E-Financial
AfDB Board Approves the Bank’s Knowledge Management Strategy for 2015-2020
Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB), in its meeting on June 24, 2015 in Abidjan, approved the institution’s Knowledge Management Strategy (KMS) for 2015-2020.
The vision of this Knowledge Management Strategy is for the AfDB to become the premier knowledge institution in Africa in the areas of its mandate. This is a long-term goal and an aspiration, where the journey is as important as the destination.
Today, knowledge and innovation have emerged as crucial features of development strategies in many parts of the world.
With its ability to combine knowledge with funding, the Bank is uniquely positioned to lead the development of innovative solutions for the complex challenges facing the Africa. To play this role, the Bank increasingly complements its financing with knowledge products and services, including analytical, advisory and policy work.
The strategic objective of the KMS is to raise its development effectiveness through providing and exchanging innovative knowledge solutions for Africa’s transformation with African countries. Effectiveness, quality and impact will require focus on critical knowledge areas.
The priorities are aligned with those of the Bank’s Ten Year Strategy (TYS) for 2013-2022: infrastructure development, private sector development, regional economic integration, skills and technology, governance and accountability as well as the areas of special emphasis – gender, fragile states, and agriculture and food security.
The KMS has two pillars reflecting the role of knowledge in enhancing the effectiveness of Bank operations to address Africa’s pressing development needs; and strengthening the quality of the institution’s policy dialogue, advisory services, and involvement in the development debate.
The implementation of the KMS will build on the Bank’s established knowledge assets, such as its flagship publications, policy dialogues, capacity-building programs and knowledge management and learning ICT platform.
The KMS will strengthen existing strategic partnerships and establish new ones. It will be important for the Bank to choose its knowledge management activities strategically, based on demand, consensus among key actors, and targeted interventions, with measurable outcomes.
The KMS will aim to address areas for strengthening identified in the evaluation of Bank’s Economic and Sector work, the recent Knowledge Management Audit, and evaluations of knowledge work in other International Financial Institutions.
These include the need to balance the Bank’s lending and knowledge work (raise the share of knowledge products on infrastructure, for instance); pay more attention to quality of knowledge products; incentivize the generation of the knowledge products and services as well as avoidance of supply-driven approaches and working in silos.
Ultimately, the key to successful knowledge management resides in the culture of the Bank and the mind-set of its staff.
Attention will be paid to turning the Bank into a continuously learning and innovating institution that is able to learn from its own projects and initiatives as well as from those of its development partners and counterparts.
The KMS is not prescriptive; rather, each Department and unit of the Bank will adapt the framework to their own needs.
The results of the Bank’s knowledge activities will be measured to monitor and evaluate progress and to address any emerging challenges.
The KMS 2015-2020 mid-term review will take place in 2018. Responsibilities for implementation will be shared among the knowledge-generating departments of the Bank. The Chief Economist’s Office will continue to provide overall coordination.
E-Financial
World Bank Approves Extra $65m for Nigeria’s SPESSE

World Bank has approved an additional $65 million loan for Nigeria to support the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental, and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) project, increasing the total financing for the initiative to $145 million.
The approval was granted on June 24, 2025, according to details posted on the World Bank’s website, which also indicates that the project’s status has moved to “active” following the approval.
The SPESSE project, initially launched with an $80 million loan approved in February 2020, aims to strengthen institutional capacity for managing procurement, environmental, and social standards in both the public and private sectors across Nigeria.
The World Bank described the project’s development objective as the establishment of sustainable capacity in these areas.
This latest approval is part of a broader wave of financing expected from the World Bank to Nigeria in 2025.
The bank is scheduled to approve loans totalling $1.61 billion over the coming months, supporting various development initiatives.
Among these is a $300 million loan for the ‘Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project,’ expected to be finalised by the end of July.
This project aims to improve access to basic services and economic opportunities for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities in selected local government areas in northern Nigeria.
In September, the World Bank plans to approve four additional loans: a $10.5 million facility to support technical assistance for the Central Bank of Nigeria, a $300 million Health Security Program targeting Western and Central Africa (Nigeria – Phase IV), a $500 million project for building resilient digital infrastructure (BRIDGE), and a $500 million loan under the Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value-Chains for Growth project aimed at promoting sustainable growth and job creation within key agricultural sectors.
Earlier in March 2025, the bank approved three financing requests amounting to $1.13 billion.
These funds are directed towards projects focused on enhancing quality education, boosting household and community resilience, and improving nutrition.
Among the approved loans were $80 million for the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 project, $552 million for the HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All programme, and $500 million for the Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme.
In February, the Nigerian government announced expectations of new World Bank loans totalling $2.2 billion for six different projects in 2025. This follows a $1.5 billion loan disbursed in 2024 aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s economic stability and resource mobilisation efforts.
E-Financial
Ecobank Taps Google Cloud to Deepen Financial Inclusion

Ecobank, a pan-African financial services group, has partnered with Google Cloud in a deal to improve financial services with advanced analytics, AI and driving digital empowerment across Africa.
This collaboration will focus on leveraging Google Cloud’s advanced technologies and AI to enhance Ecobank’s digital offerings to accelerate the digital transformation of the Bank.
The partnership agreement is designed to empower individuals, support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region, and contribute to the overall economic development of Africa.
“Our collaboration with Google Cloud is a leap forward in Ecobank’s digital transformation journey. We look forward to leveraging Google Cloud’s world-class technology to unlock new possibilities for individuals and businesses to grow and scale across Africa,” said Jeremy Awori, group chief executive officer of Ecobank.
“This collaboration signifies our shared intent to explore building a more connected and financially inclusive future for the continent.”
Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud, stated that Google Cloud and Ecobank have a shared vision for using technology to help deliver financial empowerment to more people and businesses in Africa.
“We look forward to exploring the ways our cutting-edge AI, powerful data analytics, and scalable infrastructure can support Ecobank’s efforts to fuel the continent’s economic development and digital future.”
The collaboration aims to simplify and streamline money transfers, both domestically and across borders. By leveraging Google Cloud’s capabilities, including its powerful data analytics platform, BigQuery, for AI-driven insights, Ecobank will aim to develop solutions that improve access to finance for SMEs, simplify payment acceptance, and provide valuable data-driven insights to help businesses scale across more than 33 countries in Africa.
E-Financial
Stanbic IBTC Holdings Rights Issue Oversubscribed by 21.9%

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has announced the successful close of the N148.7 billion Rights Issue subscription exercise following the completion of the verification exercise by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and final clearance by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Stanbic IBTC Holdings said the Rights Issue was oversubscribed by 21.9 percent, adding that the holding company has injected N140 billion into Stanbic IBTC Bank.
Kunle Adedeji, acting Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc while commenting on the just concluded rights issue programme said that “The turnout and participation of existing shareholders taking up their rights was impressive such that the rights issue was oversubscribed by 21.9percent to the tune of N181.4 billion. Our shareholders’ interest shows the confidence they continue to have in the brand,” he said.
“We appreciate the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria, The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Lead Issuing house, Joint Issuing houses and other stakeholders in the successful completion of the recapitalisation exercise.
“We are optimistic about future opportunities, as the injection of new capital will position us to take advantage of them to enable us to deliver to our shareholders. To all shareholders, we are grateful for your unwavering belief and support for the Stanbic IBTC Brand and your willingness to continue this journey with us,” Adedeji said.
Having received an injection of N140 billion from the parent company, the Chief Executive of the Banking subsidiary, Wole Adeniyi, remarked that “the injection of the new capital into the banking subsidiary is a positive development. This will enable the Bank to seize additional opportunities within the industry and enhance our Single Obligor Limit (SOL).
“We deeply appreciate the dedication and hard work of our regulators, issuing houses, and all other stakeholders. We extend our sincere gratitude for your continued support.”
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