President Muhammdu Buhari has launched the country’s Central Bank Digital Currency called e-Naira, with Nigeria becoming the first African country to digitise its currency.
He stated that the move was in line with country’s commitment to drive financial inclusion and strengthened its cashless policy through digital currencies such that have been adopted by other countries.
The president also noted that the eNaira would further position Nigeria to derive maximum benefits from the digital economy and exploits all necessary area to further strengthen the country’s economy and Naira value in the global market.
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Meanwhile, Governor of the Central Bank (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has disclosed that the eNaira took off with over N500m of the currency minted so far, adding that no fewer than 33 banks have been fully integrated and currently on the platform.
Speaking at the unveiling, in Abuja, on Monday, Emefiele disclosed that over 2.5 million people would visit the website daily, adding that no fewer than N200 million has been issued to financial institutions.
According to him, over 2,000 customers have been onboarded and 120 merchants have successfully registered on the eNaira platform. he said, “customers who download the eNaira Speed Wallet App will be able to perform the following: onboard and create their wallet; fund their eNaira wallet from their bank account; transfer eNaira from their wallet to another wallet and make payment for purchases at registered merchant locations.”
He listed the functions of the app to include accessibility and onboarding of customers without BVN and the use of the eNaira on the phone without the internet to further drive financial inclusion, making Nigeria one of the first countries in the world to deploy the CBDC via USSD on phones without relying on internet connectivity.
Some of the additional functionalities include: “onboarding of revenue collection agencies to increase and simplify collections and the creation of sector- specific tokens to support the Federal Government’s social programmes and distribution of targeted welfare schemes in a bid to lift millions out of poverty by 2025”.
The CBN boss noted that the apex bank would continue to refine, fine-tune and upgrade the eNaira while assuring that “Nigerians should expect to see additional functionalities in the coming months.”
Emefiele also announced a new financial instrument titled “The 100 for 100 PPP – Policy on Production and Productivity,” to reduce the nation’s overdependence on imports, adding that the initiative would be anchored by CBN Development Finance Department under his direct supervision.
“Under this policy the CBN will advertise, screen, scrutinize and financially support 100 targeted private sector companies in 100 days, beginning from 01 November 2021, and rolling over every 100 days with a new set of 100 companies, whose names will be published in National Dailies for Nigerians to verify and confirm. The purpose of this instrument is to take further steps to reverse our over reliance on imports.
He added that through banks, the financial instrument would be available to their customers in critical areas to boost the production and productivity, with a view to immediately transforming and jumpstarting the productive base of the economy.
“After these 100 projects by companies in the first hundred days from November 1, we will take the next 100 companies/projects for another 100 days beginning February 1, 2022, and then another 100 companies for another 100 days beginning from May 1, 2022.
“We believe that if we target and support the right companies and projects, we will see a significant, 14 measurable and verifiable increase in local production and productivity, reduction in certain imports, increase in non-oil exports, and improvements in the FX-generating capacity of the economy.
“This, in my view, is the best and most sustainable way to address the Naira’s value – whether in hard currency or digital eNaira – through production, production and more production.”
