What You Missed: Highlights from the 2017 Financial Inclusion Conference in Lagos, Nigeria
December 5, 2017 was a day of presentations, discussions, debates and revelations at the International Financial Inclusion Conference, organised by Lagos Business School, Business Day, IFC and Microsave.
The conference which had over 400 attendees, brought together financial inclusion experts and enthusiasts from all over the country and beyond including: leading digital financial services experts, entrepreneurs, industry researchers, legal practitioners, donor agencies, and members of the national assembly.
Proceedings at the event kicked off with welcome addresses from the Dean of Lagos Business School, Dr Enase Okonedo, followed by Frank Abiogun, Business Day Publisher, and Eme Essien Lore, IFC Country Manager. The Office of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osibajo, who was represented by Mr. Lanre Osibona, the Senior Presidential Adviser on ICT, expressed its support on the importance of DFS to the Federal Government and the Social Intervention Programmes.
The major highlight of the conference was the launch of the long anticipated Digital Financial Services in Nigeria, State of Market 2017 Report, a 200-page document published by the Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Financial Services initiative of the Lagos Business School (LBS). Dr. Olayinka David-West, Project Lead on the Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Financial Services initiative, presented a summary of the report, to the conference delegates.
On hand to launch the report was a potpourri of dignitaries including Honorable Jones Onyereri, Chairman, House Committee on Banking and Currency; Temitope Akin-Fadeyi, Head Financial Inclusion Secretariat, Central Bank of Nigeria; Dr. Abi Jagun, Financial Services for the Poor, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; and several distinguished faculty of the Lagos Business School.
The report which contained over a year’s worth of research, presented evidence based insights on market-enabling policies for DFS and financial inclusion. Using consumer demographic profiles, the report describes the characteristics of potential financial services customers. The report also presents a doctrinal analysis/an examination of the policy and legal statutes guiding financial inclusion and proffers market-enabling strategies for attaining the commitment of 20 percent financial inclusion by 2020.
There were three panel sessions which produced a lot of interesting commentary and exchanges between participants and delegates.
The first panel session which focused on policy and regulation for financial inclusion and scaling DFS featured Musa Itopa Jimoh, Deputy Director, Banking & Payments Systems, CBN; Modupe Ladipo, Board Chairman, EfinA, Honorable Jones Onyereri, Chairman, House Committee on Banking and Currency; and Toyin Adeniji, Executive Director, Micro Enterprises, Bank of Industry discussing the findings and policy recommendations from the LBS report.
The panelists agreed that more financial service points need to be created while the regulatory environment would benefit from more relaxed policies. The Honorable Chairman opined that policies (and policy amendments) alone aren’t enough to drive financial inclusion, there’s a need to codify these policies. The important role research plays in policy formulation was also highlighted as research is what precedes and informs policy formulation in most developed countries.
The second panel addressed responsible finance and its role in driving financial inclusion. This panel had Lory Camba Opem, Program Lead for Responsible Finance, IFC Microfinance & Digital Financial Services; Godwin Nwabunka, CEO, Grooming Centre; Stanley Jacobs, Vice President, Committee of Industry eBusiness Heads; and Mike Ogbalu, Interswitch Divisional CEO.
Mr Jacobs, highlighted how banks have been able to redefine the customer journey over several years while Mike Ogbalu, Interswitch Inclusion, Divisional CEO, singled out trust as the key factor powering any successful financial inclusion drive. Panelists agreed that partnerships will go a long way to creating a sustainable ecosystem for financial services.
Prior to the third panel, Ms. Jacqueline Jumah of Microsave, shared highlights from the Agent Network Accelerator (ANA) Research. The presentation provided an overview of strategic gaps and opportunities for scaling-up Digital Financial Services through effective agency banking initiatives.
Following this ANA presentation, the third panel, Reaching the Last Mile through Digital Financial Services: New Models, New Infrastructure, brought real-world examples to the fore. The discussants, Fasasi Sarafadeen Atanda, a member of the Association of Mobile Money Agents in Nigeria (AMMAN), Tayo Oviosu, the CEO of Pagatech, Gregory Chen, Head of Policy at CGAP, and Usoro Usoro, General Manager, Mobile Financial Services, MTN, provided thrilling and enlightening perspectives of the roles, responsibilities and frustrations of agents. Mr. Fasisi fascinated the audience with first hand insights of agent burdens, especially in rural areas beyond Victoria Island and Lekki.
The challenges of last mile delivery were highlighted, citing technical failures as a major culprit. It was agreed that, rather than DFS ecosystem players passing the buck when it comes to taking the blame, collaborations and partnerships would go a long way in tackling and reducing the frequency of such failures in the future. The panelists also debated whether agent networks should be grown quickly or slowly and also noted that financial inclusion will not just happen, “the same way Nigeria will not just win the World Cup without rigorous preparation” as one panelist quipped.
The conference closed on a sober note where Dr. Abi Jagun of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation reminded the house of the Foundation’s belief that all life has equal value. She stressed that working through partners, the role of the Foundation’s Financial Services for the Poor (FSP) team is to ensure financial inclusion for the poorest and most vulnerable in society. To achieve this, the ecosystem needs to embrace collaboration and partnerships as these are fundamental to ensure that financiaal inclusion targets are met.
After all, as she said, “Everyone benefits from an economy that includes everyone.”
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