Ekuwem, Nwaogu commend Progenics on Symbols M

President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, and the Senate committee chairman on Banking, Insurance and other financial institutions, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, have commended the management of the nation’s leading banking software house, Progenics Corps Limited, for introducing its Symbols’ M solutions for microfinance entities in the country.

Speaking at the launch of the solution in Lagos on the “Role of Technology in the development and sustenance of the microfinance banking industry” Ekuwem said, that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) enables a click to knowledge for those who care to belong to the 21st century.

He applauded Progenics for focusing its products on SMEs, describing them as a veritable part of the economy, insisting that the Symbols’ M from the company is not inferior to its counterparts developed in so-called advanced countries or even Asia.

“A product is not less powerful because it is developed in Nigeria and it does not mean its 100 per cent better than a product manufactured in United States,” he said.

According to him, part of the problem in the Niger Delta, is the refusal to encourage local content development, thereby engaging the youths more meaningfully.
Vision-20 2020, he said, would not be realized if local content such as Symbols’ M that was locally developed is not patronized by all relevant institutions.

“Without encouraging made in Nigeria products, the possibility of realizing vision 202020 would be very slim,” he asserted.

Although he acknowledged that local content may not be upto the standard needed for a given purpose, Nigerians should play around with local content products and report back to the developers so as to help them improve upon the product and make it better.

Maintaining that in the global economy, “its no longer who you know but what you know,” and tasked Nigerian Microfinance industry to buy into the idea of those who developed Symbols’ M for their good and that of the nation’s economy.

Welcoming participants to the occasion, Managing Director, Progenics Corp Limited, Mr. Tony Udoh said that the essence of the launch is to show how technology could contribute to poverty alleviation programme embarked upon by various levels of government in the country.

“We believe access to financial services by the poor is one of the major poverty alleviation tools,’ he said.

Udoh believes that without leveraging on ICT, licensed microfinance banks will soon be afflicted with similar challenges that overwhelmed the community banks.
He explained that Symbols Microfinance (Symbols M) is a comprehensive and integrated microfinance application.

“The system is aligned to all facets of banking operations to produce unparalleled customer service without the attendant operational bottlenecks,” he said, adding that it comprises several modular applications.

Equally, the Senate committee chairman on Banking, Insurance and other financial institutions, Senator Nkechi Nwaogu, gave kudos to Progenics for the innovative application, saying that her presence at the occasion marked part of the support from the government, especially the legislature.
She later unveiled the Symbols’ M.


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