Create Innovative Ideas To Meet Customers’ Needs — Buhari To Bankers

President Mohammadu Buhari has advised the banking industry to come up with innovative ideas that would ensure global solutions reach their customers.

The president gave the advice at the 15th Annual Banking and Finance Conference on Tuesday in Abuja, with the theme, “Repositioning the Financial Services Industry for An Evolving Glocal Context.”

Buhari said over the past seven years, his administration has supported the repositioning of the Nigerian economy within an evolving global context through various initiatives.

“In the new 'Global' context, the role and significance of the finance industry cannot be overstated in driving economic prosperity.

“The sector provides opportunities to create SME start-ups, expand existing business interests and create more jobs, thereby pushing the local brand overseas to frontier markets,” said Buhari.

He said, therefore, that repositioning the finance services industry involved valuable innovations to ensure global solutions reached local customers.

“The recently executed African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is a typical reference point.

“The deal creates a continent-wide market embracing 55 countries with 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of 3.4 trillion dollars.

“Its first phase, which took effect in January 2021 would gradually eliminate tariffs on 90 per cent of goods and reduce barriers to trade in services.

“In repositioning itself, the finance sector would serve as an intermediary for lenders and borrowers,” Buhari said.

Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning added that it would also create a new ecosystem where Africans can buy and sell their products despite currency disparity as being practised on the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), a brainchild of Afrexim Bank.