Banking
How Sterling Bank Survived Nigeria’s Economy Crisis—CEO
By Dipo Olowookere
Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Plc, Mr Abubakar Suleiman, has revealed how the lender successfully navigated the uncharted waters of the Nigerian economy.
Speaking recently at the second edition of the Sterling Leadership Series (SLS) held in Lagos, where riding out the rapid and unpredictable change associated with the Nigerian market was the focus of senior business leaders, Mr Suleiman said the setting of goals helped the firm during the turbulent period of the nation.
“When we embarked on this journey as a bank, there were hardly any institutional role models who managers could call upon when they needed to make business decisions.
“Consequently, we had to set uncommon goals for ourselves to successfully navigate the uncharted waters of the Nigerian economy,” he said at the meeting themed ‘Nigeria: The Chaotic Advantage.’
According to him, the management of Sterling Bank resolved early in the life of the bank to articulate the direction they wanted the bank to follow and took steps to ensure that people could understand and take the vision to the next level.
He therefore called for an urgent need for Nigeria to develop institutional role models for younger professionals to emulate in view of the dynamic environment in which they operate.
In his address, the CEO of Unilever Nigeria Plc, Mr Yaw Nsarkoh, listed strategies that business leaders should adopt to deal with the challenges and opportunities of operating in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) environment.
He said the first thing business leaders should do in a VUCA environment is to face the reality of the environment and map out ways to deal with it.
According to him, by facing the reality, they will be able to build resilient models that can cope with shocks and thrive in highly volatile circumstances.
He said companies should build organisations that are equipped to interpret the risks surrounding them. They should also design backup plans and possible changes in the short term such as having multiple vendors for a particular service. So, when shocks surface, they can easily move from one supplier to the other or spread their needs among several suppliers.
Mr Nsarkoh said the economic cycle and evaluation criteria of what is right in a volatile business environment must be viewed through a long-term lens and planning cycles should be shorter because things could change every month or every quarter.
He said companies should review, change and review but evaluation of economic benefits must be done with a longer-term horizon in mind, explaining that in any environment, volatile or not, there is always a cultural conversation within which brands must express themselves.
He added that, “in times of adversity, people develop a certain sense of humour about things such as poor infrastructure and their implication on services. So, brands seeking to serve people purposefully must immerse themselves in that environment and speak their language.”
Mr Nsarkoh said business leaders must embrace and understand the context of the unpredictable times in which they live, the news culture of the people and the roles that their brands could play in day-to-day conversations within communities.
The CEO said business leaders must be curious and go out of their ways to seek best practices wherever they could find it, remarking that through this quest they will be able to demolish the pervading tendency of people to think they cannot aspire to world-class services and products in their environment.
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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