The Executive in Residence at the Lagos Business School, Mr. Olu Akanmu, has said that many Nigerians are still unbanked despite the meteoric rise of fintechs because the focus has mostly been on the banked and underbanked.
According to him, while fintechs have made significant progress in expanding digital services and deepening financial inclusion, much of that growth has so far centered on those who already had some access to financial services.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television, Mr. Akanmu called on the fintech players to broaden their focus beyond the already banked population, and actively serve the financially excluded, particularly women and residents in northern Nigeria.
“A lot of what we are doing in fintech is about serving the previously banked but underserved, people getting a second or third account. If we look at how much we are taking service to people who do not have financial services at all, we still have far much more to do, especially in northern Nigeria and among women,” he said.
While noting that nearly 40% of Nigerians were still excluded from financial services, going by EFInA’s access to financial services data 2023, he said in some states like Sokoto, Zamfara, and Katsina, financial exclusion rates remain as high as 60%.
Akanmu acknowledged the growing adoption of digital payment in Nigeria, noting that the country has made much progress in going cashless.
He noted that the country has seen a lot of investments in digital services, and there has been an increase in the embrace of digital payment by a lot of small businesses.
“Pay-by-transfer has become more common, even among street vendors and market women. That’s the real evidence on the streets of the progress we’ve made,” he said, citing improvements in agent banking and mobile money penetration.
Backing this up with macroeconomic data, he referenced recent figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showing that the financial services sector grew 15% year-on-year in Q1 2025, about three to four times the rate of overall GDP growth.
“That kind of expansion is likely driven by increased financial inclusion and the widening of digital financial services,” he explained.
While celebrating progress, Akanmu stressed that the journey to full financial inclusion is far from over.
With Nigeria setting its sights on becoming a $1 trillion economy, Akanmu argued that digital financial inclusion must be a foundational driver of that ambition.
“Financial inclusion crushes transaction costs. When people can send and receive money regardless of location, they can trade far beyond their immediate reach,” he said.
He likened financial inclusion to an economic amplifier, saying, “If you’re an MSME and the only tool you have is cash, you cannot trade much more than the length of your arm. But when you’re financially included, your reach and the market’s depth multiplies.”