IFC has announced investments totaling $310 million in projects that will support the growth of smaller businesses and job creation across several African countries. The projects were announced at the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS), which convened private and public sector representatives from across Africa under the theme of mobilizing domestic capital at scale for development.

The two-day event, co-hosted by IFC, the Jeune Afrique Media Group, and the Kingdom of Morocco, featured discussions among African central bank governors, regulators, financial institutions, and fintech innovators on how Africa can best tap its own resources—and attract more foreign investment—to shape the continent’s financial future, create jobs, and sustainably grow its economies.

On the sidelines of AFIS, IFC announced partnerships with several financial institutions that will channel funds and support towards businesses in Egypt, Ethiopia, and Morocco, helping businesses grow and reach new markets.

The new projects IFC announced are:

• A $50 million financing package to Suez Canal Bank will expand lending to smaller businesses across Egypt, particularly in underserved regions. A quarter of the loan is earmarked for women-owned businesses to help bridge the gender financing gap and boost inclusive growth.
• A $10 million equivalent IFC local-currency risk-sharing facility with Attijariwafa Bank Egypt to expand access to finance for smaller businesses and support job creation. At least a quarter of the loans are earmarked for women-owned businesses, and half to SMEs in vulnerable communities. The initiative is supported by the Prospects Partnership, which supports development for host communities and forcibly displaced people.

• A $250 million IFC risk-sharing facility with newly established Saham Bank will strengthen Morocco’s financial stability and expand access to finance for local businesses. IFC will share up to 50 percent of the credit risk on the bank’s $500 million corporate loan portfolio, helping sustain lending to key sectors. Saham Bank recently acquired Société Générale Marocaine de Banques.
• An IFC advisory services support program for VisionFund to help the microfinancier expand lending to smaller businesses and deepen financial inclusion in Ethiopia. The project will strengthen VisionFund’s capacity in strategic business planning, risk management, and responsible finance, enabling it to reach more underserved entrepreneurs—especially women. This initiative follows IFC’s recent $10 million local currency loan to VisionFund.

Ethiopis Tafara, IFC’s Vice President for Africa, said, “The combination of Africa’s own financial resources with strategic international capital is a potent recipe for growth on the continent. Africa’s entrepreneurs are building companies that rival any in the world—and with the right support, they can grow and create the jobs and opportunities Africa needs. These projects underscore the power of partnerships as well as the important role of events like AFIS in bringing together like-minded organizations for development and impact.”

AFIS was established in 2021 to promote a shared understanding among public authorities and private sector leaders of the trends and risks shaping the continent’s financial industry. Through open dialogue and collaboration, AFIS helps identify opportunities for improvement, whether through regulatory reforms or market-driven initiatives.

This year’s event brought together more than 1,250 senior leaders from Africa’s financial sector—including those who manage Africa’s savings with those who can channel international investment—with the aim of delivering more funds to job-creating African businesses and projects.

Over the past two decades, IFC has collaborated with more than 300 financial institutions across 40 African countries to enhance banking systems, expand access to finance, and mobilize private capital. This partnership has helped build the foundations for opportunity—fueling enterprise, enabling jobs, and driving the continent’s next generation of growth.

The House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on the Economic, Regulatory and Security Implications of Cryptocurrency Adoption and Point-of-Sale (POS) Operations in Nigeria recently held a crucial meeting with regulators and virtual assets service providers (VASPs), through the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN).

The high-level engagement sought to gather insights for developing a balanced and forward-looking national framework for cryptocurrency and digital asset regulation in the country, even as the meeting underscores the legislature’s commitment to addressing both the security risks and the economic potential of Nigeria’s booming digital finance sector.

The Chairman of the House Ad-hoc Committee on Cryptocurrency, Hon. Olufemi Bamisile, strongly advocated for a significant downward review of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) minimum capital requirement of up to ₦1 billion for cryptocurrency exchanges.

He grounded his stance in the need for regulations to protect investors without strangling innovation, arguing that Nigeria’s threshold is far higher than global norms, such as the European Union’s MiCA framework. Bamisile specifically addressed a critical inconsistency, noting that most Nigerian crypto firms do not hold customer funds but only manage the underlying technology.

He stressed that subjecting these pure technology-focused firms to the same high capital and insurance standards as those that hold investors’ funds is unfair and a view shared by various stakeholders, including investors and consumer groups.

This entire regulatory effort, which also saw remarks from the representative of Speaker of the House of Representative, Hon. Usman Kumo on the clear need for a robust framework, was driven by concerns over consumer protection and national security, as Bamisile highlighted the significant deficiency of many Nigerian Fintechs in providing robust consumer protection, warning that current widespread scams could ultimately compromise financial stability and national security.

The Committee’s recommendations center on ensuring that regulations open doors, not close them, acknowledging that high barriers, such as the ₦1 billion capital requirement, would simply export our brightest minds as young entrepreneurs register their businesses abroad, resulting in lost jobs, skills, and tax revenue for Nigeria.

To promote local innovation and youth empowerment, the committee is championing a Nigeria first licensing pathway using a tiered approach. Under this model, firms with smaller capital exposure would operate under mandatory mentorship and joint compliance tracking between the SEC and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

As these firms grow and their capacity is proven, they would gradually graduate to higher tiers with broader responsibilities. This strategic mode is specifically designed to keep innovation thriving within Nigeria, build trust in the system, and support the President’s vision of inclusive economic empowerment.

The Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SiBAN), the foremost self-regulatory body for the sector, was a key stakeholder to the session. SiBAN, led by its President Obinna Iwuno, presented a comprehensive memorandum to the Committee, chaired by Hon. Olufemi Bamisile, commending the House for its timely intervention.

The association acknowledged the Committee’s mandate to review regulatory gaps, investigate security implications, and develop a framework that protects consumers while harnessing innovation.

In its submission, SiBAN highlighted Nigeria’s position as a global leader in digital asset adoption, driven by a young and tech-savvy population. However, it pointed out that the industry is currently hampered by a fragmented regulatory landscape, with overlapping jurisdictions among the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and other agencies, creating operational uncertainty. SiBAN stressed that a cohesive, risk-based framework is urgently needed to foster growth and address issues like fraud and money laundering.

To achieve this coherence, SiBAN proposed a series of sweeping reforms, beginning with the enactment of an act for Blockchain Technology and Digital Assets. This proposed legislation would define and categorise digital assets, recognise blockchain as foundational infrastructure, and establish regulatory coherence across all agencies. The association argued that this unified approach is necessary to align Nigeria with global benchmarks, such as the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) and UAE’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA).

SiBAN noted that a National Council on Blockchain & Digital Assets should be established and situated under the Presidency, to serve as a central coordinating body to harmonise cross-agency standards, issue technical architectures, and manage a national multi-sector sandbox.

“This structure aims to ensure a single, adaptive institutional framework for rapid technological change and to prevent policy duplication,” it said.

Furthermore, the self-regulatory body advocated for a tiered licensing framework for operators differentiating between high-risk custodial services and lower-risk infrastructure providers to encourage innovation and market integrity.

It also called for local content requirements and policy incentives to protect Nigerian-owned firms from foreign dominance, reduction in the licensing fees, admittance of more operators into the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program, coupled with mandatory consumer protection measures like compulsory KYC, AML/CFT/CPF Compliance and dispute resolution through mechanisms such as SiBAN’s own Blockchain Dispute Resolution Panel (BDRP).

By adopting these proposals, SiBAN concluded, Nigeria could achieve significant national benefits including regulatory certainty, enhanced financial inclusion, reduced fraud, and increased job creation. The association reaffirmed its readiness to collaborate, asserting that transitioning to a unified framework under the proposed actions would position Nigeria as a globally respected model for digital innovation governance.

Telecommunications giant, Globacom, has launched an exciting new lottery service — Glo Play Up — designed to blend fun, anticipation, and the prospect of life-changing rewards for its subscribers.

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In a statement issued in Lagos, Globacom described the initiative as more than just a game of chance, but a celebration of hope and possibility.

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