By Juliet Umeh edited by Prince Osuagwu

Africa-focused financial technology company, PalmPay, has called for increased collaboration and innovation among banks and fintech companies to drive financial inclusion at the last mile. This appeal was made by the Head of Partnerships at PalmPay, Chibuzor Melah, during the recently concluded Nigeria Fintech Forum held in Lagos.

The forum, with the theme: ‘Building the Next Frontiers for Nigeria’s Fintech,’ brought together key stakeholders from both the public and private sectors, including regulators, to discuss the rapid advancements in Nigeria’s financial technology industry.

The event highlighted the critical need for partnerships and innovative solutions to address the challenges of financial inclusion in the country.

Speaking during a panel session titled: ‘Rewriting the Rules: Building an Open, Innovative, and Collaborative Bank of the Future,’  Melah emphasized the importance of collaboration in the fintech space.

“PalmPay is a technology-driven company that believes in collaborating and innovating to deliver value to customers,” said Melah.

He further explained that PalmPay’s success over the past five years has been largely due to its investment in data analytics, which provides deep insights into customer behavior.

“This enables us to create tailor-made solutions suitable for our customers. Our insight-driven strategy has helped us reach out to the unbanked, thereby building trust in open banking,” Melah added.

Highlighting the need for continued collaboration, Melah noted, “We have succeeded by collaborating with other players in the financial sector. However, we believe that there’s still much more to do in building trust and driving financial inclusion in the last mile.”

The financial sector in Nigeria has experienced significant changes, with the EFInA Access to Finance, A2F, Survey 2023 report indicating that formal financial inclusion has grown from 56 percent in 2020 to 64 percent in 2023.

Melah attributed this success to the collaborative efforts between banks and fintechs, while also stressing the potential for even greater progress through further cooperation.

“The challenges we face today have opened up opportunities to collaborate, gain new markets, and deliver new products that benefit the economy,” Melah.