja.
The President described the banks as crucial tools for “providing financial and informational support to young Nigerians.”
He said since assumption of office, his administration unveiled a comprehensive youth development strategy spanning multiple key sectors to drive Nigeria’s economic transformation.
Tinubu extolled the legacy of the late Sardauna of Sokoto and former Premier of Northern Nigeria, Ahmadu Bello
” The late Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto, was one of the towering giants on whose shoulders we have ascended as a nation.
” His vision was clear: the North cannot progress in isolation, and Nigeria cannot prosper unless every part of this nation thrives,” he said.
Tinubu declared that the development of Northern Nigeria remains fundamental to the nation’s prosperity.
According to him, “whatever disrupts the growth of one region sets back the entire nation.
“For far too long, we have been taunted as a nation with the most children out of school—a reality that should not elicit pride but provoke urgent action.
“This alarming statistic has turned the promise of our population into a challenge rather than the dividend it ought to be,” he added.
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