Without adequate financial inclusion, poverty cannot be effectively eradicated in Nigeria and other nations of Africa, First Bank Nigeria Plc stated on Friday.
Financial inclusion refers to efforts aimed at making financial products and services accessible and affordable to all individuals and businesses, regardless of their personal net worth or company size.
Delivering the keynote address at the Africa Legislative and Good Governance Conference in Abuja, the Chief Executive Officer, First Bank, Adesola Adeduntan, said the banking sector was at the heart of economic development and had been pushing for proper financial inclusion.
He said, “Today, in most parts of Africa, at the heart of economic development is the development of the banking sector itself, because without financial inclusion you cannot eradicate poverty, neither can you even promote employment.”
The First Bank boss noted that while inclusive economic growth was one area of impact of the banking sector, another area had to do with infrastructure growth.
“On the growth of infrastructure all over the world, Africa not being an exception, we’ve come to the realisation that government alone does not have the resources to finance the kind of infrastructure that we require,” he said.
