Adeyemi Atanda, the chairman of the Committee of E-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH), has said that the challenges facing the e-business industry in Nigeria could be fixed when more collaborations are put in place in a way that platforms such as CeBIH continue to create forums for engagement.
Atanda, who spoke at the CeBIH annual conference in Abeokuta, Ogun State, recently, explained that infrastructure, connectivity, and cost are some of the barriers to inclusion.
The retreat, which was sponsored by Flutterwave and a slew of other fintech firms, focused on payment innovations and what to anticipate in the coming year, with attendees hailing from all corners of the e-business process.
The Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, was among the guests who spoke at the event, urging the industry to support social intervention programs and look into how to differentiate between social enterprise and social intervention programs so that these programs are not too costly for the government to sustain for the good of the people.
Prof Adeolu Akande, Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), also spoke, saying that the widespread demand for digital services is fueled by the low cost of end-user devices. According to him, the digital industry will exceed the oil sector in adding to the nation’s GDP revenues in around five years if current trends continue.
Mr Elias Igbinakenzua, Managing Director of Globus Bank Ltd, remarked during his keynote talk at the event, “Banks of the future must embrace API strategy and platforms that will make them flexible, invest in dev-ops, and can’t run away from cloud computing.” He also urged banks to consider collaborations and partnerships for the benefit of their clients.
Mr Musa Jimoh, Director, Payment Systems Management, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), spoke on the eNaira’s impact on the economy’s growth. According to him, the goal of the eNaira is to reduce the cost of serving by taking into account the cost of printing one naira note and its impact on the value chain.
“It gives us great pleasure to note that Nigeria was the first African country to implement and is one of just three countries in the world to completely commercialise the e-Naira.” Mr Jimoh said.
He told the bank that they would play a key role in the development of digital payment systems, and he encouraged participants to download the software from the Google or Apple app stores. He emphasized that the goal is to expand financial inclusion and provide access to more affordable financial services.
Speakers and panelists at the two-day event are; Branka Mracajac, Managing Director of 9PSB; Olusola Teniola, President Africa Digital Economy Forum and immediate past president of Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON); Kazeem Tewogbade, MD, Blue Chip Technologies; Ade Atobatele, CEO Remarkable Ideas Ltd; Akeem Lawal, DCEO Payment Switching & Processing, Interswitch; and many others. Topics discussed include; Cardless Payments, Fintech and Funding, Fraud and Cybersecurity, Monetizing Big Data, and Labor Mobility.
