Islamic Finance | |
Islamic Finance | |
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Sunday, November 10, 2019 /
08.45PM / Bukola Akinyele for Proshare WebTV / Header Image Credit: Premium Times Nigeria
On the sidelines of the 4th
African International Conference on Islamic Finance, Bukola Akinyele of WebTV
discussed with Mr. Hassan Usman, MD/CEO, Jaiz Bank on "Islamic Finance as a Tool
for Financial Inclusion in Nigeria".
Excerpts of
the discussion appear below;
Bukola
Akinyele
As Nigeria seeks to
achieve 80% adult financial inclusion by 2020, Islamic finance has been seen as
a critical tool that can help to achieve the target. Can you speak on the
issue?
Hassan Usman
From our own participation in deepening financial inclusion, it is obvious that there
can't be real development if a significant number of community members are not
included in the financial system. Financial inclusion has become a compelling
global concern.
In
Nigeria, a large number of financially excluded people reside in the
North West and North East of the country. This is why Jaiz bank has established
a large number of branches in these areas and assisted in deepening financial
inclusion, especially in the North.
People
have become increasingly familiar with Jaiz bank services and its
products.
The big task
lies in the majority of our villages and suburban locations where we have less
privileged citizens who are farmers, housewives who are not active in the
formal economy. They do not also have enough resources to save or the traditional way that banks engage with customers.
At Jaiz bank
our focus has been to capture these segments in the North-East and North-West,
which will go a long way to addressing financial exclusion in Nigeria.
What Jaiz bank
is doing differently, is to engage with these communities especially the most
vulnerable which are women, to provide them with capital to encourage a
banking culture.
We engage in sensitization programs at the village level and we give equity to small
businesses to empower them.
We engage small businesses
on a regular basis to see the progress they are making and encourage them to
save a portion of their profits so that they can build up capital.
For us, the most
significant element in financial inclusion is empowerment, because if people
are empowered they will look for a bank.
Bukola
Akinyele
There is also the quest
for the development of financial services product that can also help to deepen
financial inclusion, in areas like savings and investment.What are your
thoughts on this?
Hassan Usman
Financial products will
provide non-interest options for those who are already engaged in the financial
system and are not happy with conventional products. We provide an alternative
either from the support from deposit or transaction base account or if they
want to get finance.
We provide alternative
finance products that is not based on interest, that they can use in a
banking environment that will drive the financial inclusion process.
Bukola
Akinyele
Will Jaiz Bank collaborate
with Fintechs to deepen financial inclusion?
Hassan Usman
We don't have any option,
as a bank we recognize the fact that if we have to grow, if we have to get as
many potential customers as possible we cannot use the traditional model of
branching.
The fintechs provide an
opportunity for banks and financial institutions to reach the hinterlands and
inaccessible areas, because of sustainability cost implications and the
logistic requirements for building
branches.
Fintechs will be vital and
Jaiz bank sees collaboration with them as critical to achieving scale in
financial inclusion and improved financial services to the unbanked, especially
in the North-West and North-East regions.
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