E-Financial
The Alternative Bank, Utiva Partner on Scholarships to Boost Digital Skills for Women
The Alternative Bank (‘AltBank’) has announced the launch of The Alternative Bank-Utiva Women in Tech Scholarship, a landmark initiative designed to empower women entrepreneurs with digital skills, innovation design, and business growth training. The announcement was made during a high-level virtual convening held over the weekend to commemorate the International Day for Rural Women.
The scholarship programme, which begins in November 2025, forms part of the Bank’s wider Corporate Social Investment commitment to bridge gender and digital divides, equipping women with tools to scale their enterprises and strengthen their participation in the emerging digital economy.
Speaking during the event, Korede Demola-Adeniyi, Executive Director (South) at The Alternative Bank, described the initiative as both symbolic and strategic. “Women are the heartbeat of food systems, the lifeline of families, and the silent architects of community resilience,” she said. “Empowering rural women is a moral imperative as much as it is smart economics and a cornerstone of sustainable national growth. The doors of The Alternative Bank remain open, ready to partner, finance ideas, and co-create sustainable solutions that empower women and strengthen communities,” Demola-Adeniyi added.
Eyitayo Ogunmola, Chief Executive Officer of Utiva, expressed optimism about the partnership’s potential to redefine access to digital opportunities for women, saying, “At Utiva, we believe that when women are equipped with the right digital skills, they don’t just transform their businesses they transform their communities. This partnership with The Alternative Bank is about creating pathways for inclusion, innovation, and long-term economic empowerment for women who are shaping the future of enterprise in Africa.”
The virtual convening, themed ‘Rural Women and MSMEs: Driving Sustainability, Strengthening Economies, Securing Our Shared Tomorrow,’ brought together thought leaders, policymakers, and development partners to celebrate, empower, and advocate for rural women across Nigeria and Africa. The event aligned with the global observance of the United Nations’ Rural Women’s Day.
Hon. Gift Johnbull, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement (South-South), reaffirmed the Nigerian Federal Government’s commitment to women’s empowerment. “Women in our rural areas are farmers because most of our rural communities are agrarian communities, and they are the reason why we have food in our cities and on our tables. They make up to 70% of our food system in this country and worldwide. Yet they are facing barriers like access to education, finance, and other productive opportunities. We acknowledge that and are making progress to ensure these barriers are totally eradicated from our society,” she stated.
From the United Nations, Osalobo Osemhenjie, Programme Specialist at UN Women, highlighted ongoing interventions supporting women’s economic advancement and called for a joint stakeholder effort to address existing gaps. “Let us commit to changing this narrative by investing in rural women’s leadership, expanding access to finance, fostering digital and entrepreneurial skills, [providing] mentorship programmes for young women and consultancy services through affirmative procurement. Only then will we unlock a future that is not only sustainable but equitable,” she said.
A key highlight of the event was the thematic presentation by Kemi Ayanda, Economic Development and Trade Strategist for Africa and the Middle East. She challenged participants to rethink traditional development models, asserting that true transformation begins not with funding but with reimagining systems that recognise resilience as an economic asset and women as critical stabilisers.
Other notable speakers included Her Excellency Hajia Fatima Dikko Radda, wife of the Executive Governor of Katsina State; Mrs. Ellen T. Johnson, Country Head of Commonwealth Businesswomen Africa (Gambia); Judith Libaisi Kayoni, Global Rural and Social Development Expert (Kenya); Dr. Hadiza Yaro, Anglophone West Africa Sales Manager, SAKATA Vegetables Europe SAS, and Ameena Buhari-Mohammed, Private Banking & Wealth Management Lead at The Alternative Bank.
The Alternative Bank’s observance of the International Day for Rural Women underscores its mission to drive sustainable, inclusive, and ethical finance models that unlock opportunities for women-led enterprises, strengthen local economies, and contribute to Nigeria’s long-term digital and economic resilience.
PalmPay, Nigeria’s leading digital banking platform, has once again demonstrated its leadership in driving the nation’s payment revolution. In a landmark development for Nigeria’s digital economy, PalmPay, in collaboration with Wema Bank, completed the first live transaction on the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System (NIBSS) National Payment Stack (NPS), a next-generation infrastructure designed to redefine how money moves across the country.
The first live transaction, which happened at exactly 11:56 am on Friday, November 7, 2025, marks a new era in Nigeria’s financial innovation journey and reinforces PalmPay’s role as a trusted pioneer in the payment ecosystem.
This achievement rides on the back of the brand’s growing reputation as a fintech innovator, following recent global recognitions as Financial Times Africa’s Fastest-Growing Companies 2025 and CNBC and Statista’s Top 300 Global Fintech Companies for two consecutive years (2024 and 2025) for its impact, scale, and commitment to inclusive growth across emerging markets.
A Milestone that Redefines the Future of Payments
The National Payment Stack (NPS), powered by NIBSS, builds on the success of the NIP infrastructure, introducing greater speed, interoperability and real-time settlement across the financial ecosystem. Designed to meet international standards, NPS enhances cross-border payment capabilities while introducing more advanced security features, including digital signatures and multi-factor authentication to safeguard users and institutions.
Beyond its technical advancements, the National Payment Stack (NPS) sets a new benchmark for Nigeria’s leadership in Africa’s finance landscape. Through the ISO 20022 global messaging standards, Nigeria is now positioned as a regional hub for seamless and secure cross-border transactions.
Commenting on the landmark achievement, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the NIBSS, Premier Oiwoh, said: “We commend PalmPay for this historic achievement as one of the key collaborators in executing the first successful transaction on the National Payment Stack (NPS). This milestone reflects our shared
commitment to advancing a faster, safer and more interoperable payment ecosystem for Nigeria. The NPS represents the next frontier of innovation designed to power inclusion, efficiency and growth across the financial industry. We look forward to more institutions coming on board as we collectively shape the future of payments in Nigeria and across Africa.”
Also speaking, Jaipei Yan, Group Chief Commercial Officer at PalmPay, stated, “This achievement is a win for Nigeria and Nigerians. PalmPay is all about providing smarter banking solutions. Since our launch six years ago, we have focused on bridging the gap between innovation and everyday financial inclusion. It was an absolute delight to work with NIBSS and other stakeholders on this remarkable milestone.”
By pioneering this milestone, PalmPay not only strengthens its credibility but also reinforces its alignment with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s drive toward a digital, connected economy. From ranking among the world’s leading fintech brands to executing Nigeria’s first live transaction on a national payment infrastructure, PalmPay is proving that innovation, when purpose-driven, can transform economies.
Looking ahead, PalmPay aims to accelerate its vision of a connected, digital, and financially inclusive Africa, combining global standards with local relevance to build technology that truly empowers people and businesses.
Senate has requested the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) to provide detailed information on revenue generated from Stamp Duty payments.
Sen. Aliyu Wadada, chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, made this known while briefing newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Wadada said the investigation is aimed at ensuring that the government maximises its revenue from the stamp duty, which according to him is a significant source of income for the country.
He said the committee had written to all commercial banks to furnish it with information, accompanied with figures as to how much that particular bank or collectively all the commercial banks have been able to generate from 2016 to 2024 as Stamp Duty Revenue.
He said, “It is of course, by law, expected that whatever these commercial banks put together as revenue from Stamp Duty, charged by the banks, is or are supposed to be remitted to the CBN.
“So, the committee has written to the CBN to furnish it with information, accompanied with figures as to how much has actually been remitted by these commercial banks with CBN and how much the CBN has remitted to the TSA.
“The second category is of course limited liability companies and oil and gas companies. They also charged Stamp Duty like commercial banks. The committee has also written to them.
“This committee has also written to the FIRS for it to furnish the committee with information that should also be accompanied with figures as to how much FIRS has generated on this category of Stamp Duty.”
Wadada said given the need to make the exercise all-encompassing, the committee had also written the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) to also provide information on how much they have received as proceeds of Stamp Duty.
He said given the effort and commitment of President Tinubu’s administration to providing needed infrastructure, concerted efforts should be made to ensure generation of revenue and its effective utilisation for the good of Nigerians.
Commercial banks have asked customers to link their accounts to their national identification numbers (NINs) or tax identification numbers (tax IDs) ahead of the implementation of the new tax laws.
In separate notices to customers, the banks said the new laws require all bank accounts to be linked to a tax ID before the effective date.
The financial institutions said customers without a tax ID are required to link their accounts to an NIN.
In a notice, Fidelity Bank stated that under the Nigerian Tax Administration Act (NTAA) 2025, all bank accounts must be linked to a tax ID or NIN by January 1, 2026.
“This implies that accounts without Tax ID or National Identity Number may be restricted from transacting as from January 1, 2026,” the bank said.
“To ensure your account remains accessible, please update your NIN on your account as soon as possible.
“Please use any of the options below to submit your NIN today: Click HERE or visit the NIN portal on our website. Dial *770*02# and follow the prompts.”
Similarly, Ecobank urged its customers to link their NINs on or before November 13, 2025, warning that failure to comply would result in restrictions being placed on accounts.
“You can easily link your NIN and update your account details through the Ecobank Customer Information Portal at https://customerupdate.ecobank.com/ciu/login by following these steps: select update your account details, enter your account number,” Ecobank said.
“Choose your preferred OTP delivery method, select request type and choose NIN updates, input your NIN, then re-enter it for VNIN (verification), click submit to complete the process.
“Alternatively, you may contact your relationship manager or visit the nearest Ecobank branch.”
On September 9, 2025, the federal government gazetted Nigeria’s new tax reform laws, with the implementation set to begin on January 1, 2026.
The laws are the Nigeria Tax Act (NTA) 2025, the NTAA 2025, the Nigeria Revenue Service (establishment) Act, 2025 (NRSEA), and the Joint Revenue Board (establishment) Act, 2025 (JRBEA).FCCPC Sets Deadline For Lending Regulatory Compliance
SiBAN Partners Vontech to Strengthen Nigeria’s Blockchain Ecosystem with $100,000 AWS Cloud Support for Startups
PalmPay Executes Nigeria’s First Live Transaction on the National Payment Stack
Firm Urges Organizations to Check Protection of their Websites Amid Search Engine Optimisation Attack Schemes
Senate Seeks Full Disclosure in Probes Stamp Duty Collections
FCCPC Sets Deadline for Digital Lending Regulatory Compliance
ChatGPT Go Hits African Shores
Research ICT Africa Develops AI Framework for Africa
Lagos Deploys Drones to Monitor, Manage Traffic
Deepfakes: The Next Human Vulnerability for Businesses?
Cybersecurity Firm Shares a Guide to Deleting your Digital Footprint from the Internet
Telecom3 days agoNCC Cracks Down on Pre-Registered SIM Cards, Tightens Telecom Regulations
News3 days agoFG Unveils Talent Accelerator to Close Skills Gaps, Drive Economic Development
E-Business3 days agoFG Says Digital Innovation is Nigeria’s Quickest Path to Prosperity
E-Financial3 days agoNDIC Asks Nigerians to Report Suspicious Banks, Breaches
E-Business3 days agoUNODC Seeks Tougher Penalties for Revenge Porn Crimes
News3 days agoTop 10 Finalists Set to Showcase Groundbreaking Student Innovations at COUCH 2025 Grand Finale
E-Financial3 days agoMastercard Launches Premium Lifestyle Suite for Elite Cardholders in EEMEA Region
E-Financial3 days agoProparco, Ecobank Seal €10m Trade Finance Deal for SMEs