E-Financial
Access Bank Partners LSETF to kick Start Grassroots Engagement on W Initiative Loan Scheme
Access Bank, through the W Initiative is committed to Inspiring, Connecting, and Empowering women. In 2019, the LSETF W Initiative Loan – a matching fund-financing option for female MSMEs in Lagos State was launched in partnership with the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund.
As a way of increasing awareness and bridging the information gap, The Access Bank’s W Initiative and the LSETF teams have commenced a series of grassroot engagement sessions across Lagos State to sensitize businesswomen resident in Lagos on the availability of the facility, the processes as well as requirements involved. The first and second sessions held at Balogun Market and Alimosho L.G.A respectively.
While opening the session, Abiodun Olubitan, Group Head of the W Initiative, said that “The W initiative is a one-stop-shop for women. Over the years, we have ensured we serve three different cadres of women – women professionals, women in business, and women at home. Specifically, we are talking about women entrepreneurs today and we aim to not only provide funding to these women but also capacity building to enable them develop skills and help grow their business.
She further noted that “Many women lack access to funding which hinders them from scaling their businesses. This challenge has deepened with the impact of the pandemic on businesses and the economy.
“Our response to this plight is to make available the LSETF W Initiative Loan which is rightly positioned to enable female entrepreneurs to move their businesses to the next level with ease at a highly competitive rate of 10 percent per annum. It requires no collateral, and can be repaid between 12 – 24 months”.
It is believed that this partnership will further reiterate Access Bank’s commitment to empowering female entrepreneurs across Nigeria and Africa at large by providing affordable financing to female MSMEs in the State to increase their productivity and enable them to expand in such a way that it leads to job creation.
Kuda Microfinance Bank has unveiled the 2025 edition of “My Year on Kuda,” its annual recap providing customers with personalised insights into their spending, saving, and money management habits from the previous year.
Kuda Microfinance Bank
The tool analyses transaction data across categories like transfers, card payments, online purchases, and bills, revealing patterns such as highest-spending months, biggest payments, saving frequency, and savings from Kuda’s 25 free monthly transfers. Customers can compare 2025 activity against 2024, including income versus expenditure.
In an era of inflation and economic uncertainty, the recap promotes financial literacy by highlighting responsible borrowing via Kuda Overdraft usage, including access frequency, amounts borrowed, and repayment patterns.
Customer-shared screenshots on X reflect national trends: Nigeria recorded over 2.2 billion electronic transactions worth ₦285 trillion in Q1 2025, up 20 percent year-on-year, with POS terminals driving the shift to cashless commerce.
Kuda Group CEO Babs Ogundeyi, in the recap’s opening video, urged users: “Before you carry on with January, this is the perfect time to see everything you did with your money on Kuda last year and learn something.”
The feature underscores Kuda’s focus on actionable insights to help Nigerians navigate evolving personal finance amid shifting earning and spending behaviours.
Wema Bank has introduced SAW, a new AI voice assistant integrated into the ALAT 2.0 app, allowing customers to manage finances through natural voice commands similar to Siri, Bixby, or Alexa.
Wema Bank
SAW understands everyday language and delivers instant responses tailored to banking needs, such as checking account balances, transferring money, reviewing transactions, and accessing support.
This feature brings conversational banking to Nigerian users, eliminating complexity and enhancing accessibility.
The bank positions SAW as a pioneer in AI-powered financial services, aligning with global trends where millions interact daily with voice assistants for tasks like setting reminders or playing music.
ALAT 2.0 represents the next evolution in digital banking, making services more efficient, personal, and human-like for everyday Nigerians.
Ecobank Nigeria Limited has fully repaid bondholders who validly tendered their notes ahead of the February 2026 maturity date.
The bank announced the successful completion of its tender offer, under which it prepaid approximately $245 million of its $300 million Eurobond, representing more than 80 per cent of the total issuance.
According to a statement, the transaction relates to the 7.125 per cent Senior Note Participation Notes due February 2026.
Ecobank Nigeria Limited said it launched a tender offer to eligible noteholders in respect of the outstanding $150 million on the bond on November 27, 2025, providing them with an opportunity to redeem their holdings ahead of the original maturity date of 16 February 2026.
It stated that the early and late tender participation deadlines were 11 December 2025 and 29 December 2025, respectively.
According to the bank, holders of notes validly tendered and accepted received a cash consideration of $1,000 per $1,000 in principal amount, in addition to accrued interest from the last interest payment date up to, but excluding, the final settlement date of 31 December 2025.
Following completion of the offer, the bank said the outstanding principal amount of the notes has been reduced to approximately $55.092 million.
The bank also stated that the initiative reflects Ecobank Nigeria’s proactive approach to liability management and prudent balance sheet optimisation.
The tender offer was conducted with Renaissance Capital Africa (Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited) acting as financial adviser and dealer manager, while Sodali & Co Limited served as tender agent.
The notes were originally issued by EBN Finance Company B.V., with limited recourse to the issuer, for the sole purpose of financing the purchase of the $300 million 7.125 per cent Senior Note due 2026 issued by Ecobank Nigeria Limited.
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