The Chief Operating Officer of the Fintech Association of Nigeria, FINTECHNGR, Dr. Babatunde Obrimah has pinpointed four parts of the global economy that will see growth even after the novel coronavirus scourge currently holding global economies to ransom is defeated.
The four parts of the ecosystem currently experiencing growth as the world adjusts to the reality of the COVID-19 include virtual workspace, Health Tech, Financial Inclusion, and Ed Tech.
Dr. Obrimah believes that as many companies begin to adopt different models of remote work to ameliorate the effect of the COVID-19 scourge, that virtual workspaces will gain popularity among businesses who are looking to ensure that their operations continue to run seamlessly.
He opines that even though there are lockdowns in many parts of the world, businesses in all sectors can still have better productivity and guaranteed performances employing virtual workspaces.
He pointed to things that have helped businesses to sustain their continuity to include, online meetings, task reviews, project briefs, and operational discussions. All these items are included in many virtual work solutions that are becoming increasingly popular.
Obrimah also points to Health Tech as one of the most important ecosystems of the time due to the coronavirus scourge’s impact on public health systems across the world.
He also stated that investments in companies that are active in the sector will encourage research and innovation that will, in turn, lead to innovative service delivery in the healthcare sector.
He advised that improvement in the issues around data and development of ways that people can seek medical advice employing apps is very important for information sharing and supporting people that contract diseases as well as first responders. He said, “Nigeria at this time needs a digital-led healthcare system that can address the medical challenges of a large population.”
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, students have been forced to leave the schools and parents are forced to look for study-at-home solutions in order to keep their children schooling going. and Obrimah believes that the growth of the sector should receive more attention as many Ed Tech solutions are engaging more and more children who are restricted to stay at home during pandemics like the current one.
He believes that the sector will continue to grow even after the pandemic as many parents will start looking for alternatives to keep their children engaged.
Financial inclusion is another sector that Dr. Obrimah believes will continue to see growth after the pandemic. The COO believes that more Nigerians should be encouraged to take advantage of alternative channels like POS, ATMs, USSD banking, Online banking and several other channels that continue to be developed to conduct their transactions.
As an executive of the Fintech association in Nigeria, he believes that funding will only go where opportunities present themselves in the industry.
He also says that funding will not be as much as last year as the sector is seeing its own challenge due to the coronavirus problem.
Hear him: “So, I see those opportunities still there, there is no doubt that the world is almost at a standstill, which will affect funding. Members of the Fintech Association of Nigeria might not get as much level of funding as in 2019, $600 million came into the Fintech Industry in 2019 which was remarkable.”
