E-Financial
AfDB Appoints Dr. Eric Kehinde Ogunleye as Director of African Development Institute
African Development Bank has appointed Dr. Eric Kehinde Ogunleye, a seasoned macroeconomist, as Director of the African Development Institute, effective June 1, 2024.
Ogunleye, a Nigerian national, has nearly 20 years of experience in macro and development economics, capacity development, public governance and regulatory reform, monitoring and evaluation, and policy advisory.
His career includes designing and leading innovative, context-specific capacity development and policy advisory initiatives at the highest levels of national governance, achieving significant global partnerships and impactful results.
He previously served as the Officer in Charge of the African Development Institute and Manager of the Institute’s Policy Management Division.
He was also previously an Advisor to the Chief Economist and Vice President of the Economic Governance and Knowledge Management Complex.
He played a crucial role in developing and implementing the Bank Group’s Capacity Development Strategy (2021-2025) and related initiatives, such as the Public Finance Management Academy for Africa and the Macroeconomic Management Academy for Africa.
Ogunleye has significantly enhanced the Institutional Capacity Building and Fiduciary Clinics, which now consistently cover 20 country portfolios annually, improving the quality of the Bank’s operations and portfolios in Regional Member Countries.
In December 2022, Ogunleye successfully launched the Public Finance Management Academy for Africa, featuring an 18-month structured training program across the entire public financial and debt management cycle. This initiative has trained over 145 public officials from 45 African countries as Public Finance Management experts.
He currently leads multiple technical assistance projects, including macroeconomic modelling and policy dialogues, to address entrenched and emerging development challenges in African countries.
He has also forged numerous partnerships at global, continental, regional, national, and sub-national levels to support these initiatives.
Before joining the Bank, he was Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on International Trade and Finance and later as Special Advisor to the Chief Economic Advisor to the President.
He played a pivotal role in policy research, institutional capacity development, and monitoring and evaluation of socio-economic policies.
He contributed to Nigeria’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, which lifted the country out of recession. Additionally, he served as a long-term consultant (Country Macroeconomist) in the Nigeria Country Department of the Bank Group, coordinating macroeconomic analysis in Nigeria and supporting the Bank’s diverse development projects portfolio.
Ogunleye’s previous roles also include Research Fellow at the African Center for Economic Transformation, Doctoral Researcher at the United Nations University’s World Institute for Development Economics Research, Doctoral Research Intern at the World Trade Organization, and International Research Consultant at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. He has also taught and conducted research as a Lecturer at the University of Calabar, Nigeria.
He holds a PhD and MSc in Economics from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, a BSc degree in Economics from the University of Calabar, Nigeria, a Cambridge Certificate in Advanced Program on Rethinking Development Economics in Africa, and an Executive Certificate in Public Policy from Harvard University.
Expressing his gratitude for the appointment, Dr. Ogunleye said, “I am truly humbled, honoured, and pleased by the confidence reposed in me by President Akinwumi A. Adesina for this appointment. I am deeply fascinated and appreciate his consistent penchant for excellence and recognition of talent.
“I use this opportunity to renew my commitment to the Bank, its leadership, and regional member countries in deepening my support for strengthening institutional capacities in all forms in regional member countries.”
Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, commented: “I am pleased to appoint Dr. Eric Kehinde Ogunleye as Director of the African Development Institute. Eric is a focused and strategic leader with first-class expertise in key areas of institutional capacity development support to regional member countries.
“I am confident that he will continue to leverage his vast experience and global partnership across all spheres of capacity development for delivery at scale for our regional member countries.”
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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