The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a financial advisory firm, has proposed the promotion of financial inclusion, equitable distribution of resources, infrastructural development and formulation of requisite fiscal policies to aid faster recovery of the post-COVID economy.
How to forge an inclusive post-COVID recovery in Nigeria”, the author and BCG partner, Tolu Oyekan, said the strategies will reduce Nigeria’s poverty population and also have a positive multiplier effect on the Nigerian economy.
- 10 things you probably did not know about the new EFCC boss
- How bandits are turning Kaduna communities to ghost towns
He listed the electrification of rural households through a pay-as-you-go (PAYGo) solar service and cashless transactions via mobile money platforms, as examples of such infrastructural interventions.
The federal government is targeting the installation of five million PAYGo solar power systems across low-income households by 2023.
“Our analysis shows that a PAYGo loan would make solar kits affordable for about half of the 31 million households that do not have reliable electricity and may also, be considered to be in a low-income bracket.
“What’s more, we found that 3.2m out of 17m households currently using kerosene and candles as their lighting source could afford the monthly payments based on their current spending on lighting, plus about 10 per cent of the non-food budget.”