Stakeholders at 2024 Finance the Finance and Business Online Publishers (FiBOP) 2024:Conference have called on the government to facilitate a home grown financial infrastructure that will bring in the estimated N36 trillion in the informal sector as it harps on the policy of financial inclusion.
This formed part of the 14 point communique issued at the end of the FiBOP 2024 Conference with the theme: ‘Digital innovation: Deepening infrastructure for efficient financial ecosystem.
The conference attracted participants from the banking, Maritime, oil and gas and Customs.
The communique urged the government to address and empower access to credit of the informal sector by reducing cost of credit as it seeks ways to grow the internally generated revenue.
It observed that the Nigerian ports and its environs surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean should think of how to make the initial huge investment in infrastructure to harness water resources to generate its own electricity through investment in hydro and gas energy to power the ports and its environs.
The conference pointed out that there is the need to integrate all stakeholders into one digital e-customs modernisation project platform to achieve more success.
FiBOP noted in the communique that the NCS digitisation process is pivotal in enhancing the efficiency of trade and revenue generation and collection as it will continually be a transformative force leveraging information technology (ICT) and digital solutions that revolutionise traditional trade processes.
The conference emphasised that there is the need for effective collaboration among the ministry of communication and digital technology, banks and other relevant government agencies to build improved digital infrastructure as a means of lowering costs and upgrading transactions efficiency in the banking sector.
The stakeholders also agreed that customs should sustain the authorised economic operators (AEO) programme in line with the world customs organization (WCO) SAFE FRAMEWORK of standards designed to enhance security in the supply chain while facilitating trade and reducing leakages caused by smuggling or underreporting while systems like NICIS II streamline import and export documentation and ensuring that duties are accessed in real time, fast tracking clearance and simplifying payment processes.
The conference stated that costly digital infrastructure could be provided through the public -private partnership in NCS modernisation project to enable it leverage on cutting edge technologies and expertise without overburdening the national budget.
Other resolutions contained in the communique include: “That the cyber security challenges such as high costs and cyber security risks must be carefully managed to sustain the gains achieved through these initiatives.
That digital infrastructure automation is key in import duty collection thus minimising manual errors and reducing time delays.
That there is the need for our home-grown financial infrastructure to pay attention to peoples’ needs by conducting people-needs assessment
That there is the need for establishing a study group in Nigeria’s ICT sector that will be responsible for researching and ascertaining the needs of Nigerians in the area of technology so that the needs of the people will be known and solutions provided.
The stakeholders also tasked the government through the Nigerian Communication commission to redouble efforts to eliminate down time or reduce to the barest minimum the number of hours lost per downtime relative to countries with back up systems that bolster their network.
