Nigeria and the Netherlands have agreed to deepen collaboration to improve financial inclusion across different levels of the Nigerian society.
The agreement was reached during a bilateral meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and the Queen of the Netherlands, Queen Maxima, in New York, United States.
Under the arrangement, the Netherlands will leverage its expertise and experience in financial health to support programmes implemented by Nigeria on financial inclusion.
Vice President Shettima, in his remarks, welcomed the offer of support, targeting women and vulnerable persons.
He said the Netherlands’ focus on financial health and inclusion is apt and timely, noting that for Nigeria, the policy has a direct link to education, security and poverty reduction.
Shettima listed some of the programmes already being implemented by government to include the conditional cash transfer initiative and schemes in the agricultural sector, adding that results were already yielding fruits.
He said government policies have positioned some of Africa’s top fintech companies to play critical roles in Nigeria’s journey to achieving financial inclusion.
The Vice President said the reforms undertaken by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu were inevitable given the state of the economy at the onset of the administration in 2023.
For her part, Queen Maxima, who doubles as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health, commended the strong growth recorded by the Nigerian economy under the current administration.
She acknowledged efforts of the administration in boosting financial inclusion and pledged the support of the Netherlands to improve financial health for Nigerians by sharing experience and expertise in insurance, credit guarantee and data generation.
The Queen said the financial health programme was aimed at increasing resilience of citizens, protecting their investments and boosting insurance schemes.
On the fiscal space, the Minister of Finance, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, said in addition to existing policies on insurance and pensions, the recent announcement by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, would boost access to and cost of credit in Nigeria.
He said financial inclusion is being vigorously pursued by the Tinubu administration to help poor Nigerians succeed and live better lives.