Banking
Group Honours Heritage Bank for Supporting ‘Young Business Owners in Nigeria’
By Dipo Olowookere
The decision of Heritage Bank Plc to support young entrepreneurs in the country is beginning to pay off as the nation’s most innovative banking service provider was recently awarded for its outstanding contributions toward improving the lives of Young Business Owners in Nigeria.
At the 5th anniversary ceremony of the highly-rated Nigerian Young Professionals Forum (NYPF) Awards for 2018, the lender honoured for its efforts.
Recall that recently, the financial institution was bestowed with the Best Bank of the Year Business Support/Entrepreneur Development at the Africa Value Award 2018. It was also adjudged as the Best SME Bank Nigeria 2018 by Capital Finance International (CFI.co) and as the Agriculture Bank of the Year 2018 by the Nigeria Agriculture Awards (MAA).
Heritage Bank was further honoured for being the Best CIBN Chapter of the Year 2018 in terms of members’ mobilization and participation as well as sponsorship of the Institute programmes; Most Supportive Bank of the Year at the fourth edition of Green October Event 2018, organised by Alamode Magazine amongst others.
Speaking at the highly-rated NYPF Awards for 2018, a non-governmental organisation, in Abuja, MD/CEO of Heritage Bank Plc, Mr Ifie Sekibo, who was immensely honoured by the award, said it speaks volume of the bank’s efforts to demonstrate its commitment towards developing and positioning youths to become world-class citizens equipped and ready to be absorbed into an increasingly competitive workforce.
“One of the reasons why we chose, as an organization, to support the entrepreneurial growth and welfare of youth is to see young men and women play vital roles in the socio-economic development of the country and help curb the high level of unemployment,” Mr Sekibo said.
The MD, who was represented by Mr Jubril Adeojo, Team Lead, Power Corporate Banking, said Heritage Bank is positioned to lead the recovery of the Nigerian economy through enhancing youth entrepreneurship development and engendering self-employment via its various initiatives and products.
According Mr Sekibo, the drive to continue in the support of youths was to create, preserve and transfer wealth across generations.
He explained that the entrepreneur schemes of the bank in the support for business had always focused on dependable job-creating sectors, such as agricultural value chain (fish farming, poultry, snail farming), cottage industry, mining and solid minerals, creative industry (tourism, arts and crafts), and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
Mr Sekibo restated that the aim of Heritage Bank being in the forefront of youth empowerment is to emancipate the latent entrepreneurial spirit in the teeming youths, by providing adequate and affordable loans to execute their business ideas and, hopefully, migrate them to successful Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), thereby, providing the mechanism of stimulating growth, reducing unemployment as well as addressing youth restiveness in the economy.
Chairman of the NYPF, Mr Moses Siloko Siasia, disclosed that the NGO’s success stories and feats attained were made possible by the supports from Heritage Bank. He also commended Mr Sekibo for taking it upon himself to support NYPF.
He hinted that the forum, in the last five years, was able to make a lot of milestone achievements like providing employment for 780 unemployed youths nationwide.
However, NYPF, as part of events to celebrate its fifth anniversary, gave out honorary awards and scholarships to several dignitaries, and students, yesterday.
All the award recipients, according to the organizers, were thoroughly considered and shortlisted in recognition of their meritorious service in support for nation building and advancement of democracy, development and good governance in Nigeria.
Some of the beneficiaries of the awards are the Imam of Nghar Village, Gashish district in Barkin Ladi, Plateau State, Abdullahi Abubakar alongside Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, President of AfDB, Dr. Nasir Yusuf Gawuna, Deputy Governor of Kano State, Senator Godswill Akpabio, governors Ifeanyi Okowa, Okezie Ipkeazu.
Others were Senator Daisy Danjuma, Chief Osasumwen Igbinedion CEO, TOS TV Networks and Dr. Elisha Attai, Founder of AWLO and Hamzat Lawal, Chief Executive of Connected Development CODE, whilst Diplomatic award was presented to the Embassy of Spain, Nigeria.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A collaboration to enable fast money transfers into Nigeria has been entered into between Flutterwave and Xoom, PayPal’s international digital money transfer service.
The partnership allows Xoom transfers to be converted by Flutterwave and settled locally in Naira, enabling quick transfers directly into recipients’ bank accounts at Access Bank, UBA, Zenith Bank, First Bank, GTBank, and additional participating banks across Nigeria.
The deal also enables Xoom’s global network with Flutterwave’s local payout infrastructure, allowing users globally to send funds directly into Nigerian bank accounts with improved speed and efficiency.
Nigeria is the leading remittance recipient in Sub-Saharan Africa, receiving over $20 billion in personal remittances in 2024. Despite this volume, receiving international payments has historically remained complex due to FX constraints and settlement delays. This collaboration helps address those challenges in a market of more than 232 million people, where the ICT sector is projected to contribute 21 per cent of GDP by 2027.
By combining Xoom’s expansive reach with Flutterwave’s local compliance and banking partnerships, the two companies are providing a more accessible financial corridor for the continent.
Xoom, a PayPal service, is a fast and secure international digital money transfer service that enables consumers to send money, pay bills, and reload phones for friends and family in approximately 160 markets globally.
As part of PayPal’s global payments ecosystem, Xoom leverages advanced fraud protection, compliance capabilities, and a trusted global network to help millions of customers move money quickly and securely across borders.
“We’re excited to have been chosen by Xoom for their Nigeria expansion. Millions of Nigerians rely on money from abroad to support everyday needs, whether it’s families receiving help from loved ones, freelancers getting paid for their work, or individuals earning income from the global economy. This helps make it easy and more reliable for people in Nigeria to receive funds and stay connected to opportunities beyond borders,” the chief executive of Flutterwave, Mr Olugbenga GB Agboola, stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An initiative known as Nigeria Lightning Rounds, designed to expand funding opportunities for Nigerian startups and small businesses by connecting founders with local and international investors, has been launched by ProvidusUnity Bank, in partnership with US-based global venture firm and accelerator, gener8tor.
Scheduled to be held on July 15, 2026, Nigeria Lightning Rounds will feature carefully selected startups engaging with targeted investors who have expressed interest in supporting Nigerian innovation.
Participating founders will have the opportunity to pitch their businesses through focused 15-minute virtual sessions facilitated by gener8tor and ProvidusUnity Bank’s networks.
The program will focus on high-growth sectors including fintech, healthtech, manufacturing, sustainability, and AI, but welcomes SMEs from all industries, with intending participants urged to apply via https://www.gener8tor.com/lightning-rounds/nigeria.
“We recognise that access to capital remains one of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Through our partnership with gener8tor, we are creating a platform that connects promising Nigerian founders with investors who can provide the support required to scale their businesses,” the Head of Business Development at ProvidusUnity Bank, Mr Ernest Elue, stated.
“The partnership reinforces ProvidusUnity Bank’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by supporting innovation, enabling access to opportunities, and creating pathways for businesses with high-growth potential,” he added.
Also commenting, the Director of Lightning Rounds at gener8tor, Ms Elizabeth Larios, said, “gener8tor is thrilled to partner with ProvidusUnity Bank to extend the Lightning Rounds model into Nigeria.
“This collaboration reflects our commitment to building equitable ecosystems and driving capital to the most promising and underrepresented entrepreneurs.”
Lightning Rounds are a signature initiative of gener8tor’s investment platform, which has facilitated thousands of investor-startup meetings globally. The format is optimised to eliminate friction, reduce bias in early-stage fundraising, and help founders secure capital from investors aligned with their mission and stage. gener8tor’s previous Lightning Rounds for Nigerian Founders in 2025 featured 18 participating Investors and led to 50 investment meetings facilitated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The verification of the depositors of the 46 microfinance banks, whose operating licenses were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over a week ago, has commenced.
The exercise, aimed at refunding those whose funds were trapped in the small lenders, is being conducted by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
In a statement on Thursday, the agency said its staff members have been positioned at the offices of the affected banks across the country to attend to depositors.
It was disclosed that depositors of the defunct banks, who had their Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) linked to their accounts in the failed banks, will be paid through their alternative accounts in existing banks.
However, depositors whose BVNs were not linked to their accounts in the failed banks have been encouraged to visit the affected banks’ offices with proof of account ownership, a passport photograph, verifiable means of identification (Driver’s Licence, Permanent Voter’s Card, International Passport or National ID Card) and BVN.
NDIC also stated that depositors can alternatively file their claims online through its website: www.ndic.gov.ng, to complete the Pre-Verification Claims Form by clicking on the Search Bar, and typing Pre-Verification Claims Form; opening the Form and filling in their details. They can also do so by clicking the link: https://ndic.gov.ng/ndic-pre-verification-claims-form/ or by visiting any of the NDIC offices closest to them to file their claims.
For further enquiries, the corporation can be reached on any of the following lines: 09037273810, 09038197064, 08104220807, 09064657140.
