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Nigerian, Team Mates Win £15,000 at SWIFT Fintech Competition

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Nigerian Mohammed Dankwambo will share £15,000 with five other university students after their Fintech idea wowed judges at the SWIFT Business Forum London.

The team called HADU from the UK’s Warwick Business School (WBS) beat six other teams – including three more from WBS – in the final to win the inaugural SWIFT Institute Challenge.

Mohammed, of Gombe, Nigeria, and team-mates Fiza Hussain, Sneha Sunkara, Yunjing Li, Yat Hung To and Qotrun Nada Haroen,  were presented with the cheque by Harriett Baldwin, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, and they also won a trip to Sibos, the annual financial services event held in Geneva this September by SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) – the global network that enables financial institutions to send and receive information about financial transactions.

Tasked with identifying a solution to address the challenge of remittances via banks in the UK, HADU presented a solution that focused on using near sound data technology to deliver mobile money and a network of branded high-security buses to do the ‘last mile’ and deliver the cash in Indonesia.

Mohammed said: “We were so excited when we heard our name on stage, even after one day, we still can’t believe it. We are very happy and really looking forward to further develop our idea.”

“This is a great win for WBS and the University that reflects the quality of the research and teaching at Warwick,” said Markos Zachariadis, Assistant Professor of Information Systems Management & Innovation and co-author of The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT): Cooperative governance for network innovation, standards, and community.

“The SWIFT Institute Challenge has provided a great opportunity for students to work on real issues from the financial industry. Congratulations to all the finalists and to the winning team. We are very proud of the students.

“Our Fintech module at the school is part of our MSc in Information Systems Management & Innovation course and has been going for three years now, with our graduates landing jobs in major financial institutions and already making an impact.

“We will seek to develop more Fintech initiatives in the coming years.”

The 2016 Challenge was open to any UK-based recognised university, or centre of learning, with an interest in banking and asked students for a solution that would enable someone to send money from their UK bank account to an individual in a country where there is little or no banking infrastructure.

Held at the Tobacco Dock in London, each team was given 10 minutes to pitch their idea to the judges who came from across the financial services industry.

They took on teams from King’s College London, Queen Mary University of London and London School of Economics and Politics, with HADU coming out on top.

HADU will have their travel and expenses paid for to attend SWIFT’s annual financial services event, Sibos, and the opportunity to pitch their developed solution at the conference in Switzerland.

Commenting on the Challenge, Ms Baldwin said: “Innovation in payments solves real-world problems and has the ability to change how we, as consumers, interact with our money. That’s why it’s so exciting to see the projects from today’s SWIFT competition teams looking at how we can make remittances easier, cheaper and more efficient for people in the UK and around the world.

“Financial technology plays a vital role in stimulating greater competition, improving access and helping to drive transaction costs down. That’s just one of the many reasons the Government is doing all it can to support the UK’s dynamic Fintech sector.”

Peter Ware, Director at SWIFT Institute, said: “This is the first year for the Challenge, and we have been very impressed by the quality of the submissions and presentations from the UK Universities involved.

“An interest in banking is important but equally, so is an enthusiasm for devising new and cutting-edge ideas that could really make a difference. They all understand important world issues and are able to think outside the barriers that can exist in a corporate mindset.”


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Detained Binance executive drags EFCC, NSA to court

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Binance executive Tigran Gambaryan has has dragged the National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu and the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to court alleging violations of his fundamental rights.

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In a filing dated March 18 and presented by his lawyer Olujoke Aliyu from Aluko and Oyebode Law Firm, Gambaryan sought redress before Justice Inyang Ekwo, requesting five reliefs. Similarly, Nadeem Anjarwalla, Binance’s Africa regional manager who escaped custody on March 22, initiated a separate suit before Justice Ekwo.

Gambaryan and Anjarwalla, in the suits marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/356/24 and FHC/ABJ/CS/355/24, had sued the Office of NSA (ONSA) and EFCC as 1st and 2nd respondents.

Gambaryan, a US citizen overseeing financial crime compliance at the crypto exchange platform, alleged that his detention and the confiscation of his international travel passport violated Section 35 (1) and (4) of the 1999 Constitution, constituting a breach of his fundamental right to personal liberty. He further requested the court to order his immediate release and the return of his passport. Additionally, he sought an injunction preventing further detention related to any Binance investigations and demanded a public apology from the respondents, along with costs incurred.

Gambaryan stated that he visited Nigeria on February 26 alongside Nadeem Anjarwalla, representing Binance, in response to invitations from ONSA and EFCC. Despite attending the meeting as requested, both were detained afterward without formal charges.

During the court proceedings, T.J. Krukrubo, SAN, representing Anjarwalla and Gambaryan, informed the court of the respondents’ absence despite being served. Krukrubo also mentioned their notice of withdrawal of legal representation for Anjarwalla, filed on March 26.

Justice Ekwo noted the withdrawal of legal representation and adjourned the matter to April 8 to allow the applicants to seek new representation and give the respondents an opportunity to appear.

In Gambaryan’s case, Krukrubo stated that although the processes were served on ONSA and EFCC, they still had time to respond. He requested an adjournment, indicating that the respondents’ deadline to file their applications would expire the following week.

Consequently, Justice Ekwo scheduled the next hearing for April 8 to continue proceedings.


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AXA Mansard Empowers Female SMEs with Financial, Digital Skills

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AXA Mansard, a member of AXA has empowered 200 female Small and Medium Enterprises with financial literacy and digital business skills.

In collaboration with SME 100 Africa, the two-day training, which was held in Lagos, is part of AXA’s lined-up programmes to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day.

Speaking, Olusesan Ogunyooye, Head of Marketing AXA Mansard, said the training was aimed to empower female SME owners with skills to improve business output and position them for the increasing economic opportunities available in an increasingly digital marketplace.

Ogunyooye noted that the move was in line with AXA Mansard’s sustainability agenda, explaining that the company was convinced that support for women through its inclusive protection programmes was pivotal to its purpose of acting for human progress by protecting what matters and its mission of moving from being a payer to a partner.

He further said that focusing on digital skills was important because the company realised the importance of digital skills to the growth of the SME sector in Nigeria and wants to ensure that women were empowered enough to be a consequential part of that growth.

“It’s almost trite to say that SMEs are the engine for economic growth, especially in developing countries like Nigeria, where over 45 million adults are business owners. What needs to be continually discussed is how Nigeria is going to unlock that potential for economic development and how much of that potential will be unlocked by women and for women.”

“For us at AXA Mansard, we are aware that digital will play a major role in unlocking these current opportunities and Nigeria’s economic future. So, to ensure that women are equally represented in unlocking these future potentials, that’s why we have collaborated with SME 100 Africa to support them in developing the required skills”.

“Our choice of digital and financial literacy skills is deliberate. We understand the power of the duo. We understand that helping these SMEs with the skills to attract more customers will be a faster means to empower them.

“We see that they have amazing products and services, but they need to understand how to attract value for themselves by attracting the right customers, and you will agree with me that virtually all customer segments are online in one way or another today.

“So, if we can empower them with digital business skills, we would have helped them with the heavy lifting of trying to find and attract customers”. Ogunyooye explained.

According to him, AXA Mansard believes that for the world to experience progress truly, there must be an equitable distribution of creation and access to opportunities for men and women. This quest for balance informed the SHE for Shield initiative, a women-centred inclusive protection programme of AXA Mansard.

SHE for Shield is a group of initiatives designed for the Nigerian woman. The goal is to see them grow, add value, and help them mitigate risks at every step.

According to the company, research has found that access to health care is one of the most important things to Nigerian women, regardless of their economic segment. They desire to be financially independent, secure, and respected in the community.

 


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IFC Invests in New 4DX Ventures Fund to Support Tech Startups in Africa

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IFC is investing $10.5 million in a new fund by 4DX Ventures, a New York-based venture capital firm focused on supporting early-stage African technology companies across a broad set of sectors, including fintech, e-commerce, edtech, climate tech, and health tech.

IFC’s investment in 4DX Ventures Fund III will come from IFC’s $225 million venture capital platform, which was launched last year to strengthen emerging VC ecosystems and invest in early-stage companies in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan.

Africa is among the regions least served by venture capital, receiving just 2% of global venture deal volume in the third quarter of 2023. Access to capital on the continent has been further exacerbated by a slowdown in global venture capital investment.

Tech ecosystems are nascent, or even nonexistent, outside of more established markets such as Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa.

“IFC and 4DX Ventures share the commitment to supporting tech entrepreneurs with innovations that will help Africa leapfrog in critical areas such as climate, health care, fintech, e-commerce, and education,” said Walter Baddoo, Co-Founder and General Partner of 4DX Ventures.

“We look forward to partnering with IFC to help promising tech startups build transformative businesses and realize sustainable development impact on the continent.”

4DX’s new fund will invest in companies with tech solutions that can improve productivity, efficiency and competitiveness across Africa. The firm’s first two funds invested in companies such as Egypt-based e-commerce platform MaxAB, an IFC portfolio company; Ghana-based health tech firm mPharma; and Kenya-based B2B e-commerce platform Wasoko, formerly known as Sokowatch.

“By supporting the development of tech ecosystems in emerging markets, IFC’s venture capital platform aims to improve access to key services, boost business competitiveness, and promote job creation through digital transformation,” said Mohamed Gouled, Vice President of Industries at IFC.

“Our investment in venture funds such as 4DX Ventures will help African entrepreneurs access more financing and resources they need to scale tech innovations and bolster sustainable growth across the continent.

In addition to providing capital, IFC will work with 4DX Ventures to implement their environmental and social management system.


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