Communications Minister tasks Kayi Bank to prioritise financial inclusion
Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani has said economic growth will only be a mirage without financial inclusion of entrepreneurs in the society.
Speaking at the launch of Kayi Bank App, the Minister emphasised that as entrepreneurial as Nigeria is, without financial inclusion, it cannot grow beyond its present state economically and that’s because many of these entrepreneurs are not included in the formal economy.
Highlighting the importance of financial inclusion, Bosun noted that financial inclusion contributes significantly to economic growth by increasing the number of individuals and businesses that can participate in the formal economy. According to him, “financial inclusion actually help with alleviating poverty by giving people access to financial tools, such as savings and credit.”
He said, “When individuals have access to banking services, they are less likely to resort to risky and informal financial practices, I’m sure you’ll recognize now, when people don’t have access to credit, they don’t have access to financial services. They have to go take loans from people who would ask them to pay a significant interest. And by doing so, they will continue to be in poverty because they will continue to try to balance up on pay this commitment which typically is difficult to combat.
“When we have a strong financial inclusion in society. You can also foster entrepreneurship and there’s no other way we can grow without entrepreneurship. Small businesses with financial inclusion can gain access to credit and we can better manage their flows. And this can help them to grow their businesses as they grow their businesses. They create job opportunities as well in society.
“For those of you who follow the trajectory of our GDP in Nigeria, you also recognise the fact that agriculture contributes significantly to our economy. Good Financial Inclusion will ensure that farmers have access to resources that they need as input. They can manage their income better, they can manage their sales better, but they also can access credits that can help them to do what they need to do.
“Another important reason why financial inclusion is important is the more people can access financial services, the higher financial literacy will be in our country. And when people have greater understanding of financial literacy. It gives them the opportunity to also be able to educate themselves on planning better. As you plan better, you can better manage your resources, you can plan for your future, you can better understand how to help your family and kids as well.
“These are important elements of financial inclusion. When people have access to financial inclusion. More people will have access to health care and education. I’m sure you hear the stories of families that cannot afford to pay for health care services. And because of it, you know sickness diseases that can be better managed may lead to the death of a family. In some cases, families actually have to go take loans to get their family members to hospital, which means they will continue to be important when we have financial inclusion, there’s opportunity for digital innovation as well. Because when people are financially included, there’s a chance for innovators and entrepreneurs to come up with new products and services that people can actually pay for. And by doing so we deepen the complexity of our economy. And this is how we become a great nation.”
The Minister congratulated the innovators of the Kayi Bank App, which he believed is going to be a huge contribution to the economic growth of Nigeria and Africa at large through their features.
Some five years ago, financial inclusion was measured by the number of physical banks a country has access to and with that ranking measure, World Bank and IFC said Nigeria and Africa was left behind and that was because there was a limited number of branches to go around 220 million people. But with the introduction of digital financial inclusion, Africa was ranked as the highest. This is because Africa is the first continent with strong usage of mobile money all over the world.
The Minister further encouraged the team not to consider the investment that has been made by the investors as just an opportunity to build another faux version of mobile banking.
“They should focus and prioritise the use of the app for the common Nigerian out there. Which is exactly what the investors are more interested in. The investors are about empowering the ordinary people, not the technology features that makes it different from their bank apps. Safaricom, a telecommunications company is the biggest bank in East Africa and that is basically because they prioritise the use of mobile banking to serve the ordinary people, bringing them into the financial system and in return, they have also done well for themselves.”
And to the investors, the Minister said, “Don’t be deceived. There’s a lot of money to make from the bottom of the pyramid. If we can bank a lot of these ordinary people. We empower them. We help them grow. We help them become something and as they become something, your company will also continue to grow as well. So it’s not just a social good endeavour. This is a very profitable business.”
The Minister concluded by quoting his mantra in the industry, that is, “The best way to make money is actually to make money while doing good.”
Speaking also, the Managing Director of Kayi Bank, Yunusa Mohammed, said the App is called ‘Banking Without Limit’ because it is committed to leading the change in financial inclusion and social banking in Africa and also has features for blockchain traders.
