Aig-Imoukhuede advocates issuing deposit-taking licence to telcos

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, president, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and former chief executive of Access Bank, yesterday said, “Nigeria needs to embrace disruptive technology to address its challenges.”

Specifically, he advocated that banks should allow telecoms companies to hold deposit-taking licences, saying “we should not be scared of giving one to two telcos deposit-taking licence.”

The innovation that has changed the face of banking in Nigeria has come from distributive technology, he said.

Aig-Imoukhuede, who spoke at the Biannual Access Leadership Conference 2015 held in Lagos, said the net benefit of allowing digital technology to thrive far outweigh the risk.

Jose Maria Figueres, former president of Costa Rica, Steve Woznaik, co-founder of Apple, spoke on epitomising the twin power of aspiration and desire. He discussed with the former Costa Rica president how a far-reaching vision could become a compelling catalyst for innovation.

He advised that to increase innovation in the county, universities should focus on broad education of students and not on just mathematics, as innovative minds need only to be able to think logically.

Other panellists including Nnamdi Okei, co-founder, Yudala, Nigeria; Mariana Mazzucato, professor of economics of innovation, University of Sussex; Narayana Murthy, founder, Infosys Technologies, India, and Ted Sounder, head of industry and retail, Google Inc, USA, spoke on the essential attributes of innovation.

They revealed the strategies, organisational and behavioural factors that separate successful innovators from the rest. They challenged government on tax incentives for young entrepreneurs, specifically in the area of research and development.

Also speaking at the conference, governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode, disclosed plans by his administration to establish a viable platform that would identify young entrepreneurs for the purpose of supporting and promoting their enterprise.

He said the initiative tagged, ‘Pitch@Lagos’ had already received support from former President Olusegun Obasanjo, President of Dangote Group of Companies, Aliko Dangote and Access Bank by way of sponsorship.

“It is no longer in doubt that Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs) hold the key to realising our full potentials for growth and development”.

“The history of the Asian Tigers is well known. It is also a fact that while most big business corporations started as Small Medium Enterprises, developing economies still pay special attention to the survival of Small Medium Enterprises in various sectors of their economies,” he said.

He said the challenge of any government was to create an enabling environment that would enable the entrepreneurial spirit to thrive.

While alluding to the fact the theme of the conference was apt, Ambode said that the quest for transformation resonated with the present reality of human existence, urging participants to continue to undertake meaningful innovations to transform their environment.

“Indeed, we live in interesting times. We live in an era where our ability to influence the society depends very much on how we are able to bring innovative ideas to bear on our responsibilities,” he said.