Fidelity Bank Plc, leading financial institution, has reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable social impact and economic inclusion through the empowerment of women and schoolchildren in Anambra State.

Fidelity Bank

The landmark intervention, held recently in Awka during the 2026 Fidelity Empowerment Programme, featured the distribution of 200 sewing and grinding machines to women entrepreneurs, N25 million in seed capital support, 1,500 food packs to vulnerable households, and 250 solar-powered school bags to schoolchildren.

The initiative was implemented in partnership with Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo, a Non-Governmental Organisation led by the Wife of the Governor of Anambra State, Dr. Mrs. Nonye Soludo.

Speaking at the event, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, described the programme as a reflection of the Bank’s enduring commitment to empowering individuals, strengthening communities, and creating opportunities for sustainable growth.

According to the bank’s CEO, the initiative marked the first time that three of Fidelity Bank’s flagship social impact initiatives—the Fidelity Food Bank Initiative, Lighting Young Minds Programme, and Give Her Power Initiative—were brought together under a single intervention platform; and Anambra State is the first beneficiary.

“Today is more than an empowerment event; it is a demonstration of our belief that meaningful progress begins when people are given the tools and opportunities to succeed.

“At Fidelity Bank, our purpose goes beyond banking. We are committed to helping individuals realize their aspirations, overcome challenges, and build better lives.

“When communities thrive, businesses thrive; when families prosper, societies become stronger; and when people are empowered, possibilities become endless,” she stated.

Dr. Onyeali-Ikpe further noted that the Fidelity Food Bank Initiative continues to provide critical support to vulnerable households across Nigeria, particularly during a period of economic challenges affecting many families.

“Access to food remains a basic human need. By supporting vulnerable families, we are restoring dignity, strengthening resilience, and fostering greater social inclusion within our communities,” she added.

Speaking on the Lighting Young Minds Programme, Dr. Onyeali-Ikpe explained that the solar-powered school bags distributed to pupils are designed to enhance learning outcomes by providing a reliable source of light for studying after dark, especially in communities with limited access to electricity.

The programme also featured the Give Her Power Initiative, through which women received vocational tools and financial support aimed at promoting entrepreneurship, enhancing household income, and advancing women’s economic participation.

In her remarks, the Wife of the Governor of Anambra State, Dr (Mrs.) Nonye Soludo, commended Fidelity Bank for its unwavering commitment to uplifting vulnerable groups and investing in community development.

“We gather today, not merely to distribute items or celebrate another social impact initiative, but to reaffirm a simple truth: when we invest in people, we invest in the future. Every woman supported, every child empowered, and every family assisted represents a step towards building a stronger, healthier, and more prosperous Anambra State,” she said.

Mrs. Soludo expressed appreciation to Fidelity Bank for aligning with the vision of empowering communities and improving lives through impactful interventions.

“Beyond the empowerment items being distributed today, Fidelity Bank is investing in human potential, family stability, and community development. This partnership demonstrates the important role socially responsible organisations can play in advancing sustainable development and improving the quality of life of the people they serve,” she added.

The Fidelity Empowerment Programme forms part of Fidelity Bank’s broader commitment to driving positive social impact across Nigeria through targeted interventions in education, economic empowerment, food security, health, and community development.

Ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving more than 10 million customers through digital banking channels, its 255 business offices in Nigeria and United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.

The Bank is a recipient of multiple local and international awards, including the 2025 Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) Innovation Award for MSME support; Best Retail and SME Bank Award from Independent Newspapers; Best Bank for Export & Trade Finance and Most Innovative Bank of the Year at the 2025 BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards; and Nigeria’s Best Private Bank at the 2025 Euromoney Awards. The Bank also received the inaugural Most Improved Commercial Bank of the Year award by Nairametrics, the SME Bank of the Year award by NewsDirect, and the Straight-Through Processing (STP) Excellence Award by Citi Group, in addition to recognition by Global Brands Magazine for Excellence in Community Empowerment.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the rapid expansion of stablecoin usage in Nigeria could significantly weaken demand for the naira and reduce the effectiveness of domestic monetary policy.

This is coming as the country recorded about $59 billion in crypto-asset inflows between July 2023 and June 2024.

The IMF said in it’s report titled “Stablecoins in Nigeria: A Growing Cross-Border Channel,” that the growing adoption of dollar-pegged digital assets for payments, remittances, and savings reflects deeper macroeconomic pressures in Nigeria, including elevated inflation, foreign exchange scarcity, and persistent currency depreciation.

According to the Fund, these conditions have increased the attractiveness of stablecoins as both a store of value and a medium of exchange, particularly among individuals and businesses seeking stability amid exchange rate volatility.

The IMF warned that the widespread use of U.S. dollar-denominated stablecoins effectively represents a form of “digital dollarisation,” which could erode demand for the naira and weaken the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) ability to transmit monetary policy through interest rates and exchange rate interventions.

Nigeria remains one of the world’s most active digital asset markets, ranking second globally in Chainalysis’ 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index and sixth in the 2025 edition.

The IMF further noted that the country accounts for nearly 60 per cent of stablecoin inflows into sub-Saharan Africa since 2019, underscoring its dominant role in regional crypto activity.

The report also highlighted the appeal of stablecoins in reducing transaction costs and improving the speed of cross-border payments.

However, the IMF cautioned that the increasing shift of payment activity from traditional banking systems to crypto exchanges and digital wallets may create regulatory blind spots.

It warned that such developments could complicate the monitoring of capital flows and increase exposure to illicit financial risks, including money laundering.

Despite these concerns, the Fund did not advocate restrictive measures. Instead, it called for a balanced policy approach that addresses the structural drivers of stablecoin adoption while strengthening oversight frameworks.

Key recommendations include maintaining macroeconomic stability to support the naira, enhancing regulatory clarity for stablecoin-related activities, and strengthening coordination between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The IMF also urged improved transaction data collection through blockchain analytics and continued investment in efficient, regulated payment infrastructure.

The Fund noted that stablecoin growth is largely driven by inefficiencies in cross-border payment systems, stressing that policy efforts should focus on narrowing these gaps while ensuring emerging risks remain effectively contained.

VeendHQ has said that its AI-powered credit platform, Vida AI, helped recover N69 million from a N172.5 million portfolio of loans that were more than 90 days overdue, in a pilot that highlights the growing role of technology in loan recovery and portfolio management.

The result comes at a time when lenders are under increasing pressure to improve recovery outcomes while managing the cost, reputational risk, and operational burden associated with overdue loans.

For many credit providers, the challenge is no longer only how quickly loans can be approved, but how effectively repayment can be monitored and delinquent loans can be recovered after disbursement.

According to VeendHQ, the pilot delivered a 40 percent recovery rate on the overdue loan portfolio.

The company said the result significantly outperformed traditional recovery benchmarks, where a five percent recovery rate on a similar loan book would amount to about N8.6 million.

VeendHQ said the pilot demonstrates how Vida AI can support lenders beyond credit assessment, extending into repayment monitoring, collections, and recovery.

“Credit access is only one side of lending. The bigger challenge for many lenders is what happens after disbursement,” said Olufemi Olanipekun, co-founder and CEO of VeendHQ.

“Vida AI helps lenders make smarter decisions across the credit lifecycle, from approval to repayment and recovery.”

VeendHQ, a Nigerian fintech company building digital credit infrastructure, developed Vida AI as an artificial intelligence-powered platform for lenders, merchants, and financial institutions.

The platform supports credit assessment, identity verification, repayment collections, and loan management workflows.

With the recovery pilot, the company is positioning Vida AI beyond loan origination, as a tool for lenders seeking to improve repayment performance and manage overdue portfolios more efficiently.

Delinquent loans remain a major cash-flow challenge for lenders.

Once loans exceed 60 to 90 days past due, recovery becomes more difficult, expensive, and unpredictable. Traditional approaches such as manual calls, recovery agents, and legal escalation often increase costs without significantly improving recovery rates.

VeendHQ said Vida AI’s recovery workflow enables lenders to upload overdue loan records, verify borrower information, assess repayment capacity, and trigger automated recovery actions.

This gives lenders better visibility after disbursement and allows recovery teams to prioritize overdue portfolios more effectively.

“If lenders cannot recover efficiently, they become more conservative with lending. That affects consumers, small businesses, and the wider credit market,” Olanipekun said.

“Better recovery infrastructure gives lenders more confidence to lend, manage risk, and keep credit flowing.”

The company said the recovery use case is especially relevant for banks, microfinance institutions, digital lenders, cooperatives, and merchants managing loans that are 60 to 180 days past due.

It added that it plans to deepen Vida AI’s recovery capabilities for credit providers seeking to improve recovery performance without relying solely on manual methods.

“As lending expands across Nigeria and Africa, recovery infrastructure is becoming as critical as origination,” Olanipekun said. “Tools that improve both will define which lenders can scale sustainably.”

The pilot, VeendHQ says, points to a broader shift in the credit market: approval speed alone is no longer enough. Increasingly, lenders will be defined by how effectively they monitor repayment, recover overdue loans, and manage portfolio risk over time.