Banking
Standard Bank Partners Rhiza Africa to Boost Farmers’ Yield
In a bid to boost agricultural produce and increase famers’ yield, through innovation, driven by digital intelligence, Standard Bank has partnered with Rhiza Africa.
Standard Bank’s satellite hosted-remote sensing innovation is delivered in partnership with service provider Rhiza Africa and backed by Origin Enterprises PLC and the European Space Agency.
About 60 percent of the world’s uncultivated arable land presents is situated in Africa, which presents a major opportunity to meet the 70 percent increase in global food demand expected by 2050.
Africa also has potentials to grow through dramatically increasing its agricultural yields. However, Africa’s current dependence on traditional small-scale farming techniques returns the lowest yield per hectare globally.
While fertilizer, improved agricultural cultivation and livestock practices as well as better seed (biotech) can help improve yields, by far the biggest opportunity within the grasp of African agriculture lies in ‘agritech’, the intelligent use of data enabled by new digital technologies.
Data therefore presents an opportunity to further boost the yield for African agriculture.
According to Abrie Rautenbach, Head, Agribusiness, Business Banking for Africa Regions at Standard Bank said: “Information is the key to realise Africa’s vast agricultural potential. Digital technologies are merely the tools that will deliver the information.”
As a result of the partnership, farmers and agronomists can take advantage of digital tools developed for the agricultural sector.
Speaking on the tools, Danie Swart, General Manager for RHIZA Africa said: “Contour is an aggregated remote sensing information platform with a complete suite of farm monitoring tools for farmers, whereas GRID is a digital service for financial partners and farmers that helps them grow together.”
Using algorithms to analyse and interpret images, Contour and Grid share data on; local weather, soil moisture, field accessibility and leaf wetness, while also providing optical satellite monitoring of area planted, germination and growth progress. This enables growth stage assessments, yield prediction and ultimately yield-enhancement.
Available on mobile and desktop, Contour is a digital platform and mobile app providing precision farming tools enabling; customer creation, field mapping, agronomic planning and recording, and crop and input allocation.
“Clients can use the information to understand the health of a crop; do fertilizer and spray planning; identify flooded areas; understand ground conditions – such as soil health and moisture levels – and monitor historical weather” Swart added.
The data that Contour provides clients enables farmers to make better decisions while mitigating risks and improving yield through optimised operations. Through soil sampling farmers can also understand in-field conditions and apply inputs to accommodate the specific needs of the soil requirements using fertilizers and lime.
This ‘agritech’ innovation allows farmers and Standard Bank to monitor crop performance on all sizes of farms and fields in all geographic regions. Both Contour and Grid also provide monitoring on an aggregated basis across regions, enabling portfolio tracking on; total hectares under a specific crop and total tonnes of inputs used.
“It is important for Standard Bank to be able to assist farmers to improve yield through relevant information that can provide a view on plant health or development issues with a specific crop. These technologies ensure that the crop is protected and, from a bank perspective, allows any yield (and thus income) increases to be used for either credit repayment or expansion of the agricultural business” Rautenbach stated.
While this information is of huge value in driving the efficiency and productivity of individual farmers, Contour and Grid also enable Standard Bank to identify which fields in a farming area are the best performing. While this allows the bank to asses budgeted against actual yield predictions, it also allows the bank to aggregate this information across wide areas – and work this back to the portfolio of clients that we are supporting.
Contour and Grid also enables Standard Bank to manage the financial risks associated with delivering agricultural finance. Real time visibility of crop performance affords constant updates of all Standard Bank agricultural clients and potential clients, including detailed information on crop development. This builds trust and transparency between the bank and customers, empowering farmers and enabling the bank to correctly asses risk and accurately allocate capital and cover.
Beyond this, however, “information can also inform appetite,” says Mr Rautenbach. For example, if banks and agricultural equipment sellers, know what, of how much, is planted when and where, banks can extend loans, predict income, manage risk and insurance. “Similarly, agricultural suppliers can target informed equipment or irrigation product offerings, at the correct time, to the right farmers at the right price,” he says.
While the current technology appears sophisticated, it is very easy to use. Rautenbach continues: “As our experience in Africa has shown, there is a big opportunity for small scale farmers in out grower programmes supplying large corporates. The corporate that has signed up for the service simply opens the service to all their small-scale suppliers who are then easily able to access all the information required via their mobile phones.”
Even without changing existing value chains in Africa, merely having more and accurate information on what is going on in these chains, presents an immediate opportunity to service, fund, support, risk-manage and supply Africa’s small-scale farmers with a range of services, insights and networking opportunities. From the farmer’s perspective, “the data will dramatically increase yield and boost off take while enriching the efficiency and relevance of Africa’s entire agricultural supply and value chains,” says Mr Rautenbach.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has selected cNGN, Flutterwave, Juicyway, KoinKoin, KuCoin, and Paystack for the initial phase of its pilot supervision programme for virtual asset service providers (VASPs).
In a statement, the apex bank said the initiative was part of efforts to strengthen oversight of anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CFT), and counter-proliferation financing (CPF) risks within the financial system.
The CBN explained that the move aligns with its enhanced AML/CFT/CPF framework and is backed by key legislations, including the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022, the CBN Act, and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.
“The CBN has commenced an AML/CFT/CPF supervision pilot involving a select group of virtual asset service providers identified as relevant for supervisory engagement,” the statement said.
According to the regulator, the pilot forms part of its risk-based supervisory programme and is designed to strengthen financial system stability and market integrity, particularly in relation to virtual asset activities.
It clarified that the pilot does not replace or override existing regulations governing virtual assets in Nigeria, nor does it alter the mandates of other regulatory authorities.
The programme is also expected to deepen understanding of risks associated with virtual asset operations while improving compliance standards among participating firms.
“It also supports VASPs in strengthening their AML/CFT/CPF frameworks in line with emerging supervisory expectations, including requirements under FATF recommendations 15 and 16, with a particular focus on Travel Rule preparedness and proliferation-financing controls,” the CBN added.
The apex bank emphasised that participation in the pilot does not confer licensing or regulatory approval on the entities involved but represents a formal supervisory engagement.
Under the scheme, participating firms are required to submit monthly AML/CFT/CPF supervisory key performance indicators (KPIs), engage with the CBN and the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, and undergo reviews covering governance, customer onboarding, sanctions screening, transaction monitoring, and cross-border activities.
They are also expected to demonstrate credible implementation plans for compliance with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Travel Rule.
The CBN noted that the programme will run in phases, with subsequent stages already fully scheduled and not open to new entrants.
It added that all data submitted by participating firms would be treated as confidential supervisory information in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 and its internal confidentiality standards.
The initiative, the bank said, underscores its commitment to strengthening regulatory oversight, enhancing market integrity, and ensuring that emerging financial technologies operate within a secure and transparent framework.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Payments technology company, Flutterwave, has secured a microfinance bank license from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to operate full banking services in the country.
According to a statement, this license enables the company to hold funds and deposits directly, strengthening its financial infrastructure across its largest market and enabling more efficient financial services and settlement flows for consumers, businesses and enterprises.
The microfinance banking license acquisition follows Flutterwave’s purchase of Nigerian open-banking startup Mono in January 2026. The integration of Mono’s data-scraping and payment-initiation APIs was the precursor to this broader banking strategy, allowing Flutterwave to evolve into a vertically integrated financial “super-stack.”
Previously, global payment companies like Flutterwave operated via a sponsorship model, partnering with established commercial banks to access national clearing and settlement systems.
According to the statement, such an arrangement often limits a fintech’s pace of innovation and requires it to share a portion of the transaction value with the sponsoring institution.
By securing this banking license, Flutterwave gains greater control over how funds move within its ecosystem, including the ability to hold deposits and manage financial flows across its platform.
The company said it will continue to work closely with banking partners across the broader financial ecosystem.
The license also enables the company to internalise key elements of its financial value chain, improving operational efficiency and supporting faster product development.
This shift strengthens operational autonomy and allows Flutterwave to capture more value from the transactions processed within its ecosystem.
By operating more directly within the regulated financial system, Flutterwave can further optimise how money moves across its platform and improve settlement efficiency across its network of merchants, businesses and consumers.
“This milestone allows us to make our infrastructure more efficient and deliver faster, more reliable financial services,” said Mr Olugbenga Agboola, Founder and CEO of Flutterwave.
“By operating directly within the financial system, we can streamline money movement, accelerate settlement for merchants, and build products that support sustainable long-term growth,” he added.
Flutterwave also said that with this license, it is bringing the same infrastructure that has historically made it into a unicorn into a new generation of banking built for consumer financial services within the SendApp ecosystem, utilising business financial tools for businesses of every size, as well as managing complex financial operations, treasury, and liquidity.
Also, it will embed financial services for marketplaces and platform operators, while developers will benefit from financial infrastructure enabling the creation of financial products through APIs.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A building operated by Access Bank Plc in the Oniru area of Lagos State has been sealed by officials of the Lagos State Wastewater Management Office (LSWMO).
The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, said the facility was cordoned off over the “discharge of untreated faecal matter into the public drainage system.”
Mr Wahab said this causes “severe damage to the environment,” because the financial institution failed to use its wastewater treatment plant to process the faecal waste.
In a post on Thursday, the Commissioner said the state government was tipped off about the improper discharge, and it was discovered that the treatment plant was not working at the time officials of the agency arrived at the building.
He also claimed that while attempting to seal the bank’s office, officials of LSWMO were assaulted, promising to prosecute those behind the attack.
“Following a whistleblower complaint, I directed the Lagos State Wastewater Management Office team to visit the Access Bank Plc @myaccessbank building at Oniru, Victoria Island, where it was discovered that the wastewater treatment plant at the facility was non-functional, resulting in the discharge of untreated faecal matter into the public drainage system and causing severe damage to the environment.
“During the enforcement visit, officials of LSWMO were denied access to seal the facility. Security personnel and management representatives of the bank resisted our officers and, in the process, attacked members of the enforcement team.
“Consequently, the LSWMO team has taken samples of the effluent being discharged from the premises for laboratory analysis, and the results of the test came back positive.
“The state will also proceed to court to obtain the necessary orders for the arrest and prosecution of individuals involved in the attack on government officials carrying out their lawful duties.
“Meanwhile, enforcement officers will be reinforced to return and seal off the property tonight in line with the Lagos State Environmental Laws.
“There will be no sacred cows in the enforcement of environmental regulations. Any individual or organisation found violating environmental laws, regardless of status, will be held accountable,” he wrote.
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