E-Financial
AfDB Sets Conditions for Support to Nigeria
The African Development Bank (AfDB) will help Nigeria to overcome its recession but the oil producer should increase taxes and lift hard currency curbs to ease the dollar shortages choking Africa’s biggest economy, its president said.
The country has been hammered after a plunge in oil revenues, which make up 70 percent of national income, eroded public finances and currency reserves needed to fund imports.
“Nigeria is too big to fail. The African Development Bank (AfDB) will rally strongly around Nigeria to overcome its recession,” the bank’s chairman Akinwumi Adesina said in an interview late on Monday in London.
In a first step the lender’s board was expected to grant a $1 billion loan at a rate of around 1.2 percent, which Nigeria could use to plug its 2016 deficit of 2.2 trillion naira ($7.1 billion).
Nigeria has been trying for months to borrow abroad to fund a record budget to get the economy back on track.
“They have a liquidity problem,” said Adesina, a former Nigerian agriculture minister. “We want to make sure Nigeria gets resilient.”
Nigeria had agreed on several reforms such as increasing its value-added and corporation taxes to offset a loss of oil revenues, he said, adding that the tax-to-GDP ratio was 4 to 5 percent, less than other countries in the region at around 15 percent.
But the government should also lift hard currency curbs imposed by the central bank, Adesina said.
The restrictions effectively ban the import of almost 700 goods Nigeria wants to make at home such as cement or basic food. Dozens of factories across sectors have been forced to close as they cannot import raw materials.
“In our view it would be better to have gradual (customs) tariffs as opposed to (forex) restrictions,” he said, adding that such a move would end the pressure on the naira.
Nigeria abandoned its currency peg in June hoping to attract more inflows. But with hard currency curbs still in place, few foreign investors are willing to put their money to work there, and those who need hard currency have to pay a 40 percent premium on the black market.
Attracting investment was the only way for the central bank to lower its interest rates. “The interest rate is way too high,” Adesina said. “You cannot drag the economy out of recession with those interest rates.”
In September, the central bank left its benchmark rate at 14 percent, resisting calls from the government to lower borrowing costs.
The bank would also fund development projects for around $750 million in the near future. The AfDB is expected to lend Nigeria a total of $4.1 billion over 2016 and 2017, and more than double that to some $10 billion by 2019.
He also said the bank was ready to release a loan of $1.5 billion to Egypt once Cairo requested it. Egypt had agreed in December a $1.5 billion programme with the AfDB to be disbursed over three years.
Nigeria ranked 36th in Africa with sustainable economic opportunities – Mo Ibrahim On Nigeria is one of 10 countries in Africa that have improved across all four sub-categories of Sustainable Economic Opportunity category, the 2016 Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) has revealed.
The index, which was launched by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation in Abuja, also ranked Nigeria 36th out of 54 countries in “Overall Governance’’ with a score of 46.5 points from 100.
The index, the 10th edition, is the most comprehensive analysis of African governance undertaken to date, and has brought together data to assess each of Africa’s 54 countries against 95 indicators drawn from 34 independent sources. It indicated that the country’s score had improved by +2.5 points over the last 10 years.
The statistics, however, showed that Nigeria had the second most deteriorated score in the “National Security’’ sub-category, having declined by -28.6 points over the course of the decade. It revealed that improvement in overall governance in Africa over the period had been held back by widespread deterioration in “Safety and Rule of Law’’ category.
“Over the last decade, overall governance has improved by one score point at the continental average level, with 37 countries, home to 70 per cent of African citizens, registering progress.
“This overall positive trend has been led mainly by improvement in Human Development and Participation & Human Rights.’’
The index showed that Sustainable Economic Opportunity also registered an improvement, but at a slower pace. However, it said that the positive trends contrasted with pronounced drop in Safety and Rule of Law, which 33 countries in African, home to almost two-thirds of the continent’s population, had experienced a decline since 2006.
“This worrying trend has worsened recently, with almost half of the countries on the continent recording their worst score ever in this category within the last three years.
“This is driven by large deterioration in the sub-categories of Personal Safety and National Security.
“Notably, accountability is now the lowest scoring sub-category of the whole index,’’ it said.
The report said that without exception, all countries that had deteriorated at the Overall Governance level had also deteriorated in Safety and Rule of Law. It added that the improvement in the Participation and Human Rights category, found in 37 countries across the continent, had been driven by progress in Gender and in Participation.
“However, a marginal deterioration appears in Right sub-category, with some worrying trends in indicators relating to the civil society space.
“Sustainable Economic Opportunity is the IIAG’s lowest scoring and slowest improving category. However, 38 countries – together accounting for 73 per cent of continental Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – have recorded an improvement over the last decade.
“The largest progress has been achieved in the sub-category of Infrastructure, driven by a massive improvement in Digital & Information Technology infrastructure, the most improved of all 95 indicators.
“However, the average score for Infrastructure still remains low, with electricity registering a particularly worrying decline in 19 countries, home to 40 per cent of Africa’s population.
“Human Development is the best performing category over the last decade, with 43 countries – home to 87 per cent of African citizens, registering progress.
“All dimensions – Education, Health and Welfare – have improved, although progress in the sub-category of Welfare has been affected by declines in Social Exclusion and Poverty Reduction Priorities indicators,’’ it stated.
Speaking during the ceremony, Mo Ibrahim, Chairman of Mo Ibrahim Foundation said: “the improvement in overall governance in Africa over the last decade reflects a positive trend in a majority of countries and for over two-thirds of the continent’s citizens.
“No success, no progress can be sustained without constant commitment and effort.
“As our Index reveals, the decline in safety and rule of law is the biggest issue facing the continent today. “ Sound governance and wise leadership are fundamental to tackling this challenge, sustaining recent progress and ensuring that Africa’s future is bright.’’
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation was established in 2006 with a focus on the critical importance of leadership and governance in Africa, by providing tools to assess and support progress in leadership and governance.
Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) Limited, a premier economic think-tank and financial advisory firm, led by Bismarck Rewane, has reported that Nigerians have accumulated an estimated $59 billion in cryptocurrency holdings.
Bismarck Rewane
According to data released by the firm highlights the country’s emergence as one of Africa’s and the world’s major players in digital assets.
The earlier disclosure reflects a profound shift in Nigeria’s financial landscape.
In Africa’s largest economy, crypto has moved from a fringe activity to a mainstream tool amid persistent inflation and naira volatility.
Citizens and businesses are increasingly turning to dollar-pegged stablecoins and decentralised platforms, building a parallel financial system with significant economic influence.
Nigeria continues to rank among global leaders in adoption.
According to Chainalysis’ 2024 Global Crypto Adoption Index, the country placed second worldwide for grassroots adoption, driven by widespread use in everyday transactions and cross-border commerce.
Despite these impressive statistics, a notable contradiction remains in public perception.
While stocks, real estate, mutual funds, and foreign currency are openly discussed, many Nigerians still approach cryptocurrency with caution, often downplaying their involvement.
Crypto assets, or cryptocurrencies, are digital assets utilizing cryptography, peer-to-peer networking, and distributed ledger technologies (like blockchains) to secure, verify, and record transactions.
Unlike traditional fiat currencies issued by central banks, these assets operate without central intermediaries, functioning globally as alternative stores of value or transactional mediums.
Flutterwave, an African-founded payments technology company, has partnered with Xoom, PayPal’s international digital money transfer service, to enable faster international money transfers into Nigeria.
The partnership connects Xoom’s global money transfer network with Flutterwave’s local payout infrastructure, allowing customers worldwide to send funds directly to Nigerian bank accounts with local settlement in naira.
Under the arrangement, Flutterwave converts Xoom transfers and settles them locally, enabling recipients to receive funds directly into accounts held at Access Bank, United Bank for Africa, Zenith Bank, First Bank of Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank and other participating banks.
Nigeria is one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest remittance recipients, receiving more than $20 billion in personal remittances in 2024. However, international payments have historically been affected by foreign exchange constraints and settlement delays.
Flutterwave said the partnership aims to address those challenges by combining Xoom’s international reach with its local compliance capabilities and banking partnerships to simplify cross-border money transfers into Nigeria.
Xoom enables consumers to send money, pay bills and top up mobile phones in approximately 160 markets worldwide as part of PayPal’s global payments ecosystem.
“Millions of Nigerians rely on money from abroad to support everyday needs, whether it’s families receiving help from loved ones, freelancers getting paid for their work, or individuals earning income from the global economy,” said Olugbenga Agboola, founder and CEO of Flutterwave.
“This partnership makes it easier and more reliable for people in Nigeria to receive funds and stay connected to opportunities beyond borders.”
The collaboration expands Flutterwave’s cross-border payments infrastructure and strengthens access to international remittance services in one of Africa’s largest payments markets.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled plans to make sustainability reporting mandatory for large public interest entities from 2027 as Nigeria moves to align its corporate disclosure framework with global environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting standards.
The phased implementation will begin with voluntary adoption by early adopters and large public interest entities before becoming mandatory in 2027. The requirement will extend to other public interest entities in 2028 and small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) by 2030.
Dr Emomotimi Agama, Director-General of the SEC, disclosed this at the 2026 Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) Sustainability and ESG Conference 3.0 in Lagos, themed ‘Building a Sustainable Africa: Integrating Environmental Stewardship, Social Investment, and Strong Governance for a Prosperous Future’.
Agama said Nigeria’s sustainability disclosure regime is being aligned with the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) framework, including IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, which have emerged as the global benchmark for sustainability reporting.
He said that institutional investors increasingly consider ESG performance a key determinant of capital allocation rather than a peripheral corporate responsibility issue, noting that the price of entry is disclosure.
He said the reforms would strengthen investor confidence and position Nigerian businesses to access global capital markets, where sustainability disclosures are becoming an essential investment requirement.
According to him, Nigeria’s capital market has recorded significant expansion, with market capitalisation growing from about N130 trillion to nearly N160 trillion following recent market reforms, while assets under management have surpassed N9 trillion.
To deepen sustainable finance, Agama said the commission was promoting infrastructure, green and municipal bonds, alongside infrastructure-focused investment funds, to mobilise long-term capital for critical national projects.
He added that the SEC would also encourage investments in the blue economy and support financing for the power sector through green energy bonds, project bonds and public-private investment structures.
The SEC chief cited the recent launch of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Impact Board as another milestone in advancing sustainable finance and urged companies, regulators and investors to move beyond commitments by embedding sustainability into governance, operations and investment decisions.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), Dr Chizor Malize, said sustainability and ESG had evolved from compliance issues to core drivers of business competitiveness, investment decisions and economic development.
She said the conference, now in its third edition since 2024, had become a leading platform for advancing sustainability discourse in Africa, adding that this year’s gathering was designed to move stakeholders “from conversation to commitment”.
Chairman of the FITC Advisory Board, Prof Fabian Ajogwu, described governance as the foundation of sustainable development, arguing that Africa must become a standard-setter rather than merely adopting frameworks developed elsewhere.
Although Africa contributes less than four per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, he said, the continent bears a disproportionate share of climate-related impacts, including worsening floods and increasingly erratic weather patterns.
Ajogwu also cited estimates that poor governance costs Africa between $88 billion and $90 billion annually, while highlighting technology-driven agricultural initiatives, including a partnership involving Morocco’s OCP Group and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), as examples of practical models that should be replicated across the continent.
Delivering the keynote address, Chairman of the MTN Nigeria Foundation, Mosun Belo-Olusoga, said the debate over the relevance of sustainability and ESG had ended, with the real challenge now centred on implementation.
She observed that global investors increasingly evaluate businesses on governance quality, resilience and their ability to manage environmental and social risks, in addition to profitability.
Belo-Olusoga noted that despite contributing the least to global carbon emissions, Africa possesses vast arable land, abundant renewable energy resources and critical minerals required for the global energy transition.
She identified four leadership priorities for the continent: shifting from short-term performance to long-term value creation, replacing corporate philanthropy with strategic social investment, moving beyond regulatory compliance to responsible leadership, and strengthening collaboration among governments, businesses and development partners.
She also outlined five priorities for Africa’s ESG agenda over the next decade, including embedding sustainability into corporate strategy and governance, investing in human capital, mobilising indigenous capital through instruments such as green bonds and pension funds, strengthening institutional accountability, and fostering partnerships in renewable energy, digital technology and climate-smart agriculture.
“The defining challenge before Africa is not a shortage of vision; it is execution,” Belo-Olusoga said, urging governments to create enabling policies, businesses to integrate ESG into enterprise risk management, and financial institutions to develop innovative financing mechanisms that support a green and inclusive economy.
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