Fintechs attracts over $600m

21 Oct Fintechs attracts over $600m

The Financial Technology (FinTech) attracted over $600 million in investment between 2014 and last year, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC), Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, has said.

He spoke at a workshop by the NDIC for reporters with the theme, ‘COVID-19 and FinTech disruption: Opportunities and challenges for banking system and deposit insurance.’
He said Nigeria houses over 200 fintech firms, which last year alone, attracted $122million of the $491.6million raised by African fintech startups, adding that only Kenya attracted more at $149 million.
He said: “Nigeria is home to over 200 fintechs and there are a number of fintech solutions offered by banks and mobile networks operators as part of their product portfolio. Within 2014 and 2019, Nigeria’s burstling fintech scene attracted more than $600million in funding; attracting 25 percent, that is, $122million of the $491.6million raised by African fintech startups in 2019 alone. We are only second to Kenya which attracted $149million.
“The emergence of digital financial services enabled by financial technology (Fintech) has enhanced efficiency in the financial sector but has also posed new challenges to financial regulators and consumers. This became more apparent during the pandemic when the lockdown protocols hindered physical access to financial services, encouraging more Nigerians to rely on digital financial services.

“Inevitably, the media was also adversely impacted by the pandemic. Our attempts to tackle the erosion of public confidence due to the prevalence of fake news, particularly via social media, became a matter of serious concern.”
“As disruptive as the COVID-19 has been to other sectors of the country, I would like to humbly state that the NDIC was not caught napping. Based on its robust and proactive Enterprise Risk Management strategy, the Corporation immediately swung into action by activating its Crisis Management Action Plan to prevent any negative impact on the operations of the NDIC and the financial institutions under its supervision.
“The goal is to ensure the safety and protection of all staff and stakeholders to maintain continuity of its operations towards protecting depositors’ funds and ensuring the stability of the banking sector.”