Banking
Eveline Tall Daouda Quits Ecobank as Deputy CEO
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The exit of Ms Eveline Tall Daouda from Ecobank as the Deputy Chief Executive Officer has been announced.
Ms Daouda is proceeding on an early retirement on Tuesday, January 31, 2017 after spending about two decades at the institution.
A statement issued by Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the parent company of Ecobank Group, disclosed that the “stellar professional” banker was leaving the company after two decades.
In the statement signed by the company’s chief spokesman, Mr Richard Uku, Ms Daouda was described by the Group CEO, Mr Ade Ayeyemi, as a “stellar professional who has built a reputation as an outstanding banker and influential leader.”
Mr Adeyemi pointed out that throughout Ms Daouda’s career, she has been “nothing short of the quintessential banker, one whose savvy and experience has helped grow our institution to the pan-African banking leader we are today.”
The bank boss said the retiring banker has “developed, coached and mentored many staff, some of whom now occupy senior leadership positions across the Ecobank Group.”
“She has contributed in no small measure to the development of human capital, actualising a key purpose of Ecobank, which is to build pan-African professionals who are true models to emulate,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.
During her banking career, Ms Daouda received wide recognition as an eminent African professional.
In 2013, Jeune Afrique magazine recognised her as one of the 25 most influential women in business in Africa. In 2014 and 2015, Forbes Africa nominated her as one of the top 100 most influential women in Africa.
The following year, Jeune Afrique again acknowledged her as one of the 50 most influential women on the continent and in 2016, the magazine again identified her as one of the top 50 most influential women on the continent.
As a graduate of English with a diploma in Business Management and Administration, Ms Daouda began her banking career with Citibank, working with that organisation for 17 years before joining Ecobank in 1998.
Since then, she has played a pivotal leadership role in Ecobank’s evolution. She successfully opened Ecobank Mali as deputy managing director in 1998 and in 2000 became its managing director, making her the first female managing director of a banking affiliate in the Ecobank Group.
She then went on to overhaul operations in Ecobank Senegal, which she managed for five years, later becoming regional director for the UEMOA zone and successfully consolidating the bank’s position across the region.
It is to her credit that Ecobank’s West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) zone affiliates remain on a consolidated base and a number one position throughout the region till today.
As Chief Operating Officer (COO), Ms Daouda managed the expansion of the Ecobank Group from
2010 to 2016.
In 2011, she was also appointed deputy group CEO. Her management of the company’s expansion involved, in part, consolidating acquisitions in some target countries like Zimbabwe and Mozambique and ensuring their successful integration into the Ecobank Group.
She also obtained banking licences and successful openings for Ecobank Equatorial Guinea and Ecobank South Sudan, as well as a representational office in Ethiopia.
By the end of her stewardship as COO in early 2016, the total balance sheet for the 33 Ecobank banking affiliates in Africa that Ms Daouda supervised stood at over $20 billion.
As COO, she successfully managed crises for affiliates during politically turbulent periods in Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic.
Her leadership ensured business continuity, maximum protection for Ecobank employees and minimal impact for the bank during these crises.
Ms Daouda, in her last role in the Ecobank Group as deputy CEO and chief regulatory officer, established the function responsible for protecting the Ecobank Group’s franchise and a high level regulatory relationship management.
She brought her vast experience in banking and governance to bear on several Ecobank affiliate boards. She represented ETI as the major shareholder on the boards of the eight countries of UEMOA and Cape Verde from 2005 to 2010 and on the boards of Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Ghana, Cameroun and Zimbabwe from 2010 to 2016.
In an internal communication to staff, Mr Ade Ayeyemi said, “After a successful career, Eveline is leaving the Ecobank Group to pursue, among other things, her lifetime passion of developing, inspiring and empowering African women. She will apply her vast experience to deepen the advocacy for women entrepreneurs.”
“We owe Eveline an immense debt of gratitude for everything she has given to Ecobank over the years. She has valiantly served this organisation and her continent, and she will always stand out among the amazing professionals who have come through the doors of our institution,” Mr Ayeyemi further said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
First Holdco Plc has commenced a public offer to raise about N1.4 trillion (approximately $1 billion) after securing approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The offer, which opened on Monday, involves the sale of 10.4 billion ordinary shares, according to the chief executive of its banking subsidiary, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Mr Olusegun Alebiosu.
The capital raise follows the company’s earlier plan to transfer about a quarter of its shares to RC Investment Management Ltd., which served as a bridge holder after Barbican Capital Limited exited its investment in the lender amid a prolonged ownership and leadership dispute.
First Holdco had previously indicated that the shares would eventually be offered to the investing public once the necessary regulatory approvals were obtained.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, Mr Alebiosu said proceeds from the offer would strengthen the capital base of First Bank and support the holding company’s expansion strategy.
According to him, the group intends to diversify beyond banking by establishing an insurance underwriting business and a fintech services company.
“The sale is starting today — the reality here is that I am not sure it will stay more than one week based on the pressure we are getting,” Mr Alebiosu said, expressing confidence in strong investor demand.
Investors appeared to respond positively to the announcement, with First HoldCo’s shares climbing as much as 5.9 per cent to a record high during trading on Monday before easing to a 3.1 per cent gain at N133.60 by early afternoon in Lagos.
The lender has been one of the best-performing banking stocks on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited over the past year, with its share price rising more than fourfold since July 2025, when Barbican Capital’s stake was transferred to RC Investment Management.
The fresh capital injection comes as its largest shareholder, Mr Femi Otedola, continues to strengthen his stake in Nigeria’s oldest bank. With the billionaire holding around a 26 per cent stake in the company, analysts say he has his eyes set on full control once his equity crosses the 30 per cent mark.
By Adedapo Adesanya
One of Nigeria’s top digital banks, PalmPay, has appointed a former executive of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), Mr Samuel Oluyemi, as its chief operating officer.
In his new role, Mr Oluyemi will oversee the financial technology company’s operations in Nigeria, where it offers a broad range of digital financial services to individuals and businesses.
Mr Oluyemi will also engage with regulators to ensure the company’s expansion aligns with Nigeria’s financial, digital and social inclusion objectives.
Prior to joining the company, Mr Oluyemi spent more than two decades at NIBSS, where he served as business development lead.
During his tenure, he drove the development of several critical payment infrastructure projects, including the digital validation of Nigerian international passports, e-Dividend Mandate Management System (e-DMMS), and the Electronic Pensions Contribution Collection System (EPCCOS).
Also, he played a key role in the introduction and early adoption of the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) platform, Nigeria’s first real-time interbank transfer system launched in 2011, and later supported its extension to other financial institutions.
Mr Oluyemi obtained a master’s degree in Monetary Economics from the University of Ibadan and has participated in several local and international professional training programmes.
Commenting on the appointment, Managing Director of PalmPay Nigeria, Mr Chika Nwosu, said that the company was strengthening its leadership team to support its longterm vision.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Africa’s most valuable fintech, Flutterwave, has signalled that its long-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) remains firmly on the back burner as the company intensifies efforts to transform itself into a licensed financial institution across the continent.
The firm’s chief executive, Mr Olugbenga Agboola, said the firm is focused on building sustainable profitability, diversifying its revenue streams and expanding its banking footprint before considering a stock market listing.
Speaking to The Africa Report, Mr Agboola described an IPO as a future financing milestone rather than an immediate strategic objective.
“An IPO is a financing event, not a strategy,” he said. “We are not holding any pressure to go public. This gives us the flexibility to be patient and ensure when we do list, we’re doing so from a position of strength.”
The comments come as Flutterwave embarks on an acquisition-led expansion strategy aimed at securing banking licences and deeper regulatory access across Africa.
Mr Agboola revealed that the company is currently in the process of acquiring a bank in East Africa, though he declined to disclose the institution or country involved.
The planned acquisition is expected to provide Flutterwave with an established customer base, existing banking infrastructure and regulatory approvals, significantly shortening the time required to enter new financial services markets.
According to Mr Agboola, the company’s expansion priorities include Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa and Egypt, while the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia remain under consideration for future growth.
Rather than building banks from scratch in every market, Flutterwave intends to adopt a mix of acquisitions, licences and strategic partnerships depending on local regulatory conditions.
“The vision is not to form a bank in every country but to ensure that every African business has access to more than financial services,” Mr Agboola said in the interview.
The banking push follows recent regulatory and corporate developments, including the Central Bank of Nigeria’s approval of Flutterwave’s banking licence and the acquisition of open banking startup Mono.
Together, the moves underscore a broader strategy to expand beyond payments and establish new revenue streams in lending, liquidity management and business banking services.
Flutterwave plans to focus on institutional deposits from businesses already using its platform rather than competing aggressively for retail deposits.
The company intends to leverage transaction data from its payments network to provide short-term working capital, merchant financing, invoice discounting and trade finance products for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Mr Agboola disclosed that the bulk of the capital earmarked for banking operations will be directed toward credit support and liquidity buffers, with additional allocations for lending and banking infrastructure.
The strategy reflects a growing trend among African fintech firms seeking banking licences to reduce dependence on traditional financial institutions and gain greater control over settlement, liquidity management and product development.
Despite speculation about a near-term public listing, Mr Agboola maintained that Flutterwave’s immediate focus remains execution and growth.
He noted that the company will only consider an IPO after achieving stronger profitability and establishing scale across its payments, banking and remittance businesses.
In February 2025, he told Bloomberg that Flutterwave would only pursue a public offering after becoming profitable. He also stated in late 2024 that the company was “not in the IPO race.”
Founded in 2016, Flutterwave has processed more than one billion transactions valued at over $40 billion across 35 African countries. The company recently secured fresh funding that lifted its valuation to $3.3 billion, with American blockchain firm Ripple leading the investment round.
For now, however, Flutterwave appears more interested in building the foundations of a pan-African financial institution than rushing to the public markets, positioning banking expansion as the next phase of its growth story while keeping an eventual IPO firmly on the long-term horizon.
