Africa Cup of Nations - How it all began

The Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON), also known as the African Nations Cup, while for French its Coupe d’Afrique des Nations; and is the main international association football competition in Africa. Approved by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), AfCON was first held in 1957 and since 1968, it has been held every two years. The title holders at the time of a FIFA Confederations Cup qualify for that competition.
 

By 1957 there were only three participating nations: Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. Whereas South Africa was originally scheduled to compete, but was disqualified due to the apartheid policies of the government then in power. Since then, the tournament has grown greatly, making it necessary to hold a qualifying tournament.

Also, the number of participants in the final tournament reached 16 in 1998 who competed in 1996 although Nigeria withdrew, reducing the field to 15, and ever since, the format has been unchanged, with the sixteen teams being drawn into four groups of four teams each, the top two teams of each group are expected to advance to a “knock-out” stage. Egypt is the most successful nation in the cup’s history, winning the tournament a record seven times, including when Egypt was known as the United Arab Republic between 1958 and 1971. Followed by Ghana and Cameroon each won four titles respectively. Equally, three different trophies have been awarded during the tournament’s history, with Ghana and Cameroon winning the first two versions to keep after each of them won the tournament three times. The current trophy was first awarded in 2002 and with Egypt winning it indefinitely after winning their unprecedented third consecutive title in 2010.1950s–60s: Early growth of the ANC competition

The origins of the African Nations Cup date back to June 1956, when the creation of the Confederation of African Football was proposed during the third FIFA congress in Lisbon. There were immediate plans for a continental nations tournament to be held, and in February 1957, the first African Cup of Nations took place in Khartoum, Sudan. There was no qualification for this tournament, the field being made up of the four founding nations of CAF (Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Africa). South Africa’s insistence on selecting only Caucasian players for their squad due to that nation’s apartheid policy led to its disqualification, and as a consequence Ethiopia were handed a bye straight to the final. Hence, only two matches were played, with Egypt being crowned as the first continental champion after defeating hosts Sudan in the semi-final and Ethiopia in the final. Two years later, Egypt hosted the second ANC in Cairo with the participation of the same three teams. Host and defending champions Egypt repeated as cup winners, this time downing Sudan.

The field grew to include nine teams for the third ANC in 1962 in Addis Ababa, and for the first time there was a qualification round to determine which four teams would play for the title. Host Ethiopia and reigning champion Egypt received automatic berths, and were joined in the final four by Nigeria and Tunisia. Egypt made its third consecutive final appearance, but it was Ethiopia that emerged as victors, after first beating Tunisia and then downing Egypt in extra time.1960s: Ghanaian domination

In 1963, Ghana made its first appearance as it hosted the event, and won the title after beating Sudan in the final. They repeated that as they became champions two years later in Tunisia—equaling Egypt as two-time winners—with a squad that included only two returning members from the 1963 team.

The 1968 competition’s final tournament format expanded to include eight of the 22 teams entered in the preliminary rounds. The qualifying teams were distributed in two groups of four to play single round-robin tournaments, with the top two teams of each group advancing to semi-finals, a system that remained in use for the finals until 1992.

However, the Democratic Republic of Congo won its first title, beating Ghana in the final. Starting with the 1968 tournament, the competition has been regularly held every two years in even numbered years. Côte d’Ivoire forward Laurent Pokou led the 1968 and 1970 tournaments in scoring, with six and eight goals respectively, and his total of 14 goals remained the all-time record until 2008. Play was covered for television for the first time during the 1970 tournament in Sudan, as the hosts lifted the trophy after defeating Ghana—who were playing their fourth consecutive final.1970s: A decade of champions

Six different nations won titles from 1970 to 1980: Sudan, Congo-Brazzaville, Zaire, Morocco, Ghana, and Nigeria. Zaire’s second title in the 1974 edition (they won their first as the Democratic Republic of Congo) came after facing Zambia in the final. For the only time to date in the history of the competition, the match had to be replayed as the first contest between the two sides ended in a 2–2 draw after extra time. The final was re-staged two days later with Zaire winning 2–0. Forward Mulamba Ndaye scored all four of Zaire’s goals in these two matches: he was also the top scorer of the tournament with nine goals, setting a single-tournament record that remains unmatched. Three months earlier, Zaire had become the first black African nation to qualify to the FIFA World Cup. Morocco won their first title in the 1976 ANC held in Ethiopia and Ghana took its third championship in 1978, becoming the first nation to win three titles. In 1980, Nigeria hosted the event and beat Algeria to capture its first honours.1980s: Nigerian domination

In 1980, the then Green Eagles which, to date, remains in our collective fond memory as the last team we can proudly call a truly national side with the right sense of patriotism and discipline, went into the National Stadium, Lagos with all zeal and determination, played their hearts out and grabbed the cup; thereby momentarily heightening Nigeria’s glory and respect in continental football but that has remained the last of such glory. And what do we now expect, even as the Super Eagles as we call today, have started the AFCON outing on a shaky note. In fact, by the time you are reading this piece, it is hoped that the Super Eagles would not have embarked on a sober flight back home midway into the competition.

Ghana’s fourth continental title came in the 1982 cup tournament; they beat Algeria in the semi-finals in extra time, and faced host Libya in the final. The match ended in a 1–1 draw after 120 minutes and Ghana won the penalty shootout to become champions. Cameroon won their first title two years later by beating Nigeria and in the 1986 cup they faced Egypt—absent from the final since 1962—with Egypt winning the title on penalty kicks. Cameroon reached its third consecutive final in the 1988 tournament and won their second championship by repeating their 1984 victory over Nigeria. In 1990, Nigeria lost once again as they made their third final appearance in four tournaments, this time falling to Algeria.1990s: The return of South Africa. The 1992 Cup of Nations expanded the number of final tournament participants to 12; the teams were divided into four groups of three, with the top two teams of each group advancing to quarter-finals. Ghanaian midfielder Abedi “Pelé” Ayew, who scored three goals, was named the best player of the tournament after his contributions helped Ghana reach the final; he was, however, suspended for that match and Ghana lost to Côte d’Ivoire in a penalty shootout that saw each side make 11 attempts to determine the winner. Côte d’Ivoire set a record for the competition by holding each of their opponents scoreless in the six matches of the final tournament.

The 12-team, three-group format was used again two years later, where hosts Tunisia were humiliated by their first round elimination. Nigeria, who had just qualified to the World Cup for the first time in their history, won the tournament, beating Zambia, who a year before had been struck by disaster when most of their national squad died in a plane crash while traveling to play a 1994 World Cup qualification match. Nigerian forward Rashidi Yekini, who had led the 1992 tournament with four goals, repeated as the top scorer with five goals.

South Africa hosted the 20th ACN competition in 1996, marking their first ever appearance after a decade long ban was lifted with the end of apartheid in the country and a failed attempt to qualify in 1994. The number of final round participants in 1996 was expanded to the current 16, split into four groups. However, the actual number of teams playing in the final was only 15 as Nigeria withdrew from the tournament at the final moment for political reasons.[5] Bafana Bafana won their first title on home soil, defeating Tunisia in the final.

The South Africans would reach the final again two years later in Burkina Faso, but were unable to defend their title, losing to Egypt who claimed their fourth cup.2000s: Egypt’s unprecedented Treble

The 2000 edition was hosted jointly by Ghana and Nigeria, who replaced the originally designated host Zimbabwe. Following a 2–2 draw after extra time in the final, Cameroon defeated Nigeria on penalty kicks. In 2002, Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions made the second consecutive titles since Ghana had done it in the 1960s and after Egypt had done it before in 1957 and 1959. Again via penalty kicks, the Cameroonians beat first-time finalists Senegal, who also debuted in the World Cup later that year. Both finalists were eliminated in quarter finals two years later in Tunisia, where the hosts won their first title, beating Morocco 2–1 in the final. The 2006 tournament was also won by the hosts, Egypt, who reached a continental-record fifth title. The 2008 tournament was hosted by Ghana, and saw Egypt retain the trophy, winning their record-extending sixth tournament by defeating Cameroon 1–0 in the final.[7] Egypt set a new record in the 2010 tournament that was hosted by Angola by winning their third consecutive title in an unprecedented achievement on the African level after defeating Ghana 1–0 in the final, retaining the gold-plated cup indefinitely and extending their record to 7 continental titles (including when Egypt was known as the United Arab Republic between 1958 and 1971).

On 31 January 2010, Egypt set a new African record, not being defeated for 19 consecutive Cup of Nations matches, since a 2–1 loss against Algeria in Tunisia in 2004,[citation needed] and a record 9 consecutive win streak.[citation needed] Egypt also set another record on that day, where it became the first African nation to win three consecutive cups joining Mexico, Argentina, and Iran who won their continent cup 3 times in a row. Future

Ahead of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations several European clubs called for a rethink of the tournament’s schedule. As it takes place during the European season, players who are involved miss several matches for their clubs.

In January 2008, FIFA president Sepp Blatter announced that he wanted the tournament to be held in either June or July by 2016, to fit in the international calendar, although this would preclude many countries in central and West Africa from hosting the competition.

In May 2010, it was announced that the tournament would be moved to odd-numbered years from 2013. This will mean the tournament will not take place in the same year as the World Cup. It also means there will be two tournaments within twelve months in January 2012[11] (co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea) and January 2013 (hosted by South Africa).

On 29 January 2011, Morocco won the bid to host the 2015 edition and Libya won the right to host the 2013 tournament. But due to the 2011 Libyan civil war, Libya and South Africa traded years with South Africa hosting in 2013 and Libya hosting in 2017.

 
Bayo Banji/LS

... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Modupe Oshikoya - A champion finally remembered

THE name Modupe Oshikoya, when heard, sounds like any other name from the south western part of the country to any Nigerian. Whereas truth being told, it should be a name well mentioned when grassroots sports development becomes topical in the country as she is one of Africa’s greatest athletes.

Modupe Oshikoya was born 2 May, 1954 and is a former female track and field athlete from Nigeria, who competed in the women’s sprint and long jump events during her career.

The true star of the 2nd All-Africa Games which Nigeria staged in Lagos in 1973, Modupe Oshikoya, won five gold medals at the 1973 and 1978 All Africa Games and is a one-time Olympian (1972), and who also competed in the heptathlon. This is no mean a feat for a girl who was recruited into sports from Methodist Girls High School in Lagos as part of a scheme to develop sports in the secondary school system.

Heroine of the 2nd All Africa Games, among others, established and made Nigeria a force to reckon with in the continent, Africa, and the world at large. There is no gain saying that, icons like this should be given their due during major sports events, especially those in which such icons had participated and excelled like the All Africa Games and the just-concluded National Sports Festival as a sort of model for budding talents to look up to. Even through her words “…I wish I can go back to my youthful days so that I can compete in the National Sports Festivals and make some money too...”, her love for the games and country could be felt.

The 18th National Sports Festival has come and gone but it remains to be seen if the desired purpose has been achieved based on the allegations that some states featured mercenaries from neighbouring countries such as Benin and Niger Republics. This is not the first time that some states have included foreign athletes in their teams. Rio 2016 will however determine the success of Eko 2012 and Calabar 2014 in discovering talents to represent the country as this year’s representatives were disappointing in their performances.

This turn of events comes as a disappointment for sports enthusiasts and heros like Oshikoya as it goes against every tenet of the festival, which is, to discover and groom athletes to represent the country. 

The California-based retired athlete laments the poor state of Nigerian sports, and concurred that the standard of the National Sports Festival has dropped drastically with grassroots sports development as the only way forward.

The Olympian, recommended embarking on a long-term camping of athletes, grooming the young athletes discovered from various competitions such as the sports festival and exposing them to regular competitions on the sub-region at least. This it is stated would improve the standard of our athletes to excel in future competitions such as the Olympics, Commonwealth Games and the All Africa Games, while also noting that giving cash incentives to these athletes at the sports festival is encouraging; a source of motivation to the athletes.

Finally, when all who knew her and her heroics for her beloved country, Nigeria, before leaving its shores, thought that she might never be remembered or duly appreciated, she bagged the Life Time Sports Award courtesy of the Nigerian Sports Award. This, we can say is a compensation to the years of neglected accolade.

Occasions like this should always provide golden opportunities to once again re-write names such as Chidi Imoh, Chioma Ajunwa, Mike Bamidele, Dele Udoh, Falilat Ogunkoya, Mary Onyali-Omagbemi and many other heroes and heroines of sports whether living or dead. Me thinks those who are dead should be immortalised by naming solid structures after them such as  stadia, like the venue of the just-concluded 18th National Sports Festival, Teslim Balogun Stadium which was built by the host Lagos State in memory of the late football hero who bore that name. Those who are still alive among them should be made living legends so that they could feel fulfilled, being appreciated by their beloved country while living.

Such gestures, however, should not be left for the federal or state government. The local governments too should get more proactive in this respect so that at all levels of governance, worthy citizens would be honoured and as such, become idols for budding talents within their environments of origin.

As Lagos is working in this respect, others should follow.

 
Meanwhile, rewards at youth competition should no more be cash-emphatic as may be potentially counter-productive, whereby a young recipient of such an award who suddenly finds him or herself become a millionaire may not see any reason for education thereby risking gross mismanagement of the rest of his otherwise lofty life. 

Bayo Banjo/LS

... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Microsoft devices work for you -Onyeje

Special Guest:

The General Manager of Microsoft Anglophone West Africa, Emmanuel Onyeje in this exclusive interview with Group Executive Editor, DigitalSENSE Business News, Remmy Nweke; said that Microsoft mobile devices work for everybody. He also shared some insights about the Imagine Cup and Intellectual Property in the movie, music and software industries.

Excerpts:

You have been around for a while; can you share some insight about what Microsoft is all about in West Africa?

FOR Microsoft, what we are trying to do is that, we try to enable businesses, both large, small and mediums, consumers, individuals, governments and educationist – to be able to use and examine our products. We are looking at a situation where we will provide continuous cloud policy to every person and every business in our region; that’s our goal.

Emma Onyeje, GM Microsoft West Africa speaking to DSBNews

More people would continue to have access to their services, their data and application, to connect with people in the western world life and then their personal life. And that has been done, majorly through our partners in the region. We are working with close to 2,000 partners in the region.

Getting to the government, how has your activity with government been, I know as an international organization it may not be easy in terms of trying to bring in programmes from a global perspective?

We have worked with governments; we have worked with different organizations. We have worked with bodies like the Ministry of Communications Technology, talking about how we will help innovation to flourish in Nigeria. How do we get devices in the hands of the students and every individual so that technology can actually be taking up in Nigeria. We have worked with other organizations like the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) to actually help reduce piracy, because piracy affects our music, movie and software industries. I think what we have been trying to do is not just expecting government to get in the way but to partner government in creating structures to allow all sectors to be productive and transparent, and we need all the institutions of government to make that work.

Of course the government is also bringing in consumer market club partners to make all government institutions in all sectors to be more productive.

What has Microsoft been doing with the Imagine Cup? Can you share some insight?

The Imagine Cup is what we do every year. For last year, it was held in Australia, and for next year, it’s going to be held in Russia.

We sent one team to Australia, and it’s proved to be doing very well, I think is very positive and I also think we are going to have more success to come around. You are the first to know that we are sending two teams to the Imagine Cup next year, which was just formally one. I am excited about the Imagine Cup.

How do you see the Imagine Cup affecting youths’ adaptation to technology?

Very positive, for example, for this year’s Imagine Cup 2012, the team from Uganda won at the end and got a crown from Microsoft to make them a prototype. We would be giving them a large sum of money, $55, 000. So, that they can actually use that to fund their prototype of the device put together to the Imagine Cup which means that we have find a way to make their ideas real and see the commercial behind it.

This will turn on people to create new ideas and amazing things. And also, if you get access to this grant, some might face greater products so that they can actually work towards some of the objectives of the Millennium Developmental Goals.

What about Intellectual Property, how far has Microsoft gone with other partners on battling the issue in Nigeria and West Africa?

Right now, our key partners are Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), and in Ghana, the Ghanaian Copyright Commission. Those two are our key partners for now. I do believe that we would still partner with the movie and music industries. I think they have a way to deal with piracy in their ways.

We can get that common ground to fight piracy, because all different media, it could be music, software and I think we have a common ground.

Recently, there was a very big launch about Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft and MTN, can you share some insight?

Nokia in partnership with MTN and Microsoft launch Lumai 920 and 820, a Window 8 device to showcase the great innovation around the great camera any smartphone can have, great high resolution, great pictures, and the memory.

And they are claiming to be one of the most innovative smartphone devices in the market today. They belong to the same Windows 8 family which means it is much easier for people who have a Windows 8 device to have a great Windows sonic device, they work together.

This is not just about the global market, as it’s locally available and on top of that in using it, you actually buy out using a Nigerian product. It’s a product that is localized to Nigeria.

So, you are saying that marketers would appreciate it?

Absolutely, I think as we are working together with MTN, more people would get to see what the phone can do for them and more people would get to take it up for business and personal life. You documents, videos, pictures, apps, everything goes into your devices to PC, slate, phone, synchronizing them.

For the fact that Microsoft had issue with Otigba people, how far can you beat your chest that this is what we have done?

One of the points is the piracy issue, which I also said we are looking unto government for enforcing as we cannot go and arrest anybody. I think we strongly support the government in enforcing laws. Secondly, it’s really around partnerships because a lot of people need to understand; it is valid in going genuine and we need to see a lot more resellers looking at the value.

So, a lot of people would have a clean deal for that. A couple of months ago, we have a couple of 50 dealers come to the office here. ‘We are going clean,’ they declared. We are going to be looking from January that we are not going to sell copyright or pirate information. So, people need to know and be aware of what is being pirated and what’s not.

Emma Onyeje, GM Microsoft West Africa

Those who are going clean, what is Microsoft doing in terms of enlightening the environment to support them?

We have our initiative that would continue running in every single market for our resellers to start and distribute and the rest, if you become a clean dealer, it gives you the opportunity to participate. So, that’s what we have achieved in that market.

What would be your last word for Nigerians who you would like to give more of their trust for the usage of Microsoft services?

The issues are really changing; recently we launched three highly innovative products with the support of our public partners like Dell, HP, Samsung, Nokia and the rest of them. I think for everybody, if you want to carry one device that allows you to work and play the way you want, how you want; the window ecosystem has any phone of any standard application you want to use, anyway you want to use it, our devices work for you. Our devices are designed to work for each and everyone.

RemmyNweke/DSBN

... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Transforming Nigeria's agric, rural dev via mobile technology

Rural dweller charging phone with gen set

PART 1:

Prominent among the various factors responsible for the backwardness of agriculture in Nigeria is the fact that the farmers, majority of which are rural-based, are poor and dependent on old-fashioned tools. Their poverty, which has been pervasive, has generally been attributed to their remoteness from financial centres in the urban environment and from government policy makers and implementors, poor access roads that waste much time and increase transaction costs, leading also to increase, although sometimes arbitrarily, in prices of agricultural produce.

The farmers have, for the most part, been operating at the mercies of weather, at the whims of middlemen and creditors, under the ruthless influence of pests and diseases and, have been operating mostly at deficits, but kept doing the farming business for lack of alternatives. Those who could not cope further, or decided to take risks outside agriculture, have ventured into towns and cities, looking for other means of livelihoods, no matter how unsure.

Add all of these to the ageing population of the farmers, and you will be able to predict what the future portends for agriculture, food security and the economy of Nigeria. Although an integral part of the real sector of the economy, agriculture in Nigeria has, for decades not been reckoned with as a strong pillar of the economy and so has remained in the informal sector. While this lasted, the planners, policy makers, researchers, development organisations and NGOs had been churning out conflicting and mostly estimated figures on the state of rural infrastructure, agricultural employment, volumes of food produced and the sector’s contribution to national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The farmers remained backward, isolated, remote, poor, disenchanted and disconnected from the national economic radar. Yet, Nigeria’s food import profile rose on annual basis and billions of naira frittered away on food importation. Nigerians, over time, developed tastes for imported products that could very well be produced at home, to generate huge volume of employment for Nigerians and reduce capital flight. Under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the Jonathan’s administration, it is time to do things differently, as the president has once put it.

The financial institutions have huge roles to play, especially in guaranteeing money movement, to boost rural and urban economies. Nigerian banks have been declaring profits running into billions of naira annually from narrow areas of business, particularly those they considered less risk-prone, notwithstanding the fact that they are not necessarily sustainable. For the country, the unbanked and under-banked represent a large and potentially profitable untapped market. Traditionally, commercial banks have concentrated overly on risks in agriculture as reasons for not lending to the sector, and are overlooking very huge business opportunities while they give disproportionate attention and services to the urban centres and other volatile investment options. Their activities betray a clear absence of research-based corporate business decisions and an absence of needs assessment studies as basis for developing their operational plans.

 The robust economic growth of the past decade, and even before it, has not trickled down to the people, and banks’ outlook played a significant part:  only large corporate and guaranteed wage earners in the public and private sector in the urban centres have been having access to credit.  Majority of the populace are rural dwellers that do not have access to basic financial services and are poor. This class of people is made up of peasant farmers and petty traders.

According to a report by Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), 63.5 per cent of Nigerian adult males and 76.8 per cent of adult females are unbanked, while 78.8 per cent of the country’s rural populations are largely unbanked. About 59.3 million adults are unbanked due to irregular income, unemployment and distance to the bank branches. Currently, in Nigeria, 23.8 million adults choose to save money at home, 12.9 million adults use informal societies and 6.7 million adults use village associations.

Nigeria is not alone in this trend as a recent research by Deloitte Consulting LLP shows that financial institutions around the world compete against one another trying to attract and retain the same middle- to upper-income retail customers year after year. Yet a common finding is that there is an enormous market that most banks are ignoring — and that nonbank competitors have begun to cultivate effectively: the world’s 2.5 billion adults who are either unbanked or under-banked.

Differentiating the categories, experts at Deloitte identified the unbanked customers as having no checking, savings, credit, or insurance account with a traditional, regulated depository institution. Under-banked customers, on the other hand,  have one or more of these accounts, but conduct many of their financial transactions with alternative service providers, such as cheque-cashing services, payday lenders, and even pawn shops — and still use cash for many transactions.

Nigeria is a big country, with many far-flung towns, villages and even hamlets. Sending or receiving money for buying and selling agricultural inputs and farm products, payment of salaries or school fees, settlement of business transactions, or family support is common among businesses and individuals. It requires efficient, reliable and affordable money transfer services in which money can be deposited in one location and withdrawn in another in both urban and rural areas.

The informal systems of money transfer such as individual traders carrying money on themselves or sending commercial drivers or their conductors are susceptible to highway robberies and thefts. Money sent through letters and parcels of the courier companies may be stolen. Other challenges include delays and long queues, network limitations, insolvency of branches, unreliable communication and misdirected parcels. Structural weaknesses in the formal financial industry, however, limit the access to money transfer services, especially in rural areas and for low-income people. Banks are concentrated mainly in urban centers, operating under conditions that constitute barriers to the use of their services.

Mobile money solutions will play a major role in integrating Nigeria’s hugely informal economy, which is driven by small-scale farmers, traders, craftsmen and other types of small and medium-sized businesses, into the formal economy. The desire to spur progress in smallholder agriculture has historically led to search for new models of agricultural financing that address the constraints faced by farmers. Among these models are interventions that provide agricultural finance to farmers in groups and attempts to use the Grameen lending model. The beneficiaries, which are mainly rural and remote, still face daunting hurdles in accessing such supports. Other efforts include establishment of credit and microfinance platforms based on collateralised lending.

Indeed, the emergence of rural micro-finance organisations and Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs) has been based on the premise that smallholder farmers need unique services that are close to them. These models have had limited success due to factors such as high transaction costs of delivering the services to small and widely dispersed farmers, high covariate risks, missing markets for managing weather and market risks and the lack of suitable collateral. These factors limit the ability of smallholder farmers to save, borrow as well as access remittances.

Encouraging banks and other financial institutions to embrace alternative transaction channels (internet, POS, mobile phones etc) is timely now. These channels are a convergence of banking and telecommunication sectors, designed to ensure ease and convenience for the users. Mobile money merges the regulatory environments of both telecommunications and banking into a new paradigm that ultimately demands a collaborative dialogue among providers to balance intervention for risk mitigation with market innovation.

 The widespread diffusion of ICT, particularly mobile phones is known to have the potential of bridging the digital divide as well as alleviating poverty through the direct and indirect job creation. Mobile money has now become an imperative factor for financial inclusion and the key driver of funds from the informal sector to the formal/banking sector. Mobile money campaign in Nigeria, as done presently, tends to concentrate largely at the urban cities and the banked segment.  

Western Union and MoneyGram, which operate through commercial banks, are used almost exclusively to receive money rather than send it. Despite the network of these formal providers throughout the country, rural areas and client segments such as low-income earners tend to be excluded. The availability of financial services in the rural areas has suffered a setback since the mid-nineties when there was a massive failure of banks and commercial banks closed down less-profitable branches especially in rural areas.

Such gaps left by formal providers have typically been bridged by informal means and services. These include transporting the money by oneself or sending it by a friend or through an unlicensed service. Most financial organisations tend to be located in commercial centres where there is enough clientele to make their operations profitable. Such centres, however, tend to be inaccessible to the remotely located smallholder farmers.

To be continued

Contributed by Dr Oyeleye, Special Adviser to Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

... Making SENSE of digital revolution!