The world is ruled by technology – the advancements that have been made in the past decade were thought to be blasphemy centuries ago, yet here we are. Financial technology seeks to use innovation and technology to advance the delivery of financial services.
Nigeria’s financial technology industry raised an estimated investment of US$679 million in 2019 at a 24% annual growth rate according to research by The Economist Intelligence Unit yet, the sector is just beginning to grow in an environment some have called politically volatile with regulations to boot. However, there is still so much promise!
MTN Nigeria and Mastercard sponsored the State of Play: Fintech in Nigeria, a report by the intelligence unit of the international weekly newspaper, the Economist.
After months of extensive desk research, data analysis and multiple interviews with officials from the country’s apex financial institution Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN) and Executives of various fintech and investment firms, a comprehensive report was delivered via an interactive virtual session on Thursday, June 10, 2020.
The webinar featured private sector experts such as Usoro Usoro, General Manager, Mobile Financial Services, MTN Nigeria and Ebehijie Momoh, Senior Vice President, General Manager, West Africa, Mastercard (both companies sponsored the report).
Melanie Noronha, Senior Editor, Thought Leadership, and Irene Mia, Global Editorial Director, Thought Leadership, (both from the Economist Intelligence Unit) addressed key sections of the report, and the insights were interesting!
Here are the five things you may not have known about Nigeria’s fintech industry:
1. The year 2022 will be ‘fintech-lit’!: In 2017, Nigeria’s fintech revenue was US$153 million. Melanie Noronha, Senior Editor, Thought Leadership, the Economist Intelligence Unit, shared that industry trends and forecasts have predicted Nigeria’s fintech revenue to reach US$543 million by 2022!
2. The future is wealth-management and insure-tech: The ‘State of Play: Fintech in Nigeria’ report showed that the financial technology sector is veering from payment into remittances, lending, micro-investment, wealth management and insure-tech.
3. Skill gaps are emerging from the traditional: Just like the sector is veering based on focus, so are the skills sets that companies are seeking out. So, while business management skills are still essential, corporate governance and compliance skills are well-sought. Norhana mentioned that having compliance skills in-house was critical.
4. Fintech and financial inclusion are critical to MTN Nigeria: Usoro Usoro, Director, General Manager, Mobile Financial Services, MTN Nigeria, mentioned this and stated that “We always see ourselves as a company that drives economic growth and development in the different countries that we operate.”
He also explained that one of the company’s objectives is to educate and onboard customers, “hence there’s a growing need for collaborative efforts across the industry where all players can leverage their assets.”
5. Fintech might be one of the keys to closing the gender gap: The report shows that improving financial access and designing solutions aimed at women could lead to a closure in the widening gender gap. In 2017, 51% of males aged 15 and above had at least a bank account when compared to 27% in women. (In 2011, the gap was much closer – 33% to 26% respectively). So, fintech may offer an opportunity for growth.
While addressing participants at the virtual event, Usoro highlighted MTN Nigeria’s objective for sponsoring the report, “to stimulate debate, create conversations around what we are doing right, the challenges in the sector and how we can work together to drive the desired results.”
What’s the most interesting fact you discovered?
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