E-Financial
How Mastercard is Playing Role in Using Technology to Promote Inclusive Growth in Africa
As the world continues to become more digital, building an inclusive world in which the digital economy works for everyone, everywhere, is crucial.
A recent research collaboration between the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and The Fletcher School at Tufts University highlights the strengths and opportunities of six major countries in Africa for harnessing the true potential of technology to drive inclusive growth.
With financial support from the Mastercard Impact Fund, the African Leapfrog Index (ALI)– which was launched during the World Economic Forum on Africa – uses Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa as examples to provide insights on key drivers that could accelerate digital inclusion across the continent.
The ultimate aim of the report is to help countries across Africa optimize their burgeoning digital evolutions, in order to accelerate economic development. The countries were selected based on their size, economic growth, the median age of residents, quality of governance, and digital momentum.
There are many reasons to be optimistic about the transformational potential of digitalization in Africa.
According to the ALI, Kenya, for example, has seen the greatest amount of digital change over the past decade of all African countries studied, and currently has over 80 percent internet penetration.
Going forward, the country’s potential to leapfrog will benefit from leveraging this digital change to nurture jobs in the digital economy, such as online freelance, ridesharing, and in e-commerce.
With nearly 50 million people added to the labour force in the next few years, most of whom will fall somewhere on a spectrum between digitally sentient and digitally sophisticated, the digital economy is poised to be not just the driver of consumption but also of livelihoods.
South Africa, in particular, has been highlighted in the research for its ease to create highly skilled digital jobs, primarily driven by strong consumer demand and an institutional environment with friendly regulations.
Expanding the integration and use of digital technologies across all segments of society, particularly to those who sit at the lower end of the pyramid, will help the country tap into the full potential of this environment.
Raghav Prasad, divisional president, Sub-Saharan Africa, Mastercard said “Digitization has the greatest potential to overcome infrastructure barriers to accelerate inclusive economic growth across multiple sectors of the economy.
“Independent research like the African Leapfrog Index equips policymakers and community leaders with data-driven insights to inform economic development; and it can help other key stakeholders across all sectors better understand the opportunity for – and pathways to – digital inclusion on the continent.”
The six countries were examined against three primary variables for harnessing digital technologies to facilitate development and inclusive growth.
These variables are“Ease of Creating Digital Jobs,” “Resilience of Governance and Infrastructure” and “Foundational Digital Potential.”
Speaking on the findings of the research, Professor Bhaskar Chakravorti, dean of Global Business at The Fletcher School at Tufts University said,“The ALI is intended to help countries and stakeholders in Africa recognise where the potential for technology-led leapfrogging is high.
“This means acknowledgingthe strengths of each country and which policy areas are prime candidates for intervention to enable stakeholders to prioritise resources appropriately.”
Other highlights include:
- Leveraging its strengths in governance, digital evolution and mobile money, Rwanda has the potential to benefit from investments in infrastructure, greater internet penetration and online freedoms.
- With the largest population of all six countries, Nigeria has a major opportunity to leapfrogthrough improving the reliability of basic infrastructure. Continuing to investin reducing power outages and other unintentional disruptions to the internet will be key to Nigeria’s growth potential.
- One ofEgypt’s primary strengths lies in the ease of creating medium- and high-skilled digital jobs. Continuing to further efforts to drive digital payments and limit the usage of cash will significantly help drive digitalization.
- Ethiopia has the potential for greatest digital gain from creating strong digital foundations, improving on its low momentum and moving away from its near-total reliance on cash payments, towards digital payment rails.
E-Financial
Fitch Upgrades Fidelity Bank’s National Rating to ‘A+(nga)’, Affirms Long-Term IDR at ‘B’
Global credit rating agency, Fitch Ratings, has affirmed Fidelity Bank Plc’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B’ and upgraded its National Long-Term Rating to ‘A+(nga)’ from ‘A(nga)’.
The upgrade, announced on May 29, 2025, reflects the bank’s strengthened capital buffers and improved profitability, signaling continued positive momentum in its performance.
According to Fitch, the rating upgrade is underpinned by Fidelity Bank’s successful capital raise through a rights issue and public offer, as well as a notable improvement in profitability—driven by higher interest income and a stable base of low-cost current and savings deposits.
Commenting on the announcement, Managing Director/CEO of Fidelity Bank, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, said, “This upgrade by Fitch Ratings affirms the resilience of our business model, the strength of our risk management practices, and our unwavering focus on delivering sustainable value to stakeholders.
Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, we have continued to maintain strong asset quality, solid profitability, and ample liquidity. This recognition reinforces our position as one of Nigeria’s most resilient and customer-focused financial institutions.”
One of the key drivers of the improved rating is the bank’s robust capitalization. Fitch reports that Fidelity’s Fitch Core Capital (FCC) ratio rose to 29.9% at the end of 2024—well above the regulatory minimum. The agency also noted that further capital raising efforts are expected to position the bank to meet the ₦500 billion minimum capital requirement for internationally licensed banks before the 2025 deadline.
Fidelity Bank’s market positioning remains strong. As Nigeria’s sixth-largest bank, it commands approximately 5% of total banking sector assets. The bank’s balance sheet is reinforced by a high proportion of low-cost deposits, which accounted for 93% of total deposits as of year-end 2024—among the highest in the Nigerian banking industry.
The affirmation and upgrade by Fitch is expected to enhance investor confidence and support Fidelity’s continued efforts to scale its operations both locally and internationally.
Ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving over 9.1 million customers through digital banking channels, its 255 business offices in Nigeria and United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.
The Bank is the recipient of multiple local and international Awards, including the 2024 Excellence in Digital Transformation & MSME Banking Award by BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards; the 2024 Most Innovative Mobile Banking Application award for its Fidelity Mobile App by Global Business Outlook, and the 2024 Most Innovative Investment Banking Service Provider award by Global Brands Magazine.
Additionally, the Bank was recognized as the Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence and as the Export Financing Bank of the Year by the BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned the public against investing in unregistered investment schemes, including Silverkuun Investment Cooperative Society/Silverkuun Limited.
In a circular issued in Abuja, yesterday, the commission said its attention had been drawn to the activities of these entities, which falsely present themselves as investment advisers and fund managers in the Nigerian capital market.
“The attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission has been drawn to the activities of Silverkuun Investment Cooperative Society/Silverkuun Limited which holds itself out as an Investment Adviser/Fund Manager.
“The Commission hereby informs the public that Silverkuun Investment Cooperative Society/Silverkuun Limited is not registered to operate in any capacity in the Nigerian Capital Market.”
SEC advised the public to refrain from engaging with Silverkuun Investment Cooperative Society/Silverkuun Limited or its representatives in respect of any business in the Nigerian capital market.
“The Commission uses this medium to reiterate that transacting in the Nigerian Capital Market with unregistered and unregulated entities exposes investors to financial risk including fraud and potential loss of investment.
“The investing public is therefore reminded to verify the status of companies and entities offering investment opportunities on the Commission’s portal before transacting with them,” the SEC added.
Dr. Emomotimi Agama, director-general of the SEC, recently warned that the Commission would not hesitate to shut down the operations of such unregistered entities while also ensuring that the promoters are made to face the full weight of the law.
Agama said, “we will shut down their operations and the promoters will be made to face the full weight of the law.
“In a major reform, ISA 2025 officially brings digital assets under the SEC’s regulatory purview, defining them as securities and mandating registration for all virtual asset service providers (VASPs) and digital asset exchanges. This development aims to close the regulatory vacuum that has allowed many Ponzi-style platforms to thrive under the guise of cryptocurrency and digital finance.”
Agama also emphasized the Commission’s education-focused strategy to combat fraud through podcasts, digital campaigns, and the introduction of capital market literacy in schools and universities, the SEC aims to equip Nigerians with the knowledge to detect and avoid dubious investments.
Africa’s cross-border payments market is on track to hit $1 trillion by 2035, according to a new report by venture capital firm Oui Capital. Titled “Africa’s Cross-Border Payment Landscape—a deep dive into the systems, players, and shifts shaping Africa’s cross-border payment flows,” the report states that the market is currently valued at $329 billion and growing at a compound annual growth rate of 12%.
It identifies Africa’s booming digital adoption, increasing intra-African trade, and a surge in mobile money usage as the key growth drivers.
Despite the impressive growth, the report highlights systemic inefficiencies.
“Legacy rails, double currency conversions, and fragmented regulations still siphon billions in hidden costs,” Oui Capital states, noting that the continent continues to have the highest global remittance costs, averaging 7–8%.
However, digital innovation is helping reshape the landscape. Mobile money is now a key channel, with 30% of Sub-Saharan remittances flowing through mobile wallets.
In 2022, Africa accounted for 66% of global mobile money transaction value, demonstrating the rapid formalisation of what was once a predominantly informal cash ecosystem.
Oui Capital sees significant investment potential in addressing these inefficiencies. “Infrastructure plays—interoperable API layers, decentralised FX liquidity pools, and PAPSS integrations—represent $10 billion-plus opportunities,” the report says.
The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System is one such initiative pushing for local currency settlements and reduced reliance on USD/EUR clearing, which presently adds around $5 billion in annual costs.
According to the report, cryptocurrencies and Stablecoins are emerging as promising alternatives, cutting remittance costs by up to 60% in markets with clear regulations.
“Fintech APIs are already pushing fees as low as 1.5–3%,” the report notes.
Still, the venture capital firm warns that challenges persist as only 55% of African jurisdictions allow full electronic KYC, limiting the scalability of fintech solutions.
The report urges founders to go beyond peer-to-peer transfers by embedding services like lending and insurance.
“Africa’s payments race is now a scale game. Those that solve for liquidity, compliance and cost will define the continent’s digital trade backbone over the next decade,” it concludes.
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