Banking
Stanbic IBTC Reaffirms Commitment to Agriculture
Stanbic IBTC Bank reaffirmed its dedication to Nigeria’s agricultural sector at the Lagos Farm Fair 2025, held on October 16, 2025, in Ikeja, Lagos.
Organised by the British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation, in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems, the event coincided with World Food Day, uniting farmers, agricultural startups, and stakeholders to champion sustainable farming and enhance market access.
This vibrant gathering served as a platform to promote sustainable food systems and collaboration; aligning with the broader goal of transforming Nigeria’s agricultural landscape.
Stanbic IBTC Bank is addressing Nigeria’s agricultural financing gap by offering tailored agribusiness loans for crop production, livestock, and equipment, enabling farmers to scale operations and reduce post-harvest losses.
In 2024, the bank empowered over 2,000 SMEs through its Enterprise Academy, strengthening the food supply chain and promoting value addition.
By supporting British American Tobacco Nigeria (BATN) in achieving its business and social impact goals, Stanbic IBTC plays a vital role in enabling initiatives like the Lagos Farm Fair, fostering agricultural development, sustainability, and inclusive growth through strategic financial partnerships.
The chief executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Wole Adeniyi, emphasised the bank’s commitment, stating, “At Stanbic IBTC, we recognise that agriculture’s potential lies in value addition and transforming raw products into high-quality goods.
“Our engagement with initiatives like the Lagos Farm Fair 2025 reflects our dedication to supporting Nigeria’s agricultural sector. As Nigeria’s growth partner, we are committed to enhancing food production, minimising post-harvest losses, and promoting sustainability to achieve national food security.”
This vision underscores the bank’s role in fostering a robust agricultural economy through strategic partnerships and innovative financing.
Echoing this sentiment, the Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Mrs Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin, highlighted the collaborative spirit of the event in her opening remarks: “This year’s theme, Hand in Hand for Better Food and a Better Future, emphasises the urgent need for collaboration among governments, the private sector, development organisations, and communities, to transform agri-food systems, promote healthy diets, and safeguard our environment. Despite its geographical limitations, Lagos State remains committed to achieving food security through initiatives like the five-year Agricultural and Food Systems Roadmap, targeting 40 per cent food self-sufficiency by 2025.”
The 2025 World Food Day theme, Hand in Hand for Better Food and a Better Future, as outlined by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, underscores the importance of collective action in revolutionising agri-food systems and promoting sustainable diets.
The fair brought this vision to life through exhibitions and displays, creating opportunities for smallholder farmers to connect with markets and embrace fair trade practices. By facilitating these interactions, the event empowered farmers to expand their reach and strengthen the agricultural value chain, paving the way for a more resilient food ecosystem.
The Lagos Farm Fair 2025 showcased transformative initiatives like the Food Systems Transformation Agenda, which strengthens the food value chain and creates jobs through structured off-take agreements.
Stanbic IBTC’s financial solutions play a pivotal role in supporting such programmes, driving innovation and improving market access for farmers and agribusinesses.
By aligning its efforts with platforms like the fair, the bank is helping to build a sustainable agricultural economy, ensuring that Nigeria’s food systems are not only resilient but also capable of meeting the demands of a growing population.
Through these concerted efforts, Stanbic IBTC continues to be a catalyst for progress in Nigeria’s journey toward food security and economic prosperity.
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.
