FG lauds Moniepoint for boosting informal economy growth

The Federal Government has hailed the contributions of platforms like Moniepoint to the growth of the informal sector in Nigeria.

This was stated by the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, at the launch of the 2024 Nigeria Informal Economy Report powered by Moniepoint in collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

He restated the government’s commitment to deepening economic and financial inclusion in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

According to Shettima, financial inclusion is a core component of the agenda and the government is making a lot of efforts to ensure that the vulnerable in society have safety nets, as exemplified by the ASO Accord, which was signed this year.

The Vice President, represented by the Technical Adviser to the President on Economic & Financial Inclusion, Dr Nurudeen Zauro, acknowledged and appreciated the role of players in the informal space, especially Moniepoint.

“We can all remember that during the COVID-19 lockdown and the recent currency changes, there were a lot of challenges and we saw agencies like this come together and save the country at that point. This is because of the flexible initiatives they brought into the space, especially last-mile delivery, by providing a platform that allowed people to successfully transact. SMEDAN’s innovative streak has also been very commendable,” he said.

Nigeria’s Informal Economy Report offers fresh insights for individuals and organisations interested in understanding the dynamics of Nigeria’s informal economy and shaping a more inclusive and sustainable economic landscape.

Some of the key insights from the report include the youthful demographic as a critical driving force of Nigeria’s informal economy, with over 57.7 per cent of business owners under 34 years old.

According to the report, there is untapped earning potential that is prevalent in the informal segment, with the average monthly income below N250,000 while only 1.3 per cent of businesses in Nigeria’s informal economy earn above N2.5m monthly

It added that retail and general trade were the leading industries within the informal economy, making up 24 per cent of all informal businesses.

In his opening remarks, the Managing Director of Moniepoint Microfinance Bank, Babatunde Olofin, praised operators of informal businesses for the high degree of flexibility and innovation they exhibit in adapting quickly to changing market conditions.

He said that the informal economy contributes substantially to Nigeria’s GDP and can be mobilised to unleash Nigeria’s full economic potential and provide much-needed support to the most vulnerable households.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, who launched the report, reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to supporting small business operators in the informal sector of the economy.

She pointed out that the informal sector, which often appears to be forgotten, would henceforth begin to enjoy the government’s interventions and incentives.

She said, “We are grateful to Moniepoint for conducting this report. It gives us the basis and foundation now to provide targeted intervention as part of the government’s approach to supporting the informal economy. This segment plays a significant role in the Nigerian economy, and we can now bring them up to enjoy incentives that the government is providing to the broader economy as well.”

According to the Director General/CEO of SMEDAN, Charles Odii, in a keynote presentation, small businesses are the engine of the Nigerian economy and most of Nigeria’s approximately 40 million small businesses reside in the informal sector.

He noted that those businesses, which were born out of necessity and entrepreneurial zeal, exemplify the famous Nigerian ‘hustling’.

He affirmed that the agency was working to formalise those businesses and bring them into the formal sector to increase access to important resources, such as finance.