Banking
Sahara Group Urges Sustained Global Partnerships
By Dipo Olowookere
Executive Director of Sahara Group, Mr Tonye Cole, has said that achieving the 2030 target for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require strategic and continuing multi-sectoral collaboration across the globe.
Officially branded ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,’ the SDGs is a set of 17 aspirational ‘Global Goals’ with 169 targets between them.
The goals include: ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change, and protecting oceans and forests. The SDGs document was adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit September 25–27, 2015 in New York, USA.
Mr Cole, who is also co-founder of Sahara, a leading African Power and Energy Conglomerate, said the SDGs platform had since become a veritable tool for addressing critical developmental issues globally.
“Going by available records, a significant success trend is emerging and it is great to see unfolding collaboration amongst several stakeholders on interventions being midwifed by the United Nations and its affiliates. It is imperative for governments, private sector, NGOs, international development agencies and global civil society to work together in a sustainable manner to ensure the targets of the SDGs are achieved by 2030.”
He noted that Sahara Group has implemented sundry SDGs compliant interventions and is currently supporting several partnership platforms that are setting the tone for accelerating the achievement of the SDGs across the globe.
Sahara Group and the SDGs
Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Sahara has empowered people of varied of orientation through its economic empowerment initiatives across the nation.
Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
The Food Africa Project: A very first of its kind, this is the product of a partnership involving Sahara Group, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals- Fund (SDG-F) and the Kaduna State Government aimed at empowering the people of Kaduna State and alleviating poverty through food security. The plan is to replicate this across Africa.
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Sahara has upgraded primary health centers across Nigeria, and carried out eye surgeries, malaria and health awareness programmes.
Goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Sahara has implemented several Teacher training programmes, school infrastructure upgrades and scholarship programmes for indigent students.
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Sahara is involved in skills training programmes to equip women and young girls with skills in selected vocations and empower them to become masters of skills, more financially independent and eventually start businesses of their own
Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Through the provision of mechanized water systems and hand pump boreholes Sahara has created access to potable water in rural communities, and through collaboration with WATER has eradicated guinea worm disease across West Africa.
Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
Sahara has encouraged the development of alternative sources of energy through partnership with ENACTUS and youths in institutions of higher learning in Nigeria. Sahara plans to replicate this model across other locations in Africa.
Goal 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Sahara Group’s ‘School Feeding Programme’ has provided employment and considerable financial independence for farmers, caterers and traders within the beneficiary communities
Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Sahara Group is spearheading a growing wave of transparency and good governance principles across Africa’s business space through its membership of the World Economic Forum community – Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI). Sahara collaborates with global, regional and national organisations to promote sustainable development and transparency in business.
Goal 17: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
Sahara Group and other partners hope to integrate the entire food value chain – the farmer, wholesaler, retailer and consumer- through the Food Africa Project. This will facilitate a sustainable source of food security, poverty alleviation and eradication, skill acquisition and social inclusiveness. The Food Africa project aims to impact at least 500,000 beneficiaries (30% direct beneficiaries and 70% indirect beneficiaries) providing families with better nutrition and livelihood opportunities over a five year period.
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.
