Ecobank Nigeria in partnership with Vanguard Economic Forum Series has  announced that the earlier postponed event on Digital Financial Inclusion will now hold December 8th 2020 at 11am – 1pm on ZOOM Live broadcast.

The event will convene policy decision makers, business thought leaders and leading industry professionals as speakers and panelists, who are subject matter experts in digital transformation and financial inclusion, carefully drawn from technology, banking, telecoms and other key sectors of the economy.  Notably, Alan Sinfield, CEO 9mobile,  Ronke Kuye, CEO Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities Limited (SANEF), Jacqueline Juma of EfinA a transformative specialist in Digital Financial Services (DFS) and Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of Association of Licensed Telecom’s Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) will be speakers. Chief host is Patrick Akinwuntan, Managing Director of Ecobank Nigeria.

According to a statement from Ecobank and Vanguard, Alan Sinfield, CEO  9mobile is a telecoms expert with vast international and operational expertise and experience in wireless telecoms, fintech, and banking sectors spanning over 30 years. He had been a CEO at Ooredoo (Starlink), a subsidiary of Qatar Telecommunications Group. Ronke Kuye, is the Chief Executive Officer of Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities Limited (SANEF). Ronke has over 24 years experience in banking, cards and Payment systems and e-business, Operations, Process Transformation and Project Management. Jacqueline Juma, a transformative specialist in Digital Financial Services (DFS), currently serves as the Head, Digital Financial Services at EFInA.  Also listed as panelist is Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, the Chairman of Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

Announcing the new date, Head, Ecobank Consumer Banking, Olukorede Demola-Adeniyi said the Summit will offer a platform to discuss the need for a comprehensive alignment of policy and regulatory frameworks among regulators like CBN, NCC, NITDA to support a sustainable digital financial inclusion growth, examine key issues and ways of advancing digital financial inclusion for women, youths and MSMEs and discuss the role of interoperability in mobile payment innovation. Further she mentioned that the role and impact of agency banking for financial inclusion growth will be x-rayed as well as the need for public and private sector investments in internet infrastructure and mobile connectivity growth in rural areas.

Also, Jude Ndu, Director Vanguard Conferences and The Economic Forum Series, said the Summit would help Ecobank communicate and connect with Nigeria’s largely unbanked population on the urgent need to adopt and subscribe to innovative digital payment channels like the *326# and other financial service offerings to close the large financial Inclusion gap and a direct response to mitigating the economic challenge  post COVID-19.

The Ecobank Digital Series is a virtual programme organised by Ecobank to educate and enlighten the public on crucial issues of public interest, especially as it relates to their financial empowerment.