Digital Economy will Drive Growth, Job Creation, Says Emefiele

*CBN disburses N149.21bn to cushion effect of
COVID-19

Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele,
yesterday said the digital economy was crucial in the efforts by
the federal government to drive growth over the next few years.
Emefiele stated that as the pace of technological adoption
increased, government and the private sector must find ways to
leverage the digital channels to improve access to finance and
credit for all Nigerians.

Emefiele spoke at the opening of the 30th CBN seminar for
finance correspondents and business editors, themed, “Leveraging
Digital Economy to Drive Growth, Job Creation and Sustainable
Development in the Midst of a Global Pandemic,” which held
simultaneously in Abuja and Lagos.

The CBN governor said the bank had disbursed a total of N149.21
billion to 316,869 beneficiaries through the NIRSAL Microfinance
Bank, in a move to alleviate the plight of households and business
owners and drive economic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. The
disbursement was part of the N150 billion Targeted Credit Facility
(TCF) for affected poor households and small and medium
enterprises.

Emefiele said the country needed robust digital platforms to
boost the economic prosperity of the citizens.

Represented by Deputy Governor, Corporate Services Directorate,
CBN, Mr. Edward Adamu, Emefiele observed that one of the strongest
advantages of technology was its ability to compress time and space
and reduce the world to a global village by providing connectivity
at the click of a button to anyone anywhere in the world. He said
to further drive growth, Nigeria needed to build a solid digital
economy, by focusing on the improvement of digital infrastructure,
most importantly, Internet connectivity, digital literacy and
skills, digital financial services, digital platforms, and digital
entrepreneurship.

The CBN governor said as the biggest economy in Africa with one
of the largest youth populations in the world, Nigeria was well
positioned to develop a strong digital economy. He stressed the
need to focus on accelerating improvements across the five
fundamental pillars of the digital economy: digital infrastructure,
digital platforms, digital financial services, digital
entrepreneurship, and digital skills.
According to Emefiele, “In our effort to drive change and
development, the CBN has over the last decade and half worked to
build an effective and efficient payment system.

“The Payment System Vision 2020 strategy document was published
in 2007 and the main objective of the strategy was to promote and
entrench electronic payments, as the major channel for payment and
settlement by all economic agents, away from the current dominance
of cash-based transactions.”

He said the robust regulatory framework put in place by the bank
opened up the payment system to innovation with several new players
across Payment Service Banks, Payment Terminal Service Providers
(PTSP’s), Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSP’s), Mobile Money
Operators (MMO’s), Payment Terminal Application Developers
(PTSA’s), and agent banking.

Emefiele pointed out that a combination of these payment
initiatives had helped to create employment opportunities and
further the bank’s effort to build a more financially inclusive
economy.
“Today, an SME in Ibadan is able to leverage digital channels to
sell their products and services to a wider market beyond their
immediate environment,” he stated.

He assured that the CBN regulatory sandbox was available for
fintech companies to explore the use of blockchain technology in
areas that would be beneficial to the Nigerian economy.
Emefiele said, “Given the resounding success of this programme and
its positive impact on output growth, we have decided to double
this fund to about N300 billion, in order to accommodate many more
beneficiaries and boost consumer expenditure, which should
positively stimulate the economy.

“In line with the growing need to go digital, the application
process is done online and requires limited paperwork from
prospective applicants.”
He added, “The bank continues to improve our remittance
infrastructure in order to provide Nigerians in the diaspora with
cheaper, convenient and faster channels for remitting funds to
beneficiaries in Nigeria.

“In a bid to reduce the cost of remitting funds to Nigeria, the
Central Bank of Nigeria on March 8, 2021 introduced a refund of N5
for every $1 of fund remitted into the country through IMTOs
licensed by the CBN. We believe this measure would help to support
improved foreign exchange inflows and enable Nigerians in the
diaspora to use more formal channels relative to informal
channels.”

Emefiele explained that these measures were not new, as several
countries had adopted similar processes to reduce the cost of
remitting fund by their diaspora communities, and it led to surges
in remittance inflows through formal channels. He said following
the outbreak of COVID-19, the country was able to benefit from some
of the measures put in place by the CBN to develop a robust
interoperable payment system.

He said the presence of these digital channels, along with
various mobile and web-based channels, helped to support households
and the business continuity and remained critical in mitigating the
negative effect of the pandemic on GDP growth in 2020.
Emefiele noted that as a result of the CBN interventions, the ICT
sector grew by 14.7 per cent in 2020, relative to 10.16 per cent in
2019.

*CBN disburses N149.21bn to cushion effect of
COVID-19

Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele,
yesterday said the digital economy was crucial in the efforts by
the federal government to drive growth over the next few years.
Emefiele stated that as the pace of technological adoption
increased, government and the private sector must find ways to
leverage the digital channels to improve access to finance and
credit for all Nigerians.

Emefiele spoke at the opening of the 30th CBN seminar for
finance correspondents and business editors, themed, “Leveraging
Digital Economy to Drive Growth, Job Creation and Sustainable
Development in the Midst of a Global Pandemic,” which held
simultaneously in Abuja and Lagos.

The CBN governor said the bank had disbursed a total of N149.21
billion to 316,869 beneficiaries through the NIRSAL Microfinance
Bank, in a move to alleviate the plight of households and business
owners and drive economic growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. The
disbursement was part of the N150 billion Targeted Credit Facility
(TCF) for affected poor households and small and medium
enterprises.

Emefiele said the country needed robust digital platforms to
boost the economic prosperity of the citizens.

Represented by Deputy Governor, Corporate Services Directorate,
CBN, Mr. Edward Adamu, Emefiele observed that one of the strongest
advantages of technology was its ability to compress time and space
and reduce the world to a global village by providing connectivity
at the click of a button to anyone anywhere in the world. He said
to further drive growth, Nigeria needed to build a solid digital
economy, by focusing on the improvement of digital infrastructure,
most importantly, Internet connectivity, digital literacy and
skills, digital financial services, digital platforms, and digital
entrepreneurship.

The CBN governor said as the biggest economy in Africa with one
of the largest youth populations in the world, Nigeria was well
positioned to develop a strong digital economy. He stressed the
need to focus on accelerating improvements across the five
fundamental pillars of the digital economy: digital infrastructure,
digital platforms, digital financial services, digital
entrepreneurship, and digital skills.
According to Emefiele, “In our effort to drive change and
development, the CBN has over the last decade and half worked to
build an effective and efficient payment system.

“The Payment System Vision 2020 strategy document was published
in 2007 and the main objective of the strategy was to promote and
entrench electronic payments, as the major channel for payment and
settlement by all economic agents, away from the current dominance
of cash-based transactions.”

He said the robust regulatory framework put in place by the bank
opened up the payment system to innovation with several new players
across Payment Service Banks, Payment Terminal Service Providers
(PTSP’s), Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSP’s), Mobile Money
Operators (MMO’s), Payment Terminal Application Developers
(PTSA’s), and agent banking.

Emefiele pointed out that a combination of these payment
initiatives had helped to create employment opportunities and
further the bank’s effort to build a more financially inclusive
economy.
“Today, an SME in Ibadan is able to leverage digital channels to
sell their products and services to a wider market beyond their
immediate environment,” he stated.

He assured that the CBN regulatory sandbox was available for
fintech companies to explore the use of blockchain technology in
areas that would be beneficial to the Nigerian economy.
Emefiele said, “Given the resounding success of this programme and
its positive impact on output growth, we have decided to double
this fund to about N300 billion, in order to accommodate many more
beneficiaries and boost consumer expenditure, which should
positively stimulate the economy.

“In line with the growing need to go digital, the application
process is done online and requires limited paperwork from
prospective applicants.”
He added, “The bank continues to improve our remittance
infrastructure in order to provide Nigerians in the diaspora with
cheaper, convenient and faster channels for remitting funds to
beneficiaries in Nigeria.

“In a bid to reduce the cost of remitting funds to Nigeria, the
Central Bank of Nigeria on March 8, 2021 introduced a refund of N5
for every $1 of fund remitted into the country through IMTOs
licensed by the CBN. We believe this measure would help to support
improved foreign exchange inflows and enable Nigerians in the
diaspora to use more formal channels relative to informal
channels.”

Emefiele explained that these measures were not new, as several
countries had adopted similar processes to reduce the cost of
remitting fund by their diaspora communities, and it led to surges
in remittance inflows through formal channels. He said following
the outbreak of COVID-19, the country was able to benefit from some
of the measures put in place by the CBN to develop a robust
interoperable payment system.

He said the presence of these digital channels, along with
various mobile and web-based channels, helped to support households
and the business continuity and remained critical in mitigating the
negative effect of the pandemic on GDP growth in 2020.
Emefiele noted that as a result of the CBN interventions, the ICT
sector grew by 14.7 per cent in 2020, relative to 10.16 per cent in
2019.