Lagos, Sept. 9 – Dr. Biodun Adedipe, Chief Consultant and CEO of B. Adedipe & Associates Limited, has said that fintech and financial inclusion offer Nigeria a pathway from over two decades of “jobless growth” to an era of inclusive and sustainable development that ensures shared prosperity.
Speaking at the 2nd Business Journal Fintech & Financial Inclusion Roundtable 2025 in Lagos, Adedipe revealed that more than $2 billion was invested in Nigerian fintech firms and startups in 2024 by over 50 angel investors and venture capitalists.
He described financial inclusion as both a critical driver of economic growth and an essential tool for poverty alleviation.
“This makes financial inclusion critical to developing economies, especially those like Nigeria that have been experiencing jobless growth in the last 20 years and are deep in multi-dimensional poverty,” he said. “The real challenge resides at the bottom of the pyramid, where there is not only poor access to finance but also lack of the basic elements that define good quality of life.”
Citing a 2023 survey by Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), Adedipe noted that financial inclusion in Nigeria stood at 64 percent, driven by modest growth in banked populations and major gains in non-bank formal adoption.
He highlighted Nigeria’s opportunities in fintech and financial inclusion: a young, tech-savvy population; growing demand for financial services; a large unbanked and under-served population; an informal economy contributing 54–58 percent of GDP; and widespread necessity-driven entrepreneurship.
However, he cautioned that the success of these opportunities depends on the capacity of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to regulate and promote fintech effectively. He cited existing interventions such as the National Financial Inclusion Strategy, National FinTech Strategy, Agent Networks for Women’s Financial Inclusion, and the Payment System Vision 2025.
Adedipe also warned of pitfalls, including inadequate measurement of progress, consumer protection concerns, affordability, technological gaps, and weak infrastructure. Both regulators and operators, he added, face significant risks ranging from market and structural risks to cybersecurity threats, cultural barriers, gender bias, and challenges around credit assessment and Know Your Customer (KYC) processes.
“If Nigeria – or any developing country – will maximally benefit from financial inclusion and the deep role fintech plays in that process, there must be a balance of interests,” he concluded.
