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 Modupe Gbadeyanka
The second African Markets Conference (AMC) will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from Sunday, February to Tuesday, February 24, 2026.
The event, hosted by Standard Bank, will bring together global institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, and African policymakers to catalyse the flow of capital into the continent’s most critical sectors.
The theme for this year’s edition is Mobilising Global Capital at Scale for Africa’s Growth and Development.
AMC 2026 will host a high-level delegation of decision-makers, ensuring that the dialogue leads to tangible commitments.
The conference will be structured around five high-impact pillars designed to move the needle on investment, including prioritising infrastructure as an asset class, accelerating the energy transition, deepening African capital markets and mobilising private capital, enabling intra-African trade and flows of capital, and addressing Africa’s sovereign debt and cost sustainability.
It is estimated that by 2050, Africa will add one billion people, more than half in cities, yet it invests only $75 billion of the $150 billion it needs annually for infrastructure. Standard Bank aims to use AMC 2026 to ensure that African priorities remain at the centre of the global financial discourse.
“This year’s engagement bridges the gap between policy ambitions and market realities. Africa urgently needs practical measures to deepen capital pools, improve market liquidity, and strengthen regulatory frameworks that give investors the confidence to deploy capital at scale.
“Mobilising capital is not just about funding projects; it is about building the foundation of a more balanced and inclusive global economy,” the chief executive of Corporate and Investment Banking at Standard Bank Group, Luvuyo Masinda, stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Inmates at the Ikoyi Correctional Centre in Lagos were recently full of joy when Fidelity Bank Plc donated some relief items to them.
The financial institution, through its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative known as Fidelity Helping Hands Programme (FHHP), handed over various household tools and gift items to the leadership of the correctional facility as part of its efforts to support the rehabilitation and development of indigent persons in society.
The Chief Human Resources Officer of Fidelity Bank, Mr Charles Nwachukwu, reaffirmed the bank’s deep commitment to transforming lives and restoring hope, emphasising that true progress lies not only in financial growth but in extending compassion and opportunity to those that society often overlooks.
“At Fidelity Bank, we believe that every individual deserves a second chance. Our approach to Corporate Social Responsibility is rooted in empathy, standing with communities, uplifting the vulnerable, and opening doors for brighter futures.
“By supporting inmates today, we are setting them on the true path of rehabilitation, empowering them to return tomorrow as productive and confident members of society,” the banker said.
The Deputy Controller of Corrections at Ikoyi Custodial Centre, Mr Julius Ogueri, who could not hide his excitement over the gesture, appealed to Nigerians to avoid cybercrimes and stigmatisation of ex-inmates.
Highlighting the challenges faced by correctional facilities in Nigeria, Mr Ogueri noted that Ikoyi correctional center initially designed for 800 inmates, now houses over 3,000 inmates, with 396 convicted persons and 3,604 awaiting trial.
Whilst thanking the bank, the Deputy Controller also emphasised the importance of rehabilitation, citing examples of inmates who have pursued education and skills acquisition, including 72 inmates studying with the National Open University of Nigeria and 120 inmates who have benefited from WAEC and GCE support.
Business Post reports that through the FHHP, staff across Fidelity Bank branches nationwide identify crucial interventions needed in their immediate community and raise funds to execute them. The bank’s management then matches this contribution with an equal amount and disburses it for the selected project.
The visit to the Ikoyi Correctional Centre reinforces the lender’s unwavering commitment to meaningful community impact and demonstrates its strong dedication to advancing social responsibility and rehabilitation efforts across the society.
By Dipo Olowookere
A new digital banking platform created to help business owners in the country to eliminate delays, queues, and operational inefficiencies has been introduced by Ecobank Nigeria.
This mobile application is to strengthen the growth and sustainability of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across Nigeria, allowing them to manage payments, monitor transactions, oversee cash flow, and run day‑to‑day financial operations directly from their mobile devices.
The Ecobank Business app, now available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, cements the bank’s position as a dependable growth partner to SMEs across all sectors, delivering tools that help businesses manage better, grow faster, and operate more competitively in a digital economy. – Ecobank Business — Your Growth Partner.
The introduction of this initiative further reinforces Ecobank’s broader commitment to empowering SMEs through digital innovation, sector‑specific value propositions, and financial solutions like structured loans, trade support, guarantees, and equipment financing.
It also aligns with the lender’s push to re-energise dormant SME accounts, deepen market penetration, promote digital adoption, and scale value‑chain financing through partnerships with corporate anchors.
According to the Executive Director for Consumer and Commercial Bank at Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Kola Adeleke, the Ecobank Business App was developed to address the unique challenges faced by Nigeria’s diverse SME landscape.
Speaking at the unveiling in Lagos, he explained that the platform caters to traders, retailers, tech start-ups, online businesses, hospitality operators, farmers, agro‑processors, manufacturers, construction firms, professionals, social commerce entrepreneurs, schools, associations, and organisations that require transparent and efficient financial management.
Mr Adeleke noted that the app delivers faster payment collection for merchants and retailers, seamless digital transactions for online businesses, efficient vendor and staff management for hospitality players, timely payment solutions for agriculture value chains, and secure handling of bulk and high‑value transactions for manufacturers and construction firms.
He added that professionals such as lawyers and consultants can issue invoices and receive payments easily, while schools and associations can streamline fees, dues, and reporting from a single platform.
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