E-Business
Afreximbank Launches Pan-African Payment & Settlement Platform
The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) will launch its new Pan-African Payment and Settlement (PAPS) Platform at the African Union (AU) Extraordinary Summit on July 7, 2019 in Niamey, Niger Republic.
The summit will be dedicated to the launch of the operational phase of the AfCFTA as well as its operational instruments. The AU Summit’s delegations to be hosted in the newly built Radisson Blu Hotel of Niamey are expected to launch the following operational instruments of the treaty: Rules of Origin Portal; Tariff Concession Portals; Portal on Monitoring and Elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers; Digital Payments and Clearing System and African Trade Observatory Dashboard.
Afreximbank’s president Benedict Oramah explained that PAPS, which will be available on mobile devices, will facilitate the clearing and settlement of intra-African trade transactions in African currencies and significantly reduce the dependence on US dollars and other hard currencies in the settlement of regional trade.
According to Oramah, the bank has partnered with the West African Monetary Institute (Wami) to launch a pilot in six West African countries by the end of the year. The West African Monetary Zone is the continent’s only economic community that does not already have a settlement platform – hence Afreximbank’s decision to pilot the new solution in the region.
Previously referred to as the Intra-Africa Trade Platform, it is one of a number of new initiatives that the bank is currently implementing as part of its strategy to facilitate greater volumes of intra-African trade as well as formalise the continent’s informal trade, which is estimated by the bank to be close to US$40bn.
“Africa’s challenge when it comes to payments and settlements”, Oramah explained, “comes down to the fact that it has multiple local currencies, meaning that cross-border payments typically involve a third currency, such as the US dollar or Euro. This leads to a high cost of intra-African payments, which can take weeks to process.
“Governments want to build their reserves so they tend to prefer exports to markets that issue hard currency. For this reason, a significant amount of cross-border trade occurs informally. The issue is compounded by the fact that most traders currently do not have a system that enables them to settle in a secure way,” Oramah said.
He explained that with the new platform “a buyer in country A buying from a seller in country B can pay in his or her own currency for the goods, while the seller will receive his or her own currency. At the end of the day, the only countries that will have to pay dollars will be those in deficit”.
Although the president conceded that it may not be possible to completely eliminate hard currencies in trade settlements, he believed that through the platform it will be significantly reduced.
The Niamey Summit will surely be one of the most attended AU Summits by Heads of State and other personalities in recent time. Special guests will likely include the Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres, the Director General of the World Trade Organization, Roberto Azevêdo, the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export–Import Bank (AFREXIMBANK) Professor Benedict Okey Oramah, the Executive Director of International Trade Center Dr. Arancha Gonzalez, the European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica among others.
The summit will also consider and approve a set of other decisions coming from the Executive Council as part of the reform of the African Union.
Nigeria needs some 480,000 data protection officers (DPOs), to develop, implement, and oversee organizations’ data privacy strategy to ensure compliance with laws like the GDPR and the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA).
Currently only about 10,000 individuals possess the necessary certification highlighting a major skills gap, according Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner, Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).
Olatunji spoke on Monday at the second edition of its Data Protection Officers training and certification programme in Abuja and Lagos.
He said that the NDPC has domesticated the certification of data protection officers (DPOs) to address the widening gap in certified DPOs, despite steady growth in the number of trained professionals over the past three years.
“At the moment, we have about 10,000 certified DPOs to work in that space. The gap of about 480,000 still exists,” he said.
The shortfall reflects rising demand for data privacy skills as more businesses, government agencies and digital platforms process personal data under the Nigeria Data Protection Act.
Olatunji said the number of certified DPOs has grown from fewer than 1,000 three years ago to over 10,000, while more than 27,000 professionals now operate within Nigeria’s wider data protection ecosystem.
He said the commission is scaling up training and certification efforts to close the gap and position Nigeria as a leading source of data protection talent in Africa.
“Our goal is to make Nigeria the go-to country when it comes to sourcing qualified data protection officers in Africa,” he said, adding that the certification meets global standards.
The NDPC said expanding the talent pool could also support job creation and strengthen trust in Nigeria’s digital economy.
Tolu Fadipe, head of research and development at the commission, said data protection is becoming critical as the country moves deeper into digital systems and emerging technologies.
“As we move towards a digital economy, data becomes central and protecting that data is essential,” she said.
Adeola Sopade, lead trainer, said participants in the programme would be trained on global best practices, including data protection principles, compliance requirements and handling user data requests.
The training also includes practical exposure and internships with organisations to improve job readiness.
Participants said the programme offers opportunities for young Nigerians to build careers in technology and prepare for emerging fields such as artificial intelligence.
Federal government has inaugurated the Electronic Pharmacy Regulation Platform (E-Pharmacy) to enhance the safety of online healthcare services.
Pic credit….healthreporters.info
The platform, championed by the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN), is designed to regulate digital pharmaceutical services and improve public health outcomes.
Inaugurating the platform, Prof. Ali Pate, coordinating minister of Health and Social Welfare, said the initiative signified Nigeria’s commitment to building a world-class regulatory environment.
Pate noted that pharmacy regulation had faced significant challenges for over three decades but expressed optimism that the new platform would strengthen oversight and accountability.
He said the initiative would enable evidence-based monitoring of pharmaceutical practices while supporting innovation and investment in the health sector.
“This launch is a testament to our collective commitment to advancing technology in the service of health, safety and human dignity.
“It is a decisive step to ensure that pharmaceutical practice in Nigeria aligns with national and global health priorities, reflecting the realities of the 21st century.
“It enables the country to adopt evidence-based approaches to monitoring and protecting public health while supporting innovation and investment,” he said.
The minister added that the platform would help establish a safe, accessible and well-regulated national e-pharmacy ecosystem driven by digital technology.
Earlier, Alhaji Ibrahim Ahmed, registrar/chief executive officer of PCN, said the need to regulate online pharmacy operations became more urgent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ahmed said the pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital tools and e-commerce in healthcare, exposing longstanding inefficiencies in pharmaceutical supply chains, particularly in Africa and Nigeria.
“This has led to the increasing adoption of digitised distribution of essential medicines through cost-effective and technology-enabled models.
“For decades, PCN has regulated pharmacy education, training, practice and business in Nigeria. However, as the world shifts towards digital solutions, access to medicines has evolved.
“The Electronic Pharmacy Regulations 2026 provide a comprehensive legal and technical framework for the registration, licensing, operation and oversight of digital pharmaceutical services,” he said.
He added that the framework would ensure that ethical standards and patient safety are not compromised in the delivery of online pharmaceutical services.
Olugbenga Agboola, CEO, Flutterwave, has announced plans to establish Anambra State as the company’s hub for Nigeria’s South East, leveraging a fresh banking license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to boost local fintech and businesses.
Flutterwave
Agboola made the disclosure yesterday in Awka during a meeting with Anambra tech community leaders, hosted alongside Dr. Stanley Uzochukwu, CEO, Stanel Group and proprietor, Delborough Hotel.
He highlighted Flutterwave’s status as Africa’s leading payment system, born in Nigeria, with infrastructure powering companies nationwide.
“We want Anambra to be our hub for the entire South East,” Agboola said. “We’ll deploy our systems, fees, infrastructure, and POS terminals to every small business and large firm here, making our services the top consumer choice.”
Agboola pledged a massive impact program for Anambra entrepreneurs to foster global platforms from the state, enabled by the new license for faster growth.
For a decade, Flutterwave has facilitated payments, but now aims to empower South East businesses through partnerships, POS access, loans, and value for SMEs.
“We’re partnering on a huge impact program launching soon—impacting the tech community with technology, financing, and lending to create more millionaires from this city,” he added.
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