Lagos: Economic experts have called on professional trustees to adopt modern technological innovations, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), to strengthen market integrity within Nigeria's financial ecosystem. The advice was stated in a communiqu© issued on Wednesday following the Annual Business Luncheon (ABL) of the Association of Corporate Trustees (ACT), held in Lagos.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the event, themed 'Innovating Trust: The Role of Corporate Trustees in a Digital Financial Ecosystem', brought together stakeholders to explore how digital transformation can reshape trust and governance in finance. Chief Executive Officer of Zest Payment Ltd., Dr. Stanley Jacob, noted that Nigeria's digital financial ecosystem had shown remarkable resilience and continued growth despite global investment headwinds. However, he identified several challenges impeding payments and investment flows in the country, such as cross-border financial barriers, the stalled development of the Central Bank's databank currency initiative, and limited adoption of AI-driven technologies.
Jacob stressed the importance of embracing AI and its auxiliary solutions to improve customer experience and drive efficiency across financial markets. He highlighted that over 47 percent of transactions from payment across Africa occur in Nigeria, with enhanced regulatory frameworks like the Investment and Security Act of 2025. Despite these advancements, fraud has surged over 468 percent between 2023 and the first nine months of 2024, resulting in losses exceeding 50 billion Naira. Jacob emphasized the need to build industry capacity in AI solutions to foster trust in the ecosystem.
President of ACT, Mrs. Omolola Iyinolakan, stated that the event aimed to explore technological solutions to address challenges hindering Nigeria's economic growth and set a forward-looking tone for the country's financial sector. She noted that a key objective was to broaden the scope of trusteeship by encouraging the adoption of innovative digital tools to tackle persistent issues within the financial ecosystem. Iyinolakan reaffirmed ACT's commitment to supporting professional trustees in embracing modern technologies to enhance efficiency, transparency, and trust in financial operations.
Director General, Security Exchange Commission, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, praised the association's consistent efforts in convening critical dialogues on fiduciary responsibility, market integrity, and financial innovation. He noted that the focused topic reflected the shifting paradigm in Nigeria's financial market and encouraged the association to prioritize digitisation training in digital finance, risk management, and data governance to ensure its members remain at the forefront of market intelligence.