In line with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) financial inclusion drive, MainOne, a Cloud Solutions Services Provider, said it is offering Hybrid Cloud solutions to support commercial and microfinance institutions (MFIs) in West Africa.
The Hybrid solutions offer a comprehensive technical and commercial build-versus-buy assessment, which has facilitated partnerships that allowed the banks to achieve regulatory compliance and increased efficiencies without the weight of operating and capital expenditure challenges.
‘’In order to take advantage of the opportunities available that will enable banks to reach the unserved population, and also withstand the onslaught of Fintech companies, banks need to maximize their operational efficiencies and extend their reach with solutions that foster revenue growth without the burden of increased capital expenditure,’’ explained Ololade Shonubi, DGM Marketing and Customer Experience.
He argued that MainOne as a renowned leader in connectivity solutions that enable digital transformations across West Africa is focused on supporting organizations across sectors to adapt to the flexibility, cost-effective and value add that innovative cloud connectivity enables for them.
“We offer bespoke solutions that allow various industries including the Financial Services industry to scale easily while maintaining high performance and focusing on their core business objectives. Our Solutions competently support the transition from legacy platforms to innovative and dynamic cloud-based solutions and platforms which allow organisations to develop new products and applications, enhance existing applications and ultimately improve their customers’ experience,” he added.
In a bid to enhance economic growth through financial inclusion, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued mobile network operators payment banking licenses in 2019 while in Ghana, a digital financial services (DFS) policy was launched in early 2020. Other countries on the African continent have implemented similar policies. These developments do not only pave the way for greater inclusion in the financial system but also put additional pressure on commercial banks and MFIs to deliver efficient and more cost-effective services.
However, many commercial banks and MFIs have been held back on their digital transformation journeys by legacy technology and processes. They have continued to invest in and own Data Centers to host critical applications, which have not been cost-efficient. System outages and downtimes have been common with these banks, resulting in heavy financial losses and reputational damage.