For nearly two decades, EFInA has played a critical role in shaping Nigeria’s financial inclusion journey, supporting policy reforms, strengthening market systems, and generating the data that guides decision-making across the ecosystem. Yet, one question has continued to surface: Are financial services truly improving people’s lives? The EFInA Research Fellowship was created to answer this.
As Nigeria records steady gains in access to financial services, millions, particularly women, youth, informal workers, and rural populations, remain excluded or underserved. Even among those with access, progress has not always translated into improved financial health, resilience, or economic empowerment. Unfortunately, financial inclusion cannot stop at account ownership alone; it must be judged by outcomes.
The fellowship is a flagship research initiative of EFInA designed to support researchers to investigate how financial services actually work in people’s daily lives, the mechanisms, product features, delivery models, and conditions that enable individuals and businesses to use financial services meaningfully. The goal is to generate credible, Nigeria-specific evidence that informs better policies, smarter products, and more inclusive financial systems.
This inaugural cohort of the fellowship programme marks an important milestone. Over an 8-month period, fellows will conduct applied research examining how financial services affect income, livelihoods, resilience, productivity, and well-being across different segments. Their work will focus not just on access, but on usage, trust, service experience, and long-term impact, especially for populations that are often left out of formal data and decision-making.
Meet the EFInA Research Fellows – Cohort 1
Abdullahi Ibrahim (LEAP Africa)
Abdullahi is a Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) practitioner with over a decade of experience generating evidence to inform policy and programme design across Nigeria and Africa. His work spans economic inclusion, youth employment, livelihoods, education, and community resilience, supported by institutions such as the Mastercard Foundation, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and the Ford Foundation. Abdullahi brings a strong focus on equity, ethical data use, and translating research into practical insights that improve outcomes for underserved populations.
Abdulmumin Usman (MSc Economics Student, Nile University)
Abdulmumin is a policy and political economy researcher whose work explores how power, institutions, and incentives shape development outcomes. With experience across Anglophone West Africa, Tanzania, and Mozambique, he has contributed to research on labour markets, climate policy, public finance, and financial inclusion. His interests lie at the intersection of finance, labour, and governance, with a strong commitment to using research and storytelling to surface the human impact of policy choices.
Sarah Edore Edewor (Equity in Tech Group)
Dr. Edewor is an agricultural economist and development researcher with deep expertise in women’s empowerment, financial inclusion, agriculture, land tenure, and food security. She has led interdisciplinary research projects that integrate gender perspectives, stakeholder engagement, and advanced data analysis to inform policy and practice. Her work focuses on building climate-resilient, inclusive systems that improve livelihoods, particularly for women in agricultural and rural contexts.
Through mentorship, research grants, access to EFInA datasets, and engagement with policymakers and industry actors, the fellowship will support fellows to produce rigorous studies and clear, actionable recommendations. Findings will be shared through policy briefs, publications, and EFInA’s platforms, culminating in presentations at EFInA’s annual symposium.
By grounding research in lived realities and Nigeria’s unique context, the EFInA Research Fellowship aims to move the conversation from access to impact, ensuring that financial inclusion strategies are judged not by numbers alone, but by their ability to improve lives and livelihoods.
This is the beginning of a learning journey EFInA is proud to lead, one that places evidence, experience, and people at the centre of financial inclusion.
