EFInA mobilises local voices to expand financial access in Katsina

Enhancing Financial Inclusion and Advancement (EFInA), through its Inclusion for All (I4All) Initiative and in partnership with Shared Agent Network Expansion Facility (SANEF) and CARE Nigeria, has activated 92 community champions in Katsina State as part of a grassroots engagement drive designed to deepen financial inclusion through community-led participation.

The initiative follows the successful completion of the first round of community engagement sessions held at the Local Government Council Secretariat in Mani Local Government Area and at Government Day Secondary School in Malumfashi Local Government Area. The sessions convened representatives of associations, informal sector clusters, community groups, and project officials to begin structured dialogue on financial access and real-life experiences with financial services.

The meetings form part of a series of five planned monthly engagements aimed at establishing consistent channels of communication between underserved populations and financial-sector stakeholders. Discussions centred on awareness building, trust in financial systems, affordability of services, connectivity challenges, customer experience, and consumer protection concerns affecting daily financial activity.

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Project leaders said the goal is to move beyond high-level policy discussions and instead ground financial inclusion strategies in lived realities. According to Chinasa Collins‑Ogbuo, Head of the Inclusion for All Initiative, direct engagement with communities is essential to understanding how financial products and policies function in practice. She noted that insights gathered from residents help shape more responsive and inclusive financial systems.

Participants identified priority areas for ongoing dialogue and worked with facilitators to define practical solutions to local barriers. The activation of 92 grassroots champions across the two local government areas establishes a decentralised support structure that will promote awareness, gather feedback, escalate issues, and sustain collaboration between communities and policymakers.

Uchenna Enyioha, Inclusion for All Manager, said the conversations demonstrated that residents possess clear knowledge of their financial challenges and often propose workable solutions. He stressed that the responsibility now lies with stakeholders across the ecosystem to ensure those perspectives influence decision-making and service design.

The engagement sessions also marked the launch of the project’s baseline survey, led by EFInA’s Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning team. The survey is expected to provide evidence for programme implementation, track changes over time, and measure the impact of interventions as the initiative progresses.

Organisers explained that future meetings would build on initial discussions and focus on translating community input into tangible improvements such as better service delivery, enhanced consumer protection, and more accessible digital financial tools. By institutionalising dialogue, the project seeks to narrow the gap between formal financial access and meaningful usage among underserved populations.

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Across Nigeria, financial inclusion efforts have expanded in recent years, but disparities remain between urban and rural areas, as well as among vulnerable groups. Development practitioners say initiatives that prioritise community voices are critical to ensuring policies reflect real needs rather than assumptions.

Through the Grassroots Voices Network Project, EFInA and its partners aim to embed participation at the centre of financial inclusion strategy. Stakeholders believe that empowering local champions will not only strengthen awareness and trust but also foster long-term resilience, economic opportunity, and broader participation in the formal financial system.

The Katsina activation represents an early milestone in what organisers describe as a nationwide effort to ensure that financial inclusion initiatives are informed by those they are intended to serve.