Africa Prudential Plc has launched Sabivest, a digital shareholder and investment management application, as part of efforts to deepen access to investment opportunities and enhance transparency in Nigeria’s capital market.

Unveiled in Lagos, the platform is designed to provide investors with a centralised system for managing shareholdings and tracking portfolio performance across multiple investment products.

At the launch, the Chairperson of Africa Prudential Plc, Christabel Onyejekwe, said the initiative reflects the company’s commitment to leveraging innovation to improve investor experience and participation.

“Sabivest provides a unified ecosystem that enables individuals and institutions to seamlessly access, monitor and grow diversified financial assets through a single interface,” she said, describing the platform as a significant step in advancing digital transformation within the capital market.

The Managing Director, Catherine Nwosu, noted that the application, which is available for download on both iOS and Android platforms, was developed to address structural challenges that have continued to limit investor efficiency, including fragmented investment accounts, restricted access to diverse financial instruments, and inadequate visibility into portfolio performance.

According to her, the platform aggregates multiple investment services, offering users real-time insights and control through a centralised dashboard.

She added that Sabivest features consolidated portfolio views, performance tracking, asset allocation insights, and electronic dividend management, alongside tools for monitoring, documenting, and recovering unclaimed dividends.

The launch also featured a roundtable session themed, “Building Trust and Driving Innovation in Nigeria’s Capital Market,” where stakeholders emphasised the importance of technology-driven solutions in strengthening investor confidence and expanding market participation.

Interswitch, an integrated payments and digital commerce company, has announced the induction of the third and largest cohort of developer interns into its Developer Academy, reinforcing its long-standing commitment to building world-class technology talent and strengthening Africa’s digital ecosystem.

Selected from a pool of over 20,000 applications, the new cohort emerged through a rigorous multi-stage process involving technical assessments, and interviews. Their induction into the Developer Academy highlights both the scale of interest in software engineering opportunities in Nigeria and Interswitch’s role in nurturing the next generation of highly skilled technology professionals.

Commenting on the initiative, founder and Group Chief Executive Officer, Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe, emphasised the importance of taking a long-term, ecosystem-driven approach to talent development.

“At Interswitch, we have always believed in the capacity to see beyond the immediate challenges and focus on long-term impact. While the migration of skilled talent remains a reality, our approach is to actively shape the outcomes by building a strong and sustainable pipeline of technology professionals.

“We are therefore committed to equipping individuals with the capabilities to contribute meaningfully to the broader technology ecosystem, locally and globally, not just for our own needs at Interswitch. In doing so, we are not only strengthening the industry but also reinforcing Nigeria’s position as a source of globally competitive engineering talent,” Elegbe said.

The 9-month programme brings together talents across key engineering tracks, including Backend Development, DevOps, Mobile Development, Frontend Engineering, and Quality Assurance.

Designed as an intensive and structured learning experience, the Developer Academy combines theoretical instruction with real-world application, equipping participants with the skills required to thrive in an increasingly global and competitive technology landscape.

Also commenting, Group Chief Human Resources Officer, Interswitch, Franklin Ali, said: “The Developer Academy reflects our long-term commitment to building talent at scale. We are equipping these young professionals not just with technical skills, but with the mindset, discipline, and adaptability required to thrive in diverse environments.

“Whether they build their careers within Interswitch, contribute to the local ecosystem, or explore global opportunities, they represent the strength and potential of Nigerian talent and carry forward the standard of excellence we are committed to building.”

Dr. Obioha Oti, National President of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN), has described agency banking as Nigeria’s most critical last-mile channel for achieving meaningful financial inclusion, stressing that millions of Nigerians, particularly in rural and underserved communities, remain financially excluded despite notable progress in the sector.

PAFON 3.0

Speaking at the third edition of the Payments Forum Nigeria (PAFON 3.0), themed “Fair Digital Payments as a Catalyst for Deepening Financial Inclusion in Nigeria,” Oti, represented by Alhaji Yusuf Adeyemo, vice president of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN), said agency banking has become Nigeria’s most practical and scalable solution for bridging the persistent financial access gap caused by poor infrastructure, low financial literacy, trust deficits, and high service delivery costs.

According to him, without effective last-mile financial access, Nigeria’s financial inclusion ambitions may remain unattainable.

Oti noted that through extensive agent networks, Nigerians now enjoy convenient access to critical financial services including cash deposits, withdrawals, transfers, bill payments, account opening, and other essential banking products, adding that beyond transactional services, agency banking offers trust, human interaction, and proximity-factors that purely digital channels cannot fully replicate.

“Agency banking has emerged as the most practical, scalable, and human-centred solution,” he stated, adding that agents serve as trusted financial intermediaries within local communities.

Highlighting AMMBAN’s contributions, Oti said the association has played a central role in strengthening Nigeria’s financial inclusion ecosystem through policy advocacy, professional training, rural agent expansion, fraud awareness campaigns, consumer protection initiatives, and strategic collaborations involving banks, fintechs, telecom operators, and mobile money providers.

He further noted that the agency banking sector has created millions of jobs and unlocked significant economic opportunities nationwide.

Oti acknowledged the contributions of major ecosystem drivers, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which he said continues to provide regulatory support through financial inclusion frameworks, consumer protection policies, and interoperability initiatives.

He also credited the Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF) for accelerating agent expansion across the country, while Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) was recognized for its support through research, innovation funding, and data-driven insights.

Despite these achievements, Oti warned that the sector continues to grapple with significant obstacles such as liquidity shortages, network instability, fraud risks, poor agent profitability, infrastructure deficits, and overlapping regulations.

He stressed that these challenges must be urgently addressed to sustain growth and deepen inclusion. “For inclusion to truly deepen, digital payments must be affordable, reliable, transparent, and accessible to all Nigerians,” he said, insisting that fairness in digital payments is essential to closing the financial inclusion gap.

He warned that unfair pricing structures, unstable systems, and exclusionary payment models could further marginalize vulnerable populations.

Looking ahead, Oti urged stakeholders across the financial ecosystem to prioritize stronger collaboration, improved agent profitability, infrastructure development, enhanced financial literacy, increased financing access for agents, and supportive regulatory frameworks.

He projected that Nigeria’s financial inclusion future will be “phygital,” combining physical agent networks with digital platforms to create seamless financial access.

According to him, agents are rapidly evolving beyond transaction points into community-based financial service hubs capable of driving grassroots economic development. “Agency banking is no longer just a distribution channel; it is the backbone of financial inclusion in Nigeria,” Oti declared.

He reaffirmed AMMBAN’s commitment to working with regulators, financial institutions, and technology providers to strengthen the ecosystem, empower underserved populations, and build a more inclusive national financial system.