Fintech Week Harps on Talent Investment, Training to Boost Economy

Emma Okonji

Participants at the ongoing Nigeria Fintech Week, organised by Fintech Association of Nigeria (FinTechNGR), in partnership with Jackson, Etti & Edu; MainOne; and infobip, have stressed the need for organisations to invest in young talents that are technology savvy and willing to learn new technology skills.

Technology experts that converged at the Landmark Event Centre in Lagos for the sixth edition of Nigeria Fintech Week, also highlighted the importance of training and re-training on emerging technology skills that would boost the Nigerian economy.

Speaking during one of the panel sessions on the first day of the event, which commenced on Tuesday in Lagos, and moderated by Tech Entrepreneur and Investor, Mr. Olumide Soyombo, the Country Manager and Area Business Head, West Africa at Mastercard, Mrs. Ebehije Momoh, stressed the need for organisations to invest in young talents that are technology savvy. According to her, Mastercard as an organisation has continued to invest in people to raise talents among Fintechs.

Managing Director of SystemSpecs Technology Services, Mr. Demola Igbalajobi, who represented the Founder and CEO, SystenSpecs, Mr. John Obaro at the panel session, also talked about the need to train and re-train people in the technology space to acquire new skills in emerging technologies. He pointed out the opportunities in leveraging emerging technologies and how emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) could enhance technology development among organisations and the Nigerian economy.

Igbalajobi however regretted the situation where several Nigerians that have been trained by various organisations, chose to leave the country for better jobs after acquiring the skills. He therefore encouraged organisations to embark on continuous training to make up for the shortage of skills created by those leaving the country in their large numbers.

Momoh insisted that continuous training and re-training of young talents would help Nigeria to diversify her economy.

US Consulate General in Lagos, Mr. Williams Stevenes, in his goodwill message, said the United States government remained interested in developing technology skills and trade in Nigeria. According to him, trade and investment are key priority areas for the US government in developing the Nigerian economy, and pledged the support of US government for the Nigerian Fintech Week.

In his opening remarks, the President, FinTechNGR, Ade Bajomo, spoke on issues around the theme of this year’s Nigeria Fintech Week: ‘Fintech-Resilience, Innovation and Diversification’.

According to him, the theme is apt at this time of massive global socio-economic and political changes as the Fintech industry operates in a dynamic and challenging environment where resilience, innovation and diversification are key to success and essential for Fintech firms to thrive in a competitive, highly regulated and rapidly evolving industry.

“Specifically, resilience I withstanding cyber security threats has come to the fore in 2023, knowing the amount of sensitive information that Fintechs handle and the need to gain customer trust and maintain regulatory compliance. Innovation is the lifeline of our ecosystem, probably its very basis for existence, driving financial inclusion, payments, customer experience, scale and competitiveness to unprecedented heights, while diversifying the range of services and products offered, helps Fintech firms to spread their risk,” Bajomo said.