IT expert cautions against overregulation of fintech

The Vice-Chairman, Signal Alliance Technology Holding (SATH), Collins Onuegbu, has cautioned against excessive regulation of financial technology (fintech) to avoid stifling its growth.

He stated this at the silver jubilee of the company in Lagos where the holding structure was unveiled. The firm was hitherto known as Signal Alliance.

Onuegbu said that Nigeria had started putting regulatory measures in place before fintech started developing unlike other countries such as Kenya where innovations like mobile money took off before relevant agencies started firming up regulations. He noted that regulations could be a burden on innovation if not properly done.

According to him, Nigeria needs policies to turn the huge data generated daily to wealth and prevent abuse. He said there is sufficient technology to enhance data security and protect individuals.

The newly-created SATH has three subsidiaries – CloudSA, Signal Alliance Consulting and Sasware – which the company said would increase its efficiency and enable it to contribute more to the growth of the ecosystem.

“We remain focused on dominating the technology space in Nigeria and beyond by being intentional in seeking strategic alliances, advocating professionalism and leveraging expertise and experience to deliver operational efficiency for our clients,” Onuegbu said.

A non-executive director of the firm, Dr. Onyekachi Onubogu, said Nigeria has leapfrogged in innovation and technology in the past decade and that its fintech is more advanced than what obtains in some developed countries.

He said the technology would continue to shape and dictate the speed of growth of every sector and the SATH would be at the forefront of the growth process.

The holding structure, he said, would enable the company to focus on emerging opportunities and take advantage of them. He said the firm would continue to support start-ups and provide cutting-edge services to grow the country’s economy.