Banking
Access Bank Acquires Majority Stake in Mauritius’ Afrasia Bank
By Adedapo Adesanya
Access Holdings Plc has continued its expansion plans with the acquisition of a majority equity stake in Afrasia Bank Limited, the Republic of Mauritius’ fourth-largest bank by total assets.
In a disclosure to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited signed by the company’s secretary, Mr Sunday Ekwochi, on November 14, 2024, the lender announced that its banking subsidiary, The Access Bank UK Limited, has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the Mauritanian entity, which has almost $6 billion in assets.
According to the notice, the transaction represents a transformational step forward for Access UK and the overall Access Holdings’ banking franchise, leveraging the robust financial services sector of Mauritius.
“Mauritius, renowned for its robust financial services sector, which contributes 13.4% to its gross domestic product, provides Access UK with a solid foundation to expand its operations in the high-growth personal and corporate banking segments,” the statement read in part.
The statement also said Access Bank would utilise Mauritius as a strategic hub for trade finance and regional connectivity.
It believes that this will enhance its capacity to facilitate cross-border transactions across Africa and beyond.
Speaking on this move, Mr Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank Plc and the CEO of the Banking Group, stated that the acquisition marks a pivotal moment in the company’s African growth strategy.
“This acquisition marks a pivotal moment in our African growth strategy, reinforcing our position as a leading Pan-African financial institution.”
He described Mauritius as an international financial hub, stating that through Afrasia Bank, the Holdings will drive trade, support businesses, and promote economic inclusion across the region while continuing its mission to become the World’s Most Respected African Bank.
Adding his input, Mr Jamie Simmonds, Managing Director of Access Bank UK, said the deal supports the company’s strategy to diversify and secure future earnings while offering tailored solutions for clients to access global markets with ease.
“With a strong balance sheet and a well-established brand in Mauritius, Afrasia Bank provides us with a sustainable platform to scale and achieve long-term profitability,” he said.
So far, Access Holdings has expanded its footprint in line with visions of its late co-founder, Mr Herbert Wigwe.
This year alone, it has bought an 80 per cent stake in Uganda’s Finance Trust Bank, completed the full acquisition of National Bank of Kenya, and taken over African Banking Corporation of Tanzania, now Access Bank Tanzania.
The company also merged with ARM Pensions Managers to form Access ARM Pensions, one of Nigeria’s largest pension administrators.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Global financial payments giant, Visa, has made a strategic investment of $10 million in Nigerian fintech unicorn, Moniepoint, to expand its services and deepen financial inclusion on the African continent.
This development comes three months after Moniepoint raised $110 million in a Series C funding round that made the company a unicorn.
With the new play, Visa joins other investors, including Development Partners International, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod Capital, Lightrock, QED Investors, Novastar Ventures, British International Investment (BII), FMO (the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank), Global Ventures and Endeavor Catalyst as equity partners.
This partnership will combine Moniepoint’s local expertise and innovative business model with Visa’s global resources and capabilities to offer payment solutions to businesses and entities.
Moniepoint provides banking and payment services to small and medium businesses and retail banking. It is one of the market leaders in Nigeria’s agent banking space, with over 300,000 POS agents and has processed billions of transactions since it was founded in 2015.
The new Visa’s investment will further help Moniepoint expand its services and deepen financial inclusion on a continent that still has a comparatively low rate of financial services adoption.
Moniepoint will leverage Visa’s Cybersource system to gain better visibility into transactions. Additionally, it plans to integrate with Visa Direct for remittances and money transfers as it looks to expand into markets within and outside Africa.
Speaking on the move, Mr Tosin Eniolorunda, Founder and Group CEO of Moniepoint said, “Visa’s backing is a strong endorsement of our vision to digitize and support African businesses at scale.
“We aim to deepen financial inclusion, enabling SMEs to access the tools and resources they need to thrive in an increasingly digital economy.”
On his part, Mr Andrew Torre, Regional President, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at Visa, noted that, “Moniepoint has built an impressive platform that directly addresses the needs of Africa’s SMEs, a critical segment in enabling economic development.
”By making financial services and digital payments more accessible and efficient, Moniepoint is helping transform how businesses operate in Nigeria and beyond.
“We are excited to support their next phase of growth and innovation,” he added.
By Dipo Olowookere
Efforts are being made by the management of a rapidly growing financial technology (fintech) company,
Bankit Microfinance Bank (MFB), to grow its loan and gaming services.
The firm said this is one of its targets for 2025 to solidify its position as a leading platform for comprehensive, simplified banking activities after it recorded remarkable growth in 2024 with different milestones as a result of its competitive edge and cutting-edge technology.
The digital financial services provider said it was already talking to its various partners on how to ensure customers get more access to credit facilities for different needs.
It said nothing would be spared to revolutionise digital banking in Nigeria, especially with a focus on innovation, customer protection, and financial inclusion.
Last year, Bankit MFB, within its first few weeks of operations, successfully registered over 50,000 users on its platform, a testament to its innovative simple banking approach to digital banking.
This year, the small lender has an ambitious plan to increase this by 900 per cent to a record 500,000 businesses in 2025.
Business Post gathered that in 2024, the financial institution recorded impressive transaction values, exceeding N100 million, with an impressive 90 per cent transaction success rate.
Since joining the business, it has introduced web banking and other innovative banking products, with more in development.
With the financial services sector not immune to fraud, Bankit MFB said it prioritises the protection of customers’ funds, expressing its commitment to diversifying its digital services to enhance customer experience.
Bankit MFB is a financial institution licenced to operate in the country by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which is dedicated to providing innovative, customer-centric financial solutions to individuals and others.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, launch a foreign exchange (FX) code designed to boost the integrity of the market.
A statement from the banking sector regulator on Wednesday said the FX code would be unveiled at its headquarters in Abuja next week.
It explained the forex code will serve as a guideline for the ethical conduct of FX dealers in the Nigerian forex landscape.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria has approved the release of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange (FX) Code as a guideline to the banking industry to promote the ethical conduct of Authorised Dealers in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.
“The bank will formally launch the code at the CBN Head Office Auditorium, Abuja, on Tuesday, January 28, 2025,” the statement read.
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