Emomotimi Agama, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s director-general, says smart regulation is a catalyst for inclusive growth that ensures financial stability in a rapidly evolving ecosystem.

Mr Agama said this while delivering a keynote address at the FintechNGR conference on Tuesday in Lagos. He said smart regulation was a regulatory approach that balanced oversight with flexibility.

According to him, smart regulation ensures that fintech innovations meet the necessary standards of security, consumer protection, and market integrity while still providing room for experimentation and growth.

Mr Agama said that the SEC had adopted a regulatory incubation programme, which allows fintech firms to test their business models in a controlled environment before full-scale operations.

He said that this enabled innovation to flourish within a framework that protects the broader financial ecosystem.

Mr Agama said the SEC had prioritised collaboration with other local and international regulators. He said this was to create a harmonised regulatory environment that encouraged fintech innovations working closely with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Financial Services Regulatory Coordinating Committee.

The SEC boss explained that fintech offered transformative potential to address long-standing challenges, particularly in Africa. He listed such challenges to include financial exclusion, limited access to credit, and the inefficiencies of traditional financial services.

Mr Agama also mentioned that the SEC believed that effective regulation was not just about enforcement but about creating an enabling environment where innovation can thrive while protecting the interests of all stakeholders.

According to him, the SEC believes that the driver of transforming Nigeria into a smart financial centre is providing a regulatory environment conducive to the innovative use of technology.

The SEC director-general noted a significant opportunity for fintechs to contribute to economic growth in Nigeria. He said that fintech services had contributed an average of 56 per cent to GDP in Nigeria since 2023, while financial services recorded growth rates of 30 per cent within the same period.

He stressed that while fintech offers great potential, it poses significant regulatory risks, as large amounts of investor data could be misused without consent.

(NAN)