Wednesday, January 01, 2020 / 9.00AM / Bukola Akinyele forProshare WebTV / Header Image Credit: WebTV

As Digital technology continues to shape the fourth industrialrevolution (4IR), local Nigerian microfinance institutions have identifiedopportunities to scale up their operations.

At the 2019 Accion, financial inclusion seminar panelistsdiscussed how MFBs could leverage the robust ecosystem of digital financialservices, that can provide the platform for them to achieve a leap in theiroperations.

From financial inclusion to reaching the unbanked population inthe rural areas, microfinance institutions can boost economic activities anddeepen the financial market.

Ophelia Ama Oni, Director of Partnerships, Financial InclusionForum emphasized the need for systemic changes in the way microfinancebanks operate, by deploying technology to onboard more customers, by utilizingservices like the USSD to open more accounts for people, without them cominginto the banking halls.

Accordingto her, new financial services touch areas of customer experience leading tocustomer acquisition and transaction remodelling.

Shebelieved mobile phones could serve as tools for enhancing agency banking, whichwould, in turn, accelerate financial inclusion in the country.

Speaking further, she expressed optimism that with the advent ofdigital technology, microfinance institutions in Nigeria had the opportunity toprovide cutting edge services to their customers and come up with innovativeproducts for the financial market.

The Head,  Consumer Distribution Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Stanley Jacob noted thatthe non-traditional financial market players have been able to unbundle theactivities of the traditional institutions, through areas such as savings,loans, and other investments and have offered customers services in asimplified and cheaper manner through digital platforms.

"ForMicrofinance Institutions to operate better, they must embrace partnerships inorder to be able to deliver all the required services and leverage the rolesthat the Telcos, Fintechs and other non-bank players have created" StanleyJacob said.

TheHead, Consumer Distribution Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Stanley Jacob noted that thenon-traditional players have been able to unbundle the activities of thetraditional role such as savings, loans, and other investments and offer themin a more simplify and cheap through digital.

"ForMicrofinance Institutions to improve operations, they must adopt technicalpartnerships to deliver their services and use platforms that Telco's, Fintechsand other non-bank players have created," he said.

TheChief Digital & Innovations Officer GTBank, Mr. Deji Oguntonade listed thefollowing as what Microfinance Institutions should do to survive in the digitalevolution, which include;

• Understandingtechnology trend across the whole world
• To understand the customers more
• Digitizing your operations
• Partnerships, i.e.  Banks, Telcos, Fintech and otherinstitutions to succeed and move forward.

Mr. Deji Oguntonade called for collaborations between microfinance institutionsand Fintechs,  stressing that the partnership must have clarity on theservice value to create for the market.

Onhis part, Mr. Stanley Jacob agreed that to address the challenges of increasingfinancial service points in the country; there must be synergy betweenmicrofinance institutions, commercial banks, Fintech and telcos to deepenfinancial inclusion in the country.

Onispeaking further cited the success of the mobile money wallet in Ghana as anexample of effective collaboration between Banks, Telcos and Fintechs.

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