BusinessDay to hold a Financial Inclusion session at 24th Nigerian Economic Summit
Setting a goal to provide universal financial access is the best approach in supporting under-privileged people in gaining a foothold toward prosperity. The importance of financial inclusion in a society cannot be overstated; it is a vital mechanism that will enable a society ,where there is economic equality amongst people.
Unfortunately, the country is not in line with the World Bank goal of achieving 80% universal financial inclusion for all in 2020. In July of 2018, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced that Nigeria will not be able to propel the World Bank’s financial inclusion goal by 2020. Initially the bank had set out to achieve the World Bank‘s goal with the targets outlined in the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) of 2012. These targets have been greatly frustrated by societal impediments such as economic constraints, insecurity issues, and obsolete strategies, amongst others.
Financial Inclusion for all is an economic priority for many countries including Niger, however Nigeria is lagging behind in comparison to some of its sub-saharan African counterparts who are taking big leaps to enable its citizens have access to sustainable financial solutions. Where is Nigeria currently and where does the country go from here?
BusinessDay, the leading media house covering financial inclusion in Nigeria will lead a special breakfast session tagged; Breaking the Financial Inclusion Barrier: A Financial Inclusion session, on the sidelines of the 24th Nigerian economic summit to discuss financial inclusion and the best way to move the needle;
Time: 7.00 am – 8.30 am
Date: 23rd of October 2018
Location: Transcorp Hilton Abuja, Lagos Room
Agenda
6:45 am – 7:15 am – Arrival of Guests
7:15 am- 7:20 am – Welcome address by Mr Frank Aigbogun, Publisher of BusinessDay
7:20 am – 7:30 am – Presentation by BusinessDay
7:30 am – 8:00 am – Keynote address by Obadiah Mailafia, former Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria
8.00 am – 8:30 am – Q&A facilitated by BusinessDay Media.
Lead facilitators: BusinessDay’s Financial Inclusion team
Lolade Akinmurele
Lehle Balde
Endurance Okafor
Bala Augie
With key stakeholders present, the discussion will revolve around the current state of financial inclusion in Nigeria, what has worked, what hasn’t as well as the role of fintechs, banks and telecommunication companies in boosting financial inclusion.
The session will also review efforts of the Central bank over the past year, in achieving an inclusion target of 80% by 2020. Most countries that have succeeded in boosting financial inclusion have done so by leveraging digital financial services and the session will discuss what is holding Nigeria back from the following suite with all relevant stakeholders present. The session will also feature a presentation by BusinessDay’s financial inclusion team.
The 24th Nigerian Economic Summit, a unique opportunity for discussion among leaders and citizens to set an agenda for Nigerians to deepen civic engagement that will tackle service delivery deficits and factor conditions that impede policy implementation ,is apt to provide a platform to discuss a root cause of these incidences which is huge population of financially excluded people.