Financial Inclusion Gets to Lagos Slum

Monday, December 16, 2013

In recent times, financial inclusion which generally refers to people being able to get access to banking services at an affordable cost, has become the buzzword in Nigerian banking system. Today, all Nigerian banks boast of products that support financial inclusion initiative which is being driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Financial inclusion targets the delivery of banking services at affordable cost to the vast section of the disadvantaged and low-income groups. Globally, this is a social problem attracting greater attention. Low-income consumers are at greatest risk of financial exclusion and this has also been identified as one of the reasons for the high poverty rate in the country.

In Nigeria, as part of efforts to address the problem of low level of financial inclusion, the central bank last year inaugurated a National Financial Inclusion Strategy, which is designed to increase the number of Nigerians that are included in the formal financial sector to 70 per cent by the year 2020. Regrettably, the financial inclusion crusade has largely remained in the urban centres, with little attention is being paid to the vast majority of rural poor scattered all over the country.

Source: This Day Live (link opens in a new window)

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