Economy
Savings for Capital Formation, Investment Good for Economy—Ahmed
By Dipo Olowookere
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has said the mobilisation of domestic savings for capital formation and investment remains a critical success factor for harnessing the true growth potential of the Nigerian economy.
Speaking during the submission of a report of the Working Group on National Savings Scheme in Abuja on Tuesday, Mrs Ahmed said this would also deepen the capital market.
According to her, the recently launched Medium-Term National Development Plan 2021-2025 recognizes the role of a deep financial market in supporting the high and sustainable growth the plan aims to attain, expressing hopes that the proposals made in the report will guide the government in taking actionable steps to actualize the objectives outlined.
The Minister promised to review the report and work with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other stakeholders to ensure that the country fully realizes the potential benefits of the scheme to the country.
“We understand that this initiative will involve several other agencies such as the CBN, FIRS, NAICOM and other important stakeholders. We will leverage on our collaborative working environment within the government to ensure we get necessary buy-in and commitment from relevant stakeholders.
“On behalf of the federal government and the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, I extend my sincere appreciation for your selflessness in giving your time and skill in this painstaking work in support of the government.
“I trust that we will count on your patriotic spirit when we call on you for further support in this or other laudable endeavours for our dear country,” Mrs Ahmed said.
Earlier, the Director-General of SEC, Mr Lamido Yuguda, stated that the need to establish a National Savings Strategy was outlined in the 10-years Capital Market Master Plan “as one of the key strategies to enhance capital formation by mobilizing domestic funds for investment to drive rapid economic growth.”
“It envisaged the deliberate provision of risk capital as venture capital and private equity that are naira based and more committed to the long-term prosperity of Nigeria as well as create a buffer to the instability created by foreign investors.
“The CAMMIC commissioned a white paper on a National Savings Strategy and recommended to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning the formation of a working group to explore the feasibility of the report findings,” he added.
Mr Yuguda thanked the Minister for graciously embracing this initiative and constituting the team, expressing optimism that she will accept the recommendations of the group and facilitate the adoption of the National Savings Scheme in the nation’s development program.
“We are indeed grateful for your commitment and efforts to position our market where it deserves to be – a capital market that will broaden access to economic prosperity by enabling the emergence of financially responsible citizens, accelerate wealth creation and wealth distribution, provide capital to small and medium scale enterprises, and catalyse housing finance,” he added.
While presenting the report, Dr Ore Sofekun, a member of the committee and CEO of Foothold Advisors Limited, on behalf of the Committee Chairman, Mr Fola Adeola, said the scheme will be open-ended and considering its medium-term to long-term objective, participants will have the opportunity to decide how their contributions will be invested and will be able to make periodic re-allocations.
To allow for product diversification and provide savers flexibility and choice, she stated that multiple investor risk/return profiles have been designed with corresponding savings products.
These products will allow service providers to offer an array of diversified product options tailored to match customer needs.
On the implementation roadmap, Ms Sofekun said the scheme will be subject to the overall supervision of SEC and structured, to start, as a department within the agency.
She added that with the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) of 2007 currently being reviewed, a new section should be introduced in the proposed Investments and Securities Bill (ISB) to provide for the establishment of the National Savings Scheme as a mandatory scheme and other related matters.
“The new provisions in the ISB should be articulated to give the NSS its own advisory board. The governance structure of the scheme should be robust and transparent with stringent measures in place to ring-fence the assets of the scheme.
“The implementation mechanism is designed to consider practical realities and minimize complexity. The main objective is to create a stable and optimal financial intermediation structure where channels and savings products are easily accessible, and an effective and robust institutional framework is established.
“The overriding goal is to incentivize the population to save, have access to various savings-investment products and ultimately, provide a pool of funds to finance capital investments. The initial take-off expenses should be borne primarily by the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning with some funding provided by the SEC,” she added.
The SEC launched a 10-year Capital Market Masterplan in 2015. The commission at that time believed that having just emerged from a bubble that negatively impacted the performance and confidence in the Nigerian capital market, it was expedient to come up with a market-wide strategic blueprint that had the buy-in of all stakeholders aimed at making our market deeper, vibrant and more effective.
The implementation of the initiatives in the 10-year master plan will transform the Nigerian market, facilitate the diversification of our economy, encourage savings and create wealth.
This will no doubt grow investor confidence, improve the depth and breadth of the market in terms of product offerings, engender market integrity, and contribute to the country’s economic growth.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the leading local energy firms, Oando Plc, delivered an impressive financial performance in the first six months of 2026, according to details of its results filed to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
Between January and June 2026, revenue surged by 20 per cent to N2.1 trillion from N1.7 trillion in the same period of 2025, driven by growth in the Exploration & Production and Trading segments of the business.
Also, the net profit grew by 8 per cent year-on-year to N68.6 billion from N63.3 billion, supported by improved operating profits and tax credits.
It was observed that the organisation deepened its domestic gas monetisation portfolio with the commencement of long-term gas supply of 11.2 MMscfd to the newly commissioned 60 MW Bayelsa Independent Power Plant.
“The first half of 2026 marks an important inflexion point in Oando’s journey. Over the past two years, our priority has been to successfully integrate one of the most significant upstream acquisitions in Africa and unlock the full value of our expanded portfolio. The progress achieved during the period demonstrates that we are now delivering the operational and financial outcomes expected from that transformation,” the chief executive of Oando, Mr Adewale Tinubu, stated.
Commenting further on the results, Mr Tinubu said, “Operational efficiency underpinned our performance during the period as we strengthened asset integrity, improved facility reliability and reinforced security across our operating areas, resulting in average facility uptime of 92 per cent while reducing production operating costs by 18 per cent to $16.83 per boe.”
“Our development programme also gathered significant momentum during the period as we successfully drilled and completed two land development wells, with an additional land well currently being drilled, while mobilising a second drilling rig to accelerate activity across our operated portfolio.
“In parallel, we continued an extensive programme of rig-less well interventions designed to restore production, sustain plateau output and mitigate natural field decline. Together, these activities increased average production to 42,789 boepd, representing 16 per cent year-on-year growth.
“This translated into a stronger financial performance, with revenue increasing by 20 per cent to N2.1 trillion, while the business generated N179.5 billion in operating cash, improving liquidity. Profit after tax also increased by 8 per cent to N68.6 billion, reflecting the overall improvement in operating performance during the period,” he pointed out.
The Oando chief also said, “Looking ahead in 2026, our priorities remain firmly centred on completing our seven-well drilling programme and portfolio-wide well intervention campaign while delivering production of circa 50,000 boepd.
“Beyond 2026, our identified inventory of 62 development wells, supported by 55 planned well interventions, provides a clear pathway towards our medium-term production ambition of approximately 100,000 boepd.
“Furthermore, we shall execute an intensive fundraising and balance sheet restructuring programme to optimise our capital structure, strengthen our financial position, improve working capital, enhance financial flexibility and ensure the business is appropriately funded to accelerate growth and maximise long-term shareholder value.
“We have built a resilient operating platform and established a clear roadmap for growth. Our focus is now on translating our significant opportunities into higher production, a stronger balance sheet and superior long-term returns for our shareholders.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Africa-focused fintech company PalmPay has joined the ranks of unicorn startups after attaining a valuation of more than $1 billion, as the digital payment platform prepares for a potential initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong.
According to a report by Bloomberg on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter, the Hong Kong-headquartered company is in advanced discussions to raise about $200 million in a new funding round that would cement its unicorn status and support its next phase of expansion.
The planned fundraising comes as PalmPay accelerates its growth strategy across Africa and Asia, while positioning itself for a public listing that could become one of the most significant fintech IPOs involving an Africa-focused company in recent years.
PalmPay’s move follows a period of rapid growth in Nigeria, where it has become one of the country’s largest digital financial services providers. Alongside OPay and Moniepoint, the company forms the trio that dominates Nigeria’s retail digital payments and agency banking market, a segment driven by millions of point-of-sale (POS) transactions processed daily.
With PalmPay’s latest valuation milestone, all three leading Nigerian fintechs have now achieved unicorn status. While OPay has previously disclosed plans to pursue a listing in the United States, Moniepoint has remained focused on expanding its banking and business services without publicly indicating IPO ambitions.
Founded in 2019 after securing a Mobile Money Operator (MMO) licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), PalmPay has built one of the country’s fastest-growing fintech ecosystems. The company says it now serves more than 35 million registered users and over 600,000 merchants, supported by an extensive network of more than 500,000 mobile money agents nationwide.
The platform offers a broad suite of financial services, including peer-to-peer transfers, bill payments, airtime purchases, savings, credit products, merchant payment solutions and agency banking services. PalmPay says it processes as many as 15 million transactions daily, reflecting the increasing adoption of digital payments across Nigeria.
Beyond its home market, the fintech has expanded into Tanzania, Ghana, and Bangladesh, underscoring its ambition to become a leading emerging-market digital bank. Industry analysts view the expansion as part of a broader strategy to diversify revenue streams while replicating its Nigerian success in other underbanked markets.
PalmPay has attracted backing from prominent global investors, including Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer MediaTek and smartphone maker Transsion Holdings, whose Tecno, Infinix and itel brands command significant market share across Africa. Their support has helped PalmPay leverage smartphone penetration to drive financial inclusion through mobile-first banking services.
As part of efforts to strengthen its leadership ahead of its next growth phase, PalmPay recently appointed Mr Samuel Oluyemi as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for its Nigerian business. Mr Oluyemi joined the company after more than two decades at the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), where he played key roles in developing the country’s digital payments infrastructure.
If completed, the fundraising and eventual Hong Kong listing would further underscore growing international investor confidence in African fintech companies despite a more cautious global venture capital environment. The proceeds are expected to support PalmPay’s geographical expansion, deepen its product offerings, invest in technology infrastructure and strengthen its competitive position in Africa’s rapidly evolving digital financial services industry.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Market bellwethers, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 2.08 per cent on Monday, August 3.
CSCS Plc, the Nigerian securities depository company, gained N10.00 to close at N112.00 per share compared with the previous session’s N102.00 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc advanced by N4.71 to quote at N152.64 per unit versus last Friday’s N147.93 per unit.
As a result, the NASD Security Index (NSI) added 92.14 points to finish at 4,523.85 points compared with the preceding session’s 4,431.71 points, and the market capitalisation appreciated by N55.31 billion to N2.715 trillion from N2.659 trillion.
Business Post reports that the price of MRS Oil Plc crashed during the trading day by N12.00 to N120.00 per share from N132.00 per share, and UBN Property Plc dipped by 3 Kobo to N1.90 per unit from N1.93 per unit.
Trading data showed that the volume of securities exchanged rose by 113.1 per cent to 1.5 million units from 690,990 units, and the number of deals climbed by 19.2 per cent to 31 deals from 26 deals, while the value of securities slid by 13.1 per cent to N65.2 million from N75.0 million.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 76.8 million units traded for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
