EnterpriseNGR 2023 Report Says Nigeria’s Financial And Professional Services Sector Pivotal to The Nation’s Economic Growth
A recent report by EnterpriseNGR, a professional policy and advocacy group, has revealed that Nigeria’s Financial and Professional services (FPS) sector, played a pivotal role in contributing to the nation’s economic growth.
The report titled, “The State of Enterprise Report 2023”, highlighted the importance of the FPS sector to human activities and livelihoods in Nigeria, specifically to people, businesses, and the economy.
The report noted that the sector was pivotal in supporting businesses, governments, and individuals while making substantial contributions to employment, fiscal revenues, investments, and national output.
Part of the report reads,
“These various impacts indicate that the collective sector is indeed an enabler of national growth and development. Beyond these achievements, Nigeria’s FPS sector is recognized as a contributor to the global effort on sustainable development”.
The FPS sector which is made up of sub-sectors including banking, insurance, capital markets, asset management, pensions, sustainable finance, non-interest finance, and professional services, according to the report, has enormous potential to contribute more significantly, but immense efforts are still required, particularly from the federal government and affiliate industry regulators and policymakers, to address critical challenges standing in the way of progress,” the reported noted.
The report emphasized the need for key stakeholders, which includes regulators, policymakers, operators, and other industry participants, to work collaboratively to advance the growth of Nigeria’s FPS sector.
In a deep dive into the banking sub-sector, the report revealed that the sector has consistently outperformed other sub-sectors across various metrics, exerting the most substantial influence on both the national economy and the average citizen.
It also outlined how the banking sub-sector facilitated the growth of remittances to Nigeria, which increased from $19.48 billion in 2021 to $20.13 billion in 2022, and that the ongoing process of digitalization has substantially improved access to financial services.
In a dive into the Fintech sub-sector, the report noted the giant strides made in 2022 and stated that with $800 million in funding in 2021, Nigerian fintech attracted a further $1.2 billion in 2022 and secured $952 million as of Q3 2023.
It further highlighted the significant role that fintechs are playing in imparting the lives and livelihoods of Nigerians, through emerging products like buy now, pay later (BPNL), cryptocurrency, personal finance, and investment options,
It noted that with the growing number of FinTech companies and FinTech products in Nigeria, the financial inclusion rate, estimated at 64.1% in 2020, should have improved substantially.
The report also highlighted how the management sub-sector, pension sub-sector, the professional services sub-sector, amongst others, demonstrated significant importance to the growth of Nigeria’s economy.
EnterpriseNGR which produced the report, noted that with the remarkable contribution of the Financial and Professional services (FPS) sector to Nigeria’s economy, it is looking forward to more impactful achievements in 2024 and beyond.
