Intreensic Concludes Second “Inside Fintech Hiring” Session, Examining How Banks Are Reimagining Talent

Intreensic, a payments education and advisory group established to address Africa’s fintech talent gap, has concluded the second edition of its Inside Fintech Hiringsession in 2025. The event, themed “How Banks Are Reimagining the Future of Talent,” brought industry leaders together to examine how structural changes in Nigeria’s financial services sector are reshaping hiring priorities, skills demand, and workforce readiness.

The conversation comes at a pivotal moment for Nigeria’s financial system. According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the country’s regulated banking landscape comprises 26 licensed commercial banks across international, national, and regional categories. This formal banking structure operates alongside a fast-growing fintech ecosystem of more than 430 licensed fintech companies, reflecting the increasing scale and complexity of financial services delivery. Despite this expansion, labour market challenges remain pronounced. 

Speaking during the session, Pius Osasuyi, Head of Talent Resourcing at FirstBank of Nigeria, described the current environment as one defined by heightened competition and rising capability expectations. As banks accelerate digital transformation, he noted, they are no longer competing only among themselves but increasingly with fintechs for the same pool of specialised talent.

Osasuyi added that responsibility for skills development is shifting, with professionals expected to take greater ownership of their learning. “As an HR leader, I am looking at what you can do with data and how quickly you can adapt,” he added. “Hybrid and multi-skilled professionals are becoming the standard in today’s fast paced market. While digital and data skills are very key in today’s business world, generic skills like collaboration, ownership, business acumen, problem solving, stakeholder management, etc. are essential skills that every professional must possess to stand out from the crowd“”

From a learning and capability development perspective, Esther Adesina, Learning and Development Manager at Intreensic, said organisations are demanding closer alignment between training investments and business outcomes. According to her, training is evolving from knowledge transfer to performance enablement, with goal-aligned, contextual, and scenario-based learning prioritised to ensure immediate applicability and measurable returns.

Overall, the session underscored a financial services sector undergoing structural transformation, where talent strategy is emerging as a core competitive lever. Through its Inside Fintech Hiring series, Intreensic aims to support the development of a future-ready financial services workforce across Africa.