E-Financial
IFC, UN to Support Stock Exchanges in Advancing SDGs and Climate Efforts
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (UN SSE), announced an expanded partnership to support stock exchanges and companies in emerging markets in addressing sustainability-related issues, including developing climate and biodiversity disclosure guidance, and advancing gender equality.
The 2030 target for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the climate crisis, rising inequality, and efforts to build back better following the COVID-19 pandemic have spurred a growing demand for sustainable finance.
The IFC – UN SSE collaboration aims to help stock exchanges address this demand by providing technical assistance and guidance to exchanges on sustainability issues and climate change.
The program will help stock exchanges develop sustainability reporting guidance and tools for companies, which improves transparency and investor confidence and increases opportunities for companies in emerging markets to access capital.
Additionally, the program will focus on efforts to improve women in business leadership roles and strengthen the sustainability practices of small and medium enterprises. It will also support the market adoption and implementation of sustainable finance products, including gender bonds, green bonds and sustainability-linked bonds.
“There is a clear need to improve sustainability and climate disclosure requirements to spur investment. By connecting companies, investors and policy makers, stock exchanges can help create resilient and sustainable capital markets in a way few other actors can,” said Mary Porter Peschka, Director, Sustainability and Gender Solutions, IFC. “IFC looks forward to its continued efforts with UN SSE to help stock exchanges in emerging markets become leaders on sustainability and transparency.”
The expanded program will leverage results to date from the IFC – UN SSE collaboration, which has helped 15 stock exchanges and regulators launch national ESG reporting guidelines, including the most recent Johannesburg Stock Exchange Sustainability and Climate Disclosure Guidelines.
Following the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), IFC, UN SSE and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) have delivered climate disclosure trainings, helping to improve the knowledge of over 7000 participants in 27 countries. The program also recently issued updated guidance on how stock exchanges can advance gender equality.
“We are pleased to strengthen our collaboration with IFC. Since we first signed our Exchange of Letters in 2018, the level of collaboration between UN SSE and IFC has increased significantly.
“Our collaboration efficiently leverages each other’s complementary strengths and ultimately makes us better positioned to serve our beneficiaries and achieve the SDGs established by UN member States,” said Anthony Miller, Coordinator, UN SSE.
IFC’s Beyond the Balance Sheet Disclosure and Transparency Toolkit, supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and the UN SSE’s Model ESG Reporting Guidance and Model Guidance on Climate Disclosure underpin the efforts of the collaboration, providing guidance on integrating financial and non-financial information in corporate reporting, communications, and disclosure practices. As a result, the program promotes a transparent culture and more responsible investments in emerging markets.
The next currency crisis could accelerate the shift of the roughly $315 billion global stablecoin market into a digital-dollar alternative for citizens in emerging economies, notably in regions like sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
As local fiat currencies face devaluation and high inflation, citizens and businesses are increasingly utilizing smartphone-based stablecoins (such as USDT and USDC) as hedges and primary mediums of exchange.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the rapid adoption of dollar-linked digital assets—particularly in countries heavily affected by inflation like Nigeria—poses significant risks to monetary sovereignty.
With up to 95% of surveyed individuals in some African markets preferring to receive payments in stablecoins over local fiat, the rising volume of these decentralized, cross-border channels weakens domestic currency demand and dilutes the effectiveness of local monetary policy.
IMF observed in a report titled “Stablecoins in Nigeria: A Growing Cross-Border Channel” noted that the widespread use of stablecoins poses risks to monetary sovereignty, particularly as more individuals and businesses turn to digital dollar-linked assets for savings and transactions.
Nodding in agreement is Future Investment Initiative Institute (FII Institute), a non-profit organisation run by the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund.
FII Institute said that central banks face structural challenges.
And according to the institute, when citizens move savings out of national banks and into private digital wallets, conventional capital controls lose their grip.
Institutions like the Bank for International Settlements warn that interest-bearing stablecoins compete directly with domestic-currency deposits, complicating financial oversight and making smartphone-based transfers incredibly difficult for authorities to monitor.
In Nigeria, Naira depreciation has pushed users toward dollar-stablecoins, according to report by Gino Matos in cryptoslate.com.
A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a steady value by pegging its price to a reserve asset, such as a fiat currency (e.g., the U.S. dollar) or a commodity (e.g., gold).
They act as a bridge between traditional money and the digital asset world, providing the speed of crypto without the extreme price swings of assets like Bitcoin.
Federal government has reopened three federal government of Nigeria (FGN) bond issues valued at N1.2 trillion for subscription as part of efforts to raise long-term funds from the domestic debt market.
The Debt Management Office (DMO), which announced the offer on Tuesday, said the three reopened bond issues are each valued at N400 billion.
According to the DMO, the first offer is the January 2035 FGN Bond, a 10-year reopening, carrying an interest rate of 22.60 per cent per annum.
The second is the May 2028 FGN Bond, a 15-year reopening, with a coupon rate of 15.45 per cent per annum, while the third is the June 2037 FGN Bond, a 20-year reopening, also valued at N400 billion.
The office said the bond auction is scheduled for July 20, while successful subscriptions will be settled on July 22.
It explained that the bonds are offered at N1,000 per unit, with a minimum subscription of N50 million and additional investments in multiples of N1,000.
For the reopened bonds, the DMO said successful bidders would pay a price based on the yield-to-maturity that clears the auction, in addition to any accrued interest on the instruments.
Interest on the bonds will be paid every six months, while the principal will be repaid in full on the respective maturity dates.
The DMO reaffirmed that FGN bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the Federal Government and constitute obligations chargeable on the general assets of the federation.
It added that the bonds qualify as trustee investment securities under the Trustee Investment Act and enjoy tax exemptions for eligible investors, including pension funds, under the Company Income Tax Act and Personal Income Tax Act.
The bonds are listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and FMDQ Securities Exchange and also qualify as liquid assets for banks in computing their liquidity ratios.
FGN bonds are long-term debt instruments through which investors lend money to the Federal Government in exchange for periodic interest payments and repayment of the principal at maturity.
Gigbanc, Nigerian fintech startup, has announced it is winding down operations, after three years, citing a tough fundraising climate.
Paul Omoregie Okundaye, and Babatope Oni, co-founders of Gigbanc
The company, which set out to build cross-border financial infrastructure for African freelancers, creators, entrepreneurs and businesses, confirmed the decision in a statement signed by its co-founders.
“After careful consideration, Gigbanc’s leadership has made the difficult decision to wind down operations,” the company said, adding that the move “reflects the broader funding environment affecting early stage startups in Africa, a challenge that has been widely documented across the ecosystem.”
Since its founding, Gigbanc grew a community of more than 150,000 people across multiple countries and processed over $7.28 million (N10 billion) in payment volume, helping thousands of users receive their first international payment.
The company also ran conferences, fellowships and community events aimed at connecting entrepreneurs and creators across the continent.
`Despite the shutdown, Gigbanc said it is not walking away emptyhanded.
The company disclosed that it is in active acquisition discussions with a prominent financial infrastructure firm, with further details to be shared once the process closes.
Paul Omoregie Okundaye, co-founder and CEO, and Babatope Oni, co-founder and CTO, framed the closure as the end of a chapter rather than the erasure of Gigbanc’s impact.
“While Gigbanc is winding down operations, we don’t see this as the end of what we built together. Instead, we see it as the completion of an important chapter,” the founders said. “The relationships, lessons, community, and impact we’ve created will continue to outlive the company itself.”
The founders thanked users for their trust throughout the company’s run, citing everything from transactions and feature requests to bug reports and criticism as forces that shaped the product
“We leave this journey incredibly proud. Proud of our team, who gave everything they had.
Proud of the community that rallied behind us,” they said.
Gigbanc’s exit adds to a growing list of African startups that have shut down or scaled back operations in recent years as venture funding on the continent has tightened, with founders increasingly citing capital scarcity as the primary driver behind closures and consolidations.
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