In furtherance of President Bola Tinubu 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’, the Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, has advocated the need for increased collaboration among key players in the fintech ecosystem to enhance financial literacy and promote financial inclusion for all citizens,
Inuwa made the call in statement at the 6th edition of the annual FirstBank FinTech Summit, where he joined other key players in the ecosystem in a session titled: “Policy and Infrastructure: Navigating Financial Regulations for Fintech Innovations” held in Lagos.
He emphasised that NITDA’s regulatory approach, based on a triple helix model, was not just about imposing standards but by actively creating and supporting markets.
Outlining the objectives of the Regulatory Intelligence Framework developed by the agency to create marketing values, enable innovations, protect consumers and effectively deliver services, the Director-General noted that priority was given to collaborations with the ecosystem in meeting these deliverables.
According to him, to achieve this, the agency came with the participatory framework or policy dialogue for any regulation because it is at the heart of everything it does in terms of co-designing and co-creation.
Speaking on working with the ecosystem, the NITDA boss noted that collaboration was instrumental in successfully implementing Nigeria’s cashless policy which the agency did in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He said: “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 to the banks to start upgrading their infrastructures, both hard and software, and the FinTech identified gaps and started coming up with solutions that can bridge the gaps left by the banks”, Inuwa added.
He, however, explained that the agency was working with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and other stakeholders to develop guidelines for electronic invoicing, which will create opportunities for fintech.
On the imperative of synergy among MDAs and stakeholders in the fintech space, the Director-General pointed out that “as a regulator with a focus on facilitating financial inclusion, NITDA needs to strengthen unified regulations and policy-making because if it make policies without engagement of the implementers, it will be difficult for them to implement.
He also spoke on NITDA’s efforts to bridge the digital divide as an essential factor for financial inclusion, underscoring the launch of a National Digital Literacy Framework to integrate digital skills in formal education.
While highlighting the agency’s efforts at fostering digital literacy and cultivating talents, Maida disclosed that the agency was collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Education in integrating digital literacy into curriculum and also, with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in training over 17,000 Youth Corp 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 spoke on 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, stressing that without operational sovereignty Nigeria cannot fully control or secure its digital assets.
In addition, the Director-General hinted of the on-going partnerships with hyperscale providers and local data centres to create cloud infrastructure within Nigeria, adding that NITDA is working with other stakeholders in developing the cybersecurity architecture to achieve financial inclusion.
This is even as he said that NITDA had made several interventions and initiatives aimed at supporting the under-served and un-served areas in the country by building their digital capacities and skills, urging the fintechs to leverage these opportunities by infusing their financial literacy into them which will consequently drive a deeper financial inclusion for all.
He clarified: “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.”
