ByMajeed Dahiru 

Introduction 

According to Columbia Engineering, FinTech is a catchall term referring to soft ware, mobile applications, and other technologies created to improve and automate traditional forms of finance for businesses and consumers alike. FinTech can include everything from straightforward mobile payments to apps to complex block chain networks housing encrypted transactions. Artificial Intelligence, Block chain, Cloud computing and Big data are the four key tools that are used to power FinTech. Flowing from this, FinTech companies are businesses that utilize technology to modify, enhance, or automate financial services for businesses or consumers. 

These finTech companies could be start ups and established financial institutions. Thanks to FinTechs, the use of smart phones for mobile banking, investing, borrowing and payment services have broadened financial inclusion and deepened financial penetration among the financially empowered populace. While FinTech may come across as a recent technological phenomenon, its evolution dates back to the first half of the 20th century when credit cards where first developed in the United States, which eliminated the use of physical cash for transactions. By 1998, PayPal was founded as one of the first FinTech companies to operate primarily on the internet. This important breakthrough in Financial technology will be further enhanced by mobile technology, social media and data encryption, which resulted into a global FinTech revolution that has made a landfall in Nigeria. 

FinTech Revolution in Nigeria

From the way we make purchases to settlement payments, fund transfer and electronic commercial transactions, FinTech has revolutionized Nigeria’s financial services sector in ways that have caused positive disruptions and unleashed the economic potentials of Africa’s largest economy in the last decade. The breakthrough in payment processing brought about by FinTech revolution in Nigeria has birthed start ups in e-commerce venture, which has put the country ahead of other African countries as a leading digital economy. 

A combination of bold product innovation and strategic communication has disrupted the existing regulatory framework and redesigned the landscape of financial services to accommodate the needs of both service providers and consumers, making it possible for social media vendors on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to cash in. Powered by innovative uses of USSD, blockchain and artificial intelligence, the possibilities of FinTech in Nigeria is boundless as the use of technologies have created solutions for lending, wealth management, banking, healthcare, lifestyle and education. In just a little over a decade after pioneers like Interswitch and Paga, and start ups like Pay stack and Flutter waves kickstarted the FinTech revolution in Nigeria, the country has become a destination of choice for venture capital investments in Africa. 

Gains and Prospects

Nigeria is no longer just a fertile ground for oil and solid mineral economic activities. The fintech revolution in Nigeria has ensured a tectonic shift from mineral based economy to one that is brain based and which is powered by disruptive innovation in financial services technological tools. Nigeria’s status as the largest economy in Africa now has the added advantage of a vibrant environment for technological innovation in financial services solutions in a manner that is attracting global attention. 

According to Naira metrics Corporate DealsBook report for 2022, fintechs operating in Nigeria raised a staggering $773 million dollars in investments from about 80 deals. Today, Nigeria has 5 of the seven unicorns in Africa and raised $1.4 billion of the total $4 billion raised by fintech companies across Africa. And this why the Africa Development Bank together with the Islamic Development Bank and the French Development Agency are investing $618 million in the Digital and Creative Enterprises Program [I-DICE] in Nigeria. According Dr Akinwumi Adesina, the president of AFDB, the program will support the creation of 225 creative start-ups and 451 digital technologies small and medium sized enterprises that will create 6.1 million jobs and add $6.4 billion to the Nigerian economy. 

With a market value of about $ 1 billion dollars each, Nigerian fintech companies with unicorn status like Opay, Andela, Interwsitch and Flutterwave, are leading the charge of digital economic revolution in Africa with high prospects of global competiveness. These massive gains have a ripple effect on the economy with the financial services sector now valued at N6.7 trillion. Thanks to fintech companies, the financial services sector now contributes 5 % to Nigeria’s GDP up from 3% in previous years. 

Strategic Communication and Media Support

It is heartwarming to note that fintech companies in Nigeria have been enjoying the support of the media. Also worthy of note is that government through relevant regulatory agencies such as the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Company NDIC, is also providing institutional support for an important sector of the economy that is driving growth, creating jobs and attracting investments. And special commendation must go to NDIC for midwifing this important collaborative effort between the regulator, players and the media in a bid to sustain the promotion of Nigeria’s fledging digital economy. While we are grateful for the wonderful job they are doing to promote fintech in Nigeria, the need to do more for has become Nigeria’s ‘’Financial Silicon Valley’’ cannot be overemphasized as a matter of national duty. 

Without doubt, the fintech subsector of Nigeria’s financial services sector has become a major source, foreign direct investment through venture capitals, foreign exchange earner through the export of its services and projection of the image of the country on the global stage as an emerging financial super power. The media is not only mandated to hold government to account but it has the additional responsibility of projecting the image of Nigeria positively to the world and in this case the giant strides Nigerian fintech companies are making at continental and global competiveness in order to sharpen their brands. 

To effectively achieve this objective, a number of useful collaborative tools maybe considered. 

Citizen Education 

The media has a role in educating and informing the citizenry about the usefulness, safety and integrity of the technological innovations that fintech companies provide as solutions to their financial needs in order to deepen and broaden financial inclusion. In this regard, the media will help to simplify complex financial technological innovations to make them soluble for the end users. 

Strategic Partnerships

A partnership for progress of the fintech subsector of Nigeria’s financial sector between the media and operators has become imperative in view of the leading role Nigeria is playing on continental Africa. To this end, the media will do well to project and promote collaborations between traditional banking institutions and fintechs in order to boost their credibility and ensure market confidence in their products and services. 

Feed Back  

              The media should also provide useful feedback on areas of consumer       concerns to fintechs and when such concerns are addressed by them, they also have a duty to feed the consumers back in order to sustain a healthy provider and consumer relationship. 

Crisis Management 

To maintain public trust in times crisis arising from regulatory constraints, service failure, compromised data base or any other challenge that may arise, the media should proactively leave no gap in proper communication under all circumstances. 

Conclusion 

Nigeria’s Fintech subsector of Nigeria’s financial sector has become a national treasure and asset to be supported, promoted and projected positively both a home and abroad and this has become a national duty for the media in Nigeria.