At the recently concluded ICTEL EXPO 2025, held at the Lagos Oriental Hotel from July 29–30, industry leaders, innovators, and policymakers convened under the theme, “Leveraging Technology for Innovation and Development in Africa.” The two-day event showcased the transformative power of emerging technologies, while sparking critical conversations about the future of business, finance, and digital collaboration across Africa.
Among the distinguished speakers was Mr. DeRemi Atanda, Managing Director of Remita, who shared compelling insights on how financial technology (FinTech) is unlocking growth for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). His remarks went beyond the familiar narratives of convenience and digitization, presenting a bold call for national cohesion, actionable strategies, and stakeholder commitment to drive the next frontier of SME development.
“FinTech has become the bridge to new opportunities for businesses,” he said. “It provides access on two critical fronts: access to new customers and access to new markets. For an SME, a single digital platform can extend what you do to a much larger audience. A small business in Nigeria can now sell to a customer in Ghana or Kenya, enabled by seamless payment technology. This is the kind of democratization that changes the SME growth story.”
In practical terms, mobile applications, online payments, and digital platforms now allow small businesses to operate beyond the confines of their local communities. This democratization of access is particularly transformative for SMEs with limited resources for physical expansion, empowering them to compete in previously inaccessible markets.
While the innovations are promising, Mr. Atanda emphasized that Nigeria must move beyond fragmented efforts if it intends to harness technology for broad-based economic growth.
“Today, the industry is too diversified and siloed. There are too many agencies working independently without a clearly defined national strategy,” he noted. “If we want technology to truly enable SMEs, there must be deliberate coordination across regulatory, financial, and technology stakeholders.”
He advocated for a unified national blueprint for SME growth, one that clarifies the roles of regulators, harmonizes policy, and aligns government, private sector, and industry associations such as the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
Without this cohesion, the momentum from technological advancements risks stalling in policy gaps and duplicative efforts.
Beyond technology and policy, Mr. Atanda called for a clear vision where Nigerian SMEs are fully integrated into the digital economy, competing seamlessly in local, regional, and global markets. He painted a vivid picture of the opportunities and requirements for this transformation:
“What are our national aspirations for SMEs in the digital era? How do we onboard them onto cross-border payment rails? How do we ensure visibility and lower the cost of entering new markets? If we cannot answer these questions and commit to acting on them, we risk leaving our businesses behind. Logistics, for instance, is crucial, without it, even the best digital platforms cannot fully scale SMEs. A product from a rural town must reach the urban customer or a neighboring country efficiently. Without a technology-driven logistics backbone, scale remains a dream.”
He went on to highlight how data and integrated platforms can fuel credit growth and revenue expansion for SMEs. Many small businesses, he observed, unknowingly serve the same customers in isolation. “Imagine a digital infrastructure that can combine similar orders into a single customer view, revealing buying patterns and enabling bundled deliveries. This is how we move from isolated sales to smarter, data-driven growth. And at the back of this data, access to credit becomes possible, because lenders can finally see the true scale of business activity.”
These elements, according to Mr. Atanda, are what will elevate Nigeria’s SME ecosystem to the next frontier, turning small businesses into regional and global players.
For Remita, these conversations mirror the company’s long-standing commitment to empowering businesses, government agencies, and individuals through seamless payment solutions and financial innovation. Over the years, the company has evolved from a domestic payment solution into a comprehensive ecosystem for transactions, collections, and business enablement, helping organizations operate more efficiently in a fast-changing economy.
Closing his session, Mr. Atanda offered a firm but thoughtful challenge to the audience, urging that conversations must lead to measurable outcomes. He suggested that gatherings of this magnitude should set specific goals and timelines, so stakeholders can look back with pride and point to tangible progress by the next ICTEL EXPO. His message was clear: advancing technology is not just about conversations, it’s about commitment, accountability, and collective action by all concerned stakeholders.
ICTEL EXPO 2025 reinforced that technology is no longer optional for business growth, it is the lifeline for competitiveness in a digital economy. FinTech platforms like Remita are not just processing payments; they are building bridges between local businesses and opportunities, ensuring that Nigerian SMEs can scale faster, smarter, and more sustainably.
As Mr. Atanda’s contributions remind us, innovation without structure is a missed opportunity. By marrying technological creativity with national coordination and stakeholder commitment, Nigeria can redefine the SME growth story for the continent.
