In 2021, Fintech Association of Nigeria (FIntechNGR) three-pronged mission; Accelerate – Advocacy – Connect, found deeper expression and thrived as the association needed to help the ecosystem recover speedily from the damaging effects of Covid-19.
During the year, FintechNGR ‘s work was driven by the need to work with the members and the fintech ecosystem as a whole to leverage the spate of opportunities that came with the ‘new normal’ and translate that into encompassing growth and progress for the entire industry through activities, projects and programmes listed below:
Nigeria Fintech Census Mapping Report –This is a report targeted at providing crucial data on fintechs in Nigeria to aid players in the space in making informed decisions and drive comprehensive growth, done in partnership with Ernst & Young was launched in the second quarter.
Membership Growth & Ecosystem Development –FintechNGR saw over 24% growth in membership, with Facebook and Fairmoney joining the Association as strategic members.
Some of the members like OPay, Flutterwave also gained Unicorn status in 2021.
In terms of ecosystem representation, FintechNGR was part of various Government and Regulators’ committees set up by African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and played a major consultative role in the evolution and launch of eNaira by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and deepening knowledge on Central Bank Digital Currency(CBDC) by various presentations and organisation of training for various organs of the government.
Some of the regulatory contributions made by the Association include: setting up internal working committees that help with thoughts on engaging Regulators across various issues such as the Crypto transaction bans, account freezing, startup bills, and the NITDA bill.
Establishment of FACT – Led by the Fintech Association of Nigeria (FintechNGR) which serves as the secretariat, Fintech Alliance Coordinating Team, FACT, was established in the second quarter to provide a more collaborative approach to policies and regulatory interventions by Fintech stakeholders with Blockchain Nigeria User Group (BNUG), Cryptography Development Initiative of Nigeria (CDIN), Financial Services Innovators (FSI), Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN), and, Innovation Support Network – Hubs, (ISN Hubs), as founding members.
DigiStuds Project – The Digital Academy Project aimed at equipping 500,000 students of public tertiary institutions in Nigeria with relevant digital skills in a bid to serve as a bridge to provide the industry with innovative individuals, ready to take on the fast-changing world of technology and organisations that require such talents, as well as produce digital entrepreneurs and startups during the process was formally launched and graduated its maiden cohort of 200 students across Nigerian public universities.
Reguvators Forum –A Forum of regulators and players in the fintech space to bridge the gap and drive engagement on salient matters pertinent to balancing innovation and regulation and co-create solutions to challenges facing the ecosystem formally took off and held every quarter of the year.
The Forum had representatives from CBN, SEC, NITDA, NAICOM, NCC, NFIU, NDIC, and NIPC.
Events –The 5th edition of the flagship event, Nigeria Fintech Week, organised by FintechNGR and Fintech Associates Limited with the theme “Sustainability and Ecosystem Building” held between October 25 and 29, 2021.
NFW21 had over 8000 participants spread across online and physical attendance from 20 countries, with 72+ Speakers, featuring tech talks such as #CapTech, emerging tech, #Femtech, regulatory engagements, and an Ecosystem Hour with global partners.
The Intercontinental Webinar themed “Central Bank Digital Currency, CBDC & Cross Border Payment: Interoperability, Technology & Regulation” and supported by Sterling Bank also held, with speakers such as John Rolle, Governor, Central Bank of The Bahamas, Serey Chea, Assistant Governor, National Bank of Cambodia, Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore, Abubakar Suleiman, CEO, Sterling Bank. It also organised webinars on topics like Startup Funding, Cyber Alertness and the New Normal, Business & Financial Recovery Post-COVID, Agriculture & Insurance, with speakers from across different industries- AFEX, NGX, Future Africa, Interswitch, Deloitte and more.
It is also important to note that FintechNGR partnered with the Singapore Fintech Festival, SFF, to host the well-attended World Fintech Festival in Nigeria on the 13th November 2021.
In addition, the association’s Social Meet tagged “The Making of Indigenous Unicorns” and the Annual General Meeting, AGM, held in Q1 & Q3 respectively.
Asides from the Intercontinental webinar, there were also four other webinars during the year.
The Association participated in more than 50 events organised by partners across the globe.
Training – The Association deepen digital education across the divides such as Digital 201, a digital insurance training, held in partnership with Nigerian Insurers Association, NIA, training on Anti-Money laundering, Non-Fungible tokens, NFTs and DigiWomen, a digital empowerment training for women in career and business, held in partnership with WIMBIZ, supported by Sterling Bank.
Looking Forward to 2022
Various initiatives are in the pipeline aimed at maximizing FintechNGR’s impacts and breaking new horizons in 2022 as can be seen in its 2022 calendar here.
Your organisation can also be part of the moving train!
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