A selected number of top players in the Nigeria Fintech sector met with Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party, recently to engage him on the future of Fintech in the country.
The private meeting, which was put together by some top players in the industry, was led by the Chairman, SmartCity Plc, Sir Demola Aladekomo.
According Aladekomo, “the session is to allow players have the candidate’s understanding of the fintech sector by interacting with him on what our expectations are if he wins the election.”
The session, with Obi, was kicked off with a presentation by Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu, Fintech1000+/NESG, where he encouraged Obi to continue with the model of collaboration between government and the private sector, while highlighting the importance of leveraging the provisions of the Startup Act to create an environment that retains, nurtures and accelerates the growth of our innovative youth.
Member of the Fintech Group, Ade Atobatele, challenged the candidate on the need for government to get out of Fintech players’ way and focus mainly on policies that unleash innovation.
Another member, Emeka Okoye, stated that government should define the blueprint of the future of the country with the educational system. He stressed the need to make lifelong learning relevant to the economy and society and improve the quality of the workforce by investing more in training and technical education at the secondary levels
Obi, who spent over three hours with the group, spoke extensively on what his government will do in the areas of security, corruption, agriculture, investment and managing the nation’s resources.
After listening to various requests and concerns from the audience, the Labour Party presidential candidate then requested that position papers should be prepared and sent to him on some specific requests that were made for the enhancement and growth of the sector, promising to be a listening President always open to learning.
Speaking on the event outcome, Moses Braimah of Fintech1000+, said such engagement is good for the sector. It will allow candidates to have better appreciation of what is on ground, priorities that are needed to grow the sector, and how they should be done.
The group looks forward to engaging other presidential candidates before the presidential election in February 2023.
