Economy
Africa’s Fintech, Mobile Payments Sector Gets $100m
By Dipo Olowookere
Close to $100 million of fundraising has been injected already in 2018 into Africa’s bourgeoning fintech and mobile payments sector, with a significant amount of capital still to be deployed this year, and prospects for the sector looking bullish, according to telecom, media and tech news and events company, TMT Finance.
EMEA Editor at TMT Finance, Joseph d’Arrast, stated said, “The increasing demand for payment transaction and lending services are attracting investment from mobile operators, banks and international funds, all jostling to position themselves across the continent.
“These new initiatives also achieve inclusive goals set by international development finance institutions, which have been joining multiple fundraisings over the last twelve months.”
Demand for services are also tipped to see a large uptick: financial transactions made via the internet or a mobile phone are expected to grow from $200 million at the moment to an eyewatering $3 billion by 2020, according to a recent report by pan-African banking group Ecobank.
Regulation, access to reliable and affordable internet and the development of blockchain are also all key topics affecting Africa’s Fintech sector, according to d’Arrast.
“We expect B2B lending platforms and anti-fraud startups to attract most interest from investors. Venture capital funds are playing an important role – both local firms and international investors often originating from Europe or the USA,” he said.
With huge opportunities for fundraising and investment in the space, chief executives and leaders from Africa’s key fintech and payment companies will join a dedicated Mobile Payments & Fintech panel at TMT Finance Africa 2018 on Sep 19 in London to discuss investment strategies. Speakers on the session include: Chris Low, Group CEO, Letshego; Alix Murphy, Director of Mobile Partnerships, WorldRemit; Ercin Eksin, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Lidya ; Rostan Schwab, Africa Head Fintech Investments, IFC; and Adia Sowho, VP Commercial / MD, Nigeria, Mines.io.
A deeper dive into how to grow and scale fintech companies in Africa will also take place earlier in the day at the conference on a dedicated breakout session, with CEOs and MDs represented from Verdant Capital, goAfrica, Strider, Transsnet Payments, MFS Africa Ltd, One Finance & Investment Limited and chaired by advisory firm Obsidian Occident.
Over 70 key speakers have been announced for the event, with CxOs and senior executives also confirmed from companies including Orange, IHS Towers, Econet Wireless, Millicom Africa, The Carlyle Group, Standard Bank, PAIX, East Africa Data Centre, Ethos Private Equity, Rack Centre, Jumia, Uber, Intelsat, Huawei, Credit Suisse and World Remit, among others.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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