EFInA leapfrogs financial inclusion with $1.5m innovative grant

In a bid to deliver financial inclusion to unbanked individuals nationwide, Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access (EFInA), has announced the release of an Innovation Grant in the sum of $1,500,000 (One million, five hundred thousand US Dollars only), to support Diamond Bank’s Diamond Y’ello: ‘Winning the North’ project.

EFInA is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Diamond Y’ello is a mobile-based savings account launched by Diamond Bank in partnership with MTN to make financial services easily accessible for individuals excluded from the formal banking ecosystem.

The project allows customers with active MTN lines to open a bank account with Diamond Bank from the convenience of their homes and it is expected to introduce additional channels of customer interactions including an interactive voice responder (IVR), bill payments platform, card-less ATMs, micro loans and insurance. Diamond Bank, in partnership with MTN will have agents within each community to conduct deposits and withdrawals on the Diamond Bank account.

The EFInA Innovation Grant will enable Diamond Bank target and extend facilities to prospective customers in Northern Nigeria –Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kogi, Kwara and Borno States.

Chidinma Lawanson, chief executive officer of EFInA, stated that, “The Diamond Y’ello Account project seeks to drive financial inclusion by addressing the barrier of proximity to financial services through digital financial services and agent banking, while also serving as an effective means of deepening financial literacy nationally.

This aligns with EFInA’s objectives to increase access to financial products and services to the low-income population, especially women. According to the EFInA Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2014 survey, the North East and North West geopolitical zones have more financially excluded people than the other geopolitical zones. In that regard, we look forward to our partnership with Diamond Bank to extend financial services in Northern Nigeria.”

According to Uzoma Dozie, chief executive officer of Diamond Bank Plc, Diamond Y’ello is structured to make affordable financial services available to everyone regardless of their level of income.