How innovation is pushing Nigeria’s financial inclusion drive [Opinion]

By Victor Ilo

NIGERIA has come a long way in its financial inclusion pursuit. From 2012 when the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, initiated the Nigerian Financial Inclusion Strategy, NFIS, till almost 10 years later, a lot has happened.

One of the advancements is a service which enables customers to withdraw cash via mobile money agents from their bank accounts without the use of an Automated Teller Machine, ATM, or card. This cardless cash withdrawal service utilises a secure gateway that protects customers against fraudulent transactions and requires validation using their bank PIN.

But how important is this? While there has been progress with financial inclusion in Nigeria, data from Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access, EFInA, revealed that as at 2018 only 59.1 per cent of women compared with 67.5 per cent of men were financially included, representing a gender gap of 8.4 per cent.

Although there is a slight progress from the 9.8 per cent recorded in 2016, the gap must…