Banking
Flutterwave Partners Ethiopian Firm to Facilitate Remittances
By Dipo Olowookere
In order to facilitate remittances to Ethiopia and allow over 8 million Ethiopians abroad to send money instantly to the Horn of Africa, the continent’s leading payments technology company, Flutterwave, has partnered with the country’s largest mobile digital wallet platform, Amole.
The deal will enable Ethiopians across the globe to make money transfers into Ethiopia through Amole, to Amole Wallet, bank accounts and cash pickup locations at over 2,500 locations across the country.
Amole offers its customers digital payment capabilities and access to digital products and services to enable users to complete essential transactions at their convenience.
The new partnership with Flutterwave will serve the Ethiopian economy by making diaspora remittances easier. The country records about $5 billion annually as remittances from abroad.
Under the deal, International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) and businesses on Flutterwave as well as Barter by Flutterwave users can send money into Ethiopia.
To make payment via this new service, a sender outside Ethiopia inputs the details of the receiver in Ethiopia, the payment destination (Amole digital wallet, bank account, or cash pickup location anywhere in Ethiopia), and the security question and answer with which the receiver can access the funds if the preferred payment destination is via an Amole authorized agent.
The remittance service in Ethiopia today is seen by users to be expensive, with manual paperwork and delays making it challenging and time-consuming for the diaspora community.
This partnership solves these problems by providing instant delivery of funds to the receiver at no fee, with more control of where and how to send money, including transparency from a regulatory standpoint.
According to a report by the National Bank of Ethiopia, over 75 per cent of Ethiopia’s population is unbanked, while nearly 40 per cent of all bank branches are in the capital city Addis Ababa.
This collaboration will extend financial services to these communities, by facilitating remittances from diaspora Ethiopians, hence expanding business opportunities for small and growing businesses in these communities.
Subsequently, this will boost financial inclusion within the country as users of the service will have the option to collect cash from any of Amole’s 2,500 authorised agent locations.
Speaking on the partnership, Flutterwave Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Mr Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, said: “We are delighted to be collaborating with Amole to enable digital remittances and cash pickup into Ethiopia.
“This is another significant milestone for payments in Africa as we work together to bridge the financial inclusion gap in the country and across the continent.
“Our collaboration will ensure that Ethiopian businesses are getting paid from all over the world, opening massive opportunities for business growth, a goal we are passionate about. This is just the beginning, and we hope to deepen the discussions around our partnership to the benefits of Africans, everywhere.”
Asfaw Alemu, CEO of Dashen Bank, said: “We are happy to partner with Flutterwave in delivering crucial forex that will support both our customers and Ethiopia. This partnership will play an important role in delivering even more value to our diaspora community, linking them to their country with more opportunities for global eCommerce in the near future.”
Yemiru Chanyalew, CEO Moneta Technologies, stated that, “We are very excited to work with Flutterwave and leverage our combined technologies to broaden our offering to the Ethiopian Diaspora community, our customers and merchants to enable cross-border remittance and commerce.
“At Amole, we are increasingly focused on cashless and e-commerce payments. Our combined efforts in enabling seamless and interoperable remittance and e-commerce payments will drive much desired financial inclusion in Ethiopia.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The creative industry in Nigeria may have nothing to worry about with the likes of Stanbic IBTC Bank around the corner.
The financial institution, which has not hidden its love for the sector, has promised to continue with its strategic investment in the country’s designers and artists.
Speaking at an event, An Evening of Fashion, Art & Lifestyle, the Executive Director for Personal and Private Banking at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Olu Delano, represented by the Head of its Private Banking Segment, Ms Layo Ilori-Olaogun, said the company was proud to be associated with the programme, which it also sponsored.
“At Stanbic IBTC, we recognise Nigeria’s creative sector as a vital driver of economic diversification, employment, and global cultural influence.
“We are proud to support the individuals behind these platforms that elevate African excellence and provide visionary talents the visibility that they deserve.
“Nights like this reaffirm our commitment to continued strategic investment in our artists and designers,” he stated.
The invitation-only ceremony, which was held at The Garden, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, hosted by Africa’s leading luxury fashion house, 2207bytbally, in collaboration with the acclaimed art collective Torrista, brought together high-net-worth individuals, art collectors, designers, media personalities, and luxury brand executives for an unparalleled showcase of creativity and sophistication.
The evening opened with a breathtaking runway presentation featuring three signature segments from the Evolve collection by 2207bytbally: Denim, Ethnic, and 2207 Prints. Each piece exemplified the meticulous craftsmanship, bold innovation, and cultural storytelling that has established the brand as a standard-bearer in African luxury fashion.
Complementing the couture was a curated exhibition by Torrista, transforming the venue into an immersive gallery. Commissioned artworks exploring themes of culture, femininity, and evolution created a robust visual dialogue with the collections, demonstrating the seamless harmony that can result when fashion and fine art converge.
“This evening was about more than clothes or canvases; it was about showing the world that African creativity is limitless. When fashion and art share the same space, magic happens, and tonight, Lagos felt that magic,” the Creative Director of 2207bytbally, Tolu Bally, stated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The six edition of the Hackaholics of Wema Bank Plc has produced 20 top finalists shared equally between two streams, Ideathon and Hackathon.
The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI.
The Ideathon finalists include PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.
They emerged after a two-day pre-pitch held on December 16 and 17, 2025, for the grand finale slated for Friday, December 19, 2025.
They grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.
The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for two women-led teams.
In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million, respectively.
The pre-pitch saw the top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to top 10 in their respective streams.
After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.
“Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation. For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.
“For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.
“Every year, Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use.
“We toured seven cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.
“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning,” the chief executive of Wema Bank, Mr Moruf Oseni, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) says it will enforce penalties against designated banks that delay the remittance of customs revenue, in a move aimed at strengthening transparency and safeguarding government earnings.
This was disclosed in a statement on the NCS official account on X, formerly known as Twitter and signed by its spokesman, Mr Abdullahi Maiwada, who said the delays undermine the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“The Nigeria Customs Service has noted instances of delayed remittance of customs revenue by some designated banks following reconciliation of collections processed through the B’odogwu platform,” the statement read.
“Such delays constitute a breach of remittance obligations and negatively impact the efficiency, transparency, and integrity of government revenue administration.
“In line with the provisions of the Service Level Agreement executed between the Nigeria Customs Service and designated banks, the Service hereby notifies stakeholders of the commencement of enforcement actions against banks found to be in default of agreed remittance timelines.”
Mr Maiwada disclosed that any bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed timeline will be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the period of the delay.
He added that affected banks would be formally notified of the delayed amounts, the applicable penalty, and the deadline for settlement.
“Accordingly, any designated bank that fails to remit collected Customs revenue within the prescribed period shall be liable to penalty interest calculated at three per cent above the prevailing Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate for the duration of the delay.
“Affected banks will receive formal notifications indicating the delayed amount, applicable penalty, and the timeline for settlement,” the statement read.
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