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May 21, 2024
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
BVN, mobile phone ownership
This chart shows the correlation between mobile phone usage and type of phone for BVN ownership
May 21, 2024
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
BVN ownership at state or residence
This map shows the BVN ownership rate across the thirty six states in the country
May 21, 2024
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
Gender and BVN ownership
This chart plots ownership of Bank Verification number against the gender of respondents according to a 2023 Access to Finance Survey (A2F) survey of more than 111, 306, 095 people undertaken in 2023.
May 21, 2024
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
NIN ownership and Bank status
This chart shows the correlation between bank account ownership and NIN ownership
May 21, 2024
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
NIN ownership and type of phone
This chart shows the correlation between mobile phone usage and type of phone for NIN ownership
May 21, 2024
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
NIN and mobile phone ownership
This chart shows the correlation between mobile phone usage and type of phone for NIN ownership

May 14, 2024
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
NIN ownership at state or residence
This map shows the NIN ownership rate across the thirty six states in the country
May 14, 2024
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
NIN ownership and Geographic zone
This map shows the NIN ownership rate across the country’s six geopolitical zones
Another International Women’s Day has passed, and at Inclusion for all, we concluded Women’s Month with the second edition of our I4ALL Dialogues. This year’s theme, “Inspire Inclusion,” resonated deeply with us as we brought together stakeholders from the financial ecosystem to delve into The State of Women’s Financial Access in Today’s Economy. The dialogue […]
March 28, 2024
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
BVN ownership and Geographic Zone
Respondents in the North West are the least likely to own BVN while respondents in the South West are the most likely to have their BVN
March 28, 2024
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
Rural/Urban split and BVN ownership
Respondents in Urban areas are considerably more likely to have a BVN than those in rural areas who record a higher than average rate of non-BVN ownership
March 28, 2024
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
BVN ownership and age group
BVN ownership is lowest among respondents within the age group 18-25 and more generally across people below the age of 35. While the data shows that young people are more likely to not own a BVN, there is also higher than average numbers of non-BVN ownership in for respondents over the age of 51.
March 27, 2024
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
BVN ownership and Bank status
Respondents with bank accounts are more likely to own an BVN compared to their counterparts without bank accounts.
March 26, 2024
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
Gender, age and NIN ownership
Women are least likely to own BVNs than men and while there is a gender gap among respondents, it is not significant recording only a 1% difference.
This Women’s Month, we’re shedding light on the gender gap in financial inclusion and the gendered effects of poverty that make women more likely to be financially excluded than their male counterparts. According to The 2023 Access to Finance survey, 29% of Nigerians lack NINs, with marginalised groups, including women in rural areas, bearing the […]
Limited enrolment centres and travel distances make it difficult for willing but marginalized Nigerians to link their NIN/BVN to their accounts before the March/April deadline. Our recent data snapshot, “NIN/BVN Bank Account Cut-Off Impact Snapshot,” highlights this issue and its impact on unserved and underserved communities. It points out that geo-mapping restrictions, such as the […]
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
Formal exclusion threat to the most vulnerable Nigerians: The NIN-BVN Tier-1 KYC lens
What we know: 29% of adult Nigerians do not have a NIN (National Identity Number) and 51% do not have a Bank Verification Number (BVN) . More than half of those without NIN or BVN fall in the poor to poorest bracket living predominantly in the North. On Episode 14 of Inclusion for all radio, […]
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
Formal exclusion threat to the most vulnerable Nigerians: The NIN-SIM ban lens
What we know: 47.7% of unbanked Nigerians, predominantly marginalised groups do not have a National Identity Number (NIN), which is now one of the key requirements for opening even a tier-1 (easy access) bank account. On Episode 13 of Inclusion for all radio, Chinasa Collins-Ogbuo – podcast host and the Inclusion for all Advocacy Lead […]
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
Utilizing Data To Accelerate Financial And Economic Inclusion In Nigeria
What we know: Formal inclusion has increased from 56% to 64%, and this is something to celebrate, however, expanding formal access to 64% is only the beginning. We need the ecosystem to do more to give the last mile access, and we need to focus on deepening inclusion for those with access – Savings, pensions […]
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
Conversations Across State Lines – Kaduna State’s Digital ID Journey
What we know: Foundational identity system that encourages inclusiveness and aligns with best practice is critical to participating in the formal economy. Formal ID confers recognition by government and service providers and enables access to a host of services – financial, health, education, and social safety nets. On Episode 11 of Inclusion for all radio, Chinasa […]
The NIN is Nigeria’s form of foundational digital ID that all bonafide citizens must have. Providing universal coverage and barrier-free access to ID systems is one of the three pillars of the Principles on Identification for Sustainable Development and is vital to achieving Target 16.9 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to “provide legal identity […]
Without a formal means of ID the people we care about are “unseen” by the government and other key stakeholders that can help them.; thus making their impoverished state at risk of stagnating or even worsening.
In May, Nigerian telcos approved the suspension of USSD service access from Nigerian banks due to the banks’ accumulated debt of N210 billion (USD 261.36 million) in USSD fees. This decision might seem like just another business move, but it could have significant consequences for financial inclusion. In a country where 38% of the population […]
Tabawa has her NIN and knows how it is well accepted. She highlighted that the older ones in her community do not care about having a NIN because they are not interested in opening bank accounts. She highlighted that the long queues and poor network are the most challenging issues people have to deal with […]
Joy declares that she has a formal ID – the Permanent Voter’s Card has her means of identification and also used it in opening her bank account. She shares how the cash scarcity adversely impacted the sales of her farm produce.
Ruth, an internally displaced person, shares her challenges accessing financial services, an experience faced by numerous forcibly displaced persons in Nigeria today. Ruth resides at the new Kuchingoro IDP camp in Abuja. No banks or mobile agents are available at the camp, which limits her access to financial services through these facilities. As such, Ruth […]
Shadia shares her awareness of the availability of a range of formal IDs including NIN, BVN, and Voters’ Card. She urges the government to bring the NIN enrollment closer to their community for convenient access and further states that they wouldn’t mind paying a small fee to ensure they get access to original NINs based […]
Rabi shares that women in their 30s and above do not have birth certificates but those in their 20s and below do have their birth certificates in her community. She also highlights that 70% of women in her community have registered for their NIN which they are yet to receive. According to her, the creation […]
Oreoluwa shares her awareness of the different means of identification, and the importance of owning one. She further cites a lack of education and a lack of understanding as why some other women in her community don’t understand the value of owning formal identification like NIN.
Christianah shares the importance and the benefits of Identification (NIN). Christianah shares her experience during the fuel and cash scarcity that made it difficult for her to move her farm produce around, she also, mentioned that the charges from POS operators is equally high. Christianah has a NIN (National Identification Number) and shares her awareness […]
Inclusion for All / Inclusion for all
USSD dilemma and the threat to financial inclusion in Nigeria
A significant proportion of the banked populations in underserved communities are more likely to have access to or own basic and feature phones and thus rely on the use of the USSD services for basic banking services. On Episode 10 of Inclusion for all radio – Henry Chukwu, a Digital Financial Services expert with over […]
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
Nigerian Naira Redesign: Informal Groups in a Cashless Economy – The Trust Quotient
A lack of trust in the financial system is a recurring and critical barrier to financial Inclusion. On Episode 8 of Inclusion for all radio, Chinasa Collins-Ogbuo – podcast host and Head of Financial Inclusion for all Initiative, is joined by Titilola Feyijimi – Chief Operating Officer at Ajo Card, an indigenous digital financial platform […]
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
The Nigerian Naira Redesign Series: Effectiveness of the CBN Cash Swap Initiative for Rural Areas
We are concerned about the effectiveness of the CBN Cash Swap initiative due to factors such as the uneven distribution and coverage of agent networks particularly in rural areas. In Episode 7 of the Naira Redesign Series on Inclusion for All Radio, our podcast host Chinasa Collins-Ogbuo is joined by Victor Olojo – President, Association […]
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
The Nigerian Naira Redesign Series: Enabling Financial Inclusion Or Extenuating Financial Exclusion?
On Episode 7 of Inclusion for all radio, Chinasa Collins-Ogbuo – podcast host and Head, of Inclusion for all Initiative; is joined by Professor Olayinka David- West, the Associate Dean of the Lagos Business School (LBS) in Nigeria where she leads the Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Financial Services (SIDFS) initiative, a research, advocacy, and capacity […]
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
Women, rurality & inclusion – Digital ID as a game-changer
On the 2022 Financial Inclusion Week special podcast episode of Inclusion for all radio – Chinasa Collins-Ogbuo; our podcast host and Head, Inclusion for all initiative is joined by Saude Amina Atoyebi – Head, Kaduna State Social Investment Office. Saude discusses the gender and urban/rural discrepancies in NIN (National Identity Number) enrollment and bank ownership […]
November 9, 2022
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
Gender, National Identity & Age
Women Over the age of 39 are progressively less likely to own and ID than their male Counterparts and the gender gap expands the older the respondents get indicating that the older the woman is, the less likely she is to have an ID.
November 9, 2022
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
Gender, National Identity and Poverty
Women are less likely to have ID than men at every level of the World Bank’s Poverty Probability index and the gender gap widens as they get poorer.
November 9, 2022
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
Understanding the link between poverty and ownership of Nigeria’s National Identity Number
The likelihood of respondents having ID decreases at every percentile of the World Bank’s Poverty Probability Index, demonstrating clearly that the poorer you are, the less likely you are to have ID.
November 9, 2022
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
National identity registrations & financial exclusion by state
This map shows the number of national identity registrations by State, mapped against the level of financial exclusion.
November 9, 2022
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
Financial inclusion, poverty and respondents with and without ID
Financially excluded respondents with a high likelihood of poverty based on the World Bank’s Poverty Probability Index, are considerably more likely not to have National Identity, than respondents who are banked indicating a strong correlation between the communities without National Identity and those who are financially excluded.
November 9, 2022
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
National identity enrolment centres and registrations
There is a clear link between the number of enrolment centres in a State, and the number of people who have registered for National Identity Numbers. The more enrolment centres, the higher the registrations.
November 9, 2022
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
Age, state and national identity
There is a clear cluster of low national identity ownership in the South South and South East, along with interesting spikes in identity ownership in the sample in Zamfara, Borno and Adamawa which may be indicative of specific vulnerable communities in the sample, such as Internally Displaced People.
November 9, 2022
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
Location and national identity
Respondents in Urban areas are considerably more likely to have a National Identity Number than those in rural areas.
November 9, 2022
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
Education and financial inclusion
More than 89% of respondents with a university degree or above are likely to be financially included, while only 29% of respondents who only complete primary school are likely to be financially included. The lower your level of education, the less likely you have a bank account.
November 9, 2022
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
Education and urban/rural
Respondents’ education levels are progressively higher for urban communities than for rural communities.
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
Financial Inclusion in Nigeria: Stories behind the numbers (FINDEX 2021)
On Episode 5 of Inclusion for all radio, Chinasa Collins-Ogbuo – podcast host and Head, Inclusion for all Initiative; is joined by Tolulope Babajide – a gender specialist with experience in gender programming, financial inclusion, and agricultural livelihoods. Tolulope is the Gender Network Manager at FSD Africa where she works primarily on the Gender Collaborative […]
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
NIN-SIM Link Call Barring – What it means for Nigeria’s Vulnerable Populations
On episode 2 of Inclusion for all radio – Chinasa Collins-Ogbuo, podcast host and the Head, Inclusion for all Initiative; is joined by Aisha Ahmed to discuss the recent NIN-SIM linkage call barring and how it’s affecting people in hard-to-reach locations. Aisha Ahmed is the CEO and Chairperson of Murna Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organization that […]
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
Formal Inclusion of Poor and Vulnerable Nigerians – Who Should Care?
On episode 3 of Inclusion for all radio – Chinasa Collins-Ogbuo, podcast host and the Head, Inclusion for all Initiative; is joined by Adédèjì Ọlọ́wẹ̀ to discuss “Who should care about including the poorest and vulnerable Nigerians in the formal sector”? Adédèjì Ọlọ́wẹ̀ is the founder of Lendsqr, the lending infrastructure fintech powering African lenders […]
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
Enable Access to ID for Women in Vulnerable Communities
On episode 1 of Inclusion for all radio – Chinasa Collins-Ogbuo, podcast host and the Head, Inclusion for all Initiative; is joined by two distinguished women to discuss breaking the bias and enabling ID access for women in vulnerable communities in Nigeria. Suwaiba Muhammad Dankabo-Programmes Director at ActionAid Nigeria who is an expert in Rural […]
November 4, 2022
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
Education and national identity
Respondents are generally more likely to have national ID the higher their level of education. Gender gaps exist in ownership of National ID at every level of the education system, with significant gaps for those with no education, incomplete primary education and in-complete post university education.
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
NIN-SIM Call Barring – Role of the Telcos
On Episode 4 of Inclusion for all radio – Chinasa Collins-Ogbuo, host and Head, Inclusion for all Initiative; is joined by Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo – President of the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMS) an advocacy platform representing the plight of all telephone subscribers in Nigeria. Chief Ogunbanjo shares his views on the […]
Sadiya shares that her SIM registration was done by someone else, and as a result of her lost SIM, linking her NIN to her SIM is not a priority for now, but she will link it eventually. Sadiya’s story highlights how lack of awareness and poor levels of education put people in marginalised communities at […]
November 4, 2022
Inclusion 4 All / Inclusion for all
Financial inclusion in Nigeria since 2008
While Nigeria’s banked population has more than doubled since 2008, the percentage of respondents who are excluded from the financial system is progressing too slowly to achieve current Federal Government targets and the proportion of informally included respondents remains high.
November 3, 2022
Steen Joffe / Inclusion for all
National identity number and mobile phone ownership
In a continued drive to enforce and accelerate NIN enrollment, NIMC and the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy on April 4, 2022, took the decision to disconnect mobile lines yet to link their NIN to their SIM cards. This immediately restricted outgoing call services of more than 30 million Nigerian mobile lines. Our graph shows that 73.1% of mobile phone owners in the poorest segment of society did not have a NIN in 2020; and therefore more likely to be directly affected by the restrictions on mobile phone use. This confirms that mobile phone ownership does not indicate NIN ownership and it is progressively exacerbated as you get poorer.
Rabiatu from Katsina State in Nigeria shares her experience after the SIM-NIN call restriction on April 4. According to her, the NIN-SIM linkage was done by her friend whom she realised did not successfully link her NIN to her SIM. Rabiatu’s story highlights how barriers including awareness and education put people in rural communities at […]
Samaila shares his experience before and after the SIM-NIN call restriction on April 4. According to him, access to enrolment centres and the availability of the enrolment partners are limitations which led to the disconnection of his mobile SIM. Prior to the call restriction, Samaila did not have a National Identity Number (NIN), and as […]