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News - North West - Kaduna Updated: July 30, 2021

Financial Inclusion: Kaduna Leads Northwestern States

By Abdulrazak Muhammad
July 30, 2021
Governor Nasir El-Rufa'i
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Kaduna State has been declared top in financial inclusion among other Northwestern states according to a research conducted by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA).

While speaking at the presentation of the findings on Thursday, the Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufa'i said his government is planning on expanding financial inclusion to boost economic growth.

The governor who was represented by his deputy,  Dr. Hadiza Balarabe said, “it highlights significant market opportunity for financial service providers to address the financial needs of adults in Kaduna.’’

Adding that his administration's policy promotes opportunities for the 55% of adults excluded according to the research.

He noted that 62% of adults mostly women in the state do not use any regulated financial services, and are farmers, micro entrepreneurs and rural dwellers based on the findings.

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The governor added that the policy steps taken to reverse the figures include a roadmap and blueprint to achieve a state-wide digital payment infrastructure.

He further explained that it will be possible through the support of the Bill Gates Foundation.

The governor also announced that the government is partnering with the United Bank for Africa (UBA) empower 23 LGAs with improved financial access points.
 
While appreciating impacts of telecommunication services on financial Inclusion, El-Rufai added that, ‘’KDSG is working in partnership with IHS Towers to improve and provide mobile network (voice and data) in 42 blind spots across the state.’’

Noting the progress of work, he said, "About half of the installations in this project are already done, and the rest are scheduled for completion by the end of September 2021."

‘’This adoption of technology extends to official payments and the registration of residents. Aside from digitising payments, Kaduna State is digitising identity, capturing the biometric details of over the 3.5m residents in the database of the Kaduna State Residents Registration Agency (KADRRA).

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‘’ The goal is for KADRRA to reach 9 million  residents, about 90% enrollment of residents by December 2022,’’ he further stated.

The Chief Executive of EFInA, Ashley Immanuel in her remark said, “this Kaduna State Deep Dive Survey is the first time that EFInA has conducted such detailed financial inclusion research at the state level.’’

She further explained that, “The data shows that, while there is work to do to improve financial inclusion and financial health of adults in Kaduna state, there is also tremendous opportunity to do so by expanding the reach of relevant, affordable digital financial services and agent networks. 

‘’We are pleased to provide this data as a resource for stakeholders such as government, financial service providers, development partners and others to develop targeted strategies to drive inclusion in Kaduna State."

Noting other findings of the survey,  “only 1% of adults in Kaduna State are insured, but 0.7 million uninsured adults say they would be interested in microinsurance. While only 33% of adults in Kaduna State are banked, 2 million unbanked adults in the state own mobile phones and could be reached with mobile money’’.

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Adding that, “financially excluded adults in Kaduna State are more likely to reside in rural areas, have lower levels of education, be microentrepreneurs or farmers, and have limited access to bank branches or other financial access points.’’

The research also highlighted how women are affected, stating that,  ‘’women continue to be more financially excluded than men, with only 30% of women in Kaduna State using formal (regulated) financial services, compared with 46% of men.’’

The survey was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in collaboration with the UK Government’s Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office.

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