As the umbrella body for the coordination of Fintech activities in Nigeria, Fintech Association of Nigeria has continued to attract attention from the international community as it hosted a team of the International Money Fund, headed by the Senior Resident Representative, Dr. Amine Mati.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!The association equally co-hosted the UK team, led by the Mayor of the City of London, Rt. Hon. Alderman Charles Bowman, in a separate event.
In welcoming the IMF team to the meeting, Dr Segun Aina, President, FintechNGR, said the diversity of the membership of the association which includes key players in consulting, banking, media, education, investment, IT, law and startups, make it the best fit for opinion on Fintech related matters in the Country. According to him, “ the impacts of the association transcend the nation as it’s opening up cross-border market access and policy regime as it leads to the formation of the Africa Fintech Council”
Dr. Amine Mati, while stating the reasons for visiting the association, told the participant that his team is particularly interested in the state of financial inclusion and Fintech in Nigeria as part of the efforts of the IMF to facilitate financial growth across the board. According to him, “ the IMF is opened to collaborate with the association on its initiatives and would be willing to look at the challenges the sector is facing in financial inclusion drive as well as provide help where necessary.”
Presentations were made by three members of the association. Mr. Bayo Adewolu, Partner, PwC on Developments in Financial Access and Constraints to Mobile Money Development in Nigeria; Mrs. Bunmi Lawson, member, FintechNGR GovCo on Development in Microfinance & Update in Financial Inclusion Strategy; and Mr. Isa Alade, Gen. Sec, , FintechNGR GovCo on Doing Business in Nigeria and Investment Promotion Bill.
The meeting went into an interactive session as the investment in infrastructure with a focus on basic end to end technology, the establishment of incentives for companies investing in the rural unbanked areas, collaboration between financial services providers, regulators, telcoms and adequate security being the key take-home of the meeting.
Mr. Olufemi Awoyemi, member, FintechNGR GovCo, while giving the closing remarks said: ”Formulation of regulation to drive innovation must be an interplay between the regulators and the key players in the sector to achieve a low level of financial exclusion.”