In Nigeria, banks are at the center of gravity for anything financial services: for all you do, you need BVN (bank verification number) and only banks issue BVN. But banks struggled, initially, to find value as fintechs began their redesigns. As I noted in my video on Smiling Curve, banks were at the center where value is marginal. Fintechs had always played at the edges of the curve.
But wait, the Central Bank of Nigeria has the memo: unleash the banks to move at the speed of now. Yes, going forward, deposit monetary banks (yes, commercial banks) can operate mobile money wallet services without prior approval. This opens many opportunities for banks.
Why ask a company to apply and wait weeks for review on something competitors can do overnight? Sure, they need to be regulated since they have other people’s money. But yet, you can still allow them to dream bigger in their businesses. The best fintechs in Nigeria include some of our banks.
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Before long, most of the new entities that came to prominence with the toga of disruption will also be disrupted. CBN is routing for 80% financial inclusion by 2020? Yet to know where our guys get their data from…
At the end of the day, you need finance, before taking part in the financial system. Not many people have money as it stands now.
The only credible innovation we need in Nigeria now is how to get money in the hands of Nigerians. Services sector doesn’t operate in vacuum, we do not have a base right now, no tangible value creation.
All our energy and intellect should be directed to wealth creation, and not on how to move around the small money that is currently available.
“All our energy and intellect should be directed to wealth creation, and not on how to move around the small money that is currently available” Absolutely – moving money and adding fees will not advance Nigeria that much.