By Omodele Adigun
About 70 million active mobile line owners in the country do not have bank accounts, the CEO of eTranzact International Plc., Niyi Toluwalope, has said.
Toluwalope, who stated this recently at the Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigerian (CAMCAN) 2021 Annual Workshop in Lagos, said that 110 million Nigerians owned 150 million mobile phone lines but only about 40 million had active bank verification numbers.
Toluwalope said there is a need to close the gap, especially as regards small and medium enterprises.
Speaking on “Technology as a Tool for Financial Inclusion in Nigeria: A Fintech Approach”, he said that financial inclusion was important to the capital market industry.
His words: “Financial inclusion holds the answers to how we increase the participation of retail investors, how we encourage more homegrown businesses, leverage the capital market for growth and the informal sector’s participation in the capital market.
“The role of technology cannot be overemphasised. Over the past few years, technology has allowed more people to gain access to financial services, and that has increased by default, the customer base of capital market operators.
“Essentially, the rise of digital financial services means growth for the capital market.
“We can directly expand the current digital savings and investments offerings to leverage the capital market for increased returns,” he said.
He…
