Nigeria’s Vice President, Mastercard President and CEO Discuss Role of Technology in Country’s Development

From L – R: Paul Tswanya, Vice President, Government Services & Solutions, Mastercard; Omokehinde Adebanjo (Vice President and Area Business Head, West Africa, Mastercard); Raghu Malhotra (President, Middle East and Africa, Mastercard); His Excellency The Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN, GCON; Ajay Banga, President and CEO, Mastercard and Daniel Monehin (Division President , Sub-Saharan Africa, Mastercard).

His Excellency, The Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN, GCON, met with the Mastercard President and CEO, Mr. Ajay Banga during a private meeting in which the two discussed the importance of developing a digital framework for Nigeria to support the country’s ongoing transformation, ensuring the development of a more inclusive economy.

Vice President Osinbajo recognized the critical role of technology in driving Nigeria’s development, to help enable the country to benefit from the expansion of consumer and business spend as cities become hubs for commerce.

Mr. Banga spoke to the company’s investment into the sector with the launch of Masterpass QR, which is geared to help local businesses overcome barriers to growth.
He further highlighted the role that technology and innovation is playing in driving new opportunities to enable diversified economic growth, a point that resonates with the government’s development goals. With half of the population residing in cities and generating more than 60 percent of the country’s GDP, it will be vital to find efficient ways to serve the growing demand on services and infrastructure. Current estimates predicate that by 2035 close to 30 million people are likely to live in Lagos, turning it into the largest megacity on the continent.