E-Financial
FIRSTHOLDCO: Reinforcing ESG, Sustainability Initiatives As It Rebrands
By A.Ezekiel
In a world where approximately 20% of new businesses fail within the first two years, 45% within five years, 65% within ten years, and only 25% make it to 15 years or more (according to the US Bureau of Statistics), any business that has crossed 15 years should be sharing insights on survival and success.
But what about businesses that have lasted twice that long? Or a financial services group that has thrived for over 130 years, especially in Africa, where business survival rates are likely lower than those statistics from the Global North? Such a group has certainly earned the right to teach masterclasses on business longevity.
First HoldCo Plc (FirstHoldCo), recently rebranded from FBN Holdings Plc, exemplifies sustainable business practices. A well-diversified group, it is one of Africa’s largest financial services organisations, offering innovative financial solutions through its subsidiaries in commercial banking, asset management, capital markets, securities, trusteeship, and insurance brokerage. FirstHoldCo ensures strategic coordination and synergy among its subsidiaries to deliver long-term value for stakeholders.
Retaining the legacy strengths and experience of FBN Holdings Plc, FirstHoldCo ensures that its subsidiaries enhance positive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts while minimising or eliminating negative ones. This includes managing ESG risks in the workplace, marketplace, community, and environment, with the institutional capability to turn risks into opportunities.
For example, ESG risk management enhances credit and investment decision-making, de-risking processes for subsidiaries such as FirstBank and FBNQuest. It also strengthens social relationships with the communities in which these subsidiaries operate.
ESG and sustainability may be buzzwords for some corporations seeking to appear politically correct, but at FirstHoldCo, they are integral to its identity. The company is self-driven in aligning its strategy and operations with ESG principles and setting new sustainability benchmarks for financial services in Nigeria.
FirstHoldCo’ s flagship subsidiaries, FirstBank and FBNQuest, integrate ESG risks into their products, services, and offerings from the ideation stage through to development and launch. This approach drives responsible lending and investment practices, enabling the group to leverage ESG market opportunities while promoting sustainable socio-economic growth.
FirstHoldCo also prioritises people empowerment, fostering a work environment rooted in equal opportunities, diversity, and inclusion. A notable achievement is bridging the diversity gap, reaching a 40% female to 60% male employee ratio in 2023, one year ahead of its 2024 target.
The group also supports the communities where its subsidiaries operate, ensuring its impact resonates positively. Since 2017, it has implemented the SPARK (Start Performing Acts of Random Kindness) initiative and Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CR&S) Week. In 2023, these initiatives impacted 60,000 lives through outreaches to 60 orphanages, 20 schools, and hospitals across Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, The Gambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, and the United Kingdom. Donations included consumables, computers, clean water projects, school renovations, wheelchairs, and cash. Employees committed over 27,000 volunteer hours to these initiatives.
In 2023, FirstBank reinforced its commitment to empowering women through FirstGem, a financial product supporting women-led businesses. Over N36 billion in loans were disbursed at a single-digit interest rate of 9%. Additionally, its Agency Banking business, FirstMonie, expanded its female agent network to over 55,000.
Inclusion remains a key focus, with FirstBank enhancing accessibility for physically challenged customers in 234 locations, making 25 branches fully accessible and improving access at 209 others. It also expanded the SPARK initiative to institutions like the Bethesda School of the Blind and the Down Syndrome Foundation in Lagos.
FirstBank operates an Environmental, Social, and Governance Management System (ESGMS) to drive responsible lending and minimize ESG risks. In 2023, this system was enhanced to ensure real-time transparency in corporate credit screenings. That year, 2,239 credit transactions worth N4.236 trillion were assessed for ESG risks.
To strengthen ESG compliance, FirstBank collaborates with development partners such as British International Investment, the African Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and Proparco, a French development finance institution. Its partnership with Proparco is crucial for integrating climate initiatives into business strategy. This project enhances its understanding of financed emissions and positions it for climate financing and investment opportunities.
This initiative will help FirstBank reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, mitigate exposure to physical and transition risks, and strengthen climate adaptation efforts. It also reinforces its market competitiveness as an ESG leader committed to a low-carbon economy.
As part of its commitment to decarbonisation, FirstHoldCo’ s FirstBank actively engages in reforestation and afforestation through partnerships focused on carbon dioxide (CO2) removal. In 2023, it pledged to plant 50,000 trees by 2025 in collaboration with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF). That year, it planted 1,000 trees at the Lekki Conservation Centre, Lagos; Model Secondary School, Maitama, Abuja; and Federal Government Girls College, Calabar. By the following year, it had planted an additional 30,000 trees, bringing the total to 31,000.
FirstBank also drives thought leadership in climate finance, promoting knowledge on carbon mitigation and climate adaptation. A notable effort was a webinar themed ‘Harnessing Climate Finance Opportunities in Nigeria,’ held in partnership with the Sustainability Practitioners Institute of Nigeria (SPIN). The event featured prominent ESG and sustainability experts such as Professor Kenneth Amaeshi, Dr. Muntaqa Umaru-Sadiq, and Carina Dunker, underscoring FirstBank’s commitment to advancing climate finance discussions.
With so much achieved and ongoing ESG/sustainability initiatives, what is the greatest impact of ESG at FirstHoldCo?
For the group, it is the net positive effect on the communities where its subsidiaries operate. For individuals, it is the tangible benefits from its financial solutions and CSR initiatives. For businesses, it is the sustainable practices FirstHoldCo champions, setting a standard for responsible corporate leadership
E-Financial
#IWD2026: Kuda MFB Offers Millions In Grants To Women-Led Food And Hospitality Businesses
As part of its Kuda for Her campaign for this year’s Women’s Month, Kuda Microfinance Bank (MFB) is inviting Lagos-based women entrepreneurs in the food and hospitality sector to pitch their businesses for a chance to receive ₦1 million in funding.
Kuda MFB
The Kuda for Her Pitch Challenge, which launched on March 10, 2026, will award ₦1 million each to four women-led businesses, giving them capital to scale.
According to the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), women own about 43% of micro and small enterprises in Nigeria, many of which are in the food, catering, and hospitality sectors. Yet, women entrepreneurs continue to face barriers to growth, particularly in accessing capital, with only about 23% of women-owned businesses in Nigeria currently having access to formal credit.
Women who run food or hospitality businesses can submit a pitch outlining their business and how the funding will help them grow. Applications are open until March 15, 2026.
The four grant recipients will be announced on March 27, 2026.
Emmanuel Femi-Adejobi, Senior Brand Manager at Kuda, mentioned that the campaign is designed to recognise and support women whose businesses shape everyday life in Nigerian cities.
“Many of the food and hospitality businesses that Nigerians rely on every day are built and run by women,” he said. “Through Kuda for Her, we’re supporting these hardworking entrepreneurs directly while also shining a light on the ambition and creativity behind the businesses they’ve built”
Women entrepreneurs who run food or hospitality businesses in Lagos can submit their pitches before March 15, 2026, at kuda.com/kuda-for-her/.
Thrifto, a new Nigerian fintech, is modernizing age-old group savings like ajo (Yoruba), esusu (South-West), and adashe (North) with a bank-integrated web app, slashing risks of defaults, disputes, and lost funds.
Sulaimon Biodun Durojaiye
Founded by Sulaimon Biodun Durojaiye, media entrepreneur, Thrifto lets users create or join groups, set contributions, cycles, and payouts.
It tracks records transparently, preserving cultural collaboration while adding tech accountability. “We’re providing structure and transparency without replacing the spirit of ajo,” Durojaiye said.
Early users—salary earners, entrepreneurs, small businesses—form groups for school fees, rent, or capital. The platform eliminates friction like poor bookkeeping and payout fights, driving organic growth nationwide.
Launching next week, a self-saving feature lets users automate fixed amounts (e.g., ₦5,000 daily or ₦50,000 weekly) toward goals, enforcing consistency solo.
A Trust Rating Score, based on participation history, rewards reliable users, aiding smarter group choices and fostering responsible behavior.
Tailored for Nigerian realities, Thrifto taps informal savings to expand inclusion. Observers see it strengthening networks and discipline in Nigeria’s fintech landscape.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued new baseline standards requiring banks and other financial institutions to deploy automated anti-money laundering systems capable of detecting suspicious transactions and financial fraud risks in real time.
The directive, contained in a circular released yesterday, mandates banks, mobile money operators, international money transfer operators and other regulated institutions to implement automated solutions that strengthen monitoring, detection and reporting of suspicious financial activities.
According to the apex bank, the framework establishes minimum technical, governance and operational standards for automated systems used to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing within Nigeria’s financial system.
CBN said the move was necessary as the financial services sector becomes increasingly digital and complex, making manual monitoring methods inadequate for managing evolving financial crime risks.
Under the new framework, deposit money banks (DMBs) are expected to achieve full compliance within 18 months from the date of issuance, while other financial institutions will have 24 months to comply.
Institutions are also required to submit detailed implementation roadmaps to the CBN’s compliance department within three months.
The standards apply to all institutions operating under the CBN’s regulatory purview, although the depth and sophistication of implementation will depend on each institution’s size, transaction volumes, operational complexity and risk exposure.
The framework outlines several minimum capabilities that automated anti-money laundering (AML) systems must possess, including customer identification and verification, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring and case management for suspicious activities.
Financial institutions are also expected to ensure their systems integrate customer data with transaction patterns so that suspicious behaviour can be assessed in the context of a customer’s risk profile.
The CBN said institutions should strengthen identity verification processes by integrating onboarding systems with national databases such as the Bank Verification Number (BVN) and National Identification Number (NIN) platforms to support real-time identity checks.
The framework permits the use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve the detection of unusual financial patterns.
However, the regulator said such technologies must operate under strict governance frameworks, including independent validation and human oversight.
Institutions deploying AI-based monitoring models will be required to conduct periodic validation to ensure accuracy, reliability and fairness in the detection of suspicious transactions.
The standards also require financial institutions to maintain secure data protection controls, including encryption, role-based access and multi-factor authentication, in compliance with Nigeria’s data protection regulations.
In addition, the systems are to maintain comprehensive audit trails of transactions, alerts, investigations and system activities to support regulatory supervision and forensic investigations.
The CBN said compliance with the framework will be monitored through off-site surveillance, on-site examinations and thematic reviews, warning that institutions that fail to implement the standards may face regulatory sanctions under existing banking and financial crime laws.
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