Minister, 9PSB boss canvass targeted content for financial inclusion

BY JOHNMARK UKOKO

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, has  stressed the need for more financial inclusion in the country.  Pantami, who spoke on the theme: Disruptive Innovation: Production and Distribution of Creative Content, said the quality of creatives and startups that Nigeria has produced is a testament to the potential of  the ecosystem.

The minister, who was represented by Chief Executive Officer of the  Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), Dr. Abimbola Alale, said the ministry would continue to support the tech and creative
entrepreneurs to play their part in developing Nigeria’s digital  economy.

In her presentation, Chief Executive Officer 9PSB Mrs. Brankka Mracajac, advocated the need to pay closer attention to content creation  as an important factor in driving and accelerating financial inclusion  in the country, stating that it was capable of enhancing the future of  digital banking in the long-term.

Mracajac stated this while presenting a keynote address tagged: Content Creation and Financial Inclusion: The Future of Digital Banking  at the technology summit, Ogun 2022 at the Olusegun Obasanjo  Presidential Library, Abeokuta.
She pointed out that while there are ongoing efforts to support the  financial inclusion drive, a lot more depend on formulating strategies  that address specific needs, adding: “Providing access to the banking  agents and torch points across the country is happening as we speak.

Payment service banks, microfinance banks and Fintech companies are all  working on this.”  She asked: “But will this be enough? Will the access to digital banks  change the mindset of Nigerians in rural areas of the country and be
enough to drive the transition from cash to cashless? Proffering a solution, Mracajac stressed the need to provide financial  literacy through content that speaks to an average Nigerian in UN-served rural areas of the country, stating that financial inclusion is a  process and not just a point in time and space that we want to reach.

She added that developing content that speaks only to the already  banked mirroring the digital financial habits of those who are fully  included and heavily banked will not to keep the new on-boarded in the  system on the long-term.