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Fidelity Bank Unveils SME Funding Connect

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L-R: Divisional Head, Brand and Communications, Fidelity Bank Plc, Charles Aigbe; Divisional Head, Managed SMEs, Fidelity Bank Plc., Osaigbovo Omorogbe; Executive Director, Lagos and South West, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe; Advisory Partner & Chief Economist, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), Dr Andrew Nevin; Senior Manager, Advisory – Deals, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), at a press conference in Lagos to unveil the forthcoming Fidelity SME Funding Connect – Lagos themed: Entrepreneurship meets Capital on Wednesday.
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Fidelity Bank Plc has unveiled a platform that will connect Founders and Funders of small businesses.

 

The programme tagged ‘Entrepreneurship meet capital’ will be held in some locations across the country.

 

The Bank with penchant for SME support is partnering working with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for the selection processes to ensure transparency.

 

Disclosing this Wednesday in Lagos,  Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo, Managing Director, Fidelity Bank, said that the bank came up with the initiative to deepen funding, which remained the biggest challenge faced by small businesses.

 

Okonkwo who was represented by the Executive Director, Lagos & South West, Mrs Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, said the initiative was aimed at providing funding for SMES through the bank’s funding partners, venture capital and Angel investor, among others.

 

“Fidelity Bank is SME-friendly and we deemed it necessary to do something that directly affects our base as a bank.

 

“We have a lot of SME customers who we have worked with and some that we are still working with, and a lot of us know that the SMEs are the engine of any economy that is growing,” Okonkwo said.

 

He said there were over 40 million registered SMEs in Nigeria, noting that SMEs contributed 80 per cent of the workforce and could not be ignored.

 

Also speaking, the Divisional Head, Managed SMEs, Mr Osaigbovo Omorogbe,  said events for the funding of the SMEs would be carried out in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Kano and one other location to be determined by the bank.

 

Omorogbe said the Lagos event titled ‘Entreprenurship Meets Capital’ or ‘Founders meet Funders’ would take place on Aug. 7.

 

He said the funding partners would provide equity capital for SMEs to strengthen growth and development.

 

“We are not launching a fund, we are not looking to sell any fund to SMES on this paltform. We are creating a platform for everybody in SMEs’ ecosystem to participate,” Omorogbe stated.

 

He said the programme had six focus sectors: manufacturing, technology, entertainment, lifestyles, agriculture value chain among others.

 

He, however, said the funding would be anchored by PwC, stressing that Fidelity Bank was not a funding platform but creating a platform for every SME to meet funds providers.

 

The Fidelity Bank SMEs Funding Connect has 3,000 participants, 60 fund providers, 60 founders, N12 million in grant, six breakout sessions and three networking cocktails.

 

Omorogbe said the bank had disbursed N2.3 billion under the Central Bank of Nigeria N220bn SME fund programme.

 

On his part, the Chief Economist and Partner, PwC (Nigeria) Mr Andrew Nevin, noted that the programme could develop more SMEs, which would in turn contribute to the development of the economy.

 

“For the past two years, the Nigerian economy has suffered and it has been difficult for banks to lend to the private sector but Fidelity Bank has risen up to the occassion and should be given credit for what they have done in the SME sector, which is the engine room of every economy.

 

“From the PwC perspective, we are proud to be part of the initiative and we would also want every state involved to be successful, and not only Lagos, so that they can contribute to the growth of Nigeria,” Nevin said.

 

 


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Access Holdings, Coronation Partner Tate Modern to Spotlight Nigerian Modernism

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Access Holdings Plc and Coronation Group have partnered with Tate Modern to commemorate World Art Day with a virtual session highlighting the global significance of Nigerian modernism.

Access Holdings, Coronation Partner Tate Modern to Spotlight Nigerian Modernism

Access Holdings

The event, titled “In Conversation with Osei Bonsu: Inside Nigerian Modernism,” featured a virtual tour of the Nigerian Modernism exhibition and discussions on the evolution of modern art in Nigeria.

The session brought together staff members across both organisations, reflecting growing institutional engagement with arts and culture as a driver of societal development.

Speaking at the event, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer of Coronation Group, Ngozi Akinyele, emphasised the role of art in shaping identity and national development.

She said that beyond financial capital, cultural and intellectual capital are essential in defining a nation’s prosperity and inspiring dialogue.

Akinyele noted that both organisations were committed to democratising access to art, ensuring it is accessible to a wider audience rather than a select few.

The discussion also featured insights from Tate Modern Curator, Osei Bonsu, and art expert Daniel Wallis, who examined the development of Nigerian modernism and its global relevance.

Bonsu said Nigerian modernism represents an independent reimagining of global art, rooted in the country’s diverse cultural heritage and expressed through unique visual languages.

According to him, the movement challenges narrow, Eurocentric definitions of modernism and highlights the richness of African artistic expression.

The session further underscored the growing international recognition of Nigerian art, particularly through exhibitions at Tate Modern.

Participants also reflected on the visit of Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the exhibition, described as a milestone in promoting Nigeria’s cultural heritage globally.

In his closing remarks, Chief Communications Officer of Access Holdings, Amaechi Okobi, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to advancing African narratives on the global stage.

He said the collaboration with Tate Modern aligns with broader efforts to promote dialogue, preserve cultural identity and support the creative sector.

The event reinforced a shared commitment by Access Holdings, Coronation Group and Tate Modern to elevate African art globally and ensure Nigerian cultural narratives continue to shape international conversations.


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NDPC Issues Critical Advisory as Hackers Target Nigeria’s Key Digital Systems

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Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has issued a regulatory advisory to data controllers and processors across the country following what it described as escalating threats to Nigeria’s data security architecture.

NDPC Issues Critical Advisory as Hackers Target Nigeria’s Key Digital Systems

NDPC

In a statement signed by Babatunde Bamigboye, lead of Legal, Enforcement and Regulations, the commission said its technical assessment revealed that some shadowy threat actors were engaged in coordinated operations targeting financial systems and critical digital infrastructure in Nigeria.

The commission urged public institutions to comply with the presidential directive of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which emphasises the strategic importance of data in national development.

According to the NDPC, the President had declared that “data is the new oil,” stressing the need for Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to rigorously capture and safeguard information in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.

The commission therefore advised all data controllers and processors to urgently strengthen their technical and organisational measures to protect personal data and ensure compliance with the law.

It listed key measures to include the appointment of trained and certified Data Protection Officers, implementation of comprehensive privacy policies and information security standards, as well as conducting Data Privacy Impact Assessments.

Other measures recommended by the NDPC include deployment of robust identity and access controls such as Multi-Factor Authentication, adoption of zero-trust security architecture, prompt remediation of system vulnerabilities, and continuous patch management.

The commission also emphasised the need to secure cloud infrastructure, application programming interfaces (APIs), databases and access credentials, alongside real-time monitoring, logging and threat detection systems.

Further recommendations include encryption and secure credential handling, regular vulnerability assessment and penetration testing of critical systems, as well as routine backup and resilience testing.

The NDPC warned that organisations that fail to implement appropriate data protection measures in accordance with the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 risk legal liabilities.

It reiterated its commitment to providing regulatory support to organisations while ensuring the protection of personal data and strengthening institutional resilience across all sectors.


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Africa’s Forex Market in 2026: Key Trends Every Trader Should Watch

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The forex market across Africa is witnessing more participants and more regulatory attention than it did just a few years ago. This growth is part of a bigger picture: Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to expand by 4.3% in 2026, while global forex turnover already hit an estimated $9.6 trillion daily in April 2025. However, there’s more to it than macroeconomic figures.

Africa's Forex Market in 2026: Key Trends Every Trader Should Watch

The trends reshaping the market are happening from within. Here are six worth paying close attention to.

1. Trading Has Moved to the Phone

The number of people accessing the market via mobile phones exceeds those accessing it via traditional bank systems. GSMA states that in Sub-Saharan Africa alone, there are more than 1.1 billion registered mobile money accounts.

The International Monetary Fund states that digitalisation and increased usage of the internet are changing payment systems in the Sub-Saharan Africa region.

Mobile access changes traders’ behavior. It lowers the barrier to entry and speeds up deposits and withdrawals. Therefore, brokers who can provide a quality mobile trading experience will have a huge advantage.

2. Regulators Are Watching

The market is becoming more structured and more transparent. In South Africa, the FSCA regulates market conduct for financial institutions. In Kenya, the Capital Markets Authority regulates capital markets and maintains a licensing system that includes online forex brokers.

Nigeria’s SEC has publicly warned that online retail forex trading can be subject to abuse when unregulated. It also provides tools for investors to check operators’ registrations.

As a result, in 2026, more traders are likely to favour brokers that can show clear licensing, transparent operations, and stronger investor safeguards.

3. Volatility Varies by Country

A common mistake is perceiving the African market as one entity. In reality, according to RegTech Afrika, there are 21 countries out of a total of 54 that have a chance of seeing their currencies depreciate in 2025, with some of them losing value by as much as 6% or more.

A trader watching the rand, naira, shilling, or cedi, regional headlines needs more than regional headlines. Country-level macro data, central bank moves, and the US dollar will still play a major role.

4. Cross-Border Payment Infrastructure Is Quietly Improving

Platforms like PAPSS are helping make payments across African countries faster and easier to complete in local currencies. According to official announcements of PAPSS, it has become operational in 18 countries across Africa, with its latest launch in Algeria in 2025. It has also become operational in Kenya through a partnership with KCB Group, as well as in Rwanda through a partnership with Bank of Kigali.

Step by step, Africa is becoming a more financially connected continent.

5. Execution Quality Is the New Standard

Data from the BIS shows that in April 2025, three-quarters of FX trades were intermediated by the global centers of the United Kingdom, the United States, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Therefore, the best liquidity and best prices are still linked to global conditions.

For local markets, this raises the bar. Forex traders are becoming increasingly aware that tight spreads, while important, mean little without reliable prices and execution. Brokers like JustMarkets that can bring all of these elements together are in a much stronger position than competitors.

6. Education as a Necessity

Regulatory disclosures from major global brokers illustrate how tough it is to trade without proper knowledge. According to publicly available disclosures, between 70% and 80% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.

Forex traders who understand risk management and which financial news to follow have a better chance of surviving the market. Brokers who invest in education are more likely to be seen by traders as valuable partners rather than mere facilitators.
The Market Rewards the Prepared

Africa’s forex market in 2026 is shaped by volatility, stricter rules, and mobile-first trading. The traders who combine market knowledge with the right tools and the right broker will find real opportunity here, while those who don’t adapt will find the market increasingly unforgiving.


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