Olamide Olayiwola is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Flashchange, where he leads the company’s technology vision, product execution, and innovation strategy. He is a results-driven product and project management expert.
1. Biggest challenges currently facing fintech in Nigeria & Africa
The biggest challenges I see are around infrastructure, regulation, and trust. Infrastructure-wise, payment Infrastructure and digital identification systems are still not as seamless as they should be. We have situations where the needed APIs often break, downtime is common, and connectivity issues can frustrate the customers. On the regulatory side, there’s still some uncertainty; policies sometimes come suddenly without enough stakeholder engagement, which makes long-term planning hard. And then there’s trust, which I feel is the most important, fraud and scams remain high, and consumers are very cautious. Unlike in the more developed world like Europe where regulations are more stable and digital trust is stronger, in Africa fintechs still spend a lot of time educating users and building confidence in the system.
2. State of collaboration between fintechs, banks, and regulators
More recently, collaboration has improved compared to five or ten years ago, but it’s still patchy. We now have a situation where many banks see fintechs as partners rather than competitors, especially around payments and agency banking. Regulators are also engaging fintechs more, but the relationship can still feel one-sided at times. In Europe, regulatory sandboxes and open banking frameworks encourage structured collaboration. Nigeria is getting there with things like the CBN’s regulatory sandbox that came out in 2022, but adoption and trust between all parties need to deepen as this helps to improve the system.
3. How the ecosystem has matured in 5 years plus existing gaps
In the last five years, fintech has moved from just payments and transfers into lending, savings, wealth management, cross-border remittances, and even insurance. Funding has also grown, and talent is more available. The gaps for me are that we still lack scalable infrastructure, consumer credit frameworks, and strong exit pathways for investors. Compared to other parts of the world, where open banking has been used to unlock innovation, Africa still needs more open data systems and interoperable infrastructure.
4. Importance of consumer trust
Consumer trust for me is everything. No matter how sophisticated or beautiful your tech is, if people don’t believe their money is safe, they won’t adopt rather they will run away. To build trust, fintechs must prioritize security, transparency, customer support, and education. Simple things like 24/7 support and clear communication during downtime make a huge difference. In Europe, regulation enforces these standards; here, fintechs must make it a priority to take the initiative to exceed expectations to bridging the trust gap.
5. Key policy/regulatory reforms needed
The most impactful reforms would be around clarity, consistency, and open frameworks. Looking at the most recently passed Nigeria Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025, this helps to give more clarity. For instance, open banking policies that mandate banks to share data securely with licensed fintechs would unlock huge opportunities. Also, creating more structured sandboxes and tied with licensing regimes will encourage innovation while reducing risk. In Africa, regulation sometimes reacts to problems instead of proactively guiding growth. A shift toward forward-looking policies would really help.
6. Leveraging emerging technologies
The emergence and adoption of AI technologies can help detect fraud in real time and personalize financial services. Blockchain has real use cases in cross-border payments and stablecoins for remittances. Data analytics is critical for credit scoring in markets where formal credit history is scarce. The key is not adopting technology for its buzz, but solving real pain points for the users is very important. For example, using AI to detect unusual transfer patterns, or blockchain to reduce remittance costs.
7. Current infrastructure sufficiency
Current infrastructure is not fully sufficient. Payment systems like NIBSS are functional but not always reliable. Identity verification has improved with BVN and NIN, but integration across platforms is still weak. APIs are fragmented, and downtime hurts user experience. What we need to improve is reliability, compatibility, and open access. Europe has already standardized identity and payment systems while Africa is still fragmented, which limits the ability to scale.
8. Access to funding for early-stage fintechs
Funding often flows to “hot” verticals or repeat founders, leaving out early-stage players. To improve access, we need local angel networks, government-backed funds, and stronger venture ecosystems. Fintechs themselves must also tell stronger stories: showing not just scale potential, but also real traction and sustainability. In other parts of the world, crowdfunding platforms and accelerators play a huge role and this is something Africa can really learn from.
9. Trends in fintech investment & how founders can position themselves
Investors are shifting focus from just payments to areas like infrastructure, lending, and cross-border solutions. There’s also more emphasis on profitability over just growth. I believe Founders need to position themselves by showing strong unit economics, regulatory alignment, and defensible technology. In Europe, the same trend exists capital is flowing into startups that can survive longer without relying on continuous VC rounds.
10. Balancing innovation and consumer protection
This is the regulator’s hardest job. Many restrictions and innovation dies; too little, and consumers suffer. The balance comes from structured systems, tiered licenses, and collaborative policymaking. Regulators should engage startups early rather than waiting to clamp down later. I know the UK’s FCA has been good at this Africa can adopt a similar proactive stance.
11. Driving financial inclusion
For me I believe that fintechs can’t just focus on urban, smartphone savvy users. Real financial inclusion means agency banking, USSD solutions, micro-lending, and savings products for rural and underserved groups. Building products in local languages, with low data requirements, also matters. Europe doesn’t struggle as much with inclusion, but here, it’s one of the biggest growth opportunities.
12. Successful models in rural/informal economies
Agency banking in Nigeria is a great model that brings financial services to the “last mile.” Mobile money in Kenya and Ghana is another success, showing how simple tech plus strong distribution can transform an economy. These models show that distribution networks matter as much as the tech itself.
13. Next wave of fintech growth
The next wave will be strongly defined by embedded finance, cross-border solutions, and credit/wealth products. Beyond payments, the future is about enabling people to borrow, save, invest, and insure seamlessly. Also, creating a centralized credit system would greatly help to improve innovation. Fintechs that can integrate financial services into everyday platforms like e-commerce, logistics, and social apps will lead.
14. One major change I’d implement
If I could change one thing today, it would be to establish a clear open banking framework in Nigeria and across Africa. That one step would unlock innovation, force our incumbents to open up, and give consumers more choice and control over their data. It’s the same policy that transformed the UK fintech landscape, and I believe it would have an equally powerful impact here.
