The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Banks

  • VAIDS: Banks to supply customers’ data to tax authorities

    VAIDS: Banks to supply customers’ data to tax authorities

    Banks have been mandated under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) principle to submit information on their customers, especially  High Net-worth Individuals (HNIs) to the taxman, The Nation has learnt.

    A Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Esiri Agbeyi, said at the weekend that the move was part of the strategy adopted by the Federal Government to ensure the success of the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), which is meant bring more people into the tax net and move Nigeria’s tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from six to 15 per cent.

    Agbeyi was speaking during the Premier Banking/ Securities, Wealth & Asset Management (SWAN), Ecobank Capital joint breakfast session with the lender’s top clients in Lagos.

    HNIs are bank customers with at least $1 million in investible assets. Of such customers, 12,000  live in Nigeria, according to Agbeyi.

    There are 6,800 HNIs in Lagos; 4,000 in Abuja. The rest are shared between Port Harcourt and other parts of the country. Many bank Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), executive directors and directors fall within the HNIs group.

    Esiri, who is a private wealth manager for HNIs and family offices, said Nigeria is operating under a high interest rate regime because it does not collect enough taxes. “The key issue is high interest rate. And why we have so much pressure on that is simply because we do not collect enough taxes.

    We have a dip in oil prices and there is pressure on borrowing and interest rates. One of the key moves initiated by the Ministry of Finance is the VAIDS because Nigeria’s tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio is very low at six per cent but the target is to get it to 15 per cent. Bank’s executive directors and even top bank executives fall within the HNIs and are the key targets for government. The idea is that people come in to voluntary declare assets both home and abroad,” she said. She said Nigeria does not have the number of people it should have in the tax base, adding that a lot of HNIs do not pay taxes.

    Esiri said the CRS, which Nigeria has signed on to, is an automatic exchange of information programme between the banks and tax authorities. “Every bank has to submit information on their tax payer to the tax authority, which shares the information with other countries that have signed on with the CRS, and the countries will share information with Nigeria. So, it is the exchange of information through border. Nigeria signed on to it in August 2017,” she said.

    She said the Federal Government will need a lot of information to drive VAIDS in the manner they would want to drive it. “What is now required is for the banks to have the technology that is required under CRS, for them to be able to collect that data and for the tax authorities themselves to have similar technology that they can use to submit it. One of the key requirements is security. Nigeria is not there yet, it will take us a while to get there. I am not even sure that all the banks are aware about the requirements for CRS. There might be additional fields to be put on board. What happens is that may be in the next course of two years, we might have Nigeria fully take on CRS,” she stated.

    Esiri explained that it is on the back of the CRS that the tax authorities will come after those who have not taken advantage of the amnesty period provided by VAIDS to prosecute them.

    The CRS was developed in response to the G20 request and approved by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Council on 15 July 2014 and calls on jurisdictions to obtain information from their financial institutions and automatically exchange that information with other jurisdictions on an annual basis.

    The CRS sets out the financial account information to be exchanged, the financial institutions required to report, the different types of accounts and taxpayers covered, as well as common due diligence procedures to be followed by financial institutions. “Ghana is one of the first African countries that have signed on to the CRS. So, Ghana will be submitting information already to the tax authorities this year,” she said.

    It was learnt that data mining on HNIs is ongoing in key institutions, including the Nigerian Customs Service and the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) for all payments and receipts over N100 million between 2010 and 2015 while collection of data from personal bank accounts would follow.

    There will also be data collection from the Federal Inland Revenue Service, state lands departments, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), land registries, treasury bills and Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and e-payment platforms.

    To drive the programme,, the Enugu State Government will on Thursday host officials of VAIDS, business leaders and traditional rulers.

    Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun will lead the VAIDS team to be hosted by Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and members of the state Executive Council.

    The event will hold at Base Event Centre,Enugu.

    VAIDS, which began last July,is a tax amnesty programme that  provides a time-limited opportunity for tax defaulters to truthfully declare their assets and incomes and spread payment of taxes owed on previously undeclared income and assets over a maximum three-year period.

    VAIDS also provides that voluntary declarers will be free of penalties and interests on owed taxes, tax audits and escape prosecution.

    Non-declaration at the expiration of the window on March 31, will lead to prosecution, which the Federal Government has repeatedly said it is willing to carry out.

    An estimated sum of $1billion is expected to be raised in taxes from the implementation of VAIDS.

  • Why banks avoid funding start-up businesses

    Why banks avoid funding start-up businesses

    Commercial banks are avoiding funding start-up businesses given the high risk associated with such transactions, Head Trade Finance and Enterprise Banking at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Babatunde Akindele, has said.

    Speaking during Stanbic IBTC Bank SME Capacity Building Series held in Lagos, he explained that private or angel investors should fund such enterprises and grow them to full capacity instead of relying on commercial banks.

    He said: “The Angel Investors are designed to fund start-ups. Banks were not designed to fund start-ups. The best we can do is impart business skills on them to enable them grow and add value to the economy. Stanbic IBTC wants to create employment, stimulate the economy and increase the impact of SMEs on the economy,” he said.

    Akindele said the essence of the capacity building is to impact skills on SMEs and enhance  their capabilities. “SMEs remain the lifeblood of any economy. The better our SMEs, the more growth we will see. The idea is to impart skills on owners of SMEs businesses. We are training SMEs operators that are both new, or have been in the business for long,” he said.

    On why it is still difficult for many SMEs to access credit, he said the operators must comply with set lending criteria.

    “All lending come with criteria. We are here to let them understand the principles of business and letting them to meet those principles. We are happy that Nigeria’s Ease of Doing Business Report released by the World Bank showed an improvement. That alone will help boost foreign direct investment to the economy, which the SMEs will benefit from,” he said.

    “SMEs are the livewire of any economy. So the idea is that the better our SMEs become, the better their impact on the economy and the more growth we will experience.

    “It is a priority and that is why we are training people who are new in the business and those who have been in the business for a while. We have different roles in the economy but impacting business skills on small and medium businesses is something we can do and it’s something we are doing right here today,” he said.

    Akindele added that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recognises that there was the need to find ways to work on interest rates for SMEs, which have given rise to a number of intervention funds like the SMEs Fund.

  • CBN suspends new clearing rules for banks

    CBN suspends new clearing rules for banks

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has suspended a review settlement banking arrangement to all clearing sessions for banks and merchant banks, expected to begin January 2.

    In a circular to all banks and the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), CBN Director, Banking and Payments System Department, ‘Dipo Fatoku, said: “Please note that the new policy on extension of settlement banking to all clearing sessions with effect from January 2, 2018 is hereby suspended until further notice.”

    The apexbank’s Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade and Exchange Guideline, says it can only maintain a Settlement Account for a commercial bank that provides clearing collateral of not less than N15 billion worth of treasury bills. The regulator said achieving the benchmark gives a bank the right to engage in clearing and settlements operations in the country.

    Fatokun had in an earlier circular issued last month, said it was imperative for the banks to extend the settlement banking arrangement to all the clearing sessions.

    Specifically, he said the settlement of net clearing obligations from Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), cheques, cards Automated Clearing House (ACH), NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP), National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and other clearing instruments shall be through the account of settlement banks only.

    Besides, such a Settlement Bank, will have the ability to offer agency facilities to other banks and settle on their behalf, nationwide. It will equally have a branch network in all the CBN locations even as the guidelines will be reviewed from time to time.

    It said that banks that meet the specified criteria will continue to be designated as “Settlement Banks”. This implies that non-settlement banks, called “Clearing Banks” will continue to carry out clearing operations through the settlement banks under agency arrangement.

    In the circular titled: Extension of Settlement Banking Arrangement to all Clearing Sessions’, Fatokun recalled that the CBN introduced settlement banking framework on April 1, 2014.

    “The framework categorised deposit money banks into settlement and non-settlement banks. The settlement banks settle their net settlement obligations and that of their non-settlement banks arising from cheque clearing and other instruments during sessions 1 and 2.”

    He said that non-settlement banks should going forward, enter into agency agreement with settlement banks and pledge appropriate collaterals accordingly. “The aforementioned framework has been working well and contributed to the relative stability in the net settlement operations for settlement of clearing sessions 1 and 2 on the Real-time Gross Settlement System (RTGS),” he said.

    “In view of this, it has become imperative for the bank to extend the settlement banking arrangement to all the clearing sessions, with effect from January 1, 2018. Specifically, the settlement of net clearing obligations from CSCS, cheques, cards ACH, NIP, NEFT and other clearing instruments shall be through the account of settlement banks only”.

    The CBN advised settlement banks to update the agency agreements with their respective non-settlement banks. “Merchant banks that do not have settlement banks should appoint a settlement bank and inform the CBN Director, Banking and Payments System Department on or before December 15, 2017 with a copy of the letter from the settlement bank, accepting to settle for them,” it said.

  • FinTechs, banks in desperate battle for market control

    FinTechs, banks in desperate battle for market control

    Technology is rapidly reshaping financial services operations. Banks and Financial Technology (FinTech) companies have identified a shift in consumer behaviour towards digital channels. Rising acceptance of FinTech start-ups’ services by bank customers threatens lenders’ control of over N30 trillion assets and revenues in the banking sector. That dominance is changing as FinTechs begin to offer products and services previously exclusive to the banks. Many lenders are fighting to reclaim lost businesses by investing in technology. COLLINS NWEZE captures the ongoing digital disruption in the banking sector and what it means for operators and customers.

    Michael Phillips, 35, was leaving home for work when his smartphone beeped with a familiar Facebook message alert. It was another reminder for him to renew that month’s subscription for his DStv – pay-to-view cable service.

    His four-year-old daughter, Nancy, had reminded him the previous night that the subscription would be expiring that Monday morning. Two payment options came to his mind. The first was to renew the subscription through internet banking platform. The other option was to use the Paga network.

    Few minutes later, he opted for the Paga option, one of the Financial Technology (FinTech) firms and money transfer service provider. FinTech is the new technology and innovation that competes with traditional banking methods in the delivery of financial services.

    As little as the N100 transaction fee seems, it represents one of the millions of revenue leakages facing commercial banks daily. Paga now has over 7.5 million customers in just eight years of its operation.

    A few years ago, Phillips could not have imagined paying his bills online without going to the banking hall.

    Another bank customer, Lucy Osademe, chatted endlessly on her two mobile smart phones as she waited in a long queue within Ikeja to withdraw N10,000 at an Automated Teller Machine (ATM). Then the machine stopped dispensing cash; the long queue disappeared.

    Osademe decided to go into the banking hall where he met a longer queue. One hour later, a customer service officer announced a system downtime.

    “Please, the system is very slow. Kindly give us more time to process your transactions,” the officer pleaded. It took one hour before Osademe was paid.

    Yet, for the likes of Phillips, willing to leverage on the FinTech opportunities to settle their financial obligations, many, like Osademe, are frustrated by the poor quality of service they get from their banks. There are equally a larger number of customers who have lost confidence in the banks’ internet or mobile banking platforms.

    “Mobile payment is where the world is heading and Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind. We do not compete with the banks since our funds are saved with them. But, there are places where we clearly compete, and there are more places where we collaborate to do what we are doing,” Paga’s Co-Founder, Jay Alabraba, who has been in a rush since taking up the top job eight years ago, said during a chat at his Lagos office.

    The Paga chief insisted that change was needed because brick-and-mortar approach to banking is expensive and not accessible.

    He said: “Nigerian consumers are changing. They are getting busier with no time to waste. They want to get their services nearer to where they work or live. Shopping is becoming entertainment and recreation while the phone is becoming their most intimate relationship. That explains why we are stepping in.”

    As the banks and FinTech firms battle for the control of the more than N30 trillion banking assets and revenues in the financial sector as highlighted in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) economic report for June, their customers are taking strategic decisions on which platforms to embrace.

    But, it is not just Paga that is making banks rethink their continued existence, since technology firms crept into some businesses traditionally meant for the lenders. Social media platforms, e-commerce providers, and mobile money services, technology payment firms have brought new twists to how banking is done.

    Managing Director, Cellulant Ghana, Albert Ngumba, said his firm facilitated payment for agricultural value-chain, helping Nigeria farmers to buy fertilisers, paying through Cellulant platform instead of banks. Famers can also perform financial transactions, including savings, transfers, loans, micro insurance using its platforms.

    “We sit between the banks, mobile operators and merchants. We power payment and make transactions easier for the people,” he said when contacted on telephone.

    “Our wallet account holders can now enjoy the convenience of ATM cards to take out money from a machine and buy products or services. They don’t have to carry cash because they can get it from almost any ATM machine and pay bills easily and quickly,” he added.

    Also, before the coming of Treasury Single Account (TSA), Nigeria’s notoriety in the public finance management brought the country to the state of near-economic-collapse.

    But today, Remita, an e-payment solution developed by SystemSpecs and adopted by the CBN for the payment and collections of funds for the Federal Government has turned the backbone of TSA implementation.

    The TSA consolidates all inflows from government agencies, using the Consolidated Revenue Account (CRA) at the CBN.

    Prior to the advent of Remita, commercial banks were responsible for the collection, processing and management of government revenues. The deployment of Remita has reduced government’s debt servicing costs, lowered liquidity reserve needs and boosted effective use of surplus cash.

    “Remita processes over $30 billion transactions every year, and that’s just within Nigeria,” SystemSpec’s Chief Executive Officer, John Obaro, said.

    Besides lowering the level of corruption, he said the TSA greatly exposes the emerging potential of FinTech industry in the country.

    Other platforms that have taken chunks of banks’ businesses and profitability are: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, My Space, Tumblr, Instagram, Alibaba, Jumia, Konga, Supermart, Amazon, Square, Cellulant, Apple, Google, Visa and MasterCard.

    Companies, such as Uber, Taxify and Airbnb have equally developed radical business models that continue to surprise many institutions.

    Secure online payments systems, such as PayPal and mobile payments and transfer solutions, are changing the ways in which payments for goods and services are made. These firms are helping consumers to make payments, secure credits, and do things that banks consider impossible. They satisfy customers’ thirst for speed and variety, leaving banks struggling for customer loyalty.

    An Executive of the Research and Policy Department, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Kabir Katata, said digitisation has changed financial services landscape.

    To him, FinTech firms are latching on clear evidence that consumer behaviour and expectations of service and experience are changing.

    He said the take-off of e-commerce and emergence of fast-rising online outlets, such as Jumia, Konga and Supermart, are opening up new avenues for e-payments and data collection that were previously left for banks.

    Speaking at a media conference in Kano State, Katata described FinTech as a technologically-enabled innovation in financial services that could result in new business models, applications, processes or products with an associated material effect on the provision of financial services.

    He said: “Multiple technologies poised to drive the next wave of financial services are converging in maturity. FinTech threatens to disrupt financial markets with the banks taking the threats like the loss of control, the emergence of a non-regulated environment, market fragmentation, and loss of revenue—very seriously.”

    Katata disclosed that while many banks have been able to retain their customers through traditional channels and digital service offerings, recent shifts are threatening the customer base of those yet to key into it. Even long term banking relationships at traditional banks, he added, is susceptible to disruption.

    Managing Director, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), Adebisi Shonubi, noted that transaction at banks’ branch transactions have dropped by 25 per cent in the last one year, as more customers embrace electronic payment.

    “Banking transactions are moving towards zero human interactions, saving cost and time for customers,” he said.

    A Senior Manager, Management Consulting, KPMG Nigeria, Bode Abifarin, disclosed that one-third of Nigeria’s population is below 24 years. The implication is that with a growing middle-class population, internet penetration and usage, which are the backbone of FinTech firms, the sector is set to grow significantly.

    Abifarin said: “KPMG survey shows that 77 per cent of Nigeria’s banking customers now use social media for personal purposes. The problem is that Nigeria’s banks have largely failed to translate this passion for the internet and social media into increased adoption of internet and mobile banking solutions and that is what FinTech firms are leveraging on.”

    Echoing him, Partner, Technology Advisory, KPMG in Nigeria, Boye Ademola, said that digital platform businesses are also leading a quiet revolution in Nigeria and indeed, Africa. Over the last 18 months, Jumia, an e-commerce platform and another Nigeria’s leading FinTech firm, attracted investments of $425 million and $250 million respectively. He said these firms are valued at over $1 billion each. “They both have footprints across Africa and are looking to become formidable platform businesses,” he stated.

    Even global financial institutions have seen the rising influence of FinTech firms.

    Speaking at the 2017 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund/World Bank, IMF Managing Director, Ms. Christine Largade, acknowledged the rising excitement about FinTech.

    She said: “We cannot be sure, but we know that digital currencies, new models of financial intermediation, and artificial intelligence will change the way we do our job. Our key message is that it would be wise for central bankers and regulators to prepare for the potential benefits and challenges of FinTech,” she advised.

    Ms. Largade said that FinTech might provide solutions that respond to consumer needs for trust, security, privacy, and better services, change the competitive landscape, and affect regulation.

    She admitted that boundaries among service providers are blurring, barriers to entry changing and improvements in cross-border payments likely.

    SystemSpecs Executive Director, Deremi Atanda, said the rising influence of FinTech in banking is not a threat, but would improve banking penetration in key segments of the economy.

    He said that technology is key in realising the CBN’s financial inclusion plans.

    “If financial inclusion is about bringing people into the formal economy, then FinTech is making that happen and that can only boost economy. So, FinTech is accelerating the rate of economic growth by bringing more people into the financial system,” he said.

    Atanda, who spoke on the theme: “Regulatory concerns on risks: Challenges and the resulting impacts on FinTech adoption” at a financial inclusion conference in Lagos, said the introduction of FinTech cannot in anyway threaten banking services. Rather, it will compliment them.

    He said: “Well, I do not think the banks are jittery about FinTech roles in providing financial services. It is not an immediate threat in this immediate environment. At the end of the day, payment is cultural. And it must also be within context. And so, technology will always follow the ways and manners of people, even though it can be disruptive in nature.”

    The SystemSpecs’ director said lenders will have to leverage on infrastructure such as internet penetration, data, identity, which FinTech firms are trying to ramp up.  Atanda said: “It is not that FinTech is going to disrupt banking per say, the mix of it accelerates the growth, exchange of value, and boosts the economy in general.

    “The role we (FinTech) play is just as enablers and facilitators within a collaborative ecosystem, because one party cannot do it all alone. We are going to be working with regulators, banks and other financial service providers and generally everyone focused on seeing transactions thrive.”

    According to him, 70 per cent of FinTech transactions are centred around remittances and lending as they do not take deposits like commercial banks.

    Pointing out that it was not unusual to see regulators clash with FinTech innovators, Atanda said regulators must ensure that technology being adopted does not have unintended consequences that challenge what they saw in creating those things.

    The CBN Director in charge of Banking and Payments System Department, ‘Dipo Fatokun, said the demand for the services of FinTechs will continue to rise, even as they need commercial banks’ for them to operate effectively.

    He noted that the increasing roles of FinTech companies in the payment system will allow banks to focus more on their traditional role of financial intermediation.

    Fatokun predicted the rise in the need for collaboration between the FinTechs and banks, as none can displace the other.

    The CBN director explained that banks in developed world focus on their core functions and leaving other roles to service providers.

    Fatokun said: “FinTechs have always been in existence. It’s just that more prominence is being given to their roles. In some jurisdictions FinTechs are being allowed, or plans are under way to allow them connect to the central bank which, previously, was the exclusive preserve of the commercial banks.

    “The fear has always been there that FinTechs will take over the roles of the banks and that a time will come when there will be no bank. FinTechs are not licenced as financial institutions, they cannot take deposits. They can only facilitate payments or make it easier but the banks will still continue to play a very big role.

    “Banks provide hundreds of services outside of payments. They open Letters of Credit (LC), give out loans and you can only give loans if you take deposits. The banks provide guarantee, either an advance payment guarantee or a performance bond for contractors. For you to do that, you need to be a licenced financial institution.”

    According to him, FinTechs have played a complementary role for the baking industry and that have made it possible for banks to provide services at cheaper rates and expand their services to the grassroots.

    Konga said it has opportunity to create an operating system for e-commerce not only in Nigeria, but across Africa. It admitted that one needs heavy lifting and deep pockets to succeed in this business insisting that the entrepreneurial energy of Nigeria is greater than what Konga alone can do.

    Jumia is taking the local market very seriously, just as it has taken precautions to guide against fraud.

    It said the online retailer introduced cash-on delivery policy to ensure that customers match request with product quality.

    But, Board Chairman, Parkway Projects, owners of ReadyCash Mobile Money, Richard Obire, explained that three parties are involved when mobile money transaction takes place.

    The banks, telecom operators and the mobile money operator are all involved, sharing the fee that come with the transaction.

    Obire, who was former Executive Director, Keystone Bank, said the cash involved in the transaction sits in the bank, although represented by electronic wallet.

    He said the coming of mobile money is not totally taking away business from the banks, but is helping the lenders to tap into the unbanked market.

    “The entire banking system is an ecosystem where the players are given roles to play. Such roles including banking the unbanked through mobile money will deepen the financial system,” he said.

     

    Banks fight back with innovation, collaboration

    As banks’ revenues fall, the lenders are looking at areas to bridge the gaps. There is the zeal to raise cheap funds, finance power sector projects, mortgage, agricultural and educational businesses.

    Some banks have also gone into Facebook banking, social lending and partnership with global payment and technology firms.

    Wema Bank’s Deputy Managing Director Ademola Adebiose said his bank is playing big in the digital space, where lies the future of banking. He said the mid-tier lender introduced Alat, a fully digital platform, to enable it capture the grassroots customers and the youths. Adebise said: “Digital banking is becoming more attractive to banks and their customers. It is catching the attention of everyone thinking of speed, efficiency and cost saving in banking.”

    He explained that the lender had reviewed its marketing strategy, and made huge investments in the digital space. The Alat platform, he said, has over 100,000 customers, mostly the youths.

    According to him, WemaBank is collaborating, not competing, with FinTech firms.

    Adebise said: “I think we should see it as how do we build an eco-system. Yes, I have my customers. The FinTechs have their products. They will need to access my customers and we need to collaborate.

    “It is not an issue of whether they are taking over or not. And mind you, the business of banking is regulated. The CBN is charged with the responsibility of regulation. But we cannot rule out the threat presented by FinTech and any forward looking organisation or bank must identify the areas of collaboration to build the ecosystem. You cannot be competent on everything.”

    Besides, FirstBank, Fidelity and Union banks have partnered with PayPal to enhance online payment for shoppers. The partnership enables the lenders’ customers to register for a PayPal account from their internet-banking accounts.

    By linking their-issued debit, prepaid or credit cards to their new PayPal account, customers can then shop and pay on millions of websites around the world from their personal computers, tablets or smartphones, without having to share financial information with the seller.

    Fidelity Bank Chief Executive Officer, Nnamdi Okonkwo, described the introduction of PayPal as a deliberate attempt by the bank to make financial services easy and accessible to its customers.

    Specifically, he said that the development is in line with the bank’s commitment to consistently deploy innovative strategies to make life easier for its customers.

    Aside partnership with payment firms, some banks have also developed products that are technology-driven. The GTBank Instant, First Instant and Sterling Social Lender accounts were built by GTBank, FirstBank and Sterling Bank respectively to enhance social banking.

    Here, customers can open accounts online, and that creates convenience for them.

    For instance, Sterling Bank’s Social Lender Account allows it to grant loans to customers on Facebook. It provides a platform for online fans, followers who are customers of the bank to obtain micro-credit loans via social media starting with Facebook and Twitter.

    The bank said approval of the loan happens within 10 minutes, and that borrowers can make the request online and get their accounts credited with the fund.

    It explained that although it started with N3, 000 for borrowers, the amount will gradually rise, and is targeted at customers with urgent cash need.

    Adaku Obi, a customer who benefitted from the loan narrated her experience: “While going to Yaba some days ago, I had no cash in my wallet. I needed cash badly. My cheque book was not even with me. I couldn’t find my bank branch around because I wasn’t familiar with the area.

    “So, I tweeted at the handle of my bank. The response was swift. In 10 minutes, my account was credited with N3, 000 short term credit. That is how interesting banking has become.”

    Access Bank Plc, Visa and shoptomydoor.com, an online shipping company are collaborating to give Visa cardholders opportunity to shop online at retailers in the United States (U.S.), United Kingdom (UK) and China. Such customers, the bank’s Executive Director, Personal Banking, Victor Etuokwu, said, will also enjoy exclusive shipping discounts and shop from the world’s major international retailers with more flexibility and convenience.

     

    Stakeholders speak

    Financial pundits believe that banks do not fear other lenders but the start-up in a bedroom. Managing Director, CRC Credit Bureau Limited, Tunde Popoola, said deepening the financial landscape creates room for new players to emerge.

    Popoola said: “When the financial system is deepened, the banking industry will be the ultimate gainers. The good thing is that people now have more choices to make. It is only banks that key into the new opportunities that will benefit.

    “But, if they are able to innovate, and device ways of seeing their customers not necessarily coming to the banking halls, but getting the services they need wherever they are, then, they will be the gainer at the end of the day. Lenders that are unable to get to their customers through some of these forms and processes will lose the market.

    “Organisations such as Paga, Cellulant, are all part of what we are expecting. More of them will come. We have those who are in the telephone territory. There are those in the credit card territory and they are not formal banks. These are the things that will become the formal feature of our economy.”

     

    Connecting past with future

    White Sapphire’s Chief Executive Officer Biyi Fashoyin said it is not just the banks that need to innovate, the world itself is now a global village, and the social media is a community by itself.

    Fashoyin said: “Any corporate entity that ignores the social media and technology is just on its own peril. Everybody now is now on social media, including the kids. Any wise bank will know that’s where the market is. It is a ready market.

    “The industrial revolution came at a time. Europe, America and some other countries took part. Some other countries especially in Africa stayed back. Eventually those that participated became the global powers. Those that abstained were labeled third or fourth world countries.

    “That is exactly what is going to happen to the business world. Any bank that is stepping back now, running away from the current realities which reside in the social media space, or the virtual world, will soon be out of business.

    “My advice is that every bank should come in and plug into it. That’s where your market is. That’s where your future is. Your future is actually in the social media,” he said. Fashoyin, who is a social media adviser, admitted that the platform has become a place for the good, the bad and ugly.

     

    Global trends

    At the international level, FinTech firms are among global business leaders. Alibaba Group Holding Limited, a retail and technology conglomerate provides consumer-to-consumer, business-to-consumer and business-to-business sales services via web portals and electronic payment services.

    As of last month, Alibaba’s market capitalisation stood at $486.27 billion. It is one of the top 10 most valuable and biggest firms in the world.

    PayPal’s services allow people to make financial transactions online by transferring funds electronically between individuals and businesses. Through PayPal, users can send or receive payments for online auctions on websites like eBay, purchase or sell goods and services, or donate money or receive donations.

    Amazon, has 230 million accounts, and dominates online shopping.  The tech giant is the largest Internet retailer in the world measured by revenue and market capitalisation, and second largest after Alibaba Group in terms of total sales.

    The PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) 2017 digital banking survey found that 46 per cent of customers skipped bank branches altogether, relying instead on smartphones, tablets, and other online applications.

    U.S. Financial Services, Industry Leader, Neil Dhar, writing in this month’s edition of the PwC Financial Services report titled: Digital Transformation in Financial Services, said both wholesale and retail users now expect a digital experience from their financial institutions.

    Dhar said: “It is about differentiated customer experience, providing what customers want, when they want it, and how they want it, whether you are a bank, insurer, or asset manager.

    “This is not just a matter of cosmetics. Banks need to change their back-end operations to support it. And they will need to think differently about how to solve problems because technology is not a silver bullet.”

     

    Stakeholders proffer solutions

    Wema Bank Executive Director of Retail & North Directorate, Moruf Oseni, advised banks to take steps that would enable them meet customers’ needs better.  He said that customers should be given a priority in designing banking products and services.

    Oseni advised: “Banks must become customer-centric because the disruption in the banking industry is real. There are two ways to react to it. Its either we sit down and wait to be protected by the regulators or work with the ecosystem to build the future of banking.”

    On competition in the industry, he said: “Competition in the e-payment space is stiff. Bank to bank competition is not even as deadly as FinTech startups-bank competition. Any bank that is not innovative in the times we live in will die a natural death.”

    Ms. Largade advised regulatory authorities to balance carefully, efficiency and stability trade-offs in the face of rapid changes, and ensure that trust is maintained in an evolving financial system.

    She urged the authorities to calibrate regulation in a manner that appropriately addresses the risks presented by FinTech firms without stifling innovation.

    In the days and years ahead, the big question will not be whether FinTechs have come to disrupt or complement banking operations, but which of the sectors controls the over N30 trillion assets and revenues that define Nigeria’s financial sector as a leader in the sub-regional banking businesses. The market will always favour operators that meet customers’ demand for speed, efficiency and security, in the delivery of financial services.

    In a report by Ernst & Young (EY) entitled: “Unleashing the potential of FinTech in banking”, the multinational professional services firm, advised banks to determine how best to engage with FinTechs, given the contrasting sizes and cultures of their respective organisations. FinTechs also need to know how best to approach and navigate their way through banks.

    EY said the most successful banks will be those that improve speed and reduce costs by collaborating with a range of different partners in building the strongest network.

    To achieve the future state, the banks must unleash the FinTech potential in their own organisations – and both must forge ahead to get better to successfully drive innovation. There is no alternative to this collaboration to stay in business.

     

  • CBN chief: banks fail to disburse N26.4b equity cash to SMEs

    CBN chief: banks fail to disburse N26.4b equity cash to SMEs

    Banks have failed to lend N26.4 billion Agriculture-SMEs fund to customers, eight months after the cash was made available through equity contributions by the lenders, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele said yesterday.

    Speaking at the ninth Bankers’ Committee retreat in Lagos, he said the banks were mandated last year by the CBN to contribute five per cent of their total assets as equity funds for lending to agriculture and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

    Last year’s contributions which stood at N26.4 billion were released in April. They were meant  immediate disbursement to those who applied for loans.

    This year’s contribution is expected to hit N30 billion, bringing the total fund to N56.4 billion by the end of this year.

    Emefiele said: “The first of the issues that we looked at, you all recall this time last year, we said we were going to create an Agric SMEs fund. And in the month of April this year, we were able to put together about N26.4 billion.

    “But, as we speak even at this time, not a penny of that fund has been disbursed. It ‘s a shame that we will have N26.4 billion sitting in the CBN whereas there were people who needed access to the fund”.

    Emefiele said the committee is now determined to ensure that the fund get disbursed as loans to the customers to boost job creation and grow the economy.

    He said: “Since 95 per cent of businesses in Nigeria are SMEs, it is crucial if the economy must grow, the SMEs and small manufacturers must not be ignored.”

    According to him, financial access will lead to improve job creation and growth in the economy.

    The CBN chief said the fund will now be disbursed to over 100,000 SMEs by February next year to enable the beneficiaries to grow their businesses or stimulate agricultural production.

    The fund, he added, can also be used to buy machines and agricultural equipment and delivered to beneficiaries who will begin to payback.

    Emefiele said the committee had decided to reevaluate the conditions under which the facilities were to be made available.

    “It was meant to be just equity, but we found out that because of certain apathy on the part of people who have businesses and would have wanted to be part of it, most people shied away from the equity fund. So, we decided to amend it.  We decided that the fund needed to be reviewed completely. It must me in a way that we must improve access for people who need the facility that it must be done in a very speedy manner, so that those who need it can get it in good time so that they can run their business,” he said.

    The committee, which agreed that the fund must be affordable, also amended the fund’s tenor It raised the tenor of the fund to a minimum of seven years, providing for certain moratorium that would make it possible for beneficiaries to have the fund at low pricing and at a tenor that would give them ample time to repay.

    “The Bankers’ Committee looked at the governance principles around the pricing and it was agreed that the fund must be development-oriented.

    Besides, the facility must not be a profit maximisation scheme with a professional and transparent management process around it to give everybody comfort. That way, banks will be happy to be contributing to the fund which is their contribution to job creation and economic growth of the country,” he said.

    The committee agreed that under the governance principles, the fund must be seen to be sustainable, have a life and be in perpetuity.

    The committee decided that it will no longer be equity fund but a sort of preference share arrangement or debt structure for easy access for applicants.

  • Banks reject deposits from Politically Exposed Persons

    Banks reject deposits from Politically Exposed Persons

    Many commercial banks no longer accept deposits from Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs), it was leant yesterday.

    A PEP, who is entrusted with a prominent public function, generally presents a higher risk for potential involvement in bribery and corruption by virtue of his position and the influence that he may hold.

    Banks’ stoppage of taking hard-sought deposits from PEPs followed the rising regulatory surveillance and high risks involved with such transactions. Lenders had, in many cases, suffered huge monetary losses whenever illicit funds are traced to them.

    The Group Chief Conduct and Compliance Officer of Access Bank Plc and President, Compliance Institute of Nigeria (CIN), Pattison Boleigha, who confirmed the development during a meeting with reporters in Lagos, said banks, had adopted global best practices against money laundering and corruption.

    “We have placed ourselves on the pedestal of compliance. If you want to do business with international community today, you must ensure you are compliant in fighting corruption and money laundering. Each bank operates a defined structure. So, when these foreign investors come to Nigeria, they know the structure each bank has put in place,” he said.

    “We want to ensure that foreign investors realise that when they come to Nigeria, it is a very good ground for professionalism. When they do that, they have the assurance that when they do business in Nigeria, they are dealing with credible organisations.”

    Also speaking, a Bank Examiner with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Buhari Isa, said many banks mortgage compliance issues by setting unrealistic targets for their staff .

    He said there was need to look at why bank staff bring in bad deposits into lenders’ vaults. “For example, we are talking about integrity. If you see someone that does not have integrity, there is nothing you can do about it. But you can make sure there are controls that discourage such behaviours in an organisation. For example, you can conduct research on how some staff, connive with high net-worth individuals to bring in deposits without carrying out due diligence,” he said.

    Isa, who is also the  Vice President of CIN, said a bank staff will provide reasons why he is conniving with a PEP to bring in huge deposits. That, he said, may arise from the bank’s dysfunctional policy.

    “For example, you set unrealistic target for bank staff insisting that within the next one week such staff should bring N1 billion deposit. A PEP who collected bribe of N100 million comes to the bank staff, such target will make the staff to quickly take the money without doing proper Know Your Customer for the depositor,” he said.

    In Isa’s view, addressing the high deposit target set for bank staff will help boost compliance.

    Boleigha disagreed. The Access Bank Group Chief Compliance Officer spoke of the challenges faced by lenders. He said that banks do not commit crime but the people within the bank commit crime.

    “The targets were not set so that people will go and commit crimes. Unfortunately, whether you like it or not, financial institutions will receive good money, and they will also receive bad money. There is really nothing you can do about it because that’s where the money should pass through. In fact, if this bad money is not kept in the banks, it will be more difficult for government authorities to track  people that are committing these crimes,” he said.

    To Boleigha, it is good to have all Nigerian financial transactions pass through the financial system so as to have financial record of all bad monies. He said that although bank staff have targets, that should not stop them from complying with set rules. “So, if you know that you are bringing a customer that is high risk, of course you should know, the first thing to do is to conduct a risk assessment of the customer.

    There are some banks that even said they will not bank PEPs. So, if you decide you are going to bank PEPs, you must have risk management structure that will enable you manage those PEPs,” he said.

    “And those risk management structures are crafted from the rules and regulations of the CBN. There are CBN’s guidelines on how to manage PEPs. If you follow the rules, it means that when bad money comes, account officers of the banks should be able to know that it is bad money.

  • Reps go after CBN, NDIC, banks over NERFUND’s N17b debt

    The House of Representatives has commenced the investigation of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over the failure of the National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND) to recover over N17 billion owed it by small and medium scale enterprises’ owners.

    In addition, while the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) was expected to assist the investigation with its roles over the recovery of the debt, some money deposit banks would have to shed light on what was responsible for the debt that has led to the near extinction of the fund.

    The mandate of the fund to galvanise the economy was to provide loans for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) through participating banks but the huge debt has led to a planned shutting down of the activities of the fund by the Federal Government.

    The House  has, however, said that shutting  down the activities of NERFUND by fiat is inappropriate in a democracy.

    Though the House had earlier called for the suspension of the planned shutdown, the  lawmakers said they will rather take a critical look into the events that led to its over N17 billion debt.

    Speaking yesterday at the inaugural meeting of the 19-member ad hoc committee, Ayodele Oladimeji (PDP, Ekiti), who chaired the panel, said high profile debtors to the fund as well as the condition of the projects that benefitted from the loans, in addition to the roles played by the intermediary banks would be investigated.

    According to him, the inability of NERFUND to recover its debts was suspicious as the laws establishing it gave the CBN the powers to debit the accounts of defaulting banks.

    According to him, NERFUND loans have guarantors, which are the participating banks, which meant that loans can only be obtained  through the participating banks.

    Any loan not given through a bank is illegal, he said.

    Oladimeji said failure of NERFUND to recover its loan was a mystery to the committee as the law also made provision for the NDIC to recover money for depositors from distressed banks.

    He said the fate of the new Development Bank of Nigeria  (DBN) may not be different from that of NERFUND since they shared similar responsibilities.

    Declaring open the inaugural meeting, Speaker Yakubu Dogara said the role played by intermediary banks was critical to the investigation.

    The Speaker, who was represented by Olabode Ayorinde  (APC, Ondo), advised the committee not to shy away from invoking its full powers to discharge its duties and responsibilities as assigned by the House with a view of protecting and developing the resources and the economy of the country.

  • CBN, NDIC urge banks to return to Northeast

    CBN, NDIC urge banks to return to Northeast

    Bankers’ Committee to step in

    There are ongoing moves by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) to get commercial banks and microfinance banks to return to the troubled North-East region, NDIC Managing Director, Umaru Ibrahim, has said.

    Speaking yesterday at the ongoing NDIC Annual Workshop for financial journalists in Kano, Ibrahim, called on the CBN to provide incentives for commercial banks and microfinance banks to come back to the North-east after they closed shops because of the impact of the Boko Haram on their operations.

    He said the Northeast has potentials to support economic growth and should be supported by banks to achieve the desired result. He spoke on the theme: “The Nigerian banking sector: Challenges, opportunities and the way forward.”

    He said: “Many bank CEOs have forgotten the economic potentials that exist in the Northeast. We need to awaken the banks to see the economic potentials in the Northeast. During the next special Bankers’ Committee meeting, the Northeast infrastructural revival will be discussed. The CBN already has plan to rebuild the Northeast,” he said.

    He called on the CBN and other major stakeholders in the financial system to rebuild the financial infrastructure in the troubled North-East region.

    He said the activities of insurgents in the region in the last few years have led to huge damage of financial infrastructure in the region.

    The NDIC boss disclosed that given the crisis in the North-East region, so many businesses have been adversely affected while some investors have moved their investments out of that region.

    He said the rate at which people are being financially excluded in the region has increased due to lack of adequate provision of financial services which was caused by insurgents.

    The NDIC boss said he would personally table the issue to the Bankers’ Committee during their next meeting so that concrete steps could be taken to address the problem.

     

  • BVN: Govt accuses CBN, banks of shielding rogues

    BVN: Govt accuses CBN, banks of shielding rogues

    Attorney-General replies to banks ’ objection

    Banks and their supervisor, the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ), have been accused of working to derail the government’s anti-corruption war.

    The Federal Government and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) are querying the double standards allegedly being exhibited by the CBN and the banks in opposing their effort to ensure strict implementation of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) policy.

    The banks initiated the policy through the Bankers Committee to, among others, check financial crimes.

    The Federal Government and the AGF claimed that the banks’ opposition to the suit they filed over the implementation of the BVN policy confirmed their suspicion that the banks were allegedly benefiting illegally from the haphazard implementation of the policy and the bar placed on customers without BVN since the deadline ended about two years ago.

    These are contained in court documents filed by the government and the AGF in response to an objection filed by the commercial banks to a suit they filed seeking, among others, to ensure a total implementation of the BVN policy or the forfeiture of funds in accounts without BVN, in furtherance of the government’s war against corruption.

    The Federal Government and the AGF filed the suit before the Federal High Court, Abuja on September 28, through their lawyer, A. Danjuma Tyoden.

    Defendants in the suit are 19 commercial banks and the CBN.

    The commercial banks are: Access, Citibank, Diamond, Ecobank, Fidelity, First, First City, Guaranty Trust, Heritage, Keystone, Skye, Stanbic IBTC, Standard Chartered, Sterling, Union, Unity, Wema and Zenith.

    On October 17, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba granted some reliefs in an ex-parte motion for interim injunctions filed by the plaintiffs, including ordering the banks to provide information on the accounts without BVN, temporary freezing of the accounts and for the owners to show cause why funds in the accounts should not be forfeited to the government.

    Rather than comply with the court order as it relates to them, the banks filed a notice of objection, querying the competence of the suit, the October 17 orders by the court and the court’s jurisdiction to hear and determine the suit.

    In the joint notice of objection filed by their lawyers – Paul Usoro, Babatunde Fagbohunlu and Adeniyi Adegbonmire (all SANs) – the 1st to 18th defendants asked the court to decline jurisdiction over the suit, dismiss it and vacate the order made on October 17.

    Angered by the position taken by defendants and the CBN’s failure to support the suit, but allegedly stealthily working with the banks, the government and the AGF filed a counter to the banks objection, accusing them of, among others working to frustrate the anti-graft war by shielding rogue customers, who have refused to acquire the BVN because of dirty funds in their accounts.

    In a supporting affidavit deposed to by Usman Dakas, the government and the AGF said: “The applicants (the banks) do not wish to comply with the interim order of this court and disclose the accounts without BVN and their holders in order to frustrate the plaintiffs’ anti-corruption policies that would benefit the entire nation.”

    They stressed in their written address that the banks’ motive for electing to challenge the competence of the suit rather than comply with the order for them to produce information on the accounts without BVN, was ploy to frustrate the government’s anti-corruption war.

    The plaintiffs said: “The applicants have filed this motion to frustrate the plaintiff’s constitutional responsibility to ‘abolish corrupt practices’ and the clear directives and regulations of the CBN on the BVN scheme so that they can continue to keep the funds in the accounts without BVN and be trading with them and declaring fat profits for their various shareholders.

    “Is it not worrisome that while the banks are happy not to allow the customers, whose accounts are not covered by BVN, to operate the said accounts, yet they want the interim order of this court, directing them to disclose these accounts and their holders, dismissed and or struck out?”

    They argued that it is not the duty of banks to complain, because since the BVN policy was directed at the customers and not the banks, only the customers could complain about any order made in respect of their funds trapped in the accounts without BVN.

    On the banks’ request that the court should decline jurisdiction to entertain the suit brought under Section 17(1) of the Advance Fee Fraud Act (AFFA), which could only be prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the plaintiffs argued that the law did not bar them and other government agencies tasked with the responsibility of fighting corruption from suing under it (the portion of the AFFA).

    They argued that the AFFA, being an Act of the National Assembly, is subject to the Constitution, which implies that the EFCC referred to in Section 17(1) of the Act being an agent of the Federal Government, the Federal Government can decide to exercise the right conferred on the EFCC under the AFFA by itself, because “the sovereign (FG) cannot be authorised by its agent”.

    The plaintiff faulted the banks’ argument that the BVN policy did not fall under the Money Laundering Act (MLA) and argued that BVN policy was in furtherance of due diligence and know your customer provisions of the MLA.

    They urged the court to disregard the banks contention in that regard and argued that should the court hold, as contended by the banks, that the MLA did not provide punishment for non-compliance with the BVN regulations, it would defeat the objective of the law, which is to ensure that the banks are not made safer haven for keeping illicit and laundered funds.

    The plaintiffs wondered why the banks, who admitted that they have the responsibility to enforce the due diligence and know your customer provision of the MLA, are now seeking, by their current motion, to shield their customers and doing their case for them?

    They noted that “it is ironical that they (the banks) are fighting the order of the court asking them to disclose accounts without BVN. Does it lie in their mouth to defend customers, who are in violation of the CBN regulation that constitute part of the due diligence and know your customer requirement of the MLA?

    “Indeed, banks occupy a position of trust and must act in the overriding interest of the public where and when necessary in the fight against crime, expose people with dual personality and must not benefit from wilful complicity, given that the person who steals is just as guilty as the one who keeps the stolen funds.

    The plaintiffs noted that not only did the commercial banks fail to provide information to the accounts without BVN, the CBN appears to be working with them, the CBN Governor having failed to respond to his letters written to him on the issue.

    The lawyer to the plaintiff, Tyoden, said his letters to the CBN Governor, dated June 28 and July19, 2017 were not only ignored, the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) demanded for CBN’s position on the issue before it could assist.

    The plaintiffs stated: “We submit that the refusal of defendants/applicants (the banks) to furnish the plaintiffs with the facts relating to the accounts in their custody without BVN is because, if produced, the suspicion of the plaintiffs would be provedý.

    “In fact, if the defendants/applicants have nothing to hide, why are they refusing to file the affidavit of disclosure as ordered by this court?

    “The funds in the accounts not covered by BVN is not their (banks’) property, why are they now scared of forfeiture and crying more than the bereaved, when the law allows opportunity to be given to the account holders to show cause after publication, before a final forfeiture order is made?”

    At the last proceedings in the case on November 15, the court varied some of the earlier orders made, following agreement by parties that the orders had created unintended consequences.

    The court, which had stayed further operation of such accounts pending the determination of a case pending before it, said on November 15 that the accounts could be operated once the owner registers for BVN.

    Justice Dimgba announced the modification after parties in the case agreed that as presently couched, the order creates an awkward and unfortunate result, such that even when account owners have got their BVN, they still will not be able to operate the accounts because doing so will be in violation of the order of the court.

    He adjourned to December 11 for the hearing of all pending applications.

  • FinTechs not threat to banks, says Access Bank

    FinTechs not threat to banks, says Access Bank

    • Bank unveils Foundary to promote innovation

    Access Bank has said it sees the emergence of financial technologies (FinTechs) as collaborators in the quest to deepen its product and market development and not as threat to traditional banking.

    Its Executive Director, Mr Victor Etuokwu who spoke yesterday at a news briefing ahead the first edition of Africa Fintech Foundary (AFF) Disrupt 2017 conference in Lagos, said innovation remained the only insurance against irrelevance, adding that the bank will continue to work with FinTechs to offer better services to customers.

    He said the lender founded and funded the AFF in order to promote innovation in Nigeria, Africa and the global community, adding that AFF is Access Bank accelerator, which is seeking to create new opportunities in sub-Saharan Africa.

    According to Etuokwu, the Foundary is to provide a platform to inspire and challenge African innovators and entrepreneurs.

    According to him AFF will provide Africa companies seeking to launch their products, with capacity building and training in business development.

    ‘’It will provide connectivity to global innovation grids, promote access to capital, create opportunities for partnerships and showcase best practices and successes in Africa-led innovation solutions.

    ‘’The world we live in is changing. As a bank, we are looking for better ways to serve our customers.

    ‘’So, in order to be and remain relevant in the ever-changing world, we had to be innovative.

    ‘’AFF and the AFF Disrupt conference are ways to grow and maintain the market share of Access Bank.

    ‘’AFF is here to disrupt the African continent and it will impact not only the banking sector, but will impact both health, security, agriculture and the economy in general,’’ he said.

    The Head of AFF, Mr Victor Okigbo said the Foundary was supported by Access Bank, Microsoft, IBM, Saas and other technology majors.

    Okigbo said the facility would be officially inaugurated on December 13 while the AFF Disrupt conference would hold on December 14 in Lagos.

    He said that the facility would be conducting innovation tour to different parts of the country and four African cities, so as to encourage start-ups to take advantage of the Foundary to improve on their innovative ideas.

    Okigbo said the first edition of its FinTech conference, tagged: AFF Disrupt would bring together like-minded investors and partners to collaborate and join the AFF.

    Event Coordinator, AFF Disrupt conference, Mr Adeleke Adekoya said the event will be a good opportunity for start-ups to take advantage of partner network.

    Adekoya said the event will be an opportunity for partners to create linkages and networks that could help grow their businesses.

    He said vetting process is ongoing and a total of 12 start-ups would be selected from about 400, to demonstrate and exhibit their innovations at the conference.