Experts in the banking and fintech sectors have urged Nigerians to embrace the innovations and opportunities that technology in finance offers – such as the cashless policy and internet/mobile banking — to manage their personal finance and upscale the economy.
The experts made this charge in Ibadan on Saturday during the third on-site edition of the Finance and Investment South-West Summit with the theme: ‘Technology in Finance’.
The founder and convener of the summit, Dr Lola Odeyale Ayo-Fashida, while appreciating their sponsors and partners for supporting the event, noted that the annual summit aims to create a professional and interactive forum where the challenges that individuals and organisations face in their finances could be addressed.
“The importance of technology in finance cannot be overemphasised,” Ayo-Fashida said. “Everyone deals with money and finance. So, the earlier we know how technology can help us manage them, the better for us and our businesses.”
Delivering the goodwill message, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Datina Designs, Atinuke Smith, stated that the theme of the summit is germane to Nigeria’s current economic experience.
“Technology plays a major role and its employability and seamless operations will be a boost to businesses and the country at large,” Smith said.
The keynote address, delivered by Opoola Olayiwola of Mama ATM, was titled ‘Unlocking business values with the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI)’.
He showed how IoT and AI are disrupting and upscaling many aspects of business and life such as in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), ATM, insurance, human resources, contract and legal services, among others.
“If you own a business without investing in technology, the chances of that business surviving the next two/three years are slim,” Olayiwola said.
The first speaker, Dr Morakinyo Oloyede, in his presentation titled ‘Technology in finance and the future of work’, stressed that for people to work and remain relevant, they must possess the right technological skills and also upscale so that they will not be obsolete.
“The world is a global market/village, and you cannot afford to live in isolation,” Oloyede said. “Make your skills relevant to today’s technology or else you will be devaluing and de-marketing yourself.”
The second speaker, Temi Alade-Mustapha, in her presentation titled ‘Recent financial policies: Naira design and cashless policy’, spoke about the advantages and disadvantages of the cashless policy, adding that there is no policy that does not have negative effects, but in the end, something good comes out of it.
“Let us prepare for the future because we will get there,” Alade-Mustapha said. “We should embrace the cashless policy and the fuel subsidy removal, and plan how we can take advantage of them.”
The final speaker, Jumoke Caxton-Martins, in her presentation titled ‘Impact of technology on your personal finance’, noted that technology can help in personal finance through budget, debt, savings, and investment management. She added that what technology is taking away from people is nothing compared to what it is offering them.
“There are no more walls and boundaries – technology has opened all the doors of opportunities,” Caxton-Martins added. “However, there may be risks involved. So, you do not have to be over-reliant on them.”
In the course of the event, there was a book unveiling and launching. The book ‘My Pot of Gold: Unlocking Your Personal Treasury’ was written by Dr Lola Odeyale Ayo-Fashida, the convener of the summit.
The book review was presented by Deborah Olagoroye, and the book readings were done by Ruth Adedigba and Tawoshe Ayokunnuomi. The ‘Why read a book’ segment was presented by Ireyimika Oladele-Ojo.
There was a panel session on the book moderated by the founder of PurpleBloom Publishers, Adejoke Oyekan. The panelists were Temi Alade-Mustapha, Jumoke Caxton-Martins, and Atinuke Smith. The panel discussed issues around debts, investments, loans, savings, and other things dealt on in the book.
The second panel session on mental health and personal finance was moderated by ’Fiyinfoluwa Olajolo. The panelists were Toyin Adesoji and Kolapo Adekoya. The panel discussed how people can manage their mental health in relation to their time, finances, earnings. They counsel that people should worry less about financial policies and situations they cannot control.
Also present at the events were representatives of Molly Specialist Hospital, K-Kiremode Ventures, Jogor Centre, Ire Estate, Helpline Telecomms, Sunaj Steel Construction Ltd, Cornerpalm Enterprises, Allah’s Will Steel Construction Limited, Col. Matthew Olaoye, Lofash Chess Academy, Lolyan Consults, among others.
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