Tanya Davidson
Abuja — Nigeria and the Netherlands are moving to deepen cooperation on financial health, with the partnership expected to bring Dutch expertise in insurance, credit guarantees and data generation into Nigeria’s financial-inclusion programmes.
The agreement was reached during a bilateral meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands in New York, as Nigeria seeks to expand financial services beyond access to formal accounts and towards greater financial resilience for citizens.
Queen Máxima, who is the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Financial Health, pledged Netherlands’ support for Nigeria’s financial-inclusion drive, particularly programmes targeting women and vulnerable groups.
The proposed cooperation will cover areas including insurance, credit guarantees and data generation, according to the Presidency.
Shettima welcomed the offer, saying the Netherlands’ focus on financial health was timely for Nigeria because of its links with education, security and poverty reduction.
“The Netherlands’s focus on financial health and inclusion is not only apt but timely,” Shettima said, noting that financial inclusion had “a direct link to education, security, and poverty reduction.”
The Vice President pointed to conditional cash transfers and agricultural-sector programmes as existing government interventions aimed at widening access to financial services.
He also highlighted the role of fintech companies, saying government policies had positioned some of Africa’s leading financial technology firms to play a critical role in reaching Nigerians who remain outside the formal financial system.
The latest Access to Financial Services in Nigeria survey reported financial inclusion at 79 per cent in 2026, while financial exclusion fell to 21 per cent from 26 per cent in 2023.
The emerging focus on financial health also comes as the Federal Government expands credit-guarantee mechanisms. President Bola Tinubu said on Monday that the National Credit Guarantee Company had supported N46.95 billion in loans to 67,512 borrowers across 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory within its first year.
Queen Máxima said financial-health programmes should strengthen citizens’ resilience, protect their investments and expand access to insurance.
She also urged private-sector companies to treat the financial health of their customers as an important factor in their own long-term sustainability.
For Nigeria, the partnership therefore extends the financial-inclusion conversation beyond bringing people into the financial system to strengthening their ability to manage risks, access credit and protect their assets.
“We remain committed to improving financial inclusion,” Shettima said in welcoming the Netherlands’ support, while defending the economic reforms of President Bola Tinubu’s administration as necessary responses to the condition of the economy when it assumed office in 2023.
The Dutch government’s proposed support will draw on its experience in financial health and is expected to complement Nigeria’s existing financial-inclusion programmes rather than replace them.
