Day 2 of Social Media Week Lagos 2019 was every bit the captivating affair we were promised. The lineup of events had a brilliant collective undertone that spurred guests to return back to the innovative drawing board.
And as is the custom, attendees were presented with the opportunity to interact with industry experts, leaders and corporate moguls across various fields of practice.
Here are a few of our favorite talks at the event.
One Africa, One App: Building The Bank Of The Future
The financial service sector is evolving. Customers seek personalized solutions, faster and safer transactions without having to go through long payment processes.
The significant rise in digital intelligence has given birth to a number of financial service providers that offer better rates and services compared to the traditional banking methods.
Unlike before, there is a strong competition between banks and fintech companies for the heart and, of course, the money of customers. Fintech companies are driving the future of financial services with timely solutions in insurance, credit scoring, data analytics and a whole lot more. However, banks will not be left out of this move, as almost every major bank in the country have adopted the Artificial Intelligence solution, which is by far the fastest means to communicate and create a relationship with a customer.
Alongside the use of Ai, banks are regularly seeking ways and solutions to favorably compete with these new age financial services providers, to make transactions smoother and enjoyable to the average customer.
Speaking to guests at the Innovation Stage, CEO & MD of Guarantee Trust Bank, Segun Agbaje, on Tuesday, revealed the financial giant’s latest move to confront the challenges in the banking space.
Habari, launched in November 2018, is a social and e-commerce platform with amazing features including access to unlimited music content at reduced rates, and a really thrilling way to connect with friends. Habari will provide users with the best of all three (shopping, banking and entertainment) worlds in one app.
Agbaje explained that with Habari, GTB will redefine the banking experience of its millions of customers across the world.
Habari may not be perfect yet, but with proper technical feedback from users, this app could potentially transform the banking sector in the coming days.
BEYOND PAYMENTS: The Next Generation of Fintech Startups in Sub-Saharan Africa
Adedana Ashebir, Regional Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa, Village Capital, discussed a report by VilCap, supported by PayPal, on the future of fintech startups in Africa.
Everyday, the number of subscribers who would rather opt for services provided by fintech companies keeps increasing. In Africa today, there are hundreds of fintech startups proving services to over 444 million unique mobile subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In her report, Adedana focused on market trends and impressive opportunities available to startups in the the fintech sector.
Agriculture & Finance
In the Agricultural sector, fintech startups are leveraging on the tremendous business opportunities by helping millions of farmers access credit, track inputs and reach new markets. The drivers of innovation in this sector include government incentives spurring agribusiness, demand for all-in-one apps, and strong support from agricultural incubators.
Alternate Credit Scoring & Lending
The average farmer in Nigeria does not have direct access to formal lending options because he/she cannot provide a valid credit history or proper identity verification. Without these, corporate lending agencies like banks can only do so much to provide funding to these group of farmers. Fintech startups like YouVerify have been able to bridge this gap by providing an up-to-the-minute service for address and identity verification.
Insuretech
Startups are innovating around pricing and underwriting, product design, distribution, and claims management, to build customer friendly solutions to tackle the glaring issues in insurance in Africa.
Insuretech companies provide front-end policy services, back-end claim services, better customer experiences, new sources of industry data, and distinctive tools to analyze the data.
The market for startups in insuretech is huge, and young Africans have taken up the challenge to provide innovative solutions.
Building Saving & Wealth
Africans are living longer, and right now more than ever, there is a growing need for solutions around savings, life insurance and pensions.
Startups like Piggybank have successfully leveraged on this opportunity to bing saving solutions to customers.
Achem Samuel
Inclusion For All: Making Financial Inclusion A Reality For Nigeria
Lagos State Gubernatorial candidate of the APC, Jide Sanwo-Olu, discussed the strategy his government will employ to ensure the proper adoption of Financial Inclusion best practice, as a means to improving the quality of life for the average Lagosian.
Also on the panel to discuss the possibility of making financial inclusion a reality for Nigerians were;
Achem Samuel
- Nkem Okocha, Founder of Mama Moni Nigeria,
- Jay Alabraba, Co-Founder & Director of business development, Paga Tech,
- Temitope Akin Fadeyi, Head, Financial Inclusion Secretariat, Central Bank of Nigeria