Moniepoint Inc. is expanding financial access in Nigeria by fostering strategic public-private partnerships, according to Mr Tosin Eniolorunda, Group CEO and co-founder of the Nigerian fintech company.
Eniolorunda, who explains the significance of these collaborations in tackling barriers to financial and economic inclusion during a recent high-level policy dialogue held in George Washington University, Washington, D.C., underscores the necessity of building trust between the public and private sectors to overcome challenges that have slowed the adoption of fintech innovations in Nigeria.
“Moniepoint has long championed the importance of financial inclusion and financial happiness. Building trust with the public and government, improving business and consumer access to the financial system are critical issues that are aligned to our philosophy,” Eniolorunda says.
“As testament to our commitment,” the Moniepoint CEO says, “we recently launched a landmark report investigating Nigeria’s informal economy, highlighting opportunities to widen financial inclusion to historically underserved communities. The outputs from this strategic gathering will go a long way in bolstering Nigeria’s economy even as closer linkages are formed from public-private collaboration which will be a huge boost to the overall development and competitiveness of the larger financial services industry.“
Speaking at the event, Vice President Kashim Shettima, who addressed the gathering via video conference, stressed the urgency of financial innovation to drive Nigeria’s economic and financial inclusion agenda.
According to him, this aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration’s goal of integrating over 30 million unbanked Nigerians into the formal financial sector as part of the Renewed Hope Agenda.
“We must develop a sustainable collaboration approach that will facilitate the adoption of inclusive payment to achieve our objective of economic and financial inclusion,” Vice President Shettima says.
Philip Ikeazor, Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria responsible for Financial System Stability, emphasizes “the need for ongoing collaboration among all stakeholders to meet the goals of the Aso Accord on Economic and Financial Inclusion.
Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), also advocates for “a digital-first approach and the fusion of digital literacy with financial literacy to address trust issues affecting the inclusive payment ecosystem.”
Moniepoint’s commitment is evidenced by its recent landmark report on Nigeria’s informal economy, highlighting opportunities to widen financial inclusion to underserved communities, according to the company.
In Nigeria, financial inclusion is a significant challenge due to factors such as poverty, lack of infrastructure, and low levels of financial literacy.
Moniepoint says that public-private partnerships are coming to the fore as a solution to these challenges. In this, both sectors bring their resources and expertise to combine forces toward establishing a much more inclusive financial ecosystem. The government, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had pitched financial inclusion as being part of its economic agenda and charged millions of unbanked Nigerians to enter formal financial quarters.
Moniepoint has been making significant financial inclusion efforts in Nigeria. The company has been ranked as Africa’s fastest growing financial institution by Financial Times for two consecutive years. The company’s digital solutions cater to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individuals, providing them with access to banking services, payment solutions, and credit facilities, Eniolorunda says.