First Bank Nigeria Plc has, on Friday, declared that poverty cannot be effectively eradicated without adequate financial inclusion in Nigeria and other nations of Africa
Financial inclusion refers to efforts aimed at making financial products and services accessible and affordable to all individuals and businesses, regardless of their personal net worth or company size.
Delivering the keynote address at the Africa Legislative and Good Governance Conference in Abuja, the Chief Executive Officer, First Bank, Adesola Adeduntan, said the banking sector was at the pivot of economic development and had been advocating for proper financial inclusion.
Adeduntan also revealed that in a bid to deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria and other nations of Africa, First Bank had paid over N56bn as commission to its FirstMonie agents over the last four years.
He said, “Today, in most parts of Africa, at the heart of economic development is the development of the banking sector itself, because without financial inclusion you cannot eradicate poverty, neither can you even promote employment.”
The First Bank boss noted that while inclusive economic growth was one area of impact of the banking sector, another area had to do with infrastructure growth.
“On the growth of infrastructure all over the world, Africa not being an exception, we’ve come to the realisation that government alone does not have the resources to finance the kind of infrastructure that we require,” he said.
Adeduntan added, “So most of the developments you are seeing, be it roads, bridges, train services, among others, have actually been designed as a public-private partnership with the private sector and essentially financed by banks, putting the capital on the table to fast-track the development of infrastructure.
“If you are to wait for the government to come up with resources to build infrastructure, Africa will never emerge. But we are in a hurry to develop and emerge.”
