Collaborations key to fixing challenges of e-business industry in Nigeria ― CeBIH

The chairman of the Committee of E-Business Industry Heads (CeBIH), Adeyemi Atanda, has said that the challenges which plague the e-business industry in Nigeria could be fixed when more collaborations are brokered and platforms such as CeBIH continue to create forums for engagement.

Atanda, who said this at the recently-held CeBIH annual retreat in Abeokuta, Ogun State, explained that some of the challenges include infrastructure, connectivity and cost which hinders inclusion.

The retreat which was sponsored by Flutterwave and a host of other fintech companies focused on payment innovations and the trends to expect in the coming year with participants coming from all sectors of e-business processes.

Amongst the guests who graced the occasion was the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Noimot Salako-Oyedele who in her address called on the industry to find ways to support social intervention programs and look at how to differentiate between social enterprise programs and social intervention programs so that these programs are not too expensive for the government to sustain for the good of the people.

Also speaking, Chairman Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Adeolu Akande, opined that the extensive demand for digital services is driven by the affordability of end-user devices. According to him, with the current trend, it is envisaged that the digital sector will overtake the oil sector in contributing to the GDP earnings of the nation in about five years.

While delivering his keynote address at the event, the Managing Director of Globus Bank Ltd, Mr Elias Igbinakenzua said “Banks of the future must embrace API strategy and platforms that will make them agile, invest in dev-ops and can’t run away from cloud computing”. He also challenged the banks to start thinking about collaborations and partnerships for the good of the customers.

Director, Payment Systems Management, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Musa Jimoh, provided insights on the role of the eNaira on the growth of the economy. The focus of the eNaira is to bring down the cost to serve, considering the expense incurred in printing one note of the naira and its resultant effect on the value chain, he said.

“It is a big source of pride for us to say that Nigeria is the first African country to implement and one of three nations to fully commercialize the eNaira” said Mr Jimoh.

He assured the bank of their role in driving the digital payment systems and encouraged the participants to download the app via the Google or IOS app store. He reiterated that the goal is to bring an increase in financial inclusion and bring access to cheaper financial services.

Other speakers and panellists who spoke at the two-day deliberations include Managing Director of 9PSB, Branka Mracajac; President Africa Digital Economy Forum and immediate past president of Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Olusola Teniola; MD, Blue Chip Technologies, Kazeem Tewogbade; Ade Atobatele, CEO Remarkable Ideas Ltd, Akeem Lawal DCEO Payment Switching & Processing, Interswitch and many others. Topics deliberated on included Cardless Payments, Fintech and Funding, Fraud and Cybersecurity, Monetizing Big Data as well as Mobility of Labour.

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