The financial inclusion of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is making impact, afterall as the percentage of formally excluded adult Nigerians has reduced to 39.5 percent in 2104, from 39.7 percent in 2012, according to the result of the 2014 survey by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA).
In terms of demography, the survey reveals that 45.4 million adults are formally included, and 36.9 million adults are financially excluded.
The report also shows that financial access skewed towards males; 21.4 million females (42.7% of the total female population) are financially excluded versus 15.6 million males (35.8% of the total male population).
The result of the survey also reveals that that the percentage of adult Nigerians formally included in the financial system has increased to about 50 percent in 2014, from 43.0 percent in 2012.
Meanwhile, Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has restated the commitment of the bank to ensuring the provision of affordable financial services to the low income and underserved active adult population.
Emefiele made the assertion in an address at the 2014 Financial Inclusion Conference organised by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA), recently, in Lagos.
The commitment to financial inclusion is part of the bank’s vision to become the model central bank delivering price and financial system stability and promoting sustainable economic development, he said, saying that as part of the CBN’s commitment, a Financial Inclusion Secretariat had been set up in the bank to coordinate the implementation of the Financial Inclusion Strategy.
The conference, which unveiled the results of the 2014 Access to Financial Services Survey, provided insights into sustainable financial inclusion models in other parts of the world and how Nigeria could learn from them.
The the CBN governor commended EFInA for its work towards promoting financial inclusion in Nigeria, and thanked them for all the support the CBN had received in the implementation of its National Financial Inclusion Strategy. He said although the journey to achieving Financial Inclusion was long, he believed that the sustained efforts of the industry would go a long way towards reaching the financial inclusion goals and targets.
The CEO of EFInA, Modupe Ladipo, then revealed the result of the Access to Financial Services survey, showing that the percentage of formally excluded adult Nigerians had reduced to 39.5 percent, as the figure was still relatively high due to the fact that 23 percent of adult Nigerians lacked formal education and less than 10 percent were salaried.
She however said that the good news was that the percentage of adult Nigerians formally included in the financial system had increased to about 50 percent.
The conference ended with an award ceremony to celebrate institutions that had deepened financial inclusion in Nigeria. The CBN won the award of regulator that had deepened Financial Inclusion, while Accion Microfinance Bank and Guarantee Trust Bank were among other institutions that won awards.
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
