By Ahmed Rahma
The co-founder and Executive Director, Institutional Business & Investor Relations of VFD Group Plc, Mr Niyi Adenubi, has said the company is planning to expand the operations of its digital bank, V Bank, to other African countries.
V Bank has been a success in Nigeria, where it started its operations and the owners are already looking at taking the business to Ghana and Kenya, two other key markets on the continent.
Mr Adenubi, while speaking with Eleni Giokos of CNN Marketplace Africa, said talks are already ongoing with authorities of the two nations, noting that this is part of the company’s goal of becoming a pan African investment company.
“We are already looking at Ghana and we have started a conversation in Ghana. We are looking to deploy a small payment bank in Ghana using the V Bank platform.
“From Ghana, we also looking at Kenya- it’s a very exciting market. We definitely have ambition for Africa and if we get lucky in our lifetime, we will go global, but I am quite hopeful that we can land in Africa,” he said.
Mr Adenubi is a trained investment banker with over 10 years of hands-on experience in private equity, venture capitalism and financial advisory.
The entrepreneur started his banking career in his mid-20s in London and at various instances, he has played specific oversight on corporate governance and financial advisory roles to numerous firms both in Nigeria and in the United Kingdom, most notably with the Royal Bank of Scotland and ATOS Consulting.
“In my mid-20s, I was an investment banker in London.
“After about three or four years in investment banking consulting, I started thinking about my country and the continent. I started thinking of how to build businesses and create values in that space.
“My only expertise is investment banking so very quickly I set up an investment management firm called Paragon Partners and since that time we created 10-year strategies to build out initially a financial service holding company now a diversified investment company looking at financial services, power, education, and media – which is VFD Group,” he told Ms Giokos.
Mr Adenubi expressed optimism that his company will gain a market share of 15 to 20 per cent in the Nigerian banking space by next year.
“The initial plan was 15 per cent to 20 per cent of the banking market and either way, we are on track to meet that target even before half year next year.
“Till today, I think we still have about 40 million accounts, out of a population of 200 million,” he said.
