Banking
Unity Bank, Lagos Food Bank Address Hunger, Malnutrition
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Food items worth millions of Naira have been donated to Ogundimu Ilaje, a riverine community in the suburb of Lagos, by Unity Bank Plc and Lagos Food Bank.
No fewer than 150 cartons of food items tagged Unity Box of Hope were distributed to hundreds of households in the underserved community.
The gesture is a collaborative initiative to support and promote interventions addressing hunger and malnutrition in communities.
It is also part of the strategic Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSRs) of Unity Bank aimed at sustaining the improvement of health and social well-being of communities it operates.
The lender, in a statement, further said it supported the programme because its goals align with the Lagos Food Bank Initiative, a non-profit organisation committed to providing welfare programmes to indigent people.
The donation comes on the heels of the worsening economic situation in the country, especially with the soaring food inflation at 23.12 per cent as of August 2022, which has alleviated hunger in many households.
Addressing the beneficiaries at the venue of food distribution, Mr Hillary Oguebo, Unity Bank’s Head, Corporate Resources, said the bank, as an agric-focused financial institution, was fulfilling its core mandate in line with Bank’s drive for food security, adding that the Bank is pleased to donate the food items to the community to help ameliorate the impact of the rising cost of food on them.
“Unity Bank has a financing business model that is principally anchored, amongst others, on boosting agricultural production, and it is also useful for those who have not benefitted from the bank’s Agric financing package to receive direct food intervention as it is being done today.
“Due to a lot of factors, especially growing insecurity, food production has been impacted severely, leading to historical food inflation. That has left many households struggling and battling hunger. So, this is a thoughtful gesture that we hope to sustain to reach as many Nigerians who deserve this form of intervention at this critical period,” he stated.
With a score of 28.3, the Global Hunger Index ranks Nigeria 103rd out of 116 and classifies the country’s hunger level as serious. This is a result of the country’s growing food insecurity, which has risen to more than 80 per cent from less than 20 per cent about three decades ago.
Unity Bank has led some of the most important critical interventions in the agric sector in Nigeria in the recent past and boasts significant investment in the Agric sector over the past six years and a track record of financing smallholder farmers that spur food production through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Through a CSR initiative that feeds households in underserved communities, the Bank is redefining CSR through strategic interventions that align perfectly with its business model.
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.
