The Fintech Association of Nigeria (FintechNGR), the umbrella body for fintechs in Nigeria and founding member of Africa Fintech Network held its 4th Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, 9th June 2021 online.
In his speech, the President, Ade Bajomo stated that it was the first AGM address he would be giving in his capacity at the helm of affairs of the Association and expressed his heartfelt gratitude to be leading the three-prong mandate of the Association — Accelerate, Connect and Advocate. He commented on the substantial growth the Association had achieved over the last three years saying, “we have grown together as an Association, and this has been possible only through our collective dedication and resourcefulness as an Association to common-goals of making Nigeria a leading innovation and investment hub in Africa.”
The President also said the Association had been able to double gross earnings within the financial year under review, an increase he remarked could be linked to the Association’s plans to diversify revenue sources through increase in sponsorships and various capacity development initiatives.
He further doled out other achievements such as the establishment of a Reguvators Forum that hosts representatives of Regulatory Agencies in Nigeria and Innovators for engagement and collaboration, training of over 200 insurance practitioners on InsurTech, collaboration with regulators and government on matters such as coordination of ecosystem recommendations to the regulatory agencies such CBN, SEC, NITDA, NAICOM, NCC, NIPC, NFIU, the government, national assembly, law enforcement agencies, judiciary on the Cryptocurrency transaction ban circular, membership of CBN FinTech Roadmap Committee of Nigeria, Presidential National Action Committee on AfCFTA – African Continental Free Trade Area, NITDA (National Information Technology Development Agency) committee on the implementation of Blockchain Technology amongst others. He mentioned some of the strategic plans of the Association that require partnerships and collaboration for as the “DigiStuds Project” – A program to help prepare students for the future of work through a digital academy, creation of domestic investment and FinTech localization brochure/forum, the establishment of national FinTech database, the establishment of FinTech Roadmap for Nigeria to position Nigeria as an international finance centre by 2030, establishment of a start-up marketplace, organization of a world-class Nigeria FinTech Week (NFW) event and a host of other mouthwatering projects
Equally, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr Segun Aina lauded the leadership of Ade Bajomo as he said the GovCo has not disappointed from where he left it in terms of impacts. According to him ‘FintechNGR has become more relevant as anchor of solutions to challenges facing the ecosystem through the myriads of initiatives it is championing and the world-class management of the brand”
In her presentation of the Secretary’s report, Tolulope Omoleye-Osindero, Head, Legal and Compliance, Branch said “we have improved our capacity at the Secretariat. With additional resources, we have and can now provide real-time support to our ever-increasing members, follow through on several initiatives and also meet our operational goals.” She harped on the strong corporate governance positioning of the Association, compliance with regulatory and statutory standards and the constitution of Board of Trustees (“BOT”) with professionals of high repute and leaders in their respective industries.
Dr Babatunde Obrimah, COO, FintechNGR, while giving the overview of the impact of Covid 19 on the global fintech ecosystems in 2020, said Fintechs in the payment and e-Commerce sectors experienced growth, there was an increase in the use of digital channels for payment transactions, observed increase in trading of digital currencies and Nigeria rated as the second-highest trading country in cryptocurrency with an estimated volume of $500m and increase in agitation for Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). He expressed optimism of the Association growing its membership, financial base and economic impact in 2021.
In his presentation of the management report, he also touched on activities the Association had carried out, its ongoing plans for 2021 across different interventions, proposed stakeholder and strategic engagements, partnerships with national fintech bodies in a few other countries.
Aside from the presentation of the Association’s activities in the previous year, the ongoing execution of plans and strategic direction for 2021, a major r decision at the AGM was the approval of the 2020 financial statements.
The event was well attended by members of; the BOT, Governing Council, members of the Association, and invited stakeholders of the Nigerian Fintech ecosystem. You can download the annual report here
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