Inclusive financial practitioners and experts in the financial digital industry have listed financial inclusion as part of the broader measures Nigeria must implement if it must match up with other progressive economies in the drive towards a digital economy.
Around 36 per cent of Nigeria's 106 million adults do not have access to any form of financial services, including a savings account, credit, and insurance, according to data, a situation the body of Inclusive Financial Practitioners Association President Aliyushata Isa attributed to slowing Nigeria’s quest to achieve its dream of becoming a digital economy.
Isa said the establishment of machinery to drive Nigeria's digital economy with the use of technology is key to solving multiple challenges facing the financial sector.
He also said the use of technology will help curb various loopholes and excesses in the financial and service sectors, especially with the massive data consumed and available.
The president of the body predicted that great times await all players in the digital financial sectors once there are firm collaborations amongst major players while calling for financial inclusion.
Isa made this assertion during the inauguration of the executive members of the Abuja chapter with the theme role of the association in fostering digital finance and financial inclusion in Nigeria.
On his part, the vice president of the body Sola Brickersteth said that individuals and corporate entities who deserve and desire access to funds need digital financing and services in their day-day transactions, which is important in driving Nigeria's economic growth.
At the 2022 inauguration of inclusive financial experts in the nation's capital, Adenike Okunbolade and Sarah Corley chief executive officer of an alliance of digital finance association spoke on the benefits of financial inclusion via digital financing, especially at this period when the economy is plagued with different challenges.
Adenike highlighted how the large vulnerable population who are often defrauded but with digital financing services these ills will be halted, and individuals would have the luxury of self-services.
Other stakeholders like Stephen Ambore, head of digital financial services at CBN, said the e-payment in Nigeria has tripled over time, making it pertinent for financial inclusion and digital financing.
Ambore said those in the agricultural sectors in other parts of the world had exploited the advantage of this financial inclusion and digital financing to their advantage.
On their part, Mariam Chukwuemeka and Ali Salaudeen compared the recent suspension of foreign flights into Nigeria threats as an example of how and what digital financing and inclusion could have resolved while also calling for a united front of the government and relevant bodies to create a conducive digital economy environment.
