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.
Enza, an embedded payment startup based in Dubai and founded by former Network International executives, has raised $6.75 million in seed equity funding. The round was co-led by Algebra Ventures and Quona Capital.
Founded in 2023, Enza’s payment solutions enable banks and fintechs to offer locally tailored payment services across African markets, including card issuance, digital wallets, and real-time payments.
The Enza platform is built to support both sides of the transaction chain — serving banks and fintechs on the issuing side, as well as SMEs and merchants on the acceptance side.
Existing client use cases feature the rollout of digital payment solutions, including domestic payment schemes, real-time payment services, mobile money, and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options, alongside international payment schemes across several African countries.
With operations in Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa, the recent capital injection will help enza expand its footprint into other key markets throughout Africa.
Before founding enza, the leadership team oversaw global acceptance, processing, and consumer finance divisions at Network International.
Hany Fekry, CEO of enza, stated: “This investment is a strong vote of confidence in our team, our market-leading solutions, and our dedication to empowering banks and fintechs to advance financial inclusion across the continent.”
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has released its audited financial results for the full year ended December 31, 2024, with all major indicators witnessing significant improvement.
The bank’s profit after tax rose by 26.14 per cent to ₦766.6 billion, up from ₦607.7 billion recorded at the end of the 2023 fiscal year.
UBA’s gross earnings also grew significantly from ₦2.08 trillion recorded at the end of the 2023 financial year to ₦3.19 trillion in the period under consideration, representing a 53.6 per cent growth.
The bank’s total assets rose remarkably by 46.8 per cent, from ₦20.65 trillion in 2023, to close at ₦30.4 trillion in December 2024.
Oliver Alawuba, group managing director/chief executive officer, UBA, said the bank’s performance demonstrated its focus on driving earnings growth, preserving asset quality, and expanding business operations.
The bank has proposed a final dividend of ₦3.00 kobo per share, bringing the total dividend for the year to ₦5.00.
The dividend is subject to shareholder approval at the upcoming Annual General Meeting.
UBA is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent, with 25,000 employees group-wide and serving over 45 million customers globally.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that only fit and proper individuals are permitted to operate in Nigeria’s capital market to enhance investor protection.
Speaking in an interview in Abuja over the weekend, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, director-general, SEC, emphasized that market operators engaging in unscrupulous activities would not be allowed to go unpunished.
According to him, “It’s important that, as a form of self-regulation, they are aware beforehand that if you do what is not right, the SEC will bring you out to the wall to say that you do not have character, because the very ethics of regulating or of registering a securities market operator is in the principle of the fit and proper person’s test.
“A fit and proper person’s test means that you satisfy all of the requirements that have been laid down in the Investments and Securities Act 2007 and in other regulations that the SEC has brought out to make sure that this happens.
“Disclosures by public companies will be very, very essential making sure that the investor has enough information to make decisions. If information is not provided, then that will be against the rules and regulations of the SEC and indeed, the ISA. So clearly for us, it is getting people to understand that there is no hiding place anymore for anybody that has an intention to defraud Nigerians and to defraud anybody that is investing in this market.”
The SEC Director-General stated that investor protection is a fundamental principle for the Commission, as the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2007 clearly outlines the objectives of securities regulation in Nigeria, with investor protection and market development as its twin priorities.
He emphasized that for any market to thrive, investor protection must remain a top priority.
He further asserted that the SEC is committed to ensuring that all market participants understand the Commission’s sacred responsibility, stressing that the SEC’s leadership, entrusted with this duty by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will carry it out effectively.
“It is important to state clearly that every investor in Nigeria is under the cover of the SEC as long as the person operates within the Nigerian capital market. And so the year 2025 is a year where we say that there is zero tolerance for any activity that does not fall within the laws of the Investments and Securities Act 2007.
“We are excited that the National Assembly has passed the new Investment and Securities Act and we are earnestly waiting for the President’s assent as the Bill is going through an administrative process to get to the President, to get it assented to.
“And that alone also signifies our intention to make sure that everyone that is investing in this market, or intends to invest in this market has a cover. That cover runs across so many lines, particularly, let me mention that Ponzi schemes will no longer be a place where people will be factoring, where people will be interested in, because the penalties in the new ISA you know, towards people that are engaged in Ponzi scheme is stiff enough to deter them.”
Authorities Seize 1842 Devices in African-Wide Cybercrime Crackdown
Police Arrest 4 Bank Staff over Alleged ₦270m Fraud, Money Laundering
Enza Raises $6.75m Seed Funding to Boost Embedded Payment Solutions Across Africa
NIMC to Prosecute Nigerians Printing ‘NIN Cards’, Says Only Slip is Legal
FG, UK FCDO, and Ghana Partner to Launch Sankore
News2 days agoNIPOST Explains Clamping Down on Illegal Logistics Services in Enugu
Broadcasting2 days agoNGO Blasts MultiChoice for Tariff Hike in Nigeria, Slash in South Africa
E-Business2 days agoOtti, Abia State Gov Promises Internet Access for all Abia Communities in 9 Months
Telecom2 days agoTelcos Mull Introduction of Different Tariff Plans for Different States
News2 days agoNESREA Urges Nigerians to Dispose Batteries Properly to Avoid Hazards
E-Financial2 days agoCITN Seeks AI to Curb Revenue Leakage in Nigeria’s Tax System
News2 days agoTony Elumelu Foundation Grants $15m to 3,000 African Entrepreneurs
E-Financial2 days agoSEC Declares War on Capital Market Fraudsters