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Business News of Friday, 4 June 2021

Source: www.sunnewsonline.com

Nigeria short on financial inclusion target, records 51% in 2020

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Nigeria failed to reach its National Financial Inclusion Strategy for 2020 as it recorded only 51 per cent as against its 70 per cent target.

According to data obtained from the Access to Financial (A2F) 2020 survey findings published by Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA) in Lagos yesterday, 51 per cent of Nigerian adults used formal financial services from banks, microfinance banks, mobile money, insurance, or pension accounts, up from 49 per cent in 2018.

This has largely been driven by growth in banking with 45 per cent of Nigerians banked in 2020, up from 40 per cent in 2018, while only 64 per cent of Nigerian adults were financially included by the end of 2020. This meant that 36 per cent of Nigerian adults, or 38 million adults, remained completely financially excluded.

The report highlighted that large gaps in financial access remain for some of Nigeria’s most financially excluded groups even as women continued to be more financially excluded than men, with only 45 per cent of them using formal financial services, compared with 56 per cent of men.

It said, “Adults in Northern Nigeria continued to be significantly more financially excluded than those in the southern zones, and rural adults are still more excluded than those in urban areas. Young adults, between the ages of 18-25, are significantly more likely than older adults to be financially excluded”.

Against this backdrop, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reiterated that it will continue to be at the forefront of efforts to drive financial inclusion in Nigeria by championing the development and implementation of Nigeria’s financial inclusion strategy, adding that concerted efforts from key stakeholders was needed to close the gap in financial access to ensure greater results in economic and social development.

Speaking during the virtual launch of the EFInA A2F 2020 survey findings, CBN’s Deputy Governor, Financial Systems Stability Directorate, Aishah Ahmad, stated that financial inclusion has become a global development initiative critical to bridging inequality, combat poverty and preserve social harmony. Ahmad noted that Nigeria adopted a multi-pronged strategy focusing on removing the barriers to financial access which to an extent have not only helped to reduce exclusion rates but they have transformed payment systems.