Gbenga Okejimi WorldRemit Remains a Catalyst for Economic Growth

Gbenga Okejimi is the Country Manager for Nigeria and Ghana at WorldRemit. In this interview with Omolabake Fasogbon, he speaks about the role of remittances in Nigeria’s economy post COVID-19 and how WorldRemit is spearheading initiatives for this purpose

Remittance has been recognised as one of major drivers of Nigerian economy. The World Bank however reported that global diaspora remittances would plunge by an average of 14 per cent this year with Sub-Saharan Africa projected to shed six per cent, what would be the implication of this on the Nigerian Economy?
The important role of remittances in sustaining communities and creating opportunities for the less fortunate cannot be overstated. It is important to remember that these are projections and by no means will a guarantee that money transfers decrease so steeply. It is also worth noting that the World Bank’s projections that remittances would fall to a number of countries including Mexico and the Philippines proved to be unfounded where the opposite actually happened. I remain optimistic that Nigerians in the Diaspora will continue sending support to their dearest back home with the same level of commitment.

The issue of Diaspora remittance leakage has been a major concern to the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) which recently introduced a new policy directing all International Money Transfers Operators (IMTOs) to pay remittance recipients in dollars in order to check the Infractions. Do you see this policy addresses the issue of concern?
First of all, let me say that we are very pleased with the CBN’s directive and as a matter of fact, we were the first IMTOs in Nigeria to implement the directive with our partners. This is because it enables us to provide more convenient options for our customers to receive money either through cash pick-up or bank transfer methods. It is even more exciting that while we are enabling our customers to send and receive funds, we are also supporting the Nigerian government to build the economy and creating a pipeline for much-needed forex inflow. To date, we have one of the largest bank pay-out networks for transfers to USD bank accounts in Nigeria.

Again, the CBN came up with the Naira for Dollar scheme which it recently extended till further notice, to further boost forex supply. How does WorldRemit receive this and how has this impacted remittance inflow in Nigeria so far?
We see this as another great and timely initiative by the CBN as the country implements initiatives to “build back better” from the setback caused by COVID-19. Since the initiative was announced, we have seen improvements in forex inflows through official channels. There have been reports by authorized forex dealers indicating that the average weekly forex inflow has risen to $50 million compared to the average of $20 million during the same period in 2019. As a verified IMTO in Nigeria, our customers will continue to benefit from this initiative. For us, it also means that we can continue to serve as an enabler for small businesses and the retail market to explore business opportunities across borders. In the grand scheme of things, we are a catalyst for economic growth by providing a platform to direct forex inflows to the country.

The term remittance is synonymous with ‘charity’ considering the definition by PWC Nigeria that -remittances “help poorer recipients meet basic needs, fund cash and non-cash investments, finance education etc. How has WorldRemit lived up to this expectation especially during the just concluded Ramadan fast?
This is correct to a very large extent. Remittances are one of the most convenient sources of development finance which have fostered the economic good for nations and citizens. Evidence has shown that remittances received are invested in essential aspects of life (like education, food, housing, healthcare and even savings and investments) that are required to sustain, promote better living conditions for people and improve their prospects. At WorldRemit, we understand the importance of providing support and our responsibility as a corporate citizen to find ways to deliver sustainable initiatives that continue to yield results in years to come. Over the years, our social interventions have been built around Youth empowerment with a key focus on Education and Entrepreneurship.

We delivered an entrepreneurship programme that saw us partnering with 50 small business owners across Nigeria and other African countries. Through this programme, we provided business booster packs and digital business training courses to help develop the required skills to scale up and run their businesses successfully. The training module was developed in partnership with the Nest, a pan-African tech incubation hub. We also donated iPads, laptops and other key supplies such as textbooks, reading materials, tables, chairs, snacks, school sandals and more to enhance the learning experience for individuals. Specifically, during Ramadan, we provided community engagement in the diaspora by sponsoring grassroots events and projects in our “send” countries. This included sponsoring prayer times and in New York City, we provided restaurant vouchers to taxi drivers to use when breaking their fast.

What was the motive for and how has it fared?
As an organization that cares about the communities we serve, we saw that many businesses, especially small businesses, were experiencing certain difficulties after the outbreak of the pandemic. It was a wonderful opportunity to empower and encourage aspiring entrepreneurs to ensure that they could be better prepared to withstand the impact of the pandemic. Through the entrepreneurship programme, we provided tools that can be used to build on an idea and support businesses to scale especially through the challenging business environment presented by COVID-19. Through this programme, we were able to support 200 small businesses in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

COVID-19 has been a major disrupter to global economies and individuals. In your opinion, how do you think Nigeria can recover as quickly as possible?
No doubt, the pandemic impacted everyone- global economies, large and small organizations to individuals operating in the informal sector. It is encouraging to see that we have begun to record huge milestones with a phased vaccine rollout across the country. One key theme that has helped the world and Nigeria to achieve positive results, despite the challenging times is partnerships. We saw the private sector and individuals rise to the challenge to support the government in rolling out initiatives to help people across the country.

As we plan and execute recovery strategies, if we can continue to sustain and foster partnerships the nation will continue on its path to recovery. At WorldRemit, we understood that a critical source of income for a segment of the population and the economy is remittance, so we continue to ensure that our services are accessible through bank transfers and cash pick-up. We expanded and updated service agreements with our bank partners, delivered a one-off discount promotion and we are constantly monitoring and engaging with regulators to ensure that we can continue to send and receive money, while reducing obstacles to a minimum. All of these served as building blocks that positioned us to provide quality service to our customers during Ramadan and

How can Nigeria take advantage of remittance inflows for national growth and development?
Remittances have over the years proved to be one of the most important sources of development finance and we continue to see the apex bank taking advantage of this through a number of policies that have been instituted in recent times. We have also seen this through efforts that encourage the Nigerian diaspora community to send funds home through verified sources while the regulator works in tandem with the banks and IMTOs to facilitate transfers through a system that is convenient and reliable. This way, Nigeria will continue to harness the benefits, including improved living conditions, a boost for the economy and the nation’s forex reserves.