By Aduragbemi Omiyale

Access to trade finance remains one of the most significant structural constraints on African trade. Businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), are frequently unable to secure letters of credit, guarantees, and supply chain finance on commercially viable terms, limiting their capacity to export and import competitively.

This trade finance gap is estimated by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to be over $80 billion annually.

Worried by the impact this has had on African businesses, the United Bank for Africa (UK) Limited has partnered with the British International Investment (BII) Plc to address this issue.

Both organisations have signed a letter of intent to develop trade finance collaboration opportunities. The proposed initiative aims to expand access to trade and working capital facilities for businesses operating across Africa.

The lender will leverage its deep relationships across the UBA Group’s 20-country African network to originate and structure trade finance transactions. While BII, with a mandate to support productive, sustainable, and inclusive growth across Africa, can support transactions that might otherwise fall outside conventional commercial appetite.

This partnership builds on growing momentum around intra-African trade facilitated by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which entered into force in 2021 and represents one of the world’s most significant trade integration initiatives.

Both institutions have identified the operationalisation of AfCFTA as a priority catalyst for a trade finance facility, with UBA UK’s network across major AfCFTA economies offering a basis for supporting businesses navigating the emerging continental market.

“The signing of this letter with BII represents a landmark moment for UBA UK and for the UBA Group’s global ambitions. As the Group’s hub for Trade Operations, UBA UK is uniquely positioned to connect African businesses with the international financial system.

“Working alongside BII, we can extend that capability further — mobilising capital where it matters most and helping to close the trade finance gap that holds back so much African potential,” the chief executive of UBA UK, Mr Lok Mishra, said.

Also commenting, the Managing Director and Head of Africa for BII, Mr Chris Chijiuitomi, said his organisation “is committed to catalysing private sector growth across Africa, and trade finance is a critical enabler of that growth.”

“We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with UBA Group, whose pan-African network and deep institutional relationships can help advance our ambition to expand access to trade and working capital finance, particularly in frontier markets,” he added.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The chief executive of ThetaRay, a fintech software and big data analytics company, Mr Brad Levy, says the recent directive by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) requiring financial institutions to deploy automated anti-money laundering (AML) systems is a strategic leap towards building a modern financial system optimised for digital trade.

The central bank issued a circular on March 10 requiring banks, mobile money operators and other regulated institutions to deploy automated AML solutions within 18 to 24 months. The move signals a shift by the regulator to tighten oversight and reduce financial crime risks in Nigeria’s banking system, as digital transactions continue to grow.

Mr Levy, whose ThetaRay works with financial institutions and fintechs across Africa, including in Nigeria, to implement AI-powered AML transaction monitoring solutions capable of detecting complex financial crime patterns in real time, noted that Nigeria is applying revolutionary methods in financial regulation—skipping older, manual compliance systems and going straight to advanced, AI-driven ones.

“The CBN’s mandate is Nigeria’s ‘mobile phone’ moment for financial integrity. Just as Africa bypassed landlines for mobile and the U.S. lagged on chip-and-pin tech, Nigeria is now leapfrogging the failing, manual ‘landline’ era of compliance. By mandating AI, Nigeria is skipping decades of Western technical debt to build a 21st-century infrastructure of trust that moves at the speed of modern trade,” he told Business Post.

Automation and AI in AML have shifted from a competitive advantage to a regulatory requirement, and the new CBN mandate will help Nigerian banks and fintechs in several areas, including achieving transparency, as transactions are continuously monitored and recorded in real time. This allows for the immediate detection of irregularities such as fraud or money laundering, significantly reducing the window for illicit activities to go unnoticed.

The new rules could drive significant investment in compliance technology, as institutions move away from manual processes that are slower and more prone to errors.

The requirements cover key areas such as transaction monitoring, customer due diligence, risk profiling, case management and regulatory reporting, all of which must now be automated.

The CBN’s directive comes amid intensifying global regulatory pressure on financial institutions to strengthen AML controls, particularly within rapidly expanding digital economies. For Nigeria, these new requirements are poised to significantly transform how banks approach compliance while also opening up new opportunities for startups to deliver specialised compliance and regulatory technology solutions.

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

On Monday, March 30, 2026, Fidelity Bank Plc will host a Gele Masterclass to help women build practical, income-generating skills, strengthen professional visibility, and accelerate career growth.

This event will be the second part of a series of masterclasses and support initiatives planned for March 2026 in commemoration of International Women’s Day under the theme Give to Gain.

On March 18, 2026, the lender, through its women-focused proposition, HerFidelity, hosted a masterclass on communication and presentation.

The session offered practical guidance on audience engagement, event moderation, confidence-building, and personal branding, with a strong focus on women looking to improve their public speaking and professional presence.

HerFidelity is positioning the session as a celebration of cultural expression and a marketable skill women can turn into a source of income.

In addition to the masterclasses, the bank will provide professional headshot sessions to help participants update their personal and professional profiles.

“At Fidelity Bank, we believe that empowering women economically creates an impact that extends beyond the individual. It strengthens families, grows businesses, and uplifts communities. That is why we have designed an elaborate plan to upskill women throughout this month.

“We want women to leave these sessions with practical tools they can apply immediately, whether that is speaking confidently in public, building a stronger personal brand, or learning a skill that can generate income,” the Divisional Head of Small and Medium-scale Enterprises Banking at Fidelity Bank, Ms Ugochi Osinigwe, said.

Earlier this month, the bank reaffirmed its commitment to women’s economic empowerment with the signing of strategic MoUs with partner organisations at the launch of its Give Her Power initiative on March 5, 2026.

The collaborations, anchored on the bank’s HerFidelity Apprenticeship Programme, are designed to expand access to vocational training, business support, and sustainable enterprise opportunities for women across multiple sectors.

As part of the initiative, Fidelity Bank is distributing 1,000 sewing and grinding machines to empower women-led microbusinesses across Nigeria.