Mr. Sola Bickersteth is co – founder and Group Director, Business Development of FIC Professionals Network Plc, a recognized stakeholder-owned and a key player in the financial inclusion ecosystem......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
Bickersteth is an expert in agency banking and financial inclusion with over 15 years of managing pioneering projects like NIN, NAPI and NCC SIM registration, among others. The pioneer COO of Nigeria Internet Registration
Association and Chief Executive of One Network led the team that built the world’s largest cyber center, ChamsCity, as listed by the Guinness Book of World Records. In this interview, the President of Society of Agents Banking shares his experience in managing pioneering projects like NIN, NAPI and NCC SIM registration. He also speaks on the impact of agency banking certification, benefits of financial inclusion centres as well as partnership with the federal and state governments, Bank of Industry, NIMC and NIBSS, among other issues. Excerpts:
Can you elaborate on FIC’s role in the financial inclusion ecosystem and its collaboration with the federal government?
FIC is a professional network as is in our name. The role of government is to come up with a policy but when it comes to making it happen on the field, that’s where FIC comes to play. This government has said it wants to make credit available to all Nigerians, what are the steps that we need to take to make it happen? We need to train financial inclusion experts, we need to certify them and that’s why we’re working with the Chartered Institute of Bankers, CIBN, so that there are qualified and competent agents all over the country who will be helping people to access, even if you are in the village, somebody can approach you as an FIC agent and apply for a loan through you, N10m or N20m loan, they can also apply for mortgage. All our services presently are only accessible in town. That is the work of FIC with government. And of course, these services come through the financial institutions, the commercial banks, the micro finance banks, insurance companies and others.
How does the FIC’s partnership with NIMC and NIBSS enhance identity management and verification services in Nigeria?
Yes, what FIC stands for is bringing service to the people. And today we manage about 3,000 field agents who go round the country and help people to register for NIMC. And by the time the new AFRIGO card, which is the new national ID card is going to be deployed; our field agents will be on ground, to also help every adult Nigerian to get a copy of the new ID card, which the new credit system is going to be anchored upon.
So what impact has the Agency Banking Certification, ABC, program had on the agency banking ecosystem in Nigeria?
You see, before now, people that go into what is called POS business, they go into it almost like all for job. They need a job, they need something doing, all you need to do is get a POS and get some cash and you can start. And of course, it has been the biggest employer of the labour in Nigeria over the past 10 years. 2.1 million POS devices are in the system as at today. However, with this certification program, when I’m talking about people who can start developing a profession, they can now start becoming like “I am an agent banker.” They can acquire the certificate and now start behaving exactly like the banks do. They will now start taking some of the services that you have to go to a bank branch to do today because they now have the same level of competency. So it is going to create a career out of this 2.1 million that exists. Of course, it’s not everybody that will see the vision, but POS agents that see the vision, today, it’s an opportunity for them to now develop a lifelong career in banking through this agency banking certification.
Can you provide more details about the economic and financial inclusion workshop organized in partnership with the office of the Vice President?
Oh, yes. The purpose of the workshop is to bring all stakeholders together, because the government recognizes that it cannot do it alone. They need experts who can also advise them, and tell them what to do and how to make their intention a reality. And so, in doing that, stakeholders, over 400 professionals, were brought together in April, to talk to the government about what to do for the economic inclusion in Nigeria. The most important outcome is the Abuja Aso Accord, where the Vice President, the Minister of Finance, the Central Bank of Nigeria, the private sector, signed an agreement that we’re going to work together to make financial inclusion a reality. Government can set up the policy, but private sector are the best people to drive it and take it to the grassroots, which is part of what the outcome of what we’re doing today is all about.
So how does FIC’s ownership structure contribute to its success in bringing the gap between private entities, government parastatals, and other economic sectors?
Yes, all over the world, the most important economic institutes in every economy in the world are stakeholder-owned.
Internationally, when you talk about stock exchanges that are in UK and US, when you talk about credit card firms like MasterCard, they are not private organizations. In Nigeria, we have the example of the Nigeria stock exchange. We have the central switch, NIBSS Plc., they are stakeholders owned organizations and because of that, they have been able to help the economy to grow deeper. So but this stakeholder ownership, it’s not a private entity, it’s not an organization that one individual can take over and use it to drive their personal interest. It’s an organization that exists, so that’s the common good goes to the industry operators and to the public at large.
What are the benefits of the financial inclusion center being launched in Lagos?
Oh, yes. If you are in a village today, and you want to get a loan, where will you go? Our own answer is that you should go to a financial inclusion center. So we encourage community leaders who want to see growth in their communities to reach out to FIC so that they can set up financial inclusion centers in their local communities. If you are a religious leader, this is a good way of empowering your people in reality. If you are a politicians, this is a beautiful way because those financial inclusion centers are now where the villagers can go and can’t assess loans, grants, pension, insurance, get and access to government palliatives, and all the things that are presently not available in villages but it’s only available in cities. So those financial inclusion centers are what is going to help that group as we have started doing it in Lagos and will take it all around Nigeria.
Can you discuss FIC’s technical partnership with the Lagos State government and development of a shared agent management platform?
Yes. The Lagos State government, as you know, is the biggest income earner in Nigeria. And the reason why is because there is a structured program where every resident of Lagos has been registered. So FIC is collaborating with the government to ensure that everybody in Lagos from child to adult, has their Lagos identity card that they can use to enter train and bus at a much cheaper rate, they can use to attend to hospital almost for free, and so many other services that can benefit that they can get from the Lagos State government by being able to get that card. So we’re working with the government and we’re going to deploy initially 600 agents all over Lagos to ensure that everybody in the state is registered and is given a card. Of course, we’re talking to so many other states as well, and other states will also have the kind of benefits that the Lagos State has gotten in deepening and empowering their people.
How does FIC’s partnership with the Bank of Industry support the enumeration of beneficiaries of FG’s palliative grants?
The palliative program is aimed at making small grants available to micro businesses all over the country. Of course, BOI does not have branches in every nook and cranny of Nigeria. So, FIC is working with BOI to reach every corner of Nigeria, no matter how deep and remote so that they can access government palliative , more loans that ordinarily they wouldn’t be able to access or even when they go to town, sometimes, it’s even impossible for them to access these loans. So, FIC is bridging that gap on behalf of the BOI.
So, what devices are FIC supplying banks, fintechs, LASRRA, NIMC, and NIBSS, and how will they enhance their operations?
What most of us know in public today is what is called a POS device. A POS device allows somebody to bring their card and withdraw their money. The device that FIC is deploying to the ecosystem, through banks, state governments and co, is what we call a biometric field device, BFD. It has what we called a fingerprint scanner so that when somebody comes and says, “I want to be verified”, you can use the device to help him to register his national identity, register his BVN, open a bank account, do his KYC, verify his identity and practically everything that ordinarily he would have to go far distances to get. So that device is what we are using to provide services to the nook and cranny of the country called a biometric device.
So, as an industry- recognized subjects matter expert in agency banking and financial inclusion, what are your thoughts on the future of financial inclusion in Nigeria?
Well, we’ve achieved a lot over the past 10 years. There are 2.1m POS devices in circulation, but, 10 years ago, it was zero. So that is a lot of improvement. Over the next few years, we’re going to have 210,000 certified agent bankers and those agent bankers will start doing a lot of things that are being done by banks today. And so, we see a bright future for financial inclusion in Nigeria. In the next few months and years, we see a situation where people in villages can access load, mortgage services and can lease equipment and all these services that are ordinarily not available in rural areas today. So we see a bright future for financial inclusion in Nigeria and even something that the rest of the world is going to celebrate.
Can you share your experience in managing pioneering projects like NIN, NIMC and NCC emergency services?
Well, I have had the privilege of being involved in these projects that you mentioned. I think what is always good about them is the successes that we have achieved in each of these projects. So when we started the SIMReg which was about 12 years ago, nobody thought it was possible for us to be able to register at that time, about 30m SIMReg owners but we successfully did it. I recall that when JAMB started also, we successfully deployed what is now called the electronic JAMB. So we have been successful with these projects and we believe that it is all those years of experience that is also going to help us become successful in making financial inclusion a reality in Nigeria.
How did your experience leading the team that built the world’s largest cyber center, ChamsCity, prepare you for your current role at FIC Professionals Network Plc?
A world’s record is like an inspiration because when you have achieved the best in the world, you know that there is no challenge that is too much or impossible. So it is something that encourages you. It reminds you that if you continue to put in your business, the world is really at your fingerprint. So achieving a world record about 12 years ago was encouraging, and it has continued to be a booster till today.
What are the challenges of financial inclusion in Nigeria?
The biggest challenge is knowledge. In Nigeria, we believe in God we put a lot of energy around acquiring religious knowledge but we don’t put enough energy into acquiring financial knowledge. So when we need to educate and help people to understand what they need to do, it can be challenging. But with 210,000 financial inclusion experts that will qualify around Nigeria, we’re going to get to the point where that knowledge gap is going to be broken. I look forward to the day where every church and mosque in Nigeria has a financial inclusion center somewhere in their compound so that when you finish preaching to people about God, you can encourage them to acquire knowledge about money, which is also going to transform their lives.