ATICEN Urges CBN Governor To Organise All-Inclusive Stakeholders Meeting
The President of the Association of Telecommunications, Information Technology, Cable Satellite Network Operators and Allied Services Employers’ of Nigeria (ATICEN), Comrade Adede John Williams, has called on the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Olayemi Cardoso, to convene an all-inclusive stakeholders’ engagement to address issues affecting the Financial Technology (FinTech) subsector of the nation’s economy.
ATICEN President made the call in a statement today where he commended the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), for giving a listening thought to the players in the fintech subsector.
Comrade Williams who appealed to the CBN Governor not to be sectional in his slant concerning those to be invited to the meeting as previously done, noted that an elaborate and intellectual gathering to be hosted under his watch will have a robust treatise regarding the roadmap for the Fintechs regulating development framework as a leeway to becoming an entity of its own, for which the financial technology sub-sector of the ICT industry can operate without intrusion.
While calling for downward review of the operational license fees for Financial Technology service providers (Star-ups), which he said would eventually give an enlarge insights and gather more professional imputes from the larger technological stakeholders in the fintech ecosystem space to air their challenges in the sector as a whole with recommendation, ATICEN President believes that this will further unlock the potential of the fintech subsector and heightened regulatory focus through firm policies framework, while promoting financial inclusion in the country.
According to him, with such regulatory body in place acting as an entity of its own, we have a sturdy believe that this would mitigate the potential risks associated with the fintech ecosystem and encourage transparency, accountability, interoperability, collaboration with other financial institutions and open direct communications within the industry plyers and the regulators alike.
This, he said, will equally give ways for proper monitoring and supervision of activities of Fintech companies in the country, ensuring end users protection, maintaining financial stability, financial inclusion and preventing financial crimes among other benefits associated with the fintech ecosystem.
“The biggest challenge fronting the Financial Technology (Fintech) Service Providers subsector of the ICT industry as a whole is that the regulators and the policymakers do not have a better understanding that the accessibility of capital for Fintech deployment is very crucial and not policy summersaulting that is carnaging the financial technology ecosystem space.
“I hereby use this opportunity to urge the CBN Governor to, as a matter of urgency, try and formulate industry-centric friendly policies that will further raise capital and encourage local and international investors to invest in the fintech start-ups operating in Nigeria, bearing in mind that availability of capital or funding is the lifeblood of any startup, thereby helping them to survive, grow, and remain competitiveness,” he explained.
Comrade Williams posited that when the multiple challenges facing the sector are taken care of, the operators will in turn pay their taxes and grow the economy exponentially.
As part of the recommendation for the proposed regulatory framework by CBN, ATICEN President emphasized the need for establishment of a Financial Technology Regulation Committee (FTRC), to oversee and manage the imputes that will be coming from the stakeholders for a better legal framework towards harnessing the digital economy and financial inclusion growth in the country.
“The regulators should recognize the fact that when formulating, implementing, and monitoring economic recovery policies, the voice of the stakeholders need to be heard. This will require putting in place a professional innovative approach that would harness the potential of new technologies and proffer digital ideas for effective transformation and enhancement of public-private sector dialogue, streamline the engagement of all essential actors when identifying with regulatory reform management priorities, as well as institutionalizing all the industry stakeholders as a key instrument of discourse for cross-pollination of thoughts as the sure way to create a platform for a candid interchange driven by industry players in partnerships with the regulators in the delivery of knowledge-based initiatives.
“May I sincerely seized this medium to urge the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to put in his professional support in the quest for the proposed establishment of the Technology Development Bank of Nigeria and the Business Development Bank of Nigeria.
“As the agitation continues to emerge amongst the Fintech (Start-ups) and the organized private sector community in Nigeria, with the establishment of these Banks, start-ups, businessmen/women, captains of industries, entrepreneurs, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) development will get direct support and funding for their businesses. As the benefits of such financial development institutions are enormous, he concluded.
