World
Olubiyi, Others to Join Private Sector Investment Lab
By Adedapo Adesanya
The World Bank has announced the selection of 15 Chief Executive Officers and Chairs who will make up the Private Sector Investment Lab.
The founding members comprise a core group charged with developing solutions to address the barriers to private sector investment in emerging markets.
In a statement seen by Business Post, the lender said, “The quality of their individual – and combined – expertise, leadership, and success in business and finance underscores the growing momentum, and level of commitment, for public and private collaboration to address global challenges and urgently scale development solutions.”
The World Bank said it will be drawing on the experience of the 15 CEOs and Chairs that comprise the Lab’s core membership – including leaders from AXA, BlackRock, HSBC, Macquarie, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Ninety One, Ping An Group, Royal Philips, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered, Sustainable Energy for All, Tata Sons, Temasek, and Three Cairns Group.
The Lab will build on the World Bank’s current work to address existing barriers and develop solutions which support private sector investment in emerging markets.
Announced in June, the Lab will identify and focus on specific approaches that can be implemented and scaled by the World Bank to mobilize capital more effectively, with the ultimate goal of crowding in greater levels of private finance.
This includes ideas for improved financing structures, ways to better align the World Bank with the needs and speed of private finance, approaches to balancing and allocating risks across investors and reimagining new partnerships.
The Lab will begin work in the coming weeks, initially focusing on scaling transition finance in renewable energy and energy infrastructure.
Co-Chaired by Mr Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance and Co-Chair of GFANZ, and Mr Shriti Vadera, Chair of Prudential plc, the Lab will meet regularly and report directly to the World Bank Group President, Mr Ajay Banga and World Bank Group leadership.
Speaking on this, Mr Ajay Banga, World Bank President: “The World Bank is on a mission to create a world free of poverty – but on a livable planet. Achieving this vision demands that we build a better bank but also reimagine partnerships and pull in the private sector to confront – and beat – intertwined development challenges like poverty, climate, and fragility.
“The business leaders who are lending their time, talents, and expertise to this work are a crucial piece of the puzzle, and I am beyond grateful to have them onboard.
“Results won’t come overnight, but if successful, this group has the potential to unlock significant investment that will deliver jobs and better quality of life for people living throughout the Global South – the surest way to drive a nail into the coffin of poverty.”
Mr Shriti Vadera, Chair of Prudential plc: “I look forward to working with Ajay Banga and his leadership team, and Mark Carney and our fellow Lab members on the critical priority of how the World Bank can leverage and crowd in greater levels of private finance that will not otherwise be available for global public goods like climate transition, growth and poverty reduction. Every action and every penny from every actor counts, and we should prioritise the solutions and actions that are scalable, speedy, and replicable. Our focus will be on delivery and implementation to try and have a real impact on the ground.”
On his part, Mr Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance and Co-Chair of GFANZ: “In order to address global challenges like climate change and poverty, we need new ways for the public and private sectors to work together to catalyze investment at speed and scale – particularly in developing countries.
“Through the Private Sector Investment Lab, the World Bank and private finance will partner closely to develop, test, implement and ultimately scale financing structures and approaches that can most effectively mobilize private capital. I look forward to working with Ajay, Shriti, and the Lab’s members to deliver on this critical mission with urgency.”
Founding Members
Thomas Buberl, CEO, AXA: “Enabling an effective and fair transition is one of our generation’s greatest challenges. AXA is already active in financing transition projects in emerging countries and we are delighted to join the Private sector Investment Lab to work with other players as well as the World Bank to better catalyze private capital for transition finance in these markets.”
Larry Fink, CEO, BlackRock: “I have spoken for some time now about how reimagining the role of the multilateral development institutions could support an acceleration of investment into emerging markets. I applaud Ajay and his team at the World Bank for their initiative and leadership on this front today, and I am honoured to be asked to lend my support to this work through my participation in the Private Sector Investment Lab.”
Noel Quinn, Group CEO, HSBC Holdings Plc: “A number of financial institutions like HSBC are already developing innovative financing models in the sectors and regions that are critical and challenging to transform in order to reach net zero in time. We need to both scale up these models and develop new ones to accelerate progress. The Private Sector Investment Lab provides an important focal point for collaboration and the sharing of knowledge between financial institutions on this important topic.”
Shemara Wikramanayake, CEO, Macquarie: “Harnessing the large global pools of private sector capital is key to driving better outcomes for emerging markets. The World Bank and other MDBs have a critical role to play in catalysing this capital, including through structures to allocate and manage early-stage risks. Macquarie is delighted to work with this group to support the Private Sector Investment Lab to implement and scale these solutions, starting with a focus on transition finance.”
Hironori Kamezawa, the CEO of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group: “As an Asia-headquartered financial institution with an extensive footprint in emerging economies, MUFG is excited to be part of the Private Sector Investment Lab. The collaboration between public and private finance is critical in mobilizing transition finance, especially in emerging markets. This initiative provides an excellent platform to work in collaboration to address the investment gap for the global common good.”
Hendrik du Toit, CEO, Ninety One: “We welcome this initiative and are grateful to be participating because it is vital for public and private finance jointly to address these challenges.”
Jessica Tan, Co-CEO, Ping An Group: “We are delighted and honoured to join the World Bank Private Sector Investment Lab. At Ping An, in our 35 years, we have a long history of direct investment and commitment to supporting rural revitalization and development as well as education welfare, our Community Support Program in China. We continue to support green finance, financial inclusion and help communities manage climate-related sustainability issues. We believe the private sector can make a tangible difference helping progress towards climate goals, manage the risks of climate change and tackle poverty.”
Feike Sijbesma, Chairman, Royal Philips and Co-Chair, Global Climate Adaptation Centers: “Business cannot be successful in a world that fails. We have a responsibility to contribute to the development work of the World Bank.”
Sim Tshabalala, the CEO of Standard Bank: “Attracting a lot more private investment to emerging markets would significantly accelerate inclusive human development and the just transition towards a low-carbon economy. The Private Sector Investment Lab is asking precisely the right questions about how the private sector and development finance institutions should work together. I am honoured to join this discussion on behalf of Standard Bank.”
Bill Winters, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered: “Standard Chartered has extensive experience in collaborating with the World Bank to finance sustainable projects in emerging markets across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. As the need to mobilise private capital to close the climate investment gap reaches a critical juncture, we’re committed to providing our longstanding market expertise to the Private Sector Investment Lab to encourage innovation and act as a catalyst for credible progress in private and blended finance.”
Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO, Sustainable Energy for All: “The multiple ongoing global crises affect developing countries around the world disproportionally. Despite already having the solutions to scale up renewable energy-based solutions to deliver development and climate progress, finance needs to be unlocked at scale in developing countries and underserved sectors. This Lab offers us the opportunity to work together to design the solutions that will speed up an inclusive global energy transition.”
N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons: “Needless to say, financing for climate change remains the most important challenge that needs to be addressed. Given the long-term nature of these investments and the risks involved, setting up of the Private Sector Investment Lab to find innovative ways to attract private capital to partner with public investment is an important global initiative. I am pleased to be included in the initiative and looking forward to contributing and developing solutions.”
Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, Executive Director and CEO, Temasek: “Many emerging economies, especially in Asia, find it challenging to adopt sustainable solutions because of fiscal constraints, limited access to private capital, and marginal bankability for many of their transition projects. Transition financing is key to bridging these gaps, and initiatives like the Private Sector Investment Lab are a crucial step in mobilising capital to accelerate the development and scaling of viable pathways towards net zero. I look forward to working closely with my fellow founding members of the Lab, bringing together public and private sector collaboration to ensure that our impact is amplified.”
Mark Gallogly, Co-Founder and Managing Principal, Three Cairns Group: “A dramatic increase in climate finance is needed, especially in emerging economies. Three Cairns has focused on this need through initiatives like Allied Climate Partners. We are honoured to join The Private Sector Investment Lab and work with the World Bank and leading institutions to help generate, test, and scale solutions that can become commensurate to this crisis.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria regained its position as Africa’s leading destination for equity startup investment in the first half of 2026, raising $214 million in equity financing and a total of $254 million across equity and debt, according to the latest Africa: The Big Deal report.
The report, titled H1 2026: Mapping the Money, showed that Nigeria ranked second on the continent in total funding, behind Egypt, which attracted $327 million, while Kenya and South Africa followed with $126 million and $83 million, respectively.
However, the report noted that Egypt’s top position was largely driven by a single fundraising by electric mobility company Spiro, which secured $327 million, including $270 million in equity and $57 million in debt. Excluding debt financing, Nigeria emerged as Africa’s largest equity funding market in the first six months of the year.
According to the breakdown by Africa: The Big Deal, Nigeria’s equity funding of $214 million was higher than Egypt’s $183 million, while South Africa and Kenya attracted $66 million and $46 million, respectively.
Beyond funding value, Nigeria also led the continent in the number of startups that raised at least $100,000 during the review period, reclaiming the top spot after what the report described as an “underwhelming” second half of 2025.
The publication observed that Nigeria’s fundraising performance has remained relatively stable over the past few years and exceeded the $250 million mark for the first time since 2022, pointing to renewed investor confidence in the country’s startup ecosystem.
It also found that while the Big Four startup markets—Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa—continued to dominate Africa’s investment landscape, their combined share of total funding stood at 58 per cent in the first half of 2026.
“Zooming back on the Big Four (110 out of 190 $100k+ deals, i.e. 58%), Nigeria is head and shoulders above its peers, with Egypt and Kenya almost tying, and South Africa in fourth position again,” the report noted.
The report highlighted contrasting performances among the continent’s largest startup ecosystems. While Nigeria and Egypt maintained strong funding momentum, Kenya recorded its weakest funding performance since early 2021 after a strong second half of 2025, and South Africa failed to attract $100 million in funding during the period despite leading the continent a year earlier.
Africa: The Big Deal also noted a broader shift in investor behaviour, with funding increasingly concentrated in larger transactions while early-stage investments continued to decline. According to the publication, the drop in smaller funding rounds reflects growing concerns about limited capital available for early-stage startups across Africa.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Accessing the US Dollar in the East Africa region has now been made easier with the expansion of the stablecoin settlement infrastructure of SCRYPT.
This development enables banks, payment providers and corporate treasury teams to move value into and out of the continent in real time.
Businesses paying international suppliers frequently have to convert local currency into USD before purchasing stablecoins for settlement, incurring FX conversions and spreads before any payment is made.
But SCRYPT is eliminating this intermediate conversion by enabling direct settlement corridors for local African currencies into stablecoins.
This development allows businesses to move from local currency to stablecoin settlement in a single licensed transaction, without first sourcing rationed bank dollars, as stablecoins are increasingly becoming settlement infrastructure rather than an investment product.
The expansion adds settlement support across four African currencies: the Kenyan shilling (KES), Tanzanian shilling (TZS), Rwandan franc (RWF) and Ugandan shilling (UGX). Each corridor is delivered through the same full-stack infrastructure our clients already use for trading, custody and treasury operations.
Speaking on this, the chief executive of SCRYPT, Norman Wooding, said, “Across Africa, stablecoin adoption is driven by economic need, not speculation.
“Businesses here are not chasing yield; they are trying to pay suppliers and manage treasury without losing margin to a banking system that rations dollars. Licensed, fair-rate dollar access is the clearest proof of what this infrastructure is for.”
Also commenting, the Managing Director of Markets & Trading at SCRYPT, Mr Gabriel Titopoulos, said, “Until now, reaching stablecoins from local African currencies meant buying scarce dollars and incurring several layers of conversion costs.
“SCRYPT removes this friction. Firms and payment providers can now settle straight from local currencies through live corridors, with local partners.”
World
African Graduates Association Promoting Multifaceted Initiatives With Russian Educational Institutions
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
In preparations for the third Russia-Africa Summit, scheduled for late October 2026, Dr Francois Ngan, deputy chairman of the Union of Associations of African Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities, during an official working visit, has held a consultative meeting with Professor Vladimir Filippov, the President of the Russian University of Peoples’ Friendship (RUDN), and former Minister of Higher Education of Russia, Chairman of the National Commission for Accreditation of Higher Education.
RUDN is an educational institution established in 1960, primarily to provide higher education to Third World students. It has now become a popular multidisciplinary spot for many students, especially from developing countries. The university offers various academic programmes and has research infrastructure that comprises laboratories and interdisciplinary centres. The university is named after the former Congolese leader, Patrice Lumumba.
Dr Francois Ngan and Professor Filippov discussed the importance of the Graduates Association as a continental platform dedicated to strengthening unity, cooperation, and promoting shared progress among African graduates who studied in the former Soviet Union and in the Russian Federation. They also reviewed multifaceted initiatives that could bring together alumni associations from across Africa, whose members obtained education and professional training, and cultural experiences in Soviet and Russian institutions of higher learning.
Professor Filippov expressed optimism in addressing emerging challenges as a result of shifting geopolitical changes, emphasised strategic cooperation in the educational sphere with Africa, in general, and with the Republic of Cameroon, in particular, and further about the integration of African students during their studies in the Russian Federation.
The meeting also touched on academic and scientific work, the possibility of rewriting a scientific thesis, and the official organisation of transferring versions translated into six languages for the library of RUDN. Significant questions relating to Russia’s educational opportunities, collaborations and partnerships involving African countries were thoroughly discussed.
The Union of Associations of African Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities was created under one continental umbrella to promote friendship, for professional networking, to engage in cultural exchange, and with particular emphasis on forging strategic cooperation between Africa and Russia.
