Banking
Buhari Tasks Ecobank to Create Special Fund for Agric
President Muhammadu Buhari has sought the collaboration of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, the parent company of the Ecobank Group, to “institute a special fund to develop agriculture, which will cement its legacy as a bank that helped to transform this region’s economic fortunes.
Mr Buhari spoke when he had audience with the board of Ecobank, led by the Group Chairman, Mr Emmanuel Ikazoboh.
President Buhari stressed that his administration remains committed to the goals of securing the country, inclusive economic growth, and fighting corruption.
According to him, Nigeria was in a unique position as the most populous and resource-rich nation on the African continent, adding that the resources would be harnessed and properly managed, to engender a prosperous and peaceful country.
He said, “If assets and resources available to Nigeria were properly managed, she would be prosperous and peaceful. But the poverty and insecurity we are experiencing today are results of decades of neglect and resource mismanagement”.
Mr Buhari said his government was not only determined to reverse the trend of squander-mania and mismanagement, “we have made progress in some areas such as agriculture”.
The President commended Ecobank for being active in promoting financial inclusion, noting that it is key to the government’s diversification agenda.
On requests by the bank for the decongestion of Apapa ports, and rebuilding of the transnational Lagos-Badagry-Seme road, he said, “We are aware and are working in all those areas, and by the grace of God, you will start seeing results during my second term in office.”
Mr Ikazoboh, who had in his delegation, the Group CEO Ecobank, Mr Ade Ayeyemi and Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Patrick Akinwuntan, called on President Buhari to urgently address Apapa gridlock, describing the port as the centre of trade in the country.
Speaking to State House Correspondents on the challenges they want the President to intervene in, the bank chief said, “Well in our speech, we have told him some of the challenges Nigeria and Africa are facing.
“Like I said earlier on, if Nigeria is sorted out, Africa is sorted out, and some of these challenges are infrastructure, of which they are working on assiduously.
“Also we are talking about the Seme road because of West African trade route which we think should be given some priority. And to thank him also for the steps he is taking to clear the Apapa Port because that is where trade is coming into Nigeria.”
He further said, “The major problem confronting the bank’s today are the debtors. We have a number of debtors both corporate and individuals, and we need to put in place a framework to ensure that people do not just take loan and not pay pack.
“Banks are under pressure because if you have a lot of unpaid loans, it means you don’t have enough money to also support other borrowings or other small and medium enterprises.”
On what the bank was doing to support SMEs in the country, Mr Ikazoboh said, “We’ve improved the capital of Ecobank in Nigeria. In the last six months, we have brought in about $150 million all to drive borrowings and supporting the small and medium enterprises.”
The Ecobank Group Chairman said the purpose of their visit was to “congratulate the President on his re-election and to wish him God’s guidance and spiritual protection to continue to lead this nation because we believe that he has the interest of the country at heart and if Nigeria succeeds, Africa has succeeded and being the leader of Nigeria, he is the leader of Africa. Since we are the Pan-African bank, we needed to come and see the leader of Africa.”
Mr Ikazoboh disclosed that the Ecobank Group “with a larger African footprint than any other bank in the world operating in West, Central, East and Southern Africa, is the only bank that spans 36 African countries, but operates a truly integrated African network.
That is One unified integrated Ecobank Mobile Banking App, that works seamlessly across all 33 operating countries in Africa; One Ecobank Omni and Omnilite serving all Multinationals and SMEs in Africa; One Rapidtransfer app that breaks down country borders and allows the diaspora community send money directly to their loved ones, instantly and affordably across Africa; One Ecobank Online Banking platform that you can access easily whether you are in Abuja or Kinshasha; Ecobank’s unique and largest pan-African platform is designed to help unlock the opportunities of the continent, for the continent, through standardization, fuelling regional integration, and trade and investment across borders”
Further he said due to Ecobank’s sterling performance, it has been severally recognized as Best Digital Bank in Africa – 2017 by Euromoney Awards; Best Retail Bank and Innovation in Banking both in 2018 by the African Banker Awards.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A $250 million financing facility to support the acquisition of about 40 per cent equity in ND Western Limited from Petrolin Trading Limited has been secured by Aradel Energy Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Aradel Holdings Plc.
The funding package was facility for the energy firm by Standard Bank, which comprises Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, and the Standard Bank of South Africa Limited.
The facility, Business Post gathered, was structured to support Aradel Energy’s strategic growth agenda, the refinancing of existing loan facilities, and the funding of increased production from the company’s existing asset base.
Aradel Energy is the operator of the Ogbele and Omerelu onshore marginal fields, as well as OPL 227 in shallow water terrain.
Prior to the transaction, Aradel Energy held a 41.67 per cent equity interest in ND Western, and following the completion of the acquisition, its shareholding in ND Western has increased to 81.67 per cent.
ND Western holds a 45 per cent participating interest in OML 34 and a 50 per cent equity interest in Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, the operator of the Renaissance Joint Venture and a 30 per cent owner of one of Nigeria’s largest and most strategic energy portfolios.
As a result of the transaction, Aradel Energy’s indirect equity interest in Renaissance has increased to 53.3 per cent, significantly strengthening the company’s upstream position and long-term value creation potential.
Standard Bank acted as Global Coordinator and Bookrunner, leading the structuring, execution, and funding of the facility, affirming its deep sectoral expertise and reinforces its position as a leading financier in Africa’s energy industry.
This transaction reinforces Standard Bank Group’s commitment to providing strategic capital to clients as they execute on their transformative growth objectives.
By delivering tailored financing solutions that enable sustainable value creation, the Bank remains a trusted partner to leading corporations across Africa’s evolving energy landscape.
“As Aradel Energy consolidates its position as one of Nigeria’s leading oil and gas companies, Stanbic IBTC Bank is proud to serve as a trusted long-term partner supporting the company’s growth ambitions,” the Executive Director for Corporate and Transaction Banking at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Eric Fajemisin, stated.
Also commenting, the Regional Head of Energy and Infrastructure Finance for West Africa at Standard Bank, Mr Cody Aduloju, said, “The transaction illustrates Standard Bank’s ability to deliver large-scale, tailored funding solutions and further demonstrates our support to the fast-growing indigenous companies of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.”
The chief executive of Aradel Holdings, Mr Adegbite Falade, said, “The acquisition bolsters Aradel Energy’s competitive positioning across Nigeria’s oil and gas value chain and supports our commitment to strategic growth, asset optimisation, and enduring value creation. We are pleased to have partnered with Standard Bank, who supported us and delivered a fully funded solution under very tight timelines.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The operating licences of major financial technology (fintech) platforms like OPay and Moniepoint, have been upgraded to national by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Also upgraded by the banking sector regulator were PalmPay, Kuda Bank, and Paga after compliance with some regulatory requirements, allowing them to operate across Nigeria.
Speaking at annual conference of the Committee of Heads of Banks’ Operations in Lagos recently, the Director of the Other Financial Institutions Supervision Department of the CBN, Mr Yemi Solaja, said the licences were upwardly reviewed after the financial institutions met some requirements, including the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) policy.
“Institutions like Moniepoint MFB, Opay, Kuda Bank, and others have now been upgraded. In practice, their operations are already nationwide,” he said at the event.
The upgrade also reinforces financial inclusion, as fintechs and agent networks continue to play a pivotal role in providing access to banking and payments services, especially in rural and underserved areas.
The central bank executive stressed the importance of physical presence for customer support.
According to him, “Most of their customers operate in the informal sector. They need a clear point of contact if any issues arise,” to strengthen internal controls, and enhance customer service, particularly around KYC and anti-money laundering (AML) processes.
By Adedapo Adesanya
OneDosh, a fintech company focused on stablecoin-powered payments, has raised $3 million in pre-seed funding to develop infrastructure aimed at improving how individuals and businesses move money across borders.
The firm, co-founded in February 2025 by the trio of Mr Jackson Ukuevo, Mr Godwin Okoye, and Mr Babatunde Osinowo, was shaped by the founders’ firsthand experiences navigating blocked cards, frozen accounts, delayed international transfers, and currency restrictions while living and travelling globally. These challenges highlighted a consistent gap between the demand for seamless global payments and the systems available to support them.
Now, OneDosh operates in the United States and Nigeria, two active remittance corridors with strong demand for faster and more flexible payment solutions. Through our platform, users can transfer funds from the U.S. to Nigeria, hold value in stablecoins, and spend using stablecoin-powered cards compatible with Apple Pay and Google Pay, subject to network and regional availability.
Commenting on OneDosh’s mission, Mr Ukuevo said, “Millions of people are locked out of efficient cross-border payments because legacy systems are slow, expensive, and restrictive. OneDosh is building the infrastructure to change that, starting with the U.S.-Nigeria corridor and expanding from there. This funding helps us turn stablecoins into practical payment solutions for real people and businesses.”
“Beyond our current consumer-facing products, we are building payment infrastructure designed to connect wallets, cards, and markets into a single programmable system. Our approach focuses on enabling compliant, real-world use cases for stablecoins, particularly in regions where traditional cross-border payment systems remain costly or inefficient,” he added.
OneDosh’s founding team brings experience from organisations such as ZeroHash, Plaid, and Amazon, with backgrounds spanning payments infrastructure, compliance operations, and large-scale product development.
The pre-seed funding will be used to expand into additional payment corridors, deepen liquidity partnerships, and support senior team hires. These efforts are intended to boost capacity to support cross-border spending and settlement use cases as adoption of digital payment technologies continues to grow.
With the increasing interconnectedness of global commerce, OneDosh aims to contribute infrastructure designed to support faster, more accessible cross-border payments using stablecoins as a settlement layer.
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