The ninth edition of Nigeria Fintech Week opens in Lagos today, September 22, bringing financial institutions, technology companies, investors, regulators and startup founders together as the country’s fintech industry seeks its next phase of growth.
The 2026 edition runs through September 23 under the theme “Legacy in Motion: Powering the Digital Renaissance.”
The main Lagos programme is being held at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and the Creative Arts, National Theatre, while the event is expanding beyond Lagos with programmes scheduled in Abuja and Port Harcourt on September 23.
Organised by the Fintech Association of Nigeria, the conference will focus on digital payments, financial inclusion, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital banking, blockchain, regulation and investment.
The expanded programme reflects how Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem has moved beyond its original concentration around payments.
From Payments to Financial Infrastructure
Nigeria’s first major fintech growth phase was dominated by companies attempting to solve basic payment problems.
The industry now increasingly provides infrastructure used by banks, merchants, online businesses and consumers.
That transition is changing the questions facing the sector.
Rather than simply asking whether Nigerians will adopt digital payments, the industry must increasingly confront issues around cybersecurity, credit, data protection, artificial intelligence, cross-border transactions and regulation.
FintechNGR Vice President and Nigeria Fintech Week Chairman Dr Jameelah Sharrieff-Ayedun said the ecosystem has progressed from proving digital payments could work towards building core financial infrastructure for a modern economy.
That evolution is visible in the scale of companies operating within the market.
Paga says it now processes around $1.5 billion in transactions monthly, while OPay is marking eight years of Nigerian operations.
AI Takes Larger Role
Artificial intelligence is expected to feature prominently in discussions.
Financial institutions are increasingly examining AI for fraud detection, customer service, credit assessment, compliance and internal operations.
The technology also introduces risks.
Financial companies hold highly sensitive customer information, making governance and cybersecurity particularly important when deploying automated systems.
Nigeria’s regulators therefore face the challenge of allowing innovation without weakening consumer protection or financial stability.
Investment Remains Critical
Access to capital will be another major issue.
Nigeria has produced some of Africa’s most prominent technology companies, but the wider venture-capital environment has become more selective.
Founders are consequently under increasing pressure to demonstrate sustainable revenue and credible paths towards profitability.
Nigeria Fintech Week provides an opportunity for startups to meet investors while established financial institutions search for technology partnerships and new products.
The multi-city expansion is also significant.
Nigeria’s technology ecosystem remains heavily concentrated in Lagos, and extending major industry events to Abuja and Port Harcourt could broaden participation among founders, regulators and businesses outside the country’s principal commercial centre.
For Nigeria’s fintech industry, the question is no longer whether digital finance can gain widespread adoption.
The challenge is building a financial-technology ecosystem that can combine scale, profitability, security, regulation and consumer trust while continuing to expand access to financial services.
The discussions beginning in Lagos today will provide another indication of where industry leaders believe that next phase of growth will come from.
