Mr. Attah Joseph A. A. was the Head, Financial Inclusion Secretariat of the Central Bank of Nigeria before retiring from the Bank on January 6, 2020. He Headed the Microfinance Management Office of the Development Finance Department from 2011 to 2012 and coordinated the drafting of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy which was launched in 2012. He was responsible for the implementation of the Strategy with the core mandate of reducing the percentage of adult Nigerians excluded from financial services to 20% by 2020. He also served as the Secretary to the Financial Inclusion Steering and Technical Committees and Coordinator, Financial Inclusion Working Groups.

He actively participated in the drafting and launching of the National Microfinance Policy, Regulatory and Supervisory Framework for Nigeria and served as Secretary to the National Microfinance Policy Consultative Committee and the Microfinance Advisory Boards. He conceptualized the document for the Central Bank of Nigeria Entrepreneurship Development Centres in the six geopolitical zones of the country and significantly supported capacity building, and skill gap reduction for the Microfinance Banks and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

Mr. Attah actively contributed to ancillary guidelines on agriculture, infrastructure and MSME policies of Central Bank of Nigeria and effectively mobilized stakeholders to support their implementation. He undertook advocacy to institutions such as the Nigeria Deposit insurance Corporation, National Insurance Commission, National Pension Commission, National Communication Commission and worked with them to come up with regulations that enhance access to finance for the poor and low income groups. These include micro pension and micron insurance, payment, consumer protection and agent banking regulations.

He was the global Chairman of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion Strategy Peer Learning Working Group from April 2016 to April 2018 where he provided guidance for various countries to draft their Financial Inclusion Strategies and setting up structures for effective and efficient implementation.

Mr. Attah holds an Masters in Microfinance degree from the Giordano Dell’Amore Foundation, Italy under the auspices of University of Bergamo and a first degree in Agriculture from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. He is a Fellow of the Fletcher School Leadership Programme for Financial Inclusion, Tuft University, Boston, United States.

He is married to Mariya and blessed with six children.