Financial Inclusion: TAJBank, NIPOST Drive PPP Initiatives
BY EDMOND ODOK – The Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) and Nigeria’s fastest-growing non-interest banking services provider, TAJBank Limited, have embraced a new public-private partnership (PPP) initiative that will work for their mutual benefit and add value to the nation’s financial inclusion drive.
The partnership, seeking to improve the nation’s socio-economic gains and enhance postal services nationwide, was regularised between both organisations at the NIPOST Head Office in Abuja recently.
At the meeting to finetune discussions by both organisations on pushing initiatives targeted at public-private endeavours, TAJBank’s Managing Director/CEO, Mr Hamid Joda, said the collaboration with NIPOST, which hinges on 3Rs, namely rent, refurbish, and rebrand, would further enhance the government’s financial inclusion drive across the country.
Joda commended the Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer of NIPOST, Ms. Tola Odeyemi, for the opportunity to partner with the Service in the management’s efforts, riding primarily on branch expansion with NIPOST offices, to grow the innovative products and services of the non-interest lender.
He also spoke about the latest network expansion of TAJBank’s services into the Lagos axis, adding that it was “another step taken by the board and management of the bank to add value to individuals and business owners’ efforts in terms of cost-free, real-time services and make accessible to them innovative user experience with a vast bouquet of functionalities.”
According to him; “The point here is that at TAJBank, we are about a strategy of cost-saving, in addition to leveraging our services on world-class ICT infrastructure and solutions nationwide, determined to promote inclusion at the grassroots not through POS or other channels alone but through human interface with prospective customers”.
In her remarks, the NIPOST’s Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Tola Odeyemi praised TAJBank’s collaboration strategy and expressed optimism that the partnership would be mutually beneficial to both NIPOST and TAJBank.
Noting that “TAJBank needs no introduction”, Odeyemi said; “As soon as I had the opportunity to be a part of this initiative, it was a resounding yes. The brand speaks for itself and is here to provide cost-efficient and interest-free banking services to everyone.”
Speaking with journalists on the collaboration, TAJBank’s Executive Director, Mr. Sherif Idi, said; “What we are doing here today is to demonstrate to Nigerians and indeed the global community that TAJBank is fully determined to show how we intend to redefine non-interest banking services as a customer-focused lender.”
He explained that collaborating with “NIPOST, which is a very Nigerian parastatal with history aligns with this strategy”, adding that the Bank “is ready to give all it takes to surpass customers’ expectations wherever we are located”.
Idi further stated thus; “As our mantra clearly states, our only interest is our customers and I wish to mention that as a country, our history is key. It gives us a roadmap to where we are coming from and where we are going.
“TAJBank is a proudly Nigerian institution and with a partnership with NIPOST, we can rebuild our heritage, re-tell our story, and above all contribute significantly to the nation’s economy”.
