By The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa said that the Agency is not just bent on imposing standard on the ecosystems.
According Inuwa, NITDA’s regulatory approach, which is based on a triple helix model, is not just about imposing standards but actively creating and supporting markets.
Inuwa who gave the assurance at the 6th edition of the annual FirstBank FinTech Summit outlined the objectives of the Regulatory Intelligence Framework developed by the agency to include creating marketing values, enabling innovations, protecting consumers and effectively discharging services.
He told key players of the ecosystem in a session titled: “Policy and Infrastructure: Navigating Financial Regulations for Fintech Innovations” noted that priority was given to collaborations with the ecosystem in meeting these deliverables.
He emphasised that NITDA’s regulatory approach, based on a triple helix model, is not just about imposing standards but actively creating and supporting markets.
While calling for increased collaboration among key players in the Fintech ecosystem to enhance financial literacy and promote financial inclusion for all citizens, he said: “To achieve this, we came up with a way which we call the participatory framework or policy dialogue for any regulation. This is because at the heart of everything we do is co-designing and co-creation.”
According to him, collaboration was instrumental in successfully implementing Nigeria’s cashless policy which the agency did in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“NITDA worked with CBN to come up with a cashless policy, which gave birth to the fintech industry we are talking about today.
“This led to the banks to start upgrading their infrastructures, both hard and software, and the FinTech identified gaps and started coming up with solutions that can bridge the gaps left by the banks,” he added.
He however stated that the agency is working with the Federal Inland Revenue Service and some other stakeholders to develop guidelines for electronic invoicing which will create opportunities for the Fintech.
“As a regulator with a focus on facilitating financial inclusion, we need to strengthen unified regulations and policy-making, because if you make policies without having the implementers in the room, it will be difficult for them to implement, “he noted.
