Economy
Only 28% of 80% Africans with Mobile Phones Have Bank Account
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Efforts are being made by different bodies to deepen financial inclusion in Africa and bring the continent at par with other more civilised in the world.
Although over 80 percent of Africans have mobile phones, only around one quarter (28 percent) of them have bank account.
But mobile banking and e-wallets are helping to break the banking logjam, offering a range of alternative payment methods as well as lending and savings services. This has boosted the overall financial inclusion rate to 34 percent, and it is growing each day.
According to Ecobank, the leading independent pan-African banking group, Fintech is boosting financial inclusion across Africa.
The lender is a pioneer in Africa’s digital transformation and the main sponsor of the 2018 Africa Tech summit taking place today.
It is important to note that there are many barriers to wider use of new technology where a step change is needed in attitudes and approaches towards innovation.
Ecobank’s work with e-commerce, small business, and consumers – through their mobile banking app and other e-products – is helping organisations and individuals to overcome these barriers and stimulate wider usage.
Head of the UK representative office of Ecobank and Group Research, Dr Edward George, will give a keynote address at the opening of the summit where he will look at the acceleration of disruptive technology in Africa – technological innovations that are causing a step change in the way we do business and transact – and describe some of the latest banking & tech innovations that are helping individuals and businesses to meet the challenges like using mobile and customer data to create individualised credit scores, unlocking the potential for mobile lending and micro-insurance.
Others are a key obstacle for access to new services is poor Internet access, and the high cost of downloading data: BluPoint & BRCK (Moja) are two companies looking to provide free (or near free) access to the Internet for ordinary Africans; some innovators have focused on clearing a single blockage in the system, such as TagPay (using encrypted sound to make mobile payments over any mobile phone) and ZirooPay (using encrypted SSDN to make credit card payments over the mobile network when the Internet is down).
“Nearly all the growth in financial inclusion since 2011 has been due to mobile banking services,” said Dr George. “With around 100 million users of e-wallets, Africans account for around half (57.6%) of all mobile wallets in the world.”
“However, people are often stuck in their ways – whether a market trader or top executive – and the challenge is to change the mind set and open them up to the opportunities of digital.
“Disruptive technology is about recognising these challenges and seeing technology as an enabler, not a panacea, and by adapting innovations to the reality on the ground. That is what we are doing at Ecobank to help businesses and individuals take the digital leapfrog,” Dr George added.
The Africa Tech summit takes place on 14 and 15 February in Kigali, Rwanda. It will explore the latest trends in digital technology with some 250 key African and international tech leaders from across the continent.
Other speakers will include Alice Kilonzo Zulu, Managing Director of Ecobank Rwanda, who will talk about Ecobank e-commerce and how cashless innovations are spurring SME growth, and Nshuti Mbabazi, Vice President, Push Payments at Ecobank, who will look at how Ecobank’s digital strategy is helping deliver the cashless society in Africa.
**Revokes Trading Licences of LMB, Platinum Stockbrokers
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A stockbroking company, Premium Capital and Stockbrokers Limited, has been fined N5 million for engaging in “unauthorised sale of its clients’ securities.”
A circular issued by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Regulation Limited disclosed that the trading licence of the organisation has also been revoked.
In the notice signed by the Head of Market Regulation for NGX RegCo, Chinedu Akamaka, Premium Capital violated Rule 11.9 of the Rulebook of The Exchange, 2015 (Dealing Members’ Rules), which focuses on the Prohibition of Unauthorised Sale of Securities.
Business Post reports that Premium Capital was not the only stockbroker that had its trading licence withdrawn, as it also affected others.
The licence of LMB Stockbrokers Limited was revoked by NGX RegCo for prolonged inactivity, which falls contrary to Rule 6.4: Revocation of Inactive Dealing Members’ Licences, Rulebook of The Exchange, 2015 (Dealing Members’ Rules), as amended.
The same also affected Platinum Stockbrokers Limited, which has not witnessed activity on the floor of the NGX Limited for a while.
Similarly, the authorised dealing clerkship of Mr Bernard Oluwole Ilori, was taken back with immediate effect in alignment with an earlier determination by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC), which arose from his involvement in regulatory infractions connected to Mutual Alliance Investment and Securities Limited and resulted in his 10-year ban from the Nigerian capital market since March 25, 2021.
Investors have been “strongly advised not to engage in any activity with the firms” whose trading licenses have been revoked.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The securities of DN Tyre and Rubber Plc, and Greif Nigeria Plc have been delisted by the regulatory arm of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc, NGX Regulation Limited.
A statement signed by the Head of the Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, said the delisting became effective on Thursday, April 9, 2026.
In the notice issued yesterday, it was further disclosed that the action complied with the provisions of Clause 14 of the Amended Form of General Undertaking, for Listing on Nigerian Exchange Limited General Undertaking.
According to this clause, “The exchange reserves the right to, at its sole and absolute discretion, suspend trading in any listed securities of the Issuer, delist such securities, or remove the name of the issuer (listed company) from the daily official list of the exchange with or without prior notice to the issuer, upon failure of the issuer to comply with any one or more of the provisions of this General Undertaking, or when in its sole discretion, the exchange determines that such suspension of trading or delisting is in the public interest, or otherwise warranted.”
It was explained that the shares of the two firms were delisted because they fell below the listing standards.
“The securities of DN Tyre and Rubber Plc and Greif Nigeria have been delisted from the facilities of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) effective Thursday, April 9, 2026, on the grounds that the companies are operating below the listing standards of NGX and their securities are no longer considered suitable for continued listing and trading in the market,” the disclosure noted.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange declined by 0.95 per cent on Thursday, April 9, plunging the Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 37.41 points to 3,893.50 points from 3,930.91 points.
In the same vein, the market capitalisation lost N22.38 billion during the session to N2.329 trillion from the N2.351 trillion it ended at midweek.
The OTC securities exchange was under selling pressure yesterday, resulting in a negative market breadth index after three securities lost weight and one gained weight.
Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc led the losers’ table after it shed N3.74 to sell at N64.21 per unit versus N67.95 per unit. Food Concepts Plc went down by 19 Kobo to N2.68 per share from N2.87 per share, and Free Range Farms Plc dropped 10 Kobo to settle at 90 Kobo per unit versus N1.00 per unit.
On the flip side, MRS Oil gained N5 to close at N165.00 per share compared with the preceding day’s N160.00 per share.
At the trading session, there was a 23.5 per cent jump in the value of securities to N40.4 million from N32.7 million, but the volume of securities fell by 81.9 per cent to 1.04 million units from 5.7 million units, and the number of deals went down by 29.7 per cent to 26 deals from the preceding session’s 37 deals.
At the close of transactions, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 57.5 million units exchanged for N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.
Also, GNI Plc ended the trading day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units worth N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion.
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