{"id":9532,"date":"2026-11-05T05:15:52","date_gmt":"2026-11-05T05:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/05\/efina-lbs-equip-147-professionals-to-advance-evidence-based-financial-inclusion-policymaking-businessday-ng\/"},"modified":"2026-11-05T05:15:52","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T05:15:52","slug":"efina-lbs-equip-147-professionals-to-advance-evidence-based-financial-inclusion-policymaking-businessday-ng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/05\/efina-lbs-equip-147-professionals-to-advance-evidence-based-financial-inclusion-policymaking-businessday-ng\/","title":{"rendered":"EFInA, LBS equip 147 professionals to advance evidence-based financial inclusion policymaking – Businessday NG"},"content":{"rendered":"

Enhancing Financial Inclusion and Advancement (EFInA), in partnership with Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Financial Services (SIDFS), an initiative of Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, has equipped 147 professionals with practical skills to apply financial inclusion data in policymaking, towards addressing key challenges across Nigeria\u2019s financial inclusion ecosystem.\n<\/p>\n

Delivered through the Leveraging Financial Inclusion Data for Policymaking course, the initiative sought to strengthen participants\u2019 ability to use evidence to inform policy decisions and support more inclusive financial systems. This focus is particularly relevant following the release of EFInA\u2019s 2026 Access to Financial Services (A2F) Survey findings, as stakeholders work to translate the evidence into policies and interventions that respond to the needs of underserved populations.\n<\/p>\n

Over seven weeks, participants completed seven modules combining e-learning with live virtual sessions. They explored how financial inclusion data, including insights from the Global Findex and A2F Surveys, can help identify gaps, understand the needs of underserved groups and inform policy priorities.\n<\/p>\n

The programme\u2019s impact was reflected in improvements in participants\u2019 knowledge and confidence. Knowledge accuracy increased from 72.5% before the course to 88.5% afterwards, while confidence in applying the skills rose by 21.5 percentage points.\n<\/p>\n

These gains point to stronger readiness among participants to use data in their professional work and policy decisions. That strengthened capacity was put into practice through the course\u2019s capstone assignments. They propose recommendations on issues such as agent banking geo-tagging, inclusive eKYC, consumer protection, open finance, Takaful, pension literacy and rural youth credit.<\/p>\n

These proposals address key challenges across Nigeria\u2019s financial inclusion ecosystem and have the potential to inform ongoing policy discussions and interventions.\n<\/p>\n

According to EFInA\u2019s Research Lead, Dr Oluwatomi Eromosele, \u201cWe are encouraged by the progress participants have made, from improved knowledge and confidence to developing policy briefs that address real financial inclusion challenges.\n<\/p>\n

These results show that when professionals are equipped to interpret and apply financial inclusion evidence, they are better positioned to identify gaps, assess policy needs and recommend responses that reflect the realities of underserved communities. We look forward to seeing this strengthened capacity contribute to more effective policymaking in Nigeria.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Participants also described how the course had changed their approach to using financial inclusion data. One participant shared: \u201cI now approach financial inclusion data more intentionally, not just as information to understand trends, but as evidence for identifying gaps, understanding underserved groups, and informing more targeted policy and interventions.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Another participant reflected: \u201cI now approach policy decisions with a more evidence-based mindset, and I am better equipped to identify where interventions are needed most.\u201d<\/p>\n

Together, these reflections illustrate the programme\u2019s central aim: to help professionals move beyond understanding financial inclusion data to applying it in ways that can support more targeted, evidence-informed policy and interventions.\n<\/p>\n

The course was delivered through EFInA\u2019s partnership with SIDFS, an initiative of Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, which supports inclusive digital financial services through research, capacity building and engagement.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChinwe Michael<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Chinwe Michael is a Nigerian business journalist and media professional with over 4 years of experience covering companies, financial markets, banking, fintech, economic policy, financial inclusion, and corporate affairs. She currently leads the Companies & Markets desk at BusinessDay, where she drives coverage of Nigeria\u2019s corporate and capital markets, translates complex financial data into accessible stories, and mentors younger journalists. Prior to that, she was the head of the financial inclusion\/fintech desk. With a background in banking and finance and extensive experience in media and communications, Michael has developed expertise in financial journalism, economic analysis, investigative reporting and market intelligence. Her work examines how monetary policy, corporate performance, capital flows, technology, and regulatory decisions affect businesses, investors, and households. She was selected from about 3,000 applicants as one of 20 journalists for Cohort 4 of the MTN Media Innovation Programme, gaining exposure to new approaches to journalism, technology, and media innovation. Her international journalism experience and engagement with professionals across Russia, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and others in different sectors have further broadened her understanding of global communication and development.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Businessday NG<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Enhancing Financial Inclusion and Advancement (EFInA), in partnership with Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Financial Services (SIDFS), an initiative of Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, has equipped 147 professionals with practical… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9533,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}