World
Nigerian to Head Regional Maritime Development Bank
By Adedapo Adesanya
The headquarters of the proposed Regional Maritime Development Bank (RMDB) will be in Nigeria following the 12 per stake in the financial institution.
RMDB is being proposed to replace the Maritime Development Bank of Nigeria (MDBN) and Nigeria is playing big in the process, with the presidency ceded to the self-acclaimed giant of Africa, supported by the 25 countries that make up the Maritime Organization for West and Central Africa (MOWCA).
At the just-concluded public hearing on some maritime bills organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, the Director of Legal Services at the Federal Ministry of Transport, Mr Pius Oteh, said that the entire members of MOWCA in 2011 agreed to have a $1 billion as the capital base of the bank.
Mr Oteh said that the establishment of a maritime bank in Nigeria would have sent a wrong signal to other countries that are already committed to the formation of the RMDB.
“There is an agreement that dates back to 2011 where the Transport Ministers in West and Central Africa approved and ratified that the various governments of Maritime Organization for West and Central Africa. But for some period, there was no serious follow up on these decisions until about four years ago, we have re-energized this process.
“Countries have signed the charter to the bank, and we have enough number of countries to activate the process of the bank, as at this time processes are going on.
“The headquarters of the bank will be in Nigeria; the other 24 countries have conceded to that, and they have also agreed that a Nigerian will be the President of the bank. But it is going to be a private-public sector-driven bank, so the states in the two sub-regions of West and Central Africa collectively have 51 per cent of the shareholding of the bank given to the MOWCA states and these shares were allotted to them on the basis of the volume of trade and so naturally, Nigeria has the lion share of 12 per cent and the other 49 per cent will be for institutional investors.
“More like African Import Bank AFREXIM has shown a lot of interest, we have quite o lot of institutional investors particularly, within member countries who want to be part f the bank.
“Like I said, Dr Paul Adalikwu, a Nigerian, who is the current Secretary-General of MOWCA, has been given the mandate to follow the process and ensure that the bank takes off as quickly as possible. Hopefully, within this year.
“As a matter of fact, the Federal Ministry of Transportation is currently engaged in discussion with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for some assistance with respect to office spaces and all that.”
He said that with Nigeria at the helm of affairs, the country would be able to push its strides as a cooperative country.
“The point we are making is that having gone that far, having reached an agreement with sister countries in the two sub-regions, we will like to continue and conclude that process as quickly as possible and push ahead with the Nigerian initiative.
“It is likely to bring a wrong impression that we are no longer fully committed to the Regional Maritime Development Bank that is why we used that language that we should step down the Nigerian initiative and at the appropriate time, there is nothing wrong in having a domestic Maritime Development Bank.
“Given how far we have come with the Regional Maritime Development Bank and properly structured, the Bank will give Nigerian a wider playing field and more access to funds in terms of pulling funds from 25 countries instead of from a single country. So we think it is an initiative we should pursue to a conclusion before we take up any new initiative.
‘‘We are looking at one billion Dollars as capital base of the Bank.
Prior to this latest development, other stakeholders in the maritime industry kicked against the establishment of the Maritime Development Bank of Nigeria saying that it will be a waste of funds.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria regained its position as Africa’s leading destination for equity startup investment in the first half of 2026, raising $214 million in equity financing and a total of $254 million across equity and debt, according to the latest Africa: The Big Deal report.
The report, titled H1 2026: Mapping the Money, showed that Nigeria ranked second on the continent in total funding, behind Egypt, which attracted $327 million, while Kenya and South Africa followed with $126 million and $83 million, respectively.
However, the report noted that Egypt’s top position was largely driven by a single fundraising by electric mobility company Spiro, which secured $327 million, including $270 million in equity and $57 million in debt. Excluding debt financing, Nigeria emerged as Africa’s largest equity funding market in the first six months of the year.
According to the breakdown by Africa: The Big Deal, Nigeria’s equity funding of $214 million was higher than Egypt’s $183 million, while South Africa and Kenya attracted $66 million and $46 million, respectively.
Beyond funding value, Nigeria also led the continent in the number of startups that raised at least $100,000 during the review period, reclaiming the top spot after what the report described as an “underwhelming” second half of 2025.
The publication observed that Nigeria’s fundraising performance has remained relatively stable over the past few years and exceeded the $250 million mark for the first time since 2022, pointing to renewed investor confidence in the country’s startup ecosystem.
It also found that while the Big Four startup markets—Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya and South Africa—continued to dominate Africa’s investment landscape, their combined share of total funding stood at 58 per cent in the first half of 2026.
“Zooming back on the Big Four (110 out of 190 $100k+ deals, i.e. 58%), Nigeria is head and shoulders above its peers, with Egypt and Kenya almost tying, and South Africa in fourth position again,” the report noted.
The report highlighted contrasting performances among the continent’s largest startup ecosystems. While Nigeria and Egypt maintained strong funding momentum, Kenya recorded its weakest funding performance since early 2021 after a strong second half of 2025, and South Africa failed to attract $100 million in funding during the period despite leading the continent a year earlier.
Africa: The Big Deal also noted a broader shift in investor behaviour, with funding increasingly concentrated in larger transactions while early-stage investments continued to decline. According to the publication, the drop in smaller funding rounds reflects growing concerns about limited capital available for early-stage startups across Africa.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Accessing the US Dollar in the East Africa region has now been made easier with the expansion of the stablecoin settlement infrastructure of SCRYPT.
This development enables banks, payment providers and corporate treasury teams to move value into and out of the continent in real time.
Businesses paying international suppliers frequently have to convert local currency into USD before purchasing stablecoins for settlement, incurring FX conversions and spreads before any payment is made.
But SCRYPT is eliminating this intermediate conversion by enabling direct settlement corridors for local African currencies into stablecoins.
This development allows businesses to move from local currency to stablecoin settlement in a single licensed transaction, without first sourcing rationed bank dollars, as stablecoins are increasingly becoming settlement infrastructure rather than an investment product.
The expansion adds settlement support across four African currencies: the Kenyan shilling (KES), Tanzanian shilling (TZS), Rwandan franc (RWF) and Ugandan shilling (UGX). Each corridor is delivered through the same full-stack infrastructure our clients already use for trading, custody and treasury operations.
Speaking on this, the chief executive of SCRYPT, Norman Wooding, said, “Across Africa, stablecoin adoption is driven by economic need, not speculation.
“Businesses here are not chasing yield; they are trying to pay suppliers and manage treasury without losing margin to a banking system that rations dollars. Licensed, fair-rate dollar access is the clearest proof of what this infrastructure is for.”
Also commenting, the Managing Director of Markets & Trading at SCRYPT, Mr Gabriel Titopoulos, said, “Until now, reaching stablecoins from local African currencies meant buying scarce dollars and incurring several layers of conversion costs.
“SCRYPT removes this friction. Firms and payment providers can now settle straight from local currencies through live corridors, with local partners.”
World
African Graduates Association Promoting Multifaceted Initiatives With Russian Educational Institutions
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
In preparations for the third Russia-Africa Summit, scheduled for late October 2026, Dr Francois Ngan, deputy chairman of the Union of Associations of African Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities, during an official working visit, has held a consultative meeting with Professor Vladimir Filippov, the President of the Russian University of Peoples’ Friendship (RUDN), and former Minister of Higher Education of Russia, Chairman of the National Commission for Accreditation of Higher Education.
RUDN is an educational institution established in 1960, primarily to provide higher education to Third World students. It has now become a popular multidisciplinary spot for many students, especially from developing countries. The university offers various academic programmes and has research infrastructure that comprises laboratories and interdisciplinary centres. The university is named after the former Congolese leader, Patrice Lumumba.
Dr Francois Ngan and Professor Filippov discussed the importance of the Graduates Association as a continental platform dedicated to strengthening unity, cooperation, and promoting shared progress among African graduates who studied in the former Soviet Union and in the Russian Federation. They also reviewed multifaceted initiatives that could bring together alumni associations from across Africa, whose members obtained education and professional training, and cultural experiences in Soviet and Russian institutions of higher learning.
Professor Filippov expressed optimism in addressing emerging challenges as a result of shifting geopolitical changes, emphasised strategic cooperation in the educational sphere with Africa, in general, and with the Republic of Cameroon, in particular, and further about the integration of African students during their studies in the Russian Federation.
The meeting also touched on academic and scientific work, the possibility of rewriting a scientific thesis, and the official organisation of transferring versions translated into six languages for the library of RUDN. Significant questions relating to Russia’s educational opportunities, collaborations and partnerships involving African countries were thoroughly discussed.
The Union of Associations of African Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities was created under one continental umbrella to promote friendship, for professional networking, to engage in cultural exchange, and with particular emphasis on forging strategic cooperation between Africa and Russia.
