The fintech industry recorded more than $200 million investments between 2011 and 2018. This indicates that the industry holds prospects for Nigeria, because of its ability to fast-track financial inclusion.
Fintechs are firms disrupting the conventional banking model by using technology to make financial operations easier, faster and more accessible to businesses, institutions, and the general public at large (consumers).
Professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC Nigeria) in its latest report on fintech and the banking sector in Nigeria said government and investors are drawn to the industry because it can revolutionise how people save, borrow, and spend money.
The report titled: “Changing competitive landscape: Fintech and the banking sector in Nigeria” was released on Friday, May 8. Its aim was to assess the changing global competitive landscape and its impact on the banking sector.
Partner, West Africa Financial Services Leader/Chief Economist, PwC Nigeria, Dr. Andrew Nevin, and Partner/Experience Centre & Emerging Technologies Leader, Femi Osinubi, lead authors of the report, also said the report evaluated the current and future trends in the banking sector in Nigeria, particularly in the area of fintech and digital banking.
They added that the report provided recommendations for the traditional banks and fintech players on navigating the emerging trends and challenges in fintech.
The report, which described Nigeria as Africa’s second largest technology hub, said investors are taking positions or stakes in the country’s growing tech ecosystem fueled by attractive fundamentals.
It listed the fundamentals to include the country’s youthful and savvy population, increasing smartphone and Internet penetration, large unbanked population, among other factors.