Factors for Sustainable Operations in the FinTech Industry. A Survey of Nigerian Users, Providers and Regulators.

This research looks at the success and failure rates of FinTech (Financial Technology) industries in Nigeria, and the factors responsible for its sustainability. FinTech global investment now makes up a multi-billion-dollar industry. The Financial sector, which is the backbone of economic growth in Nigeria is dominated by start-ups that offer technological solutions to products and services. The suggested approach enables the researcher to explore the complexity of the FinTech ecosystem, the stakeholders’ inter-relations, and critical success factors responsible for achieving and maintaining success in the industry. This also allows a better understanding of the different factors of success and failure, which have been generally identified as regulatory support, customer centricity, stakeholders’ partnership with incumbents, technology (including innovation), infrastructure, business environment and trust, as well as poor business plans, poor management, poor location, lack of inventory, uncontrolled growth, poor financial control, lack of funds or experience, lack of a strategic plan and many others. Consequently, the study reviews the global FinTech, with emphasis on countries and hubs that have been ranked successful in terms of FinTech operations, both in the developed and emerging markets which allows for the correlation of these business success and failure factors with the growth and sustainability of the industry in such countries. The research draws upon 20 interviews (unstructured, semi-structured, and highly structured) with high profile stakeholders of the FinTech industry, across the different components of the ecosystem. NVivo 11 was used to assist in the thematic analysis of the transcribed audios. This helped to identify, from different perspectives, the challenges faced by stakeholders in Nigeria. This, therefore, makes this research a mix of the current practices, perception, and respective roles concerning the issues of FinTech success and sustainability in Nigeria. Three basic themes (with several sub-themes) emerged from the empirical study as areas of most concern to FinTech sustainability in Nigeria: Financial Inclusion, Sustainability and, Regulation and Compliance. The outcome of this research is an outline of a robust framework proposed at addressing the factors affecting sustainable operations in the Nigerian FinTech industry. As a way of building the framework, solutions have been proposed under the studied themes listed above that were identified as impediments to success. This study outcome is also a useful addition to the body of knowledge and academic research that pertains to financial technology growth and sustainability in Nigeria and globally