E-Financial
Sterling One Foundation Commits to the African Union Year of Education
Sterling One Foundation has reiterated its commitment to investing in foundational learning and working with the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and partners to boost education in Africa.
L-R: Albert Nsengiyumva. Executive Secretary, Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), Olapeju Ibekwe, CEO, Sterling One Foundation, Obiageli Ezekwesili, Former Minister of Education, Nigeria and Founder, Human Capital Africa, John Ntim Fordjour, Deputy Minister of Education, Ghana and Dr. Benjamin Piper, Director of Global Education, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation at the 2023 High Level Policy Dialogue on Foundational Learning in Zambia recently.
This commitment was made at the 2023 High Level Policy Dialogue hosted in Zambia by ADEA and the Zambian Ministry of Education to inform policy and decisions on foundational learning, foster dialogue and peer learning, and share good practices on what works in foundational learning in support of the African Union Year of Education scheduled for 2024.
Over the years, development experts have bemoaned the dire situation facing Africa’s youth, given the inefficient education system in place to cater to them, coupled with the rapid rise in their population. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the State of Global Education Update reports that only 10% of 10-year-olds are able to read basic story texts or solve simple arithmetic problems, thus placing the region as the lowest in terms of numeracy skills and foundational literacy in the world.
With this challenge at the front burner, ten African Ministers of Education and some other country representatives agreed to prioritize foundational learning and develop a foundational learning starter pack model for the 2024 African Union Year of Education (AUYoE) and beyond, as an urgent step towards tackling the challenge.
The starter pack is expected to serve as a uniform resource material that will help the participating countries develop a sustainable solution for the problem. Furthermore, the model will prioritize data collection and analysis of the data in partnership with ADEA and other key policy partners to improve laws and bring to fore policies that foster more efficiency, peer learning and best practices in support of the AUYoE.
Sharing her perspective on the resolutions from the Dialogue, Mrs. Olapeju Ibekwe, ceo of the Sterling One Foundation hailed the ideas and strategies put forward, stating that it will strengthen the work of private sector and civil society organizations contributing to the solutions.
“Policies are crucial to sustainable development work in Africa and we are glad that the deliberations here have fashioned out ways to improve the work being done across the early childhood and primary education value chain. At our Foundation, we support the work of different stakeholders through grants, technical support and strategic engagements, and we are excited to see how the mainstreaming of the resolutions here will improve that work,” she added.
Some of the key aspects the decision-makers at the Policy Dialogue hope to address in the immediate future include adoption of structured pedagogy for the continent, introduction of more age-appropriate teaching methods and use of technology to improve teacher quality, through training and performance monitoring and improvement.
The Minister of Education of Zambia, Hon. Douglas Munsaka Syakalima while stressing the importance of all stakeholders taking the resolutions seriously mentioned that education, especially foundational learning is at the base of what will drive Africa’s development.
“It is by building people that we will derive the resources to craft a new vision and bring such a vision to life. Without foundational skills in numeracy and literacy, there can be no further learning quality,” he said.
Participants at the High-Level Policy Dialogue got the opportunity to review some of the solutions and insights from the participating countries to see what works and where improvements and adaptations are possible. There were also school visits organized for participants to get some firsthand experience of play-based learning and other important concepts made possible by the right policies.
During his remarks, the Executive Secretary of ADEA, Mr. Albert Nsengiyumva highlighted the need for a collective commitment to tackling the crisis the continent faces, stating that: “Africa is the continent most affected by the learning crisis, and it is where the solutions must be developed.”
He thanked the participating Ministers of Education and other stakeholders for the work they have done so far, and urged them to continue on that momentum to ensure the acceleration of progress.
Some other leaders who spoke at the Policy Dialogue include Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, Founder of Human Capital Africa and Co-convener of the Foundational Learning Ministerial Coalition, and Dr Benjamin Piper, Director of Global Education at the Gates Foundation, both of whom advocated strongly for data-driven decisions and scaling what has worked.
United Bank for Africa (UBA) has announced strategic expansion into more African countries even as it plans to open a new office in Saudi Arabia, marking a significant milestone in its mission to connect Africa with key global markets.
Oliver Alawuba, GMD/CEO, UBA group,
This emerged during the Group’s Half Year Business Review held at its global headquarters in Lagos, where Oliver Alawuba, group managing director/CEO, UBA group, met with senior executives overseeing UBA’s 24-country footprint.
The meeting reaffirmed the bank’s pan-African strategy while outlining bold new steps into global markets.
Alawuba highlighted UBA’s continued growth outside Nigeria, with more than 51.7% of Group revenues now generated from its ex-Nigerian operations.
He described the Saudi expansion as a move that positions UBA to support cross-border trade, attract investment flows, and better serve the African diaspora.
“UBA’s vision is clear—we are building a truly global institution anchored in Africa, but serving customers across continents. Our entry into Saudi Arabia signals confidence in new opportunities and commitment to supporting economic connectivity between Africa and the Middle East,” he said.
The Saudi expansion adds to UBA’s international presence, which currently includes the United Kingdom, United States, France, and the United Arab Emirates. Alawuba also disclosed that the bank is upgrading its operating licence in France to further strengthen its European operations.
“In Europe, UBA has operations in the United Kingdom and is upgrading its licence in France, expanding its capacity to serve cross-border trade, investment flows, and the African diaspora, complementing our over 40-year presence in New York,” Alawuba noted.
Since launching its pan-African journey with an entry into Ghana in 2004, UBA has expanded rapidly across 20 African countries, establishing itself as a leading driver of financial inclusion, innovation, and regional integration.
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated announced its plan to raise up to $250m in Additional Tier 1 capital through a private placement of contingent convertible notes.
In a statement filed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited recently, the capital raise was approved by shareholders at the company’s Extraordinary General Meeting held in Lomé, Togo. The private placement offer was launched on July 9 and will run for ten days.
“Following the approval of the shareholders at its Extraordinary General Meeting held on May 28, 2025, in Lomé, Togo, to raise up to $250m in additional Tier 1 capital qualifying instruments via a private placement of contingent convertible notes, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated announces the launch of the AT1 effective July 9, 2025, for ten days. Renaissance Capital Africa has been appointed as the transaction adviser to ETI.”
The move is an initiative aimed at strengthening Ecobank’s capital adequacy, enhancing financial resilience, and supporting its long-term growth ambitions across its diversified pan-African banking platform.
Additionally, Madibinet Cisse, Ecobank’s Company Secretary, said, “This proposed capital raise represents a critical step in our efforts to fortify the bank’s financial foundation and support sustainable growth across Africa.”
It would be recalled that Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, the parent company of the Ecobank Group, has raised an additional $125m through a Eurobond tap, bringing the total size of its 2029 notes to $525m.
Ola Olukoyede, chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has announced that the body has recovered lost funds from the CBEX fraud scheme.
Olukoyede did not announce the amount recovered, but he assured Nigerians that the EFCC is taking action against the promoters of the scheme.
The EFCC Chairman emphasised that the suspects found are facing prosecution.
“We have found a lot of people culpable. Those who promoted that scheme are within our jurisdiction and have been arrested. So, at this moment, they are being prosecuted. And we can also say that money has been recovered, even though the process is still ongoing for us to finally forfeit it,” he said.
Olukoyede also urged Nigerians to exercise caution when investing their resources into online platforms.
“Ponzi schemes remain one of the most pervasive threats facing unsuspecting investors. The CBEX case is a clear example. We all remember the outcry that followed the collapse of the scheme, but these unfortunate situations are preventable. Nigerians must begin to conduct due diligence before committing their resources to such platforms,” Olukoyede said.
He also stressed that the body remains committed to fishing out the culprits and recovering the lost funds.
“It was only when the bubble burst that people wanted EFCC to perform magic and recover their money. In the case we investigated in Lagos, which we dubbed Operation Flush, we arrested a large number of foreigners involved in various cybercrimes, including CBEX. I want Nigerians to know that as of today, we have secured close to 150 convictions. Some of them are already serving their jail terms. And when they are through with that, we are going to send them back to where they came from. So we are monitoring them,” he added.
He urged the public to stay vigilant, assuring them that the body will see the case to the end.
“We are no longer the EFCC that drops cases halfway. Whatever we start, we will finish. Nigerians should trust us and believe in our capacity to do justice. Some of these cases are complex and may require cross-border investigations, but we are up to the task,” he said.
EFCC Says Corrupt Politicians are Using Crypto Wallets to Launder Money
UBA Expands to More African Cities, Stamps Footprint in Saudi Arabia
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Ecobank Plans to Raise $250m Capital Through Private Placement
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