It is not surprising that FINTECH is flourishing in Nigeria as the country is currently one of Africa’s landing point for Financial Technology.
This revolution can be credited to the growing number of youths connected to the internet; the preponderance of smartphones; and a good number of unbanked populace among other factors.
The McKinsey report has it that 60 million Nigerians do not have bank accounts. As a result of this, coupled with the fintech boom, the race to explore the opportunities occasioned by this gap is ongoing.
It is safe to say that the revolution being witnessed in Nigeria’s FinTech space is at an unprecedented level with almost a billion-dollar investment made between 2017 and 2018 alone.
Indigenous brands are fiercely championing this development. Among those blazing the trail are SystemSpecs, Flutterwave, Piggyvest, Farmcrowdy, Interswitch, Vogue Pay, and others, relentlessly riding this new wave of digital economic transformation.
International technology giants are paying great attention to the development of this growing financial trend in Nigeria.
For instance, Facebook has made an attempt to key into the opportunity this development offers as it recently opened an office in Nigeria, the first of its kind in Africa to accommodate a team of expert engineers building for the future of Africa and beyond.
In a recent conversation with Yemi Osibajo, the Vice President of Nigeria, Face Book’s Vice President, Nick Clegg commented on Nigeria’s expanding array of local FINTECH solutions.
He said, “Those apps and services are redundant if there isn’t the infrastructure to carry them. I hope it’s good for the world, but it’s also in Facebook’s self-interest to make sure that the infrastructure is significantly improved.”
Labelled, Fireside Chat, the online discussion centered on the ‘Digital Economic Pillar of Nigeria’s Economic Sustainability Plan’. In the course of the conversation, the Vice President hinted at new licenses recently approved to increase financial inclusion as well as strengthen Nigeria’s Fintech ecosystem.
“For example, we worked on the payment services licenses, which are licenses for FINTECH companies that are doing some banking-type work but are not licensed-deposit banks. The need to create some room for inclusion leads to a collaborative effort between government, tech companies, and even the entertainment sector.
This Technology and Creativity Advisory Group, worked with Industrious and Competitiveness Council to create the regulations and think through some of the problems”, the VP revealed whilst expounding on a point on Facebook.
Among the outstanding indigenous companies contributing to the excellent reputation of indigenous giants is SystemSpecs, a Lagos-based FINTECH.
This renowned company has pushed and installed Nigeria on the global map of Fintech innovation with its innovation, Remita, an e-payment platform that enables the receiving and making of corporate and individual payments.
Recently, David Hundeyin, CNN journalist, had reinforced SystemSpecs’ trailblazer status, referring to them as one of the companies that offered technology solutions in the early 90s, long before the internet became commonplace in Nigeria.
Prior to this time, the supposedly poor quality of the indigenous product was a matter of wide concern both to industry players and government regulators; as such, they felt it was almost impossible to compete favorably against foreign options.
In the last few years, however, the industry has experienced a turning point to an extent that start-ups do not only compete in quality but also in innovation and functionality as the best-advanced countries churn out.
Despite this remarkable growth, most government agencies still purchase numerous foreign-made software in the implementation of various projects.
SystemSpecs came to the scene and changed this narrative, functioning as Nigeria’s leading receiving and payments gateway for the government.
In addition, by means of its innovative Remita software, the company serves as the go-to platform for a good number of local and international clients since 2005.
In 1992, John Tani Obaro, Ahmadu Bello University-trained computer scientist, established SystemSpecs, which is presently the leading provider of financial and human management solutions in Nigeria.
In addition to Remita, the company has built other award-winning products such as Human Manager and PAYLINK.
For its dedication in demonstrating the limitless potentials of indigenous talents, it has received recognition over the years, including the “Most Efficient Third-Party Payment Processor” of the year by CBN’s EPIS Efficiency Award; “Software Company of the Year” by Beacon of Information and Communication Technology (BoICT) Awards; “Fintech Recognition Award” by the Fintech Association of Nigeria and more.
Spurred on by the success of its earlier solutions, in 2005, SystemSpecs developed Remita, positioning itself as an indigenous software company offering full services to Government Agencies, NGOs, Multinationals, SMEs, Corporate Organisations, Multinationals, Religious Organisations, Resident Associations, Schools, and Educational Institutions, Hospitals, and Health Institutions, Utility Companies, and individuals.
Remita is the powerhouse for any payment ranging from Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB) registration, fee payments, company registration, Customs Duty, FIRS, to Immigration.
With a proven record of reliability, Remitta found its way into the good books of the government during a competitive bidding process in the wake of President Buhari Administration in 2015.
Victoriously, the company came up tops, displacing top Fintech companies across the world, enabling it to provide a payment platform for the Treasury Single Account program that was fully implemented in 2015.
To allay the doubts of many who view Remita as a financial institution, a platform responsible for fee increments, and/or a foreign software due to its pervasive yet efficient service delivery.
Executive Director of SystemSpecs, Mr. Deremi Atanda explained, “We have been a payment facilitator for over 15 years. What we do through Remita is that we help you move your money from where it is to where you want it to be.”
To be sure the continued existence of SystemSpecs is not an accident, rather it is attributed to continuous innovation.
This is especially commendable considering that it is in a country where startups fizzle out within the first few years of operation.
Despite the success of Remita, the company is not resting on its laurels. It continues to upgrade the Remita solution to solve more problems on a large scale.
A recent project it is undertaking among others is its link payment solution, Paylink. Entrepreneurs, freelancers, religious or charitable organizations can utilize Paylink to collect money for a product/service rendered or donations from numerous payment channels using a single link.
Possessing a suite of innovative solutions, this indigenous fintech giant is set on a path to outshine and surpass its foreign counterparts.
Professor Osinbajo, during his chat with Nick Clegg, repeated that the nation is ever ready to elevate its FINTECH journey as never before.
The efforts of Central Bank (CBN) and Bank of Industry (BOI) in releasing substantial funds to support not only established FINTECH companies but for startups as well; and those of firms such as SystemSpecs, which provide decades of innovative solutions, It can be argued that Nigeria is on the peak of a disruptive digital economy.
Featured Image: businessday.ng
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