The Central Bank of Nigeria has reiterated its commitment to digital innovation.
The Deputy Governor, Fiscal System Stability, Dr. Balla Bello, conveyed the bank’s strategic focus on fostering an environment ripe for innovation and entrepreneurship, during an engagement with participants from the Senior Executive Course (SEC 46) of the National Institute for Strategic Studies, in Abuja on Tuesday.
The NIPSS serves as Nigeria’s premier institution for developing top-tier technocrats instrumental in crafting innovative policies and executing strategic plans vital for the nation’s advancement.
As a central policy think-tank, the NIPSS offers advocacy, counsel, and training to a diverse cohort of bureaucrats, private sector leaders, military officers, and civil servants, extending its influence beyond Nigeria to West Africa and the entire continent.
The CBN’s strategy encompasses the deployment of robust digital infrastructures to streamline processes and achieve peak performance. This initiative is a key component of a comprehensive plan to future-proof Nigeria’s economy by harnessing technology to surmount conventional obstacles to financial engagement.
“As a forward-thinking institution, we are dedicated to harnessing the transformative power of digital tools to boost productivity and ensure that more Nigerians have access to financial services,” Bello remarked.
The Deputy Governor’s insights were met with enthusiasm by the visiting executives, who shared a positive outlook on the potential ramifications of the CBN’s digital strategy for the country’s economic fabric.
The Director-General of NIPSS, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, expressed gratitude to the CBN for accommodating the delegation and underscored the necessity for the apex bank’s continued backing of the institute. This support is crucial to empower the “100m economically active Nigerians” to drive economic expansion.
“We are grateful to the Central Bank for hosting us today, and we firmly believe in the significance of the digital economy in creating job opportunities for our over 100m economically active citizens. Despite the literacy hurdles we face as a nation, our institute is focused on the near future, working towards a paradigm where nearly all services in the country will be rendered digitally”, Omotayo stated.
