Connect with us

Business

Read Why Rwanda, Singapore Are Partnering On FinTech

Published

on

The Forum aims to act as a catalyst for Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC), Rwanda’s financial centre facilitating international investment and cross-border transactions in Africa, and Elevandi a company set up by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to advance FinTech in the digital economy, today announced the launch of the first annual Inclusive FinTech Forum, to be held from 20 to 22 June in Kigali, Rwanda.

Global regulators, policymakers, decision-makers, founders, and investors will gather for three days of discussions on inclusive and sustainable FinTech, primarily focusing on the Global South, stretching from Africa to Latin America and Asia.

The Forum aims to act as a catalyst for financial inclusion and FinTech for Good by promoting technology and policy conversations that will enable FinTech development to become more equitable, accessible, and sustainable to all people of the world. This also includes developing and promoting public goods, infrastructure, and financial literacy.

The Forum will comprise a variety of dialogues and formats to spark debate and ideate solutions for inclusive finance globally.

Main stage sessions will feature keynotes by government and industry leaders as well as discussions with thought leaders.

Industry and Ecosystem stages will focus on topical sessions on Payments, Credit, Financial Services, Risk Products, Capital Market Infrastructure and ESG Products.

Elevandi’s signature programmes;

○ The Elevandi Insights Forum will host deep-dive roundtables with public and private sector organisations to address challenges faced by the financial sector and drive key actionable outcomes;

○ The Founders Peak will feature 10-minute talks from founders, giving participants a valuable opportunity to learn from the experiences of successful founders;

ALSO READ:  Niger Delta Stakeholders Forum replies Olu of Warri, Says NNPCL owes no explanations

○ The Capital Meets Policy Dialogue will bring together policymakers, regulators, and investors to share perspectives on FinTech regulation and investment capital allocation.

● A curated space for exhibitors, industry workshops, mentorship sessions, and a talent pavilion.

Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of MAS and Chairman of Elevandi Board, said, “The Forum comes at an imperative time when FinTech is in the optimal position to contribute to global causes, given its place at a critical junction of finance and technology; however, its promise is still a work in progress for making finance accessible to all people of the world. The Forum will accelerate inclusion and impact conversations to make FinTech more accessible. It will serve as building blocks for future dialogues such as the Point Zero Forum, which will be held the week after this Forum.”

Tidjane Thiam, Board Chairman, Rwanda Finance Limited, the agency mandated to promote the Kigali International Financial Centre, said, “We are pleased to host the first annual global Inclusive FinTech Forum here in Rwanda bringing together important decision-makers in the FinTech Industry in Africa and globally. FinTech, at the crossroads of Financial Services and Technology, has a unique ability to transform lives, particularly in emerging and developing countries. It can empower the most vulnerable in society by giving them access to financing and allowing them to achieve financial independence. It can also contribute to the growth and expansion of successful African SMEs to provide much-needed goods and services to consumers in Africa and beyond. This event is a unique opportunity to enrich the African FinTech landscape and position KIFC as the new fast-growing hub for FinTech.”

ALSO READ:  Budget Padding: Group Cautions Against Eroding Public Confidence On NASS

Source: APO Group / Elevandi

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business

World Bank to approve $2.2bn loan for Nigeria in 2025

Published

on

The federal government is expected to receive new loans from the World Bank, totalling $2.2 billion in 2025.

According to the Washington-based financial institution’s project list, the $2.2 billion will cut across six different projects.

World Bank earmarked $500 million for the ‘Community Action (for) Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme,’ which will be approved by March 17.

On March 31, the World Bank plans to approve $552 million for the ‘HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All’ and $800 million for ‘Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0’.

Also, the World Bank said it will approve $300 million for the ‘Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project’ on July 15 and another $300 million for the ‘Health Security Program’ on August 19.

TheCable also observed another project, ‘Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth (BRIDGE)’ will receive $500 million after approval on September 15.

World Bank said the BRIDGE initiative and the Health Security Programme are in the concept review stage, implying that they are still in the early stages of assessment and planning.

Also, the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 and the HOPE for Quality Basic Education projects have progressed to the negotiation stage.

The multilateral lender gave Nigeria $1.5 billion in 2024 for a number of significant development initiatives meant to strengthen the country’s ability to mobilise resources and maintain economic stability.

On November 19, 2024, TheCable reported that Nigeria’s loan exposure from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) rose to $17.1 billion as of September 30, 2024.

ALSO READ:  Niger Delta Stakeholders Forum replies Olu of Warri, Says NNPCL owes no explanations

According to the IDA’s financial statement for September 2024, Nigeria maintained the third spot in the latest top 10 borrowers’ list.

As of December 31, 2024, Nigeria’s exposure dropped to $16.8 billion, but it still retained its position as the third-largest debtor to the World Bank’s IDA.

Continue Reading

Business

Nigeria’s GDP improves by 3.84% in Q4 2024 – NBS

Published

on

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), says Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate in real terms grew by 3.84 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024 on a year-on-year basis.

The Statistician-General(S-G) of the Federation, Adeyemi Adeniran disclosed this in a statement on Nigeria’s GDP Report for Q4 2024 released in Abuja on Tuesday.

Adeniran said the growth rate was 0.38 per cent points higher than the 3.46 per cent recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.

“Similarly, it was higher by 0.38 per cent basic points relative to a similar growth rate of 3.46 per cent recorded in the third quarter of 2024.

“This reflected a higher economic improvement when compared to Q3 2024.”

The S-G said the performance of the GDP in Q4 2024 was still driven mainly by the services sector, which recorded a growth of 5.37 per cent and contributed 57.38 per cent to the aggregate GDP.

Adeniran said on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the real GDP grew by 10.99 per cent in Q4 2024, which indicated a higher production level than in Q3 2024.

He said the estimated economic activity in real terms for Q4 2024 stood at N22,610,393.45 million.

Adeniran said this was higher than the rates recorded in Q3 2024 and Q4 2023 which stood at N20,115,766.93 million and N21,773,263.25 million, respectively.

He said this also highlighted the improvement in the economy in Q4 2024 compared to Q3 2024 and Q4 2023.

The S-G said overall, the year 2024 ended with an overall annual GDP growth rate of 3.40 per cent relative to 2.47 per cent recorded in 2023.

ALSO READ:  Biafra: BRGIE launches Biafracoin website for digital savings, wealth creation

“Thus, there was a decline in the performance of the Agriculture and Industry sector in 2024 relative to 2023, while the performance of the Services sector improved in 2024,” he said.

Adeniran said in nominal terms, which refers to the current price, aggregate GDP stood at N78,374,120.95 million in Q4 2024, which indicated a year-on-year nominal growth rate of 18.91 per cent.

He said this was higher than the N65,908,258.59 million recorded in Q4 2023 and the N71,131,091.07 million in Q3 2024.

Adeniran said the major contributing economic activities in real terms in Q4 2024 were Crop Production at 23.42 per cent, Trade at 15.11 per cent, and Telecommunication at 14.40 per cent.

Real Estate at 5.88 per cent, Financial Institutions at 5.76 per cent, and Crude Petroleum at 4.60 per cent.

On a broad classification of the economic activities into Agriculture, Industry, and Services sectors based on growth, he said the Agricultural Sector grew by 1.76 per cent and the Industry grew by 2.00 per cent.

The S-G said this showed a decline compared to the rate recorded in Q4 2023 at 2.10 per cent for the Agricultural sector and 3.86 per cent for the industry sector.

On the other hand, he said the Services sector recorded a 5.37 per cent increase in growth rate compared to the 3.98 per cent recorded in Q4 2023.

Giving a breakdown of sectoral contributions to the GDP in Q4 2024, Adeniran said Agriculture contributed 25.59 per cent, Industry 17.03 per cent, and Services 57.38 per cent.

He said the Agriculture and Industry sector’s contribution was less than their contributions in Q4 of 2023 by 0.53 per cent and 0.31 basis points.

ALSO READ:  Weekly report: NGX records equity turnover worth N36.5bn in 42,546 deals

Adeniran said the Services sector had the highest contribution to the GDP in Q4 2024, surpassing their contribution in Q4 2023 by 0.83 per cent basis points.

He said the annual contributions of the economic sector showed that Agriculture contributed 24.64 per cent in 2024, which was lower compared to its contributions of 25.18 per cent recorded in 2023.

Similarly, the Industry sector’s annual contribution was 18.47 per cent in Q4 2024, which was also lower than the 18.65 per cent recorded in 2023.

However, he said the services sector contributions for 2024 were 56.89 per cent which exceeded the 56.18 per cent recorded in 2023.

The S-G said the Oil sector witnessed a growth rate of 1.48 per cent in Q4 2024.

He said this indicated a decline compared to the 12.11 per cent recorded in Q4 2023, and the 5.17 per cent in Q3 2024.

Adeniran said the Oil sector accounted for 4.60 per cent of the GDP in Q4 2024.

He said the annual oil GDP for 2024 grew by 5.54 per cent, which was 7.75 per cent higher than the annual GDP recorded for 2023 at -2.22 per cent.

Adeniran said the annual contribution of oil stood at 5.51 per cent in 2024 which was higher than its contribution in Q4 2023 at 5.40 per cent.

He said Q4 2024 recorded an average daily oil production of 1.54 million barrels per day (mbpd), which was lower than the daily average production of 1.56 mbpd recorded in Q4 2023 by 0.03 mbpd.

ALSO READ:  Oye Hails Eze on Inauguration As Pioneer President of Salt City Chamber of Commerce

“On the contrary, the production volume for Q4 2024 was higher than Q3 2024 which recorded 1.47 mbpd by 0.06 mbpd.”

He said the non-oil sector contributed 95.40 per cent to the GDP in Q4 2024 in real terms.

“This shows an increase on a year-on-year basis when compared to Q4 2023 which recorded a contribution of 95.30 per cent.

“Similarly, the non-oil sector’s contribution in Q4 2024 exceeds the 94.43 per cent recorded in Q3 2024.”

Adeniran said the economic performance of the non-oil sector in Q4 2024 was attributed to the growth recorded in some economic activities, including Rail Transport & Pipelines, Metal Ores, Financial Institutions, Road Transport, Quarrying & Other Minerals, and Insurance.

He said on an annual basis, the non-oil grew by 3.27 per cent in 2024, which was higher than the 3.04 per cent recorded in 2023.

“While in terms of aggregate contributions, the non-oil sector contributed 94.49 per cent in 2024, which was lower than the 94.60 per cent recorded in 2023,” he said. (NAN)

Continue Reading

Business

Equity Market drops N231bn amid Sell-offs

Published

on

The equity market began the week in the red on Monday, losing N231 billion due to profit-taking by investors.

Sell-offs in Tier-one banking stocks like Access Corporation, Zenith Bank, FBN Holdings, and Fidelity Bank, as well as Oando Plc and Berger Paints, caused the decline.

The Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) market capitalisation fell by N231 billion, or 0.34 per cent, from N67.614 trillion at the open to N67.383 trillion at the close.

The All-Share Index dropped 0.34 per cent, or 370.43 points, ending at 108,126.97, down from 108,497.40 on Friday.

In spite of the decline, the Year-To-Date (YTD) return increased by 5.05 per cent.

Market breadth was negative, with 37 losers and 17 gainers.

Northern Nigeria Flour Mills (NNFM) led the losers, falling 9.99 per cent to close at N72.55 per share. Ikeja Hotel led gainers, rising 10 per cent to N12.10.

In spite of the downturn, trading activity remained strong, with a 10.16 per cent increase in value.

A total of 357.76 million shares worth N9.21 billion were traded across 15,914 transactions.

Jaiz Bank led in volume with 48.19 million shares, while Zenith Bank recorded the highest trade value, at N1.37 billion. (NAN)

ALSO READ:  Niger Delta Stakeholders Forum replies Olu of Warri, Says NNPCL owes no explanations
Continue Reading