Banking
Standard Chartered Develops Sustainable Supply Chain Assessment Tool
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A foremost financial institution, Standard Chartered, has developed a new sustainable supply chain assessment tool.
The tool can be used by companies to benchmark the resilience and sustainability of their supply chains, based on comparisons with peers across regions and sectors.
The system called Supply Chain Performance Indicator allows companies to do a “health check” on their operations and highlights which areas they need to focus on to achieve their aspirations.
The assessment is based on five indicators: environmental soundness and transparency of direct suppliers and of indirect or deep-tier suppliers; financial robustness; flexibility and adaptability; and collaboration and connectedness throughout the ecosystem.
Clients can use the results to identify their areas of weakness and seek advice and solutions from the bank to help achieve their goals.
The new tool follows the launch of Standard Chartered’s Sustainable Trade Finance proposition in March, strengthening its ability to help companies implement more sustainable practices and build more resilient supply chains.
In addition to a growing suite of sustainable trade finance products, the Bank also offers trade finance at cost to companies that meet the criteria of its $1 billion COVID-19 financing commitment, launched in March 2020.
The issues exposed by COVID-19 have prompted companies to rethink their supply chains, as the world looks to build back a more sustainable global economy.
The tool was developed based on insights from critical indicators of sustainable supply chains, the Bank’s report which surveyed close to 1,000 global companies, and looked at the resilience and sustainability of supply chains across regions and sectors based on the same five indicators – it also offers actionable insights for companies.
While 90 per cent of the respondents said sustainability and resilience are strategic imperatives, the survey revealed a significant gap: nearly two thirds of companies said their actual performance lags the importance they place on meeting each of the indicators.
Other key highlights include environmental and social practices in the supply chain may potentially be a major source of risk.
Only 40 per cent of those surveyed indicated confidence that they perform highly when understanding and monitoring environmental standards and labour practices.
In addition, it includes indirect or deep-tier suppliers appear to be the weakest link. Only 43 per cent of companies view environmental soundness and transparency of indirect suppliers as highly important.
While the findings show that there is much to be done, the report also highlighted a strong willingness among respondents to work with their financial institutions to address the gaps. They will need to expand their approach to supply chain management beyond operational efficiency, to improve their flexibility and financial robustness, while also managing ESG-related risks.
This includes enhancing access to finance for more financially resilient supply chains, particularly for lower tier suppliers who often do not get adequate financing; by making trade finance transactions more transparent and secure for better supply chain visibility; and by driving the adoption of sustainable practices across entire supply chains.
Simon Cooper, CEO of Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking & CEO, Europe & Americas, Standard Chartered, said: “As we try to build back to a more sustainable economy, we can help our clients with tools and solutions to make their supply chains more sustainable, more resilient and future-proof. Sustainable trade finance products are one way to ensure that complex supply chains adhere to sustainable best practices, and help companies achieve their sustainability goals as they grow their businesses.”
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.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The deputy managing director of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Limited, Mr Ini Ebong, has offloaded some shares of FBN Holdings Plc, the parent firm of the banking institution.
A regulatory notice from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited confirmed the development on Thursday.
It was disclosed that the transaction occurred on Friday, December 12, 2025, on the floor of the stock exchange.
The sale involved about 11.8 million shares, precisely 11,783,333 units traded at N31.14 per share, amounting to about N366.9 million.
Mr Ebong, who studied Architecture from University of Ife and obtained Bachelor and Master of Science degrees, became the DMD of First Bank in June 2024. Prior to this appointment, he was Executive Director, Treasury and International Banking since January 2022.
He was previously the Group Executive, Treasury and International Banking, a position he held since 2016 after serving as the bank’s Treasurer from 2011 to 2016.
Before joining First Bank, he was the Head of African Fixed Income and Local Markets Trading, Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, the Nigerian registered subsidiary of Renaissance Capital. He also worked with Citigroup for 14 years as Country Treasurer and Sales and Trading Business Head.
He has a passion for market development and has worked actively to drive change and internationalisation of the Nigerian financial markets: foreign exchange, fixed income and securities.
He has worked closely with regulatory bodies such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) in assisting with the development of fresh monetary and foreign exchange policies, to broaden and deepen markets and open them up to international practices.
At various times he has facilitated and delivered courses and seminars on a wide variety of subjects covering Money Markets, Securities and Foreign exchange trading and market risk management subjects to regulators, corporate customers, banks and market participants.
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