Enhancing Financial Inclusion and Advancement (EFInA), in partnership with Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Financial Services (SIDFS), an initiative of Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, has equipped 147 professionals with practical skills to apply financial inclusion data in policymaking, towards addressing key challenges across Nigeria’s financial inclusion ecosystem.
Delivered through the Leveraging Financial Inclusion Data for Policymaking course, the initiative sought to strengthen participants’ ability to use evidence to inform policy decisions and support more inclusive financial systems. This focus is particularly relevant following the release of EFInA’s 2026 Access to Financial Services (A2F) Survey findings, as stakeholders work to translate the evidence into policies and interventions that respond to the needs of underserved populations.
Over seven weeks, participants completed seven modules combining e-learning with live virtual sessions. They explored how financial inclusion data, including insights from the Global Findex and A2F Surveys, can help identify gaps, understand the needs of underserved groups and inform policy priorities.
The programme’s impact was reflected in improvements in participants’ knowledge and confidence.
Knowledge accuracy increased from 72.5 per cent before the course to 88.5 per cent afterwards, while confidence in applying the skills rose by 21.5 percentage points. These gains point to stronger readiness among participants to use data in their professional work and policy decisions. That strengthened capacity was put into practice through the course’s capstone assignments. They propose recommendations on issues such as agent banking geo-tagging, inclusive eKYC, consumer protection, open finance, Takaful, pension literacy and rural youth credit. These proposals address key challenges across Nigeria’s financial inclusion ecosystem and have the potential to inform ongoing policy discussions and interventions.
According to EFInA’s Research Lead, Dr Oluwatomi Eromosele, “We are encouraged by the progress participants have made, from improved knowledge and confidence to developing policy briefs that address real financial inclusion challenges. These results show that when professionals are equipped to interpret and apply financial inclusion evidence, they are better positioned to identify gaps, assess policy needs and recommend responses that reflect the realities of underserved communities. We look forward to seeing this strengthened capacity contribute to more effective policymaking in Nigeria.”
Participants also described how the course had changed their approach to using financial inclusion data. One participant shared: “I now approach financial inclusion data more intentionally, not just as information to understand trends, but as evidence for identifying gaps, understanding underserved groups, and informing more targeted policy and interventions.” Another participant reflected: “I now approach policy decisions with a more evidence-based mindset, and I am better equipped to identify where interventions are needed most.”
Together, these reflections illustrate the programme’s central aim: to help professionals move beyond understanding financial inclusion data to applying it in ways that can support more targeted, evidence-informed policy and interventions.
The course was delivered through EFInA’s partnership with SIDFS, an initiative of Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, which supports inclusive digital financial services through research, capacity building and engagement.