Tech experts, government representatives have sought ways to regulate the expanding sector amidst opportunities for future growth.
This was the major focus on Thursday as the stakeholders gathered at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos for the “Tech and Government Summit” which was jointly organized by TechNext, one of Africa’s leading tech-driven media platforms, Ripples Nigeria, African multimedia online news platform and the Voice of the People 90.3FM, a Lagos-based people-focused talk radio.
The panel session was graced with the presence of distinguished guests such as Bola Ajomale, Former MD NASD Plc, William Phelps, Investment Manager, Adaverse, Mohammed Ibrahim Jega, Co-founder, Domienum Blockchain solutions, Bukola Olutayo, CEO, Stellas Bank, Jeffery Williams-Edem, Fintech and growth expert and Rufai Oseni, Arise TV presenter which the theme being, “Regulations and the Fintech Space: To regulate or not, confronting the dilemma”
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, highlighted the policies and strategies being put in place to ensure he drives Lagos state into the leading innovative path. Sanwo-Olu was represented by Olatunbosun Alake, his Special Adviser on Innovation and Technology.
Mohammed Ibrahim opened the floor of discussion by pointing out how technology is changing the system and how it has made possible for individuals to bring up innovative ideas.
“Technology is an enabler and has been able to diversify different industries on different verticals.
“Fintech is moving beyond borders and has been activating the space and with the regulations, we can do more by setting up parameters for businesses and also having inclusiveness” Jega said.
He also highlighted the crack in communication between both those in the tech industry and government.
Bukola Olutayo, CEO of Stellas Bank while speaking about the intention of the regulators to protect the citizens noted that the main problem lies in the inability of the regulators to find a balance between protecting the citizens and ensuring the full strain of technology.
“We have found a lot regulators who are very traditional in the way they regulate because they are focused on only protecting the citizens,” Olutayo said.
He believed regulation should protect the citizen and as well foster technology because technology will also boost the development of the country.
Olutayo also pointed out the rapid growth of technology and how the economy is depending on it as the traditional economy is not reliable enough to develop the country alone.
Citing his company, Stellas Bank as an example, he acknowledged that his company has expanded rapidly in the Fintech space, therefore hammering on the need for regulators to understand the growth of the industry.
Bola Ajomale, Former MD, NASD Plc, pointed out another major issue which was the ease of doing a business in an enabling environment.
He suggested the lay down of key infrastructures to make start-ups easier and sustainable.
“From the regulators to the government, we really need to continue to look at the ease of setting up businesses and the sustainability of doing businesses in this country,” Ajomale said.
“We need to start creating that environment where businesses can start off, plan, put agreements in place and know that a lot of things will run smoothly,” he added.
As stated by William Phelps, Investment Manager, Adaverse, he said in the Fintech space and the tech industry at large, regulation has developed quite negative connotations because tech has developed a disruptive characteristic and is there to disrupt traditional methods of carrying out activities.
Williams said that regulation will be impactful in the tech industry.
“Particularly in Nigeria but globally, we see many innovations in tech regulation, they are incredibly helpful to the development of a dynamic and collaborative eco-system,” he stated.
The key issue highlighted in the one-day summit was the lack of communication from both parties, the tech industry and the government.