Digitvant Microfinance Bank Initiative Advances Sustainable Development Goals Through Financial Inclusion Campaign in Lagos Markets

Campaign Overview and Alignment with Global Goals

Digitvant Microfinance Bank has launched the ‘Digitvant in the Market’ campaign, a strategic initiative targeting the informal economic sector in Lagos. This week’s activation in Lagos Island Market and Tejuosho Market, Yaba, is designed to directly address several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by extending formal banking services to thousands of previously unbanked or underbanked traders, artisans, and small business owners. The campaign is a direct contribution to SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by integrating marginalized economic actors into the formal financial ecosystem.

Strategic Objectives and SDG Contributions

The initiative’s core objectives are intrinsically linked to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:

1. Enhance Financial Inclusion (SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities): By physically entering markets, the campaign dismantles barriers of distance, mistrust, and complex bureaucracy. This flagship inclusion tool, as described by Head of Corporate Communications Petra Akinti Onyegbule, aims to reduce the inequality gap between the banked and unbanked populations.
2. Promote Economic Growth and Decent Work (SDG 8): The campaign empowers small businesses, the “heartbeat of Nigeria’s economy,” with essential financial tools. Providing access to savings, digital payments, and credit facilities enables these enterprises to thrive, grow, and create decent work opportunities.
3. Contribute to Poverty Eradication (SDG 1: No Poverty): Access to stable and formal financial services provides a pathway for individuals and families to build assets, manage financial shocks, and move out of poverty.
4. Foster Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9): The on-site onboarding into the bank’s products, including the DigitvantPay App and internet banking, leverages technology to build a more inclusive and resilient financial infrastructure.

Implementation Methodology and Community Partnership

The campaign’s execution model focuses on direct, community-centric engagement, which supports SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). Key activities include:

• Direct engagement with market participants to build trust and foster strong community partnerships.
• Delivering targeted financial education on savings, digital payments, and credit facilities to improve financial literacy.
• Providing real-time onboarding to Digitvant’s banking products, ensuring immediate access to financial services.

Institutional Mission and Vision

According to Managing Director Florence Ogunyamoju, the bank’s mission is to “take banking to the people, not wait for the people to come to the bank.” This proactive approach is central to democratizing financial access and ensuring that no Nigerian is left behind. The campaign is a cornerstone of the bank’s strategy to close the financial inclusion gap, operating under its license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to empower individuals and small businesses nationwide.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Addressed

1. SDG 1: No Poverty

   • The article highlights an initiative to provide “accessible, people-first banking solutions” to individuals in the informal economy. By offering tools like savings and credit facilities, the campaign empowers small businesses to “thrive and grow,” which is a direct strategy to reduce poverty by improving economic stability and opportunities for vulnerable populations.

2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

   • This is a central theme. The campaign directly targets “traders, artisans, and small business owners” who constitute the “vibrant informal economy.” By bringing “formal banking closer” and providing access to “credit facilities,” Digitvant Microfinance Bank is working to strengthen domestic financial institutions and expand financial services, which promotes economic growth and supports small enterprises.

3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   • The article states that the bank is “leveraging technology through internet banking and the DigitvantPay App.” This demonstrates a commitment to using innovation and modern infrastructure (digital technology) to increase access to financial services, a key component of this goal.

4. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   • The mission is explicitly stated as closing the “financial inclusion gap” and ensuring “no Nigerian is left behind in the financial ecosystem.” The campaign aims to “break down barriers of distance, mistrust, and bureaucracy that keep everyday Nigerians excluded from banking,” directly addressing the economic inclusion of marginalized groups.

Specific SDG Targets Identified

1. Target 1.4: Equal rights to economic resources and access to financial services

   • The initiative aims to provide thousands of traders and small business owners with access to financial services, including savings and credit. The article’s focus on “empowering individuals and small businesses” aligns with ensuring equal access to economic resources and microfinance.

2. Target 8.10: Expand access to banking, insurance, and financial services for all

   • Digitvant Microfinance Bank’s campaign, “Digitvant in the Market,” is a direct implementation of this target. By “going directly into markets” to provide “real-time onboarding into the bank’s products,” the bank is actively strengthening its capacity to expand access to banking for previously excluded segments of the population.

3. Target 10.2: Empower and promote the social and economic inclusion of all

   • The campaign’s stated goal to “democratize financial access” and overcome barriers that lead to financial exclusion is a clear effort to promote the economic inclusion of people operating within the informal economy, thereby reducing inequality.

Indicators Mentioned or Implied

1. Indicator for Target 8.10 (Proportion of adults with a bank account)

   • The article implies a direct measure of progress through its description of “real-time onboarding into the bank’s products.” The number of new accounts opened by traders, artisans, and small business owners in the Lagos Island and Tejuosho markets would serve as a direct indicator of increased access to financial services. The mention of reaching “thousands of traders” suggests a quantifiable target for this onboarding process.

2. Indicator for Financial Education

   • While not a formal SDG indicator, the article implies a measure of progress in financial literacy. It states that the team will be “educating them on savings, digital payments, and credit facilities.” The number of market participants engaged and educated through these sessions could be used as an indicator of the initiative’s success in building financial knowledge within the community.

3. Indicator for Technology Adoption

   • The article mentions the use of the “DigitvantPay App.” An implied indicator for progress towards leveraging technology (related to SDG 9) would be the number of app downloads and active users among the newly onboarded customers from the market campaigns.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis

Source: africa.businessinsider.com