Leverage Startup Act to Accelerate Growth, Fintech Stakeholders Tell Peter Obi

Emma Okonji

A selected number of stakeholders in the Nigeria Fintech sector have urged the presidential flag bearer of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi to leverage the provisions of the newly signed Fintech Act by President Muhammadu Buhari, to accelerate national economic growth, when voted into power in 2023.

The stakeholders, who met with Peter Obi recently to engage him on the future of Fintech in the country, stressed the need to empower Fintech players across all sectors of the economy, in order to open up digital innovations that would accelerate national development.

The private meeting, which was put together by some top players in the industry, was led by the Chairman of SmartCity Plc, Demola Aladekomo.

Addressing the audience, Aladekomo said the session was to allow players have the candidate’s understanding of the Fintech sector by interacting with him on what would be their expectations if he wins the 2023 presidential election.

President of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) and driver of Fintech1000+/NESG, Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu, encouraged Peter Obi to continue with the model of collaboration between government and the private sector, while stressing the importance of leveraging the provisions of the Startup Act to create an environment that retains, nurtures and accelerates the growth of the Nigerian innovative youth.

Another Fintech stakeholder, Ade Atobatele, challenged the presidential candidate on the need for government to focus on policies that would unleash innovation.

A major player in the Fintech space, Emeka Okoye, stated that government should define the blueprint of the future of the country with the educational system. He said there was 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 level.

Obi who spent over three hours with the group, spent over 60 per cent of the time standing while he spoke extensively on what his government would do in the areas of security, corruption, agriculture, investment and management the nation’s resources.

After listening to various requests and concerns from the audience, the Labour Party presidential candidate then requested that position papers 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, if voted into power in 2023.

According to Aladekomo, the group looks forward to engaging other presidential candidates before the presidential election in February 2023.