The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has called for greater cooperation amongst major participants in the Fintech ecosystem to improve financial literacy and advance financial inclusion for all citizens, in keeping with the current administration’s focus on Reforming the Economy for Sustained Inclusive Economic Growth, Accelerating Diversification through Industrialisation and Digitisation, and Improving Governance for Effective Service Delivery.
At the 6th annual FirstBank FinTech Summit, which took place at the Lagos Continental Hotel on Victoria Island in Lagos State, the DG made this declaration while participating in a session titled “Policy and Infrastructure: Navigating Financial Regulations for Fintech Innovations” with other important ecosystem participants.
Inuwa underlined that NITDA’s triple helix-model-based regulatory strategy actively creates and supports markets in addition to enforcing standards.
In describing the goals of the agency’s Regulatory Intelligence Framework, which included establishing marketing values, facilitating innovations, safeguarding consumers, and efficiently providing services, Inuwa pointed out that partnerships with the ecosystem were prioritised to achieve these deliverables.
“To achieve this, we came up with a way, which we call the participatory framework or policy dialogue for any regulation. This is because at the heart of everything we do is co-designing and co-creation,” he said.
Speaking about collaborating with the ecosystem, he pointed out that the agency’s effective implementation of Nigeria’s cashless policy, which it carried out in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was made possible by teamwork.
“NITDA worked with CBN to come up with a cashless policy, which gave birth to the fintech industry we are talking about today.”
“This led the banks to start upgrading their infrastructures, both hard and software, and FinTech identified gaps and started coming up with solutions that can bridge the gaps left by the banks,” he added.
The DG, however, stated that the agency is working with the Federal Inland Revenue Service and some other stakeholders to develop guidelines for electronic invoicing, which will create opportunities for Fintech.
“As a regulator with a focus on facilitating financial inclusion, we need to strengthen unified regulations and policy-making, because if you make policies without having the implementers in the room, it will be difficult for them to implement,” he averred.
He also highlighted the establishment of a National Digital Literacy Framework to incorporate digital skills in formal schooling and spoke in detail about NITDA’s initiatives to close the digital divide as a necessary component of financial inclusion.
Highlighting the agency’s efforts at fostering digital literacy and cultivating talents, he disclosed that the agency has engaged in collaborations with the Ministry of Education in integrating digital literacy into the curriculum and also with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in training over 17,000 Youth Corps members annually.
He added that the initiative is expected to provide basic digital literacy to millions and aims to engage artisans, market women, senior citizens, and others from the informal sectors.
Inuwa further addressed Nigeria’s data sovereignty issues, particularly regarding reliance on foreign cloud services. He noted that building in-country cloud capabilities is vital for national security and for empowering local FinTechs. “Without operational sovereignty, we cannot fully control or secure our digital assets,” he stated, mentioning ongoing partnerships with hyperscale providers and local data centres to create cloud infrastructure within Nigeria
.
He explained that the agency is working with other stakeholders in developing the cybersecurity architecture to achieve financial inclusion while asserting that infrastructures will be created, the unconnected will be connected, and digital literacy to foster trust on digital platforms.
Revealing that NITDA has several interventions and initiatives aimed at supporting the underserved and unserved areas in the country by building their digital capacities and skills, he urged the fintech to leverage these opportunities by infusing their financial literacy into them, which will consequently drive deeper financial inclusion for all.
“Nigeria has the infrastructure, and with the right collaborations and continued focus on inclusive policies, we can make significant strides in bridging both digital and financial divides,” Inuwa concluded.
Other panellists who shared their insights and expertise at the session with the DG were the MD & CEO, of NIBSS, Mr Premier Oiwoh, CEO, of Lagos Lotteries & Gaming Authority, Mr Bashir Are, and the Chief Information Officer, FirstBank of Nigeria, Mr Adewale Salami.
