A total of 147 professionals have been trained by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access, in partnership with Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, to apply financial inclusion data in developing policies and interventions for underserved Nigerians.

The seven-week programme, delivered through the ‘Leveraging Financial Inclusion Data for Policymaking’ course, focused on helping participants interpret financial inclusion research and use the findings to identify access gaps and develop evidence-based policy responses.

EFInA disclosed this in a statement made available to The PUNCH on Thursday.

The initiative was implemented under the Sustainable and Inclusive Digital Financial Services programme of Lagos Business School and comes amid the release of EFInA’s 2026 Access to Financial Services Survey, which provides updated data on financial access and exclusion across Nigeria.

The organisers said the training was designed to move participants beyond simply understanding financial inclusion statistics to applying the evidence in addressing challenges affecting underserved populations.

Participants completed seven modules through a combination of online coursework and live virtual sessions.

The modules covered the use of data from sources including the Global Findex and Access to Financial Services Surveys to identify gaps in financial access, understand the circumstances of underserved groups and establish priorities for policy interventions.

The programme also recorded improvements in participants’ understanding and confidence in applying the knowledge acquired.

EFInA said participants’ knowledge accuracy increased from 72.5 per cent before the training to 88.5 per cent after it, while their confidence in applying the skills rose by 21.5 percentage points.

EFInA’s Research Lead, Dr Oluwatomi Eromosele, said the outcome demonstrated the value of strengthening the ability of professionals to convert financial inclusion research into practical policy recommendations.

She said the participants had progressed from improving their knowledge of financial inclusion data to developing policy briefs addressing specific challenges within the sector.

Eromosele added that professionals who could properly interpret and apply evidence would be better positioned to identify underserved groups, assess policy gaps and recommend interventions suited to their needs.

Participants also reported changes in how they approached financial inclusion data and policymaking after completing the programme.

One participant said the training had shifted their focus from using data mainly to understand trends to applying it to identify gaps, assess the needs of underserved groups and develop more targeted interventions.

Another participant said the programme had strengthened their ability to approach policy decisions from an evidence-based perspective and identify areas where interventions were most needed.