E-Financial
Actis Completes $62m Investments in Nigeria’s Sigma Pensions
Actis, the global pan-emerging markets investor on Thursday completed an investment of $62 million for a majority stake in Sigma Pensions (“Sigma”), a leading Pension Fund Administrator (“PFA”) in Nigeria.
Actis is partnering with Mr Umaru Modibbo, Sigma’s founder and chief executive officer, and the current management team.
Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Abuja, Sigma was one of Nigeria’s first PFAs and now has over 650,000 registered customers.
Working from 11 offices and 32 service centres, it administers and invests funds on behalf of its customer base which spans the entire country. Actis sees great scope for further growth of the business.
The pensions industry in Nigeria remains significantly underpenetrated, with pension assets constituting only c.5% of GDP. Over the last decade, the PFA industry has demonstrated strong growth and is poised for further expansion. There are currently only c. six million pension-holders in a population of c.170 million, with a median-age of only 19, which supports the growth outlook for the industry.
Actis is one of the biggest financial services investors in Africa with over $570m invested in the space; over $1 billion invested in financial services globally and c. $3 billion invested across African businesses overall.
Actis sees tremendous potential in the asset management industry in particular, backing emerging market consumers to secure their future by saving and investing appropriately. Actis has experience in the sector through successful past investments in Alexander Forbes, the largest independent pension fund administrator in South Africa and XP Investimentos, the biggest independent brokerage and asset manager in Brazil.
Natalie Kolbe, Partner at Actis commented on the transaction: “Building on our extensive experience in the asset management and distribution sector, we are very excited to be investing behind a growing consumer demand for future financial protection and well-being in Nigeria. In Sigma, we have identified a well-managed, solid business with ‘best in industry’ back office, IT and operational systems and excellent customer service that can leverage these underlying secular trends.”
Tony Abakisi, Investment Principal from Actis’ Lagos office, added: “Sigma sits in an under-penetrated, well-regulated market and has excellent growth prospects. We are excited to be investing in the Nigerian PFA industry and to be partnering with Mr Modibbo and a great management team to support growth initiatives, including extending the core business, enhancing the brand, and creating a platform for further expansion within Nigeria..”
Mr Umaru Modibbo, Founder and CEO of Sigma Pensions commented: “We are delighted to welcome Actis as a new partner, one that understands our business and brings deep asset management and distribution expertise, as well as an unrivalled track record in Africa. With Actis’ help, we look forward to continuing our growth trajectory and creating more opportunities.”
Actis was recently named ‘most impactful private equity firm in Nigeria’ by The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry for ‘positively impacting the Nigerian economy and changing the status quo, by developing the Nigerian private sector’.
Actis invests exclusively in the emerging markets with a growing portfolio of investments in Asia, Africa and Latin America; it currently has US$7.6 billion funds under management. Applying developed market disciplines to emerging markets, c. 100 investment professionals in twelve countries identify investment opportunities in private equity, energy and real estate.
Africa lies at the core of our firm’s investment strategy. Over 40% of Actis’ investments are located in Africa, with c. $3 billion invested across 23 countries on the Continent.
With over $300m invested in Nigeria to date, previous and current investments include Mouka: the leading Nigerian mattress brand; Diamond Bank: one of Nigeria’s leading banks; Jabi Lake Mall: Abuja’s one-stop leisure, restaurant and retail destination; The Palms, the first ever international-standard diversified retail mall in Nigeria; Heritage Place: a world-class office development in Lagos’s commercial and retail area and Ikeja City Mall: a world-class retail and leisure mall in Ikeja, Lagos.
Others are Vlisco Group: the market leader in designer wax fashion fabrics; UAC of Nigeria Plc, the leading food-centric conglomerate; Upstream: The leading emerging markets mobile monetisation company; Emerging Markets Payments Holdings (EMPH), pan-African payments business.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has commenced the implementation of a fully electronic registration system for capital market operators, marking a major milestone in its digital transformation drive aimed at improving regulatory efficiency, reducing processing time and strengthening oversight of Nigeria’s capital market.
The new electronic registration (e-Registration) platform, deployed through the Commission’s ePortal, allows designated regulatory services to be completed entirely online, eliminating manual processes for services covered in the current phase.
The initiative comes as the SEC intensifies reforms to modernise the Nigerian capital market, enhance the ease of doing business and leverage technology to improve service delivery to market participants.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Commission said Capital Market Operators (CMOs) can now complete designated post-registration processes electronically, from application submission and regulatory review to approvals and the communication of regulatory decisions.
According to the regulator, the platform is designed to simplify interactions between operators and the Commission, reduce administrative bottlenecks, shorten processing timelines and give applicants real-time visibility into the status of their applications.
The SEC said the transition to a fully digital registration process would also improve operational efficiency by introducing standardised workflows, electronic documentation, secure digital record management and stronger audit trails, while enhancing regulatory oversight.
“The new platform represents a major step towards creating a seamless digital regulatory ecosystem that enhances operational efficiency while strengthening regulatory effectiveness,” the Commission stated.
Beyond improving efficiency, the regulator said the platform would reinforce the integrity of regulatory processes by minimising delays associated with paper-based documentation and improving the quality of regulatory data used for supervision and decision-making.
It added that the digital system would provide a stronger foundation for regulatory analytics and future technology-driven innovations aimed at enhancing market oversight.
The Commission explained that the implementation is being rolled out in phases to ensure a smooth transition for market participants while safeguarding the stability and integrity of regulatory processes.
For now, the e-Registration platform is limited to post-registration services for existing Capital Market Operators.
entrants seeking registration in the Nigerian capital market are not yet covered under the current phase, adding that electronic processing for new registrations will be introduced at a later date.
The Commission urged all licensed operators to familiarise themselves with the new platform and comply with implementation timelines to ensure a seamless migration to the digital system.
The latest move forms part of the SEC’s broader reform agenda to modernise market infrastructure, improve transparency and strengthen investor confidence as Nigeria seeks to deepen its capital market and enhance its competitiveness in the global financial system.
Market observers believe the digital registration initiative is expected to reduce compliance costs, improve regulatory turnaround time and support a more efficient operating environment for licensed operators, while reinforcing the Commission’s push towards a technology-driven capital market ecosystem.
Elon Musk’s social media company X, formerly known as Twitter, launched its own bank account-like product where users can send money to one another.
The service, known as X Money, is not a new bank.
X Money is using technology and banking services provided by Cross River Bank, and branding that backbone as X Money.
It is common for new financial companies to use a traditional bank’s backbone to launch its services, as chartering a new bank is a timely and costly process.
Currently X Money is invite only, and users will receive a “X”-branded Visa debit card that is useable at any ATM.
Users of X will be able to send money to other X users in real-time, the company said. Invitations are only available to X’s paying members presently
In order to attract customers, X Money is offering a 6% yield on deposits and 3% cashback on eligible purchases.
In order to earn the 6% yield, a customer would need to deposit at least $1,000 into an account.
Customers would also have to be signed up for X’s premium services, which is at least $8 a month. It would require at least a deposit of $1,600 in order to cover X’s premium services cost.
Musk has long talked about turning X into an “everything app” that would include financial services.
Musk has his origins in financial services, creating one of the first online banks under the brand X.com. That company was later bought and merged into what is now known as PayPal.
It’s still early for X Money, but the company is entering into a competitive market, dominated by PayPal’s Venmo money transfer service and other peer-to-peer money transfer services like Zelle and Cash App.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) imposed N430 million in penalties on financial institutions in 2025 over delays in resolving customer complaints and failure to comply with its directives, underscoring a tougher regulatory stance on consumer protection in the banking sector.
The sanctions were disclosed in the apex bank’s 2025 Annual Report, which showed that 21 penalties worth N430 million were imposed on financial institutions during the review period for infractions linked to complaints management.
According to Nairametrics, the report stated that the affected institutions were sanctioned for “delays in resolving customer complaints to failure to comply with the Bank’s directives.”
The report read, “the Bank imposed 21 penalties on financial institutions to the tune of N430.00 million, for infractions ranging from delays in resolving customer complaints to failure to comply with the Bank’s directives.”
The latest enforcement action comes as the CBN recorded a rise in the number of complaints lodged by users of financial services, suggesting greater reliance on the regulator’s consumer protection framework.
According to the report, the CBN received 23,129 complaints from consumers of financial services in 2025, representing a 10.53% increase from the 20,925 complaints recorded in 2024.
The apex bank attributed the increase to growing public awareness and stronger confidence in its complaint resolution process rather than a deterioration in banking services.
The report stated, “The Bank received a total of 23,129 complaints from consumers of financial services in 2025, a rise of 10.53%, above the 20,925 in 2024. The trend reflected increased awareness and improved confidence in the Bank’s consumer complaint resolution process.”
It added that 18,824 complaints were successfully resolved during the year, representing a 9.36% increase from the 17,213 complaints resolved in 2024.
The report also showed a sharp increase in the value of claims handled by the regulator.
Claims denominated in local currency rose to N40.61 billion in 2025 from N17.13 billion a year earlier, while foreign currency claims climbed to $344.2 million from $1.06 million.
consumers recovered N19.12 billion and $329.3 million in refunds during the year, compared with N9.66 billion and $0.67 million refunded in 2024.
Beyond the N430 million sanctions relating to customer complaints, the CBN disclosed that it imposed another 11 penalties worth N1.26 billion on financial institutions for regulatory breaches and failure to respond to regulatory queries.
The report indicates that complaints management formed part of a wider overhaul of the CBN’s supervisory and market conduct framework in 2025.
In 2022, the CBN issued a guide on how aggrieved customers can complain about financial institutions such as commercial banks.
The regulator established a dedicated Compliance Department to strengthen oversight of financial crime, market conduct, complaints management, advertising standards, cybersecurity, data protection and corporate governance across CBN-regulated institutions.
Olayemi Cardoso, governor, CBN, recently said that the CBN and deposit money banks are reviewing excessive transaction alerts and customer charges amid complaints from bank users over confusing debit notifications and deductions.
Cardoso said the apex bank had set up a quarterly engagement structure involving its consumer protection team, deposit money banks and the top 10 microfinance banks to address unresolved customer complaints.
Nwokolo, Nollywood Actor Claims Internet Fraud is “Keeping Economy Afloat’
SEC Begins Full e-Registration for Capital Market Operators
Elon Musk Launches Invite-only X Money with Visa Debit Card
CBN Fines Banks N430m for Ignoring Customers’ Complaints
Kaspersky Uncovers New Mirage Kitten Malware Used in Cyber-espionage Campaign Across Africa, Others
NRC, Ponzi Scheme Collapses Resulting Loss of Billions of Naira
EFCC Busts NIS Visa Overstay Racket, Uncovers N700m in an Account
From Scarcity to Scale: What Africa Can Learn from India’s Agricultural Transformation
Tokenization, Blockchain Technology will Transform Financial Institutions – IMF
BON Establishes Six Ad Hoc Committees to Modernize Broadcasting
Telecom2 days agoFact-Check: Elon Musk’s “Tesla Pi Phone” is Internet Rumor
News3 days agoHistory as Lagos Becomes First Nigerian State to Launch Greenhouse Gas Registry
E-Business3 days agoUNN to Partner Firm on AI, Smart Mobility Innovation Centre
Telecom3 days agoAI Investment Gap Threatens Africa’s Future Growth
Telecom3 days agoAMCON Puts ntel Up for Sale, Seeks Investors
E-Financial3 days agoRemita Raises Alarm Over Nigeria’s Digital Divide, Calls for More Investment
E-Financial2 days agoMalpass, Ex World Bank Chief Raises Alarm over Nigeria’s Secretive Debt Structures
Telecom2 days agoHow and Why Apps Deplete Data – ALTON