General
How Africa’s Largest Payments Network is Integrating Social Mission With Business Aspirations
Being deliberate about creating a “greater purpose” is essential to building an authentic corporate culture, engaging stakeholders, and navigating the evolving landscape of corporate philanthropy. This is the philosophy behind Africa’s largest digital payments network, Onafriq’s, extensive growth and vision to unify the continent’s digital payments landscape according to its General Counsel and Chief Risk Officer Funmi Dele-Giwa.
Dele-Giwa recently shared insights into the organisation’s unique position at the intersection of social impact and commercial ambition at the Women in Payments Symposium EMEA, held in London. During her speech, she delved into the company’s journey in delivering greater financial access and connecting all of Africa into a single integrated network that empowers both individuals and businesses.
“The purpose of Onafriq from the very onset was one of providing financial access to marginalised individuals on the African continent and having a positive impact in the countries we operate in and the clients we serve,” she said. “That is why Onafriq was built on the back of a strong belief that mobile money would serve as a strong enabler of financial access to millions of under- or unserved Africans.”
Established nearly 15 years ago with the mantra of “making borders matter less”, the company aims to facilitate cross-border payment services within Africa – as well as in and out of Africa. This is underpinned by the vision of its Founder and CEO Dare Okoudjou, that making a payment anywhere in the world, to anywhere across the globe should be as easy and as painless as it is to make a phone call.
Today, Onafriq’s payments network connects more than 1,300 cross-border payment corridors providing access to more than 500 million mobile wallets and 200 million bank accounts across 40 African markets. This vast digital infrastructure is a testament to its position as the “network of networks”, enabling services like cross-border payments, remittances, card issuing, agency banking and more, which facilitate seamless money flow from, to, and across the continent.
During her talk at the symposium, Dele-Giwa noted that remittance services were a key example of this marriage of concepts, having particularly emerged as a powerful tool for boosting economic growth and financial empowerment. By partnering with international remittance companies, the Onafriq network enables the significant pool of migrant workers from Africa in the diaspora to send and receive money efficiently and affordably. She notes, however, that remittances are not just the privy of the global north to south, as there is significant intra-Africa remittance demand which has traditionally remained unmet. Through partnerships with mobile network operators (MNOs) across the Continent, Onafriq is bridging gaps between countries like Kenya and Uganda, as well as Cameroon and Nigeria, by digitising and facilitating intra-Africa remittance flows.
“Strategic collaborations between key sectors of Africa’s financial services landscape are key to unlocking the full potential of remittances as a catalyst for economic growth and development,” said Dele-Giwa. “As such, fostering robust partnerships between payment networks and mobile money platforms is important to enabling greater remittance flows given the widespread adoption of mobile wallets across the continent.”
Another way that Onafriq is blending the principles of social betterment with business objectives is by empowering small businesses in Africa to flourish and grow by enabling access to a wider range of choices in disbursing or collecting digital payments over cash. Onafriq’s partnership with One Acre Fund is an example of how the company’s network has contributed to providing small-scale farmers with asset-based financing services.
“Our work to open up markets and connect people to opportunities continues to empower the African gig economy, enabling GDOs to deliver cash assistance to needy communities and international merchants to pay local creators, influencers and artists, as well as helping small traders to sell their goods across borders, by simplifying the ways they can pay and can get paid,” said Dele-Giwa.
Another notable aspect of Onafriq’s journey of positive social impact, according to Dele-Giwa, is its commitment to empowering women. Through its agent network in Nigeria, women entrepreneurs are able to generate additional income by becoming agents, and by using the Baxi point of sale device they can easily manage payments for their shops and market stalls. Furthermore, partnerships with organisations like the One Acre Fund helped to empower women in small-scale farming, amplifying their economic participation.
For those seeking to emulate Onafriq’s success, Dele-Giwa noted that it was important to align their social mission with the innovation and collaboration needed to achieve a positive impact while pursuing commercial success.
“Let’s remember, it’s not just about the services we offer. It’s about the impact we make while doing so,” she said. “It’s important to share those impactful stories of empowerment and positive change delivered as a result of your products and services, but it is also important to create a set of impact metrics to measure success by. This way you are always able to hold yourself accountable to employees, shareholders, regulators, clients, and other stakeholders.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Lagos State Government has expressed its readiness to get a brand-new Building Code next year, to achieve the high-performance standards needed to make Lagos a sustainable and Smart City.
The government’s readiness was disclosed at the Lagos State Executive Council Retreat on the Domestication of the Lagos Building Code, organised by the Office of the Special Adviser on e-GIS and Urban Development, held at Ikeja GRA on Wednesday.
Speaking during the retreat, Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu emphasised the need for more collaboration among all the ministries and agencies in the built sector, to ensure the state development in line with global best practices.
He said the motive behind the Lagos Building Code is to have a building regulation that would make Lagos much more resilient.
“We (Lagos State Government) are the first to domesticate the National Building Code, which is the creation of the Federal Government. We are not doing anything outside the vision at the sovereign and sub-sovereign levels. But what is unique about our own is the fact that all the cabinet members see the need to have an input because it would be an outcome that would affect lives and different ministries and agencies.
“So, there is a need for everybody to have a say, and at the end of the day, collectively we will resolve to have a way.
“What we are trying to do is for Lagos State to do what is obtainable internationally: have a building regulation in which we have a standard of construction in design, manner of land use occupancy, and use of building materials, which we believe would eventually improve and help with health, safety, and occupancy issues.
“It is all about building sustainably, making Lagos a lot more resilient and able to absorb shock in the future and able to stand in the comity of developed cities and city-states as we see in various parts of the world,” he said.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on eGIS and Urban Development, Mr Olajide Babatunde, stated that the Lagos Building Code is to complement the existing regulatory framework and provide a comprehensive solution to the challenges of land use, physical development, and urban planning.
Mr Babatunde said the Lagos Building Code will regulate building control, planning permission, and address the issues of setbacks; take care of the safety and sustainability of the environment; and also prevent the collapse of buildings.
“We have been working on the domestication of the National Building Code, and by next year, we are going to have our own brand-new Lagos Building Code. We have worked with professional bodies and people from academia, market women, and the public in general, and through a participatory approach, we can come out with a document that is acceptable to everyone and useful to the entire state,” he said.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Mr Olufemi Daramola, described the Lagos State Building Code initiative by the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration as the next step to Green Lagos that will enable the state to plan buildings properly and ensure durable infrastructure in the state.
During the retreat, members of the Lagos State Executive Council brainstormed and advocated aggressive sensitisation for residents of the State on the Lagos Building Code before implementation.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A report released by Spotify has revealed that in 2024, Apostle Femi Lazarus was the most streamed podcast on its platform, closely followed by Motivation Daily by Motiversity.
Podcasts are one of Africa’s favourite ways to tell stories. With almost 4 billion minutes of podcast audio played in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, the continent’s appetite for this content is loud and clear.
South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya listened to the most shows this year, with South Africa contributing over 2 billion minutes. If you started playing podcasts on one device today, it would make for about 30 centuries of listening.
“The numbers don’t lie. Podcasting is here to stay because it lets creators take control of their narratives and tell these stories on their terms while bringing their community along for the journey,” the Sub-Saharan Africa Podcast Manager for Spotify, Ncebakazi Manzi, stated.
Motivational shows around issues like managing finances, relationships, personal goals and health remain popular across the three leading countries. Shows like “The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett”, “Motivation Daily by Motiversity” and “The Success Addicted Podcast” have attracted listeners who want to get their lives in order and learn from the stories of inspirational people.
Audiences in Nigeria and South Africa embrace shows about spirituality. “Christian Motivation” had one of the most shared episodes in South Africa while “Apostle Joshua Selman” maintained his popularity in Nigeria for another year. As the continent’s second-largest podcast market, Nigeria listened to 700 million minutes in 2024 and it created half of the new shows published in Sub-Saharan Africa this year.
Even though spirituality dominated Nigeria’s top charts, the continued popularity of shows like “I Said What I Said” and “The HonestBunch Podcast” tell us that listeners also want conversation-style shows. Listeners in Kenya and South Africa also showed an affinity toward these shows.
A good laugh with friends
The “ShxtsnGigs” podcast, an opinion show hosted by two best friends James and Fuhad, tapped into audiences’ hunger for conversational shows. The humorous podcast has made its way to the top charts in six of the top 10 podcast-playing African countries. In Kenya, The 97s Podcast has been inspired by this approach where funny and frank chats between hosts Trevor, Frank and Dante have led the podcast to take the number-one spot in the country for the first time.
Kenya’s broader listening data shows that relationships are a meaningful taking point. Seven of the 10 most shared episodes in the country discuss love, sex lives and dating. Julia Gaitho’s “So This Is Love” holds three out of the top five most shared podcast episodes in the country. Her interviews resonated because she draws lessons from her guest’s stories about lost lovers.
Some listeners just wanted to laugh through the pain. Ensemble shows like “Mic Cheque Podcast” and “The Sandwich Podcast” made Kenyans feel like they were hanging out with a close circle of friends. When difficult topics come up, moments of infectious laughter help lighten the mood.
Women creators like Murugi Munyi, Julia Gaitho, Sharon Machira and Lydia K.M. take this comedic approach to a new level on shows like “The Messy Inbetween” and ‘It’s Related, I Promise’. This genre contributed heavily to the country’s 400 million podcast minutes streamed in 2024.
Below are the most streamed and shared podcasts for the year;
|
TOP STREAMED PODCASTS IN SOUTH AFRICA |
TOP STREAMED PODCASTS IN NIGERIA |
TOP STREAMED PODCASTS IN KENYA |
|
2. Motivation Daily by Motiversity 3. Success Addicted Podcast with the voice of Earl Nightingale ; Napoleon Hill ; Jim Rohn and many more |
|
TOP SHARED PODCAST EPISODES IN SOUTH AFRICA |
TOP SHARED PODCAST EPISODES IN KENYA |
TOP SHARED PODCAST EPISODES IN NIGERIA |
|
|
|
By Dipo Olowookere
A $15 million debt facility has been obtained by Watt Renewable Corporation from the AfriGreen Debt Impact Fund to finance hybrid solar power plants to be built and operated by the former, especially in Nigeria.
WATT intends to use the projects to serve commercial and industrial clients in Nigeria, particularly in the telecommunication and financial services sectors.
By integrating solar hybrid solutions, the firm aims to significantly reduce diesel consumption and CO2 emissions, enabling its clients to achieve substantial energy cost savings while promoting environmental sustainability.
As a pioneer in renewable energy solutions, WATT continues to drive innovation in Nigeria’s energy sector.
The company’s robust roll-out plan includes deploying hundreds of hybrid solar power sites nationwide to meet the growing energy demands of commercial & industrial clients.
This strategic expansion aligns with WATT’s vision to revolutionize energy access across Africa, enabling sustainable development and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The funds from AfriGreen provide the critical capital needed to accelerate WATT’s ambitious projects, strengthening its market position and empowering businesses with reliable and affordable energy solutions.
Business Post gathered that to mitigate the currency risk for WATT in the event of devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, AfriGreen is offering a local currency facility that matches the payment structure of the power purchase agreements.
“We are thrilled to partner with AFRIGREEN on this transformative journey to expand reliable and sustainable energy solutions across Africa.
“With this support, it enables us to accelerate our shared mission of providing hybrid solar power to businesses, reducing carbon emissions, and supporting economic growth while enhancing energy security for our clients,” the Managing Director of WATT, Mr Oluwole Eweje, said.
“We are delighted to support WATT in rolling out hundreds of hybrid sites across the country.
“This represents another key transaction for AFRIGREEN in Nigeria. The combination of high energy prices, good solar irradiation, and strong demand from industrial and commercial energy users makes this market particularly attractive for companies like WATT.
“By leveraging these favourable market conditions alongside WATT’s exceptional operational performance and a well-structured financing solution, we are setting the stage for a strong and lasting business partnership,” the Managing Director of AfriGreen, Mr Alexandre Gilles, stated.
-
Feature/OPED5 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism8 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz2 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking6 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy2 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking2 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports2 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
-
Technology4 years agoHow To Link Your MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile Lines to NIN