E-Financial
AfDB Achieved Highest Annual Disbursement in 2017 – Adesina
Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of African Development Bank (AfDB), said that the Bank, 2017, achieved its highest annual disbursement ever of 7.67 billion dollars on supports.
Adesina said this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
He said that the Bank would continue to support African countries in ensuring stronger macroeconomic policies.
“The Bank achieved its highest annual disbursement ever in its history, at 7.67 billion dollars.
“Our investment in the energy sector in 2017 covered 31 operations in 23 countries and totaled 1.39 billion dollars, representing a 30 per cent increase over 2016.
” In 2017, the Bank maintained its AAA rating with stable outlook by all four global rating agencies.
“The Bank’s AAA stable outlook rating is underpinned by sound financial and risk management policies, excellent liquidity and strong shareholder support,” Adesina said.
He said that the Bank was working hard to be more efficient and become impact driven organisation; one that accelerated Africa’s development, holding itself to a higher standard of performance.
The president said that it was only when the Bank became performance driven that it could meet Africa’s expectations.
Adesina assured that the Bank intended to score a lot more development goals for Africa, adding that there was need for greater alignment, performance and accountability for results.
He said that the Bank launched its largest bond transaction with 2.5 billion dollars three-year global benchmark followed by its largest ever five-year global benchmark for 2 billion dollars.
According to him, the Bank continues to grow its income solidly, reversing its declining income when he started two years ago.
He said that the net operating income of the Bank had declined from 589.3 million dollars in 2014 to 492.7 million dollars in 2015, when he took over, adding that ever since there had been a rapid turnaround.
“In 2016, the net operating income rose to 556.6 million dollars and shot up to 855 million dollars in 2017, an increase of almost 54 per cent over 2016.
” To put things in context, this is also a 73 per cent increase over where we were in 2015.
“The Bank is mobilising more resources for Africa. In 2017, we mobilised 9.73 billion dollars from the capital markets for African countries including 300 million dollars from the enhanced private sector facility for Africa.
“I am delighted that in 2017, the Bank helped leverage 6 billion dollars for the landmark Japan-Africa Energy Financing Facility.
“This will help accelerate efforts to light up and power Africa,” Adesina said.
He said that the Bank was doing a lot on “Light Up and Power Africa agenda”, adding that in 2017 it invested 1.39 billion dollars.
He added that the aim was to improve access to electricity to help generate an additional 1,400 MW of power and connect 3.8 million persons to electricity.
On renewable engergy, the president said that the Bank was leading, adding that when he assumed office, the share of renewable energy in the Bank total power portfolio was just 14 per cent.
“However, we increased that to 74 per cent in 2016 and in 2017; we achieved a record-breaking 100 per cent of our new lending in renewable energy.
He said that with access to more funding, “we hope to provide electricity to an unprecedented 29.3 million Africans between 2018-2020”.
The president said that the Bank was spearheading the development of the desert to power initiative to harness electricity from the sun all across the Sahel.
He said that “our goal is to support the generation of 10,000 MW of power, connect 250 million persons to electricity, of which 75 million people will be through off-grid systems.
“Africa needs to promote green growth. We are extremely conscious of our climate and environmental responsibilities and leadership role.
Adesina said that the Bank would be tripling its climate finance to 40 per cent of its portfolio by 2020.
On agriculture, he said that the Bank in 2017, invested 1.16 billion dollars in the sector – the highest ever in the Bank’s history.
It also launched Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), a one-billion dollar initiative to take agriculture technologies to scale for millions of farmers.
Adesina said that with adequate resources, between 2018-2020, the Bank expected to provide 29.2 million Africans with access to electricity.
He added that the bank’s Integrate Africa High 5 would provide 50 million Africans with improved access to transport.
Likewise, the Bank’s High 5 on Industrialising Africa would enable seven million people to benefit from investment projects.
He added that High 5, on improving the quality of life would also provide 36.8 million persons with improved access to water and sanitation.
Adesina said that the support of all shareholders was crucial for the general capital increase of the Bank.
He said that the Bank would do more for Africa and “we are working extremely hard to revamp the Bank and put it in a much stronger position, with more highly capable staff and institutional capacity to deliver more, better and faster support.
” Our ability to deliver in the past and now is a good indication that you can depend on us to deliver more in the future.
Nigerian banks have resumed processing international tuition payments from Naira accounts through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Form A portal.
Form A is an application form designed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to pay for service transactions (invisible trade).
The form allows customers to purchase foreign exchange at the CBN or interbank rate to make payments for eligible services as predetermined by the foreign exchange manual.
This development comes a month after commercial banks announced the resumption of international transactions on their naira cards.
In an email to customers, Guaranty Trust Bank Limited (GTBank) and Lotus Bank announced that the service is now available for applicants paying undergraduate and postgraduate tuition fees abroad.
“Pay international tuition fees directly from your Naira account,” the notice from GTBank read.
To access the service, customers are required to register and submit their applications via the Trade System Portal at www.tradesystem.gov.ng.
GTBank explained: “Select the ‘Form A’ application for Educational Fees. Choose GTBank as the processing bank, attach required documents, and submit the application.”
Similarly, Lotus Bank stated, “Register on the Trade System Portal. Select Form ‘A’ application for Educational Fees. Choose Lotus Bank as the processing bank, attach required documents, and submit the application.”
In a similar notice, Lotus Bank also informed customers of processing international fees using its facility.
“Register on the Trade System Portal (www.tradesystem.gov.ng). Select Form ‘A’ application for Educational Fees. Choose Lotus Bank as the processing bank, attach required documents, and submit the application,” the bank said.
In 2022, Nigerian banks said international school fees and upkeep requests via Form A will be processed within 120 days due to forex scarcity at the time.
Safaricom, M-PESA and PayPal have announced a strategic collaboration to enable account linking and seamless fund transfers across their networks.
This collaboration aims to empower more than 35 million M-PESA customers and two million businesses and micro traders in Kenya to access PayPal’s global network.
By first linking their PayPal and M-PESA wallets, users can easily transfer funds from their PayPal accounts into their M-PESA wallets, and vice versa. This service is designed to enhance the experience for customers and businesses transacting between the two platforms.
The solution is currently available to Safaricom M-PESA customers in Kenya, with plans to roll out the service to the other M-PESA markets in the future.
“As globalization and digitization continue to reshape how people and businesses connect, our partnership with PayPal is a bold step forward in enabling seamless, worry-free, safe, secure, and inclusive digital payments.
“This collaboration empowers over thirty-five million customers and two million businesses and micro-entrepreneurs across Kenya to participate in the global digital economy by conveniently sending and receiving payments across more than 200 markets. It’s part of our commitment to unlocking opportunities and transforming lives through the power of M-PESA,” said Esther Waititu, Chief Financial Services Officer, Safaricom PLC.
“Building seamless connections between the global economy and local financial ecosystems is crucial to expanding digital financial inclusion,” said Otto Williams, Regional Head and General Manager for the Middle East and Africa, PayPal. “We are thrilled to enable millions of M-PESA’s customers across Africa connect more easily to PayPal’s international customer base.”
For 18 years, M-PESA has driven financial inclusion and bridged the digital divide. With M-PESA Kadogo, introduced in 2016, Safaricom waived fees for transactions of Kshs 100 and below, making digital payments more accessible. Now, through Ziidi MMF, customers can invest from as little as Kshs 100, promoting a culture of saving and financial wellness.
The partnership will tap into the emergence and growing popularity of the gig economy that has seen a rise among Africans accepting online jobs for clients across the world.
It equally marks a growing trend of interoperability between fintech providers with a goal of providing customers with a digital financial ecosystem that meets their needs by combining different capabilities.
PayPal is a leading global payment processor with more than 400 million active PayPal accounts operating across 200 markets, while M-PESA is Africa’s leading mobile money service connecting more than 50 million customers across Africa, 2 million businesses and micro traders, with more than $1.1 billion transacted daily.
Federal government has mandated banks and financial institutions to begin reporting monthly transactions exceeding N25 million for individuals and N100 million for firms to the tax authorities.
Under the new provisions of the Nigerian Tax Act, financial institutions are required to submit quarterly returns to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).
The agency will be renamed to the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) from January 2026, when the new tax system will take effect.
“Every person who has an obligation to deduct and remit tax under this Act or any other Returns for tax legislation shall render monthly returns to the appropriate tax authority, as specified deduction of tax in the regulation issued for that purpose,” the Act reads.
“Without prejudice to section 142 of this Act, every bank, insurance company, stock-broking firm, or any other financial institution, shall prepare, with or without demand be delivered by the relevant tax authority, quarterly returns to the relevant tax authority specifying the names and addresses of new customers;Nigerian fashion trends
“…and existing customers in the case of (i) an individual, all transactions where the cumulative transactions in a month amount to N25,000,000 or more, or (ii) a body corporate, all transactions where the cumulative transactions in a month amount to N100,000,000 or more.”
Prior to the new tax law, banks were mandated to report deposits of N5 million — a measure intended to curb illicit financial flows, according to TheCable
Experts said the shift is part of efforts to tighten anti-money laundering reporting in the financial sector.
In 2023, Nigeria was listed on the grey list by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) over deficiencies in tackling money laundering and terrorism financing.
Since then, the country has been making efforts to exit the grey list, which subjects it to increased monitoring by the FATF.
In November 2024, Hafsat Bakari, chief executive officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), said Nigeria has achieved upgrades in five key recommendations from the FATF.
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