<p>President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday assured the Global Chief Executive Officer of Mastercard, Michael Miebach, that Nigeria’s youth population remained the country’s greatest asset.</p>
<p>Tinubu described them as tech-savvy, ready to learn and fully capable of integrating into the global economy.</p>
<p>This was as he welcomed the company’s proposal to train five million Nigerian small businesses and equip them with digital skills.</p>
<p>Tinubu made the assertion when he received a delegation from Mastercard led by Miebach at the State House, Abuja.</p>
<p>A statement signed Tuesday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, quoted the President as saying the Nigerian economy had been repositioned and stabilised to fully participate in global commerce.</p>
<p>He said his reforms are deliberately focused on empowering young people and small businesses with digital tools.</p>
<p>Tinubu noted that the ongoing formalisation of Nigeria’s largely informal small-business sector was creating new pathways for digital transitions, investment, employment and growth, and urged Mastercard to deepen its partnership with Nigerian institutions, particularly the Bank of Industry.</p>
<p>“The most important asset is our youth. I missed one thing in your remark: whether you met with the Bank of Industry.</p>
<p>“BOI has a database of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Payment plans and platforms are very necessary for the inclusion of small and medium-scale businesses,” the president said.</p>
<p>He described Mastercard as a known and trusted presence in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.</p>
<p>“I am glad that you are very familiar with the terrain. I can classify you as a Nigerian.</p>
<p>“MasterCard has a very big reputation in financial management, and opportunities are spreading in Nigeria,” he said.</p>
<p>He assured the company of the government’s full backing saying, “What you have been doing with our young population is commendable, and we will continue to support that in every form. As the host country, the agreements we have with you are valid, and I want you to see us as partners.”</p>
<p>Speaking earlier, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said the administration’s economic reforms had opened significant opportunities for Mastercard’s integration across credit and payment systems, and that the formalisation drive alone was generating extraordinary momentum.</p>
<p>According to Oyedele, “One of the major reforms by Mr President in fiscal and tax matters has led to more than 10,000 informal businesses applying for registration every day over the past few months.</p>
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<p>“This speaks to the opportunities that abound in Nigeria for organisations like MasterCard.”</p>
<p>The minister noted that the government aimed to empower at least three million Nigerian youths through the digital economy, and cited the breadth of Mastercard’s existing engagements as closely aligned with the administration’s priorities.</p>
<p>“You do more than payments, and that includes the work which you are doing in Nigeria through the MasterCard Foundation to support and strengthen small businesses and the informal sector.</p>
<p>“This aligns well with the reforms of Mr President in different areas, cutting across the public and private sectors, including the ongoing efforts to digitise government services,” Oyedele said.</p>
<p>He also highlighted opportunities in the credit economy, spanning mortgages, personal loans, consumer credit, auto loans, small-business credit and student loans and noted that five of the nine fintech unicorns on the continent are domiciled in Nigeria, making it the natural hub for any pan-African digital financial strategy.</p>
<p>Miebach, for his part, described his visit as something of a homecoming, disclosing that he was personally responsible for establishing Mastercard’s Nigeria operation in 2011 and hiring the company’s first employee in Lagos.</p>
<p>“We have a business here since 2011, and we have seen the country grow, and we have seen the country lead.</p>
<p>“We have seen your obviously clear alignment of fiscal and monetary policy that you have driven. In our world systems, there is a lot of momentum in Nigeria,” he said.</p>
<p>He disclosed that Mastercard currently prevents $200m in fraud annually in Nigeria and brings in $2bn in foreign exchange, while helping the SME sector and partnering with Nigerian commercial banks.</p>
<p>Miebach noted that the company had identified the country’s 40 million small businesses as the primary target for its next phase of investment.</p>
<p>“We recognise the moment that we are in. We spent time with the CBN Governor and had an opportunity to meet the leading bankers yesterday in Lagos, to see where everything is going and the opportunity here to unlock the power of the 40 million SMEs in Nigeria, to really connect the diaspora to the homeland and ensure Nigeria is the most thriving and biggest economy on the continent. We want to drive the intra-African digital economy,” Miebach remarked.</p>
<p>He said the proposal before the President was not aspirational but operational, backed by a three-year programme with technical workshops already planned.</p>
<p>“Many small businesses would like to have a digital part of their business, and they don’t know how to do that.</p>
<p>“Capacity building of small businesses, vis-a-vis just opening a shop and keeping them safe in a cyber-world. We have a three-year programme for small businesses,” he said, adding, “A technical workshop has been planned for this, so it is not just talk but action and impact.”</p>
<p>He also announced a Cyber Centre of Excellence designed to capture and share threat intelligence, manage incident response, address artificial intelligence risks and respond to other emerging digital threats.</p>
<p>With three years of experience, Stephen, The PUNCH correspondent, has been covering Nigeria’s presidency, politics, security, immigration and trafficking in persons</p>
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