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Mastercard Launches ‘2KUZE’ mMarketplace, Digitizes E/Africa’s Agric Sector

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Mastercard on Tuesday launched 2KUZE, a digital platform that connects smallholder farmers, agents, buyers and banks in East Africa. 2KUZE, which in Swahili means “Let’s grow together,” enables farmers to buy, sell and receive payments for agricultural goods via their feature phones.

The platform brings the benefits and security of mobile commerce and payments to farmers in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

2KUZE was developed at the Mastercard Lab for Financial Inclusion in Nairobi, which was set up in 2015 to develop practical and cost-effective financial tools that expand access and help build stable futures for more than 100 million people globally.

Through an $11 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Lab is working with East African entrepreneurs, governments and other stakeholders to develop local products rooted in the company’s global knowhow.

In the initial pilot, 2KUZE is being launched in partnership with Cafédirect Producers Foundation, a non-profit organization working with 300,000 smallholder farmers globally. Currently, 2,000 small-scale farmers in Nandi Hills, Kenya are currently using the solution to sell their produce and working with farmer-friendly agents to ensure they reach the right buyers for the best price.

“Eighty percent of farmers in Africa are classified as smallholder farmers having less than 1-2 acres of farming land, making it extremely difficult to drive growth and prosperity within this community, ” said Daniel Monehin, division president for Sub-Saharan Africa and head of financial inclusion for International Markets at Mastercard.

“We believe that by using mobile, a technology that is so ubiquitous among farmers in Africa, we can improve financial access, bring in operational efficiency and facilitate faster payments. “The collaboration between the Lab team and farmers in the market helped to deliver a solution that can be implemented and make an impact without any major changes to the day-to-day.”

2KUZE makes transacting much safer and simpler for all stakeholders in the agricultural supply chain – the farmer, the buyer and the agent.

Farmers using 2KUZE can conduct the entire transaction of selling produce and receiving payments via their feature phones, without having to walk for hours to the markets. This enables farmers to capture a greater percentage of the wholesale value of their goods by providing price transparency, more direct access to buyers and empowerment of farmer-friendly agents.

This solution in particular supports women farmers, who often have household duties that prevent them from leaving the farm gate and are more often subject to having to take whatever deal is given to them on the day. Digitizing these transactions in a trusted, auditable environment provides a legitimate financial footprint, opening up access to loans and other financial services, and also introducing a more efficient process that benefits the entire value chain, as well as the overall economy.

Mastercard Lab is exploring the potential for 2KUZE to help farming communities receive the right level of investment and to encourage more efficient ways of doing business with smallholder farmers.

2KUZE is one of several broad-based collaborations on which the Mastercard Lab for Financial Inclusion is working.

The Lab was established in Africa to contribute to the company’s global commitment to connect 500 million people to formal financial services through the use of public-private partnerships with governments, the private sector and non-governmental organizations.

 


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E-Financial

NRS Accredits Afri Invoice as Access Point Provider to Drive Nigeria’s Mandatory e-invoicing

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Ahead of the July deadline, the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has accredited Afri Invoice as an official Access Point Provider (APP) in a major move for digital tax compliance across Nigeria.

This sovereign endorsement thrusts the emerging fintech leader into an elite tier of technology firms trusted to handle the nation’s fiscal data infrastructure.

With the July deadline looming, this offers an opportunity for Nigerian Businesses to get adequate onboarding support.

Crucially, this landmark certification comes on the heels of Afri Invoice also recently being licensed as an official Systems Integrator by the NRS—granting the company rare dual-licensed status within the national ecosystem.

BAs Nigeria rapidly transitions to a transparent, real-time fiscal economy, Afri Invoice now serves as a fully unified, secure gateway.

With this double mandate, the platform is uniquely positioned to both seamlessly integrate legacy corporate networks and directly validate, digitally sign, and transmit automated electronic invoices straight into the central NRS Merchant Buyer Solution (MBS) infrastructure.

The NRS launched the MBS platform to combat tax evasion, boost state revenues, and mandate transaction transparency across Africas largest economy.

Operating as a centralised real-time ledger, the platform intercepts and logs B2B and B2G transactions right at the point of sale.

Speaking on this milestone, Mark Odenore, Founder of Afri Invoice, said: “This accreditation represents one of the most significant moments in Afri Invoice’s journey.

“For years, we have believed that compliance should not be a financial burden that only large corporations can afford.

“The NRS has handed us the opportunity to be the bridge connecting Nigeria’s entire business community to this new era. We view e-invoicing as a launchpad for modern corporate efficiency, transparency, and growth.”

Large taxpayers transitioned during the initial rollout phase, and the NRS is actively expanding the mandate to medium and small enterprises. Because direct connection to government servers demands rigid compliance, APPs serve as the vital intermediaries.

To earn this license from NITDA, Afri Invoice underwent extensive evaluation, proving its technical resilience, software architecture quality, OAuth 2.0 security protocols, and strict alignment with the international PEPPOL interoperability framework.

A Sovereign Endorsement for Afri Invoice is not merely a commercial credential; it is a profound operational responsibility. Inclusion in the official NRS Solutions Provider Directory means businesses can confidently deploy Afri Invoice to shield themselves from compliance risks.

For Nigerian enterprises navigating these shifting tax laws, Afri Invoice eliminates technical friction by automating the full invoice lifecycle.

The platform seamlessly handles Native ERP Integration, synchronises data across international standard formats like JSON, manages real-time data submission, digital signing, and certificate lifecycles, and provides clear audit trails and dashboards for CFOs to eliminate manual human error and speed up close cycles.

Crucially, the platform supports all NRS-mandated tax categories, quantity codes, and payment statuses, future-proofing businesses as global cross-border invoice interoperability rolls out.

Ms. Fatimata Niang, the Director of Strategy &Operations, noted: “Our architecture was engineered to the highest global standards for security, interoperability, and scale.

“Every invoice running through our system is cryptographically secured and fully traceable from the millisecond it is generated. As the mandate expands to millions of taxpayers, our infrastructure is primed to handle massive volume without compromising on speed or security.”

Afri Invoice is a premier Nigerian financial technology company building modern digital invoicing and fiscal infrastructure.

Through robust API-driven solutions aligned with NRS, NITDA, and international PEPPOL protocols, the company empowers enterprises and SMEs to achieve effortless compliance with minimal technical overhead.

 


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Reps Committee Recovers N521m Unremitted VAT from CBN

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House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says it has recovered over ₦521 million in unremitted Value Added Tax (VAT) from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Reps Committee Recovers N521m Unremitted VAT from CBN

This is part of an ongoing investigation into revenue leakages and outstanding funds owed to the federal government.

Bamidele Salam, chairman of the Committee, disclosed this while providing an update on the probe into transactions conducted through the Remita platform.

According to Salam, the investigation was initiated following a resolution of the House of Representatives to examine alleged revenue leakages, non-compliance with standard operating procedures and breaches of service level agreements linked to the Remita payment platform.

He said the committee had uncovered several outstanding liabilities and led to multiple recoveries.

Salam revealed that the committee discovered that the CBN failed to remit VAT amounting to ₦521,765,134.17, representing tax deductions on fees earned from Remita transactions.

He described the recovery as evidence of the effectiveness of legislative oversight in promoting accountability and safeguarding public resources.

The lawmaker maintained that the committee would recover all outstanding funds due to the Federal Government and blocking avenues for revenue leakages across public institutions.

It added that the CBN has been directed to remit the outstanding amount into the Federal Government Treasury and provide evidence of compliance.

The Public Accounts Committee is expected to continue its hearing on the matter on Monday, June 8, 2026, at the National Assembly in Abuja.

 

 

 

 


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CBN Imposes N100m Penalty on Dealing Bank Inadequate Processing of Forex Documents

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that any authorised dealer bank the processes foreign exchange (forex) transactions without proper documentation will be fined N100 million.

CBN Imposes N100m Penalty on Dealing Bank Inadequate Processing of Forex Documents

In addition, the bank will pay N10 million for each transaction involved.

The sanctions are contained in the fourth edition of the Foreign Exchange Manual, which serves as a guide for participants in Nigeria’s forex market.

According to the CBN, the updated manual aims to improve compliance, increase transparency, and strengthen confidence in the foreign exchange system.

Banks are now required to obtain, verify, and keep all necessary documents before releasing foreign currency to customers.

Similar documentation requirements apply to forward and swap transactions, where proof of the underlying trade or obligation must be provided before settlement.

For import transactions, importers must continue to provide documents such as Form M, invoices, certificates of origin, packing lists, and shipping documents.

They must also submit Exchange Control Documents within 90 days after negotiating shipping documents through overseas correspondent banks.

The CBN warned that failure to meet documentation requirements will attract escalating sanctions.

A first violation will result in a 90-day suspension from forex transactions, a second violation will attract a 180-day suspension, and a third offence will lead to a one-year suspension.

A fourth violation could result in a complete ban from participating in forex transactions.

Banks that fail to report cases of default to the CBN will also face sanctions.

The apex bank further tightened reporting requirements. Institutions that submit required daily or monthly returns late will be fined N500,000, while those that fail to submit returns at all will pay a minimum of N5 million, plus an additional N500,000 daily until compliance is achieved.Afternoon Paper Subscription

The revised manual also strengthens oversight of banks’ foreign currency exposure.

Financial institutions that exceed approved Net Open Position limits will receive a warning for the first offence, a 10-working-day suspension from the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market for the second offence, and a 90-day suspension for the third violation.

The CBN also imposed sanctions on unauthorised reallocation of foreign exchange funds. Any bank found engaging in such practices will be fined N10 million per transaction and may face additional disciplinary action under the Bankers’ Committee ethics framework.

According to the CBN, the new measures are aimed at promoting transparency, strengthening market discipline, reducing abuses, and improving investor confidence in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.

 


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