CBN, NDIC, others to discuss financial inclusion strategies at FICAN conference
Adesola Afolabi was a businessamlive reporter and Head of Financial desk.
The 2018 annual conference of the Finance Correspondent Association of Nigeria (FICAN) conference is bringing together experts from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), banks, FinTechs, global multilateral financial institutions, as well as public and private sector finance industry players in the country.
The two-day conference slated for September 15 and 16 in Lagos will highlight and examine the various options available for bringing the un-banked into the financial system using technology.
“It is also a learning conference designed to enhance awareness, deepen understanding of financial journalists on the role of financial technology in rendering banking services cheaper, faster and conveniently,” the organisers said in a statement made available to business a.m.
The conference, with the theme: “Banks, Fintech and Nigeria’s Financial Inclusion Journey,” has the CBN governor as the keynote speaker. There will also be representatives from the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
Yinka David-West, who is the digital financial inclusion specialist at the Lagos Business School, was announced as the guest speaker at the conference.
The event will feature a panellist session with some bank chief executives, Financial Technology (FinTech) operators, as well as regulators to discuss the sub-theme: “Financial Inclusion: the Journey So Far.”
According to FICAN, FinTech companies and financial innovation are changing the competitive landscape of financial intermediation.
“Every commercial bank today knows what services to upgrade; because customers are already carrying out such transactions with FinTech startups.
“In the same manner, financial inclusion has continued to assume increasing recognition across the globe among policy makers, researchers and development oriented agencies,” said FICAN.
Continuing, the asocation said the conference, also to be attended by journalists covering money market, capital market and the Insurance industry, from the print and electronic media, will be a step forward to finding the nexus and its implications for meeting the financial inclusion target of 80 percent by year 2020.
“It will also help to define roles that traditional banking and FinTechs occupy in this journey.”