Category: Business Day

Utica Capital Limited has launched a N20 billion closed-ended venture capital fund to accelerate investment and deepen the growth of Nigeria film industry.

According to the company, the venture capital registered and approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Nigeria aims to reduce the N200billion funding gap in Nigeria’s film industry.

Adesegun Akin-Olugbade, chairman, Board of Directors, Utica Capital while speaking at the launch of the initial N5 billion tranche of Series 1 of the Utica Film Fund said the fund was released to boost the competitiveness of the country’s film industry at the global level.

‘Nollywood is more than entertainment. It is a cultural powerhouse, a billion-dollar industry, and one of Nigeria’s greatest exports to the world. Every day, over 35 million people consume Nollywood content. Our films travel across borders, shape perceptions of Africa, and provide livelihoods for millions. Yet, for too long, this industry has been underfunded, relying on personal savings, informal loans, and small-scale investors,’ Akin-Olugbade said.

According to him, despite global ranking and audience, the country’s film industry has suffered underfunding, insisting that the newly launched fund will open doors for investors to invest in the film industry.

‘We are not just launching another investment product; we are making history. For the very first time in Nigeria, and indeed in Africa, the Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a specialised Venture Capital Fund dedicated to the film industry. The Utica Film Fund is, therefore, a pioneer, blazing the trail where finance and creativity intersect.

‘With a structured, SEC-approved, professionally managed vehicle, we are creating a channel for institutional and high-net-worth investors to participate in the growth of Nollywood and to earn competitive, risk-adjusted returns while doing so. This is not charity; this is smart investing, backed by rigorous due diligence, strong governance, and a diversified portfolio strategy,’ he said.

The chairman urged investors to leverage the funding not just for profit but also for cultural preservation and growth of the Nigeria film industry.

‘We invite pension funds, insurance companies, asset managers, and private investors to seize this unique opportunity. By investing in the Utica Film Fund, you are not only securing attractive financial returns, you are also investing in Nigeria’s cultural legacy, job creation, and global reputation. This is the beginning of a new chapter. A chapter where Nollywood is no longer underfunded, but rather, globally empowered,’ he added.

Ola Belgore, Managing Director of Utica Capital lament the absence of institutional capital in the industry despite proof of strong return, insisting that the firm through the U-film investment is here to bridge the gap.

He said, ‘Nollywood is not just an industry. It is a vital force, the second-largest film industry in the world, producing more than 2,500 films each year, reaching over 35 million viewers daily, and generating over N14.5 billion in export earnings in the first half of 2024 alone.

‘Yet, for all its scale and influence, Nollywood remains deeply underfunded. More than 95 percent of its financing still comes from personal savings and informal loans. Institutional capital is almost absent, despite clear and consistent proof of strong returns. That is the gap we are here to close.’

He said the 10-year investment is structured to invest in high-growth opportunities across the entire film value chain including production, distribution, streaming, infrastructure, and licensing.

According to Belgore, possible return on investment through the fund stands at a net internal rate of return of 58.2 percent over the life of the fund, with an average gross IRR of 89.4 percent.

He said, ‘U-Film offers attractive returns. The projected multiple returns on invested capital stand at approximately 4.5 times over the life of the fund. Importantly, Utica Capital will invest alongside our partners, ensuring our interests remain fully aligned with yours.’

The MD added that the fund goes beyond financial performance, expanding to other areas like job creation with thousands benefitting directly and indirectly, across the creative and production value chains while increasing foreign exchange inflows through strategic partnerships with global streaming platforms.

‘Most of all, it is about national pride; telling Nigerian stories with Nigerian voices, and sharing our culture with the world,’ he added

Belgore call on investors to queue on not only for investment return but also the growth of Nigeria’s film industry

‘The Utica Film Fund is now officially open for subscription, but only to qualified investors under Nigerian SEC regulations. The minimum investment is set at ?10 million for high-net-worth individuals and ?100 million for institutional investors. Investors can choose to subscribe in either Naira or U.S. Dollars.’

The initiative, according to the firm also aligns with the Federal Government’s agenda to diversify the economy, strengthen the non-oil sector, and establish Nigeria as a cultural and creative hub on the global stage.

Let’s talk about the Global Debt Initiative, which is taking centre stage at GITFiC.

Over the past years, we noticed that solutions designed outside Africa for Africans were not helping the continent’s financial architecture.

This highlighted the need for an integrated, indigenous African financial architecture, cooked by Africans, made for Africans, and implemented by Africans. This vision gave birth to the Global Debt Initiative last year, bringing together specially invited stakeholders for its inaugural edition.

The process began with initial foresights, which we then presented to our stakeholders, organised in tiers. Our tier-four global stakeholders included the African Development Bank, engaged through a published position paper, the United Nations via the office of the Secretary-General, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, and other tier-one and tier-two partners. These discussions were fruitful, with the African Development Bank contributing significantly under the guidance of the then-president’s appointed vice president.

The Secretary-General also contributed, delegating UNECA’s West African Director to act on his behalf. Numerous other stakeholders provided input as well.

Today, this collaborative effort has resulted in a holistic position paper that laid the foundation for the entire Global Debt Initiative conversation.

One challenge Africa faces is the credit rating issue. Are we bringing both borrowers and lenders into the conversation? Are they part of what is happening here?

When we began this conversation last year, we reached out to major global credit rating agencies, SandP, Moody’s, and Fitch, inviting them multiple times to join the discussion.

But developing an African solution that gains global acceptance is no easy task. In one 45-50-minute session with Fitch, they made it clear that even the African Union cannot compel their participation. Such conversations, they said, are simply not in their interest.

Still, the African Union, through its F4 structure, plans to establish an African Credit Rating Agency, integrated with the African Stock Exchange and the African Central Bank. At the AU conference in Accra last year, Nigeria even presented the proposed headquarters for the Central Bank, signalling strong continental progress.

While we may eventually not need global agencies, we still rely on them now; they determine international borrowing limits and convey our economic performance to the world. Even when unfavourable, their assessments set the global narrative.

At GITFIC, we counter this by publishing monthly debt situation reports with robust statistics for all 54 African member states, challenging the conventional international narratives.

Let’s talk about the AfCFTA Tertiary Student Congress, which is a major highlight of what is going on during GITFIC.

If you have followed GITFIC closely, you would know that we have been part of the AfCFTA conversation since 2018 in Kigali. The very nomenclature of AfCFTA inspired the third edition of our conference at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa in 2019.

At that event, we pledged that we would never relent in our activities around the AfCFTA until it became impactful, until it reached the peak of its goals. We committed ourselves not to let go. Since then, we have carried out several sensitisation initiatives across Ghana and in other African countries, organising multiple international conferences. At these gatherings, we brought in experts, chief trade negotiators, and central as well as regional banks. For instance, when the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) was launched, we brought stakeholders to Accra to discuss its implications. We have worked with every major actor you could think of in the ecosystem to ensure that education and sensitisation organising around the African Continental Free Trade Area became part and parcel of daily economic discourse.

We also introduced the tertiary student clubs, which currently exist in universities across Ghana and Togo, and we are gradually expanding to other member states. The aim is to enhance youth involvement in AfCFTA through the educational sector.

That’s not all. Earlier this year, in March, at the World Bank office in Accra, we launched a curriculum on the AfCFTA. Stakeholders gathered to discuss and review the curriculum, which was designed to be adopted by universities across the African continent. At present, three universities are already teaching this curriculum, and more institutions are applying to adopt it. We are rolling out this adoption in phases.

The need to extend sensitisation further among the youth is what inspired the creation of the AfCFTA Tertiary Student Congress. This congress will provide a centralised platform every year for universities to send student representatives. These students will engage in deep discussions on policies and policy-related issues within Africa’s education sector, particularly how they intersect with the sustainability of the AfCFTA. Each congress will also serve as an opportunity to elect new executives for the various student clubs annually.

This is what led to the establishment of the inaugural Tertiary Student Congress, which is being integrated into the second Global Debt Initiative conversation this October.

What outcomes are you expecting from the students themselves?

The students will be directly involved in policy matters related to intra-African trade. They will participate in discussions around entrepreneurship and industrialisation, because young people are at the centre of Africa’s future. When they leave school and graduate, the question is: how can they incorporate these principles into their daily lives to strengthen intra-African and inter-African trade?

If you don’t involve students at this formative stage, if you don’t immerse them, and I use that word deliberately, into AfCFTA, you risk losing out on sustainability. You also risk limiting the initiative from reaching its full potential. So, these are the activities we want to instill in the students: policy on intra-African trade, policy on industrialisation, policy on entrepreneurship, policy on education, and policy coherence.

In short, policy is the recurring theme. We want students to own these discussions, benefit from them, and then use them to their advantage after graduation.

Invitations have already gone out through diplomatic channels to universities across the continent and even to African institutions in the diaspora. The students will come to Accra to discuss AfCFTA, explore its opportunities, and define their roles in ensuring its realisation. They must make sure that AfCFTA does not end up as another nine-day wonder or a myth.

Look at the European Union; it took them nearly 30 years to build their union into what it is today. However, in Africa, we believe that we can achieve progress much faster because we have an energetic, educated, and well-equipped youth population. This is why we are gathering students for the first-ever Tertiary Student Congress on the African continent: to instill ownership of AfCFTA in them, promote the expansion of student clubs, and support the adoption of the AfCFTA curriculum in more universities.

How will the outcomes of GITFIC be monitored after the conference?

We have a peer review team that handles follow-up. If you check our website, you’ll see that each year, after our annual meetings, we publish both an action plan and a communiqué. The action plan outlines responsibilities: who is to do what, which stakeholder or partner is expected to carry out which task, and timelines for delivery.

The peer review team monitors these activities closely and ensures implementation. For example, under our ‘GITFIC Agenda 2031’, which encompasses both the Global Debt Initiative and the AfCFTA Implementation Initiative, there is a dedicated committee serving as the peer review backbone. This committee ensures that every action plan under both initiatives is brought to its logical conclusion with tangible success stories and impact outcomes.

The point is to prevent our resolutions from ending up shelved in offices and libraries. And that approach has been successful year after year, which is why we continue to get concrete results.

How do you envision GITFIC’s role in shaping debt, trade, and finance policy, not just in Ghana, but across Africa, in the next five to ten years?

Well, as I mentioned earlier, we have the ‘GITFIC Agenda 2031’. It is a six-year development plan that has been formally adopted by the government and integrated into Ghana’s 50-year development plan. The National Development Planning Commission is leading its implementation, with full support to make it succeed.

Within these six years, we expect member states to drastically reduce their debt levels to create fiscal space for economic growth. That is the priority. Second, we aim to establish the most practicable debt sustainability mechanisms through the creation of debt clubs and creditor clubs. You asked earlier whether creditors themselves are engaged. Yes, they are.

For example, in a meeting we had just last week with the United Nations, organised by the Chief of Cabinet of the Secretary-General, we discussed how the UN could help facilitate meetings with creditors, including the Paris Club, multilateral creditors, bilateral creditors, and both private and public lenders. These engagements will continue in the coming weeks and months after the second conference, as we explore practical solutions.

Interestingly, when the Secretary-General himself joined the Global Debt Initiative, his call exceeded our expectations. He said, ‘Is it possible for us to have another round of 100 per cent debt cancellation?’ and he believed our platform could serve as the pathway to that outcome. That is why the UN has aligned itself with the initiative, aiming to spearhead and champion a new wave of debt cancellation.

So, as we expand our engagements with both creditors and debtor nations, initially focused on Africa but now also including the Global South, our objectives are clear: reduce debt drastically, implement strong debt management practices, and ensure nations do not relapse into unsustainable borrowing.

At 65, Nigeria is old enough to command respect, yet young enough to reinvent itself. But instead of marking this milestone with pride, many Nigerians have chosen to curse the country, to refuse to celebrate her, and to dismiss her future as hopeless. This trend is not only dangerous, it is self-destructive.

Words create perception.

Nigeria is not just a government; it is her people. When we curse Nigeria, we curse ourselves. When we brand our country as corrupt, hopeless, or irredeemable, we reinforce the very stereotypes outsiders already hold against us. We are the first ambassadors of Nigeria, and the words we use shape both global perception and our national identity.

Other nations face deep flaws. The United States struggles with racism and inequality, the UK with economic stagnation and disunity, and the EU with political fractures. Yet, their citizens rarely call their countries worthless. They criticise, yes, but they also defend. That balance is why they maintain global respect. Meanwhile, many Nigerians reduce their contributions to WhatsApp rants and social media curses.

A call to build, not just complain

Nigeria does not need more spectators; she needs builders. If all we can offer at 65 years of independence is condemnation, then history will count us complicit in the very decline we complain about.

Here is what real engagement looks like:

Organise politically: If the existing parties have failed us, let us create a new one not driven by moneybags but by like minds. A party built on brains, not bullion vans. One that thrives on ideas, strategy, and a clear manifesto rather than cash politics.

Step up and step in: Criticism from the sidelines will not fix Nigeria. Some of us must run for office, starting at the local level. Others must lend expertise to credible candidates. When your children ask what role you played, it will not be enough to say you forwarded complaints on WhatsApp.

Share solutions across sectors: We can build citizen-led organisations that track government promises, monitor manifestos, and demand accountability. If leaders promise 1,000 schools, we must count them. If they pledge roads, we must check if they were built. Accountability is not foreign; it is local, and it begins with us.

Leverage our connections: Let’s face it, every Nigerian knows someone in government. A friend, a cousin, a classmate, a neighbour. Instead of gossiping about failings, let’s use these connections to push for reforms and real change.

Nigeria happened to us.

Nigeria is not an abstract idea; it is us. It is our families, our communities, our future. To curse Nigeria is to curse ourselves. To abandon her is to abandon what is possible.

This Independence season, let us resolve to move beyond lamentation to organisation, beyond cynicism to activism, and beyond criticism to contribution. Nigeria at 65 is not the end of the story. It can be the beginning of a new chapter, but only if we write it together.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is launching a phased operational overhaul of the Nigerian Fixed Income Market starting in November. The initiative aims to significantly boost transparency and efficiency across Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.

The first phase of the reform is set to begin in November. As detailed in a formal communication signed by Okey Umeano, Acting Director of the Financial Markets Department, the CBN will be taking full, direct control of both the trading platform and the settlement process for all fixed income transactions.

‘This transition will enable the CBN to assume direct responsibility for the management of the trading platform and handle end-to-end settlement activities under the Bank’s established settlement system for financial market transactions,’ the statement read.

This market intervention is a key part of broader financial market reforms. The CBN’s core objective is to enhance regulatory oversight and strengthen the market’s ability to effectively support the transmission of monetary policy and, ultimately, foster economic growth.

The first phase of the overhaul is structured around four key milestones. It begins with User Acceptance Testing (UAT), which is scheduled for the second week of October 2025 and involves comprehensive testing of the new settlement infrastructure.

Following successful UAT, a Pilot Phase will run concurrently with the existing system to guarantee operational stability before full migration.

The first major step, Go-Live 1 (Settlement Process), is slated for November 3, 2025, marking the full migration of fixed income market activities to the new settlement process.

Finally, the second major step, Go-Live 2 (Trading Platform), is targeted for December 1, 2025, and will activate the CBN-sponsored trading environment for Primary Dealers, Market Makers (PDMM), Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), and other authorised participants.

The CBN acknowledged FMDA’s pivotal role in developing Nigeria’s financial markets and called for continued cooperation.

‘We look forward to your continued partnership as we work together to deliver a more efficient, transparent, and resilient fixed income market,’ the Bank stated.

Premier Oiwoh, managing director and chief executive officer, Nigeria’s Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), has announced plans to eliminate transfer fees on the NIBSS Instant Payment (NIP) platform in a bid to accelerate the country’s transition from cash-heavy transactions to a smart, digitally driven economy.

He disclosed this at the Globus Bank Fintech Summit 2025 in Lagos while delivering a keynote address themed ‘From Cashless to Smart Economies: Shaping the Next Frontier of Financial Innovation.’

‘By next year, we’ll be starting a program towards the complete elimination of the NIP fee, making it zero cost into a subscription model. The general idea is to promote innovation around it,’ Oiwoh said.

‘Our biggest competition is not fintechs or banks; it is cash on the streets. Eliminating fees will make digital payments more attractive to everyday Nigerians,’ he added.

According to Oiwoh, the future of Nigeria’s financial ecosystem hinges on strengthening national payment infrastructure, deepening interoperability, and building resilient systems that can withstand fraud, cyber threats, and operational failures. He noted that while India and China had deliberate national strategies to bring the unbanked into the financial system, Nigeria still operates largely in silos. He called for a coordinated action plan led at the highest levels of government to drive true financial inclusion, stressing that opening bank accounts without ensuring economic inclusion is insufficient.

Oiwoh also praised the resilience of Nigeria’s regulators, particularly the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), for driving standards such as the adoption of ISO 20022 messaging, which will align Nigeria’s payment systems with global benchmarks. On the role of AFRIGO, Nigeria’s national card scheme, Oiwoh revealed that the platform has processed over N70 billion worth of transactions in 2025 alone, with over one million cards in circulation. He described Afrigo as the only card globally enabling instant credit on point-of-sale (POS) transactions, a feature that has driven strong adoption among merchants.

He further announced that the upcoming National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) multipurpose ID card will carry the Afrigo payment rail, ensuring that millions of Nigerians can access financial services directly through their national ID.

Touching on fraud and cybersecurity, the NIBSS boss urged banks and fintechs to invest more in robust monitoring systems, warning that insider collaboration remains one of the biggest threats to digital trust. He cited the NIBSS Hawk platform as a major tool that has already helped foil multiple fraud attempts across the industry.

‘We must never put profitability above compliance,’ Oiwoh cautioned. ‘One regulatory sanction or a single fraud incident can wipe out years of profits. Building resilient, trusted systems is non-negotiable if we want Nigerians to embrace digital payments.’

He also emphasised the need for stronger collaboration among banks, fintechs, and payment service providers, noting that true adoption will come when solutions compete not against each other, but against the dominance of cash. With government-backed initiatives such as geo-tagging, demo days for fintechs, and innovative payment methods including QR, NFC, and biometric solutions, Oiwoh expressed optimism that Nigeria is on the cusp of becoming a smart economy powered by digital payments.

‘Payments are not the destination,’ he concluded, ‘but the foundation for building a vibrant digital economy where innovation, inclusion, and trust drive prosperity.’

In Nigeria’s unraveling business setting, BusinessDay Television (BDTV) has established a reputation beyond just being referred to as a news channel. It has become a forum where professionals, entrepreneurs, and industry stakeholders discuss real issues and propose tangible strategies for confronting the intricacies of business. These entrepreneur-based programs have also helped BDTV enhance financial literacy and bring to light the delicate and subtle balance between ‘pole of career stability’ and ‘pole of entrepreneurial ambition.’

One of their more recent episodes titled, ‘Passion to Profit: Balancing Work and Entrepreneurship,’ was yet another instance of the above. This program convened an assorted panel representing various industries who provided diverse views on how one manages the tension between holding a nine-to-five job and being active in entrepreneurial undertakings. One that certainly stood out among the contributors to the discussion was Peter Michael Ajassi, an inspired travel entrepreneur, global business strategist, and founder of Fly Connect 102.

Peter Michael started by talking about how tricky it is to juggle a regular job with trying to build your own business. He believes that both a full-time job and a side project are serious commitments, not just something you do casually. They’re complicated and need careful planning, dedication, and ongoing upkeep.

He put it this way: ‘A regular job and side hustles are complex ideas, and like anything complex, they need extra attention and focus to keep them going strong.’

For Michael, it all starts with changing how you think. Instead of seeing your job as something that gets in the way of your entrepreneurial dreams, he encourages professionals to think of it as a way to invest in their future. ‘Realize that your current job is paying for your future. The knowledge and experience you get there are exactly what you need to succeed with your side hustle,’ he stressed.

Essentially, Peter sees a full-time career as a way to support yourself financially and learn the skills you need to succeed as an entrepreneur. By using the same organization and focus that helps you succeed at work, you can build a stable and sustainable business of your own.

Michael also cautioned that the typical reaction that people have, which is giving up their nine-to-five job when they start a side business, should be delayed. The point he put across was very clear ‘it is all about timing’. He went on to explain that the income from the business and the profit margins are to be clearly laid out before the decision to be made should be the one of turning full-time in business.

‘It is very necessary not to pull out of your 9-5 right away when the business starts growing,’ he said. ‘First, your cash flow and profit margins have to be well defined. Know the workings of your cash flow and come up with ideas on how your business can be a source of creating good experiences that will be a tool for increasing your profit margin.’

He explained the requirement for reflection a lot and even called upon entrepreneurs to consider their business index-the strategies, practices, and models that influence the profitability of the business repeatedly.

‘Keep thinking, redefining, realigning, and identifying,’ he said, showing that this kind of continual checking is what separates the ventures that survive from those that only last for a while.

Michael’s words were seconded by Ms. Nkechi Alade, another member on the panel, who warned of the dangers of premature departure from mainstream jobs. According to Alade, being a full-time business owner is not suited for everyone, and decisions to quit good jobs must never be made out of emotion.

She explained that entrepreneurship demands some mental preparation-a perspective that tolerates the pros and cons of business realities. Without this self-discipline, she cautioned, professionals risk entering entrepreneurial frontiers with unrealistic expectations, only to be disappointed when problems arise.

Both Michael and Alade, in concert, reiterated the strikingly similar conclusion that entrepreneurs must aim for excellence rather than perfection. Excellence, they argued, is a product of persistent practice and incremental improvement, whereas perfection is too frequently an unreachable ideal that holds one back.

Peter Michael highlighted a contemporary reality that goes beyond cash flow and balance management: the digital marketplace. He maintained that having a strong online presence is now essential for Gen Z and millennial business owners. ‘You need just the right amount of noise to set your brand apart,’ he said. ‘Remember that you are the brand, so always apply your positive traits to the brand.’ Visibility is power to Michael. A strong digital footprint can make the difference between an entrepreneur standing out and remaining unknown in a world of intense competition. He suggested that business owners view themselves as brand ambassadors, bringing their own authenticity and credibility to the way they promote their companies.

The programme successfully shed light on the complex nature of striking a balance between work and entrepreneurship by bringing together a diverse panel. Alade’s cautions against making snap decisions were reinforced by Michael’s observations on timing and cash flow. Other panellists also emphasised resilience, value creation, and self-awareness. Their combined voices provided a thorough overview of what it takes to succeed as a professional entrepreneur in modern-day Nigeria.

At the same time, entrepreneurship is fun, but it is not an easy way; it is a discipline that requires patience, structure, and a strategy. Peter Michael beautifully captured the wisdom professionals must carry with them: ‘your job today is funding your future’.

A career should not hamper entrepreneurship; rather, it can become an enabling factor for entrepreneurship to flourish. With patience, financial clarity, and the willingness to keep realigning, professionals can turn their passion into profit without compromising their stability.

PalmPay, Nigeria’s neobank, has unveiled the first set of winners in its Hustle Grant campaign. The campaign is a bold initiative designed to fuel the ambitions of small business owners and entrepreneurs across the country.

Launched on August 28 and running until September 29th, the Hustle Grant is more than just funding; PalmPay promises to stand beside everyday Nigerians as they transform their hustle into thriving enterprises that create real impact in their communities.

In this first round, four outstanding entrepreneurs emerged from thousands of entries, each receiving N500,000 to scale their dreams. The winners, a prolific community builder in Kebbi State, two budding fashion designers in Lagos and Jos, and a farmer, embody the spirit of resilience and innovation that drives Nigeria’s economy. With this support, they can now take their ideas from the ground up, creating impact that ripples beyond their personal success.

Entrepreneurs across the country continue to submit their entries on social media with the hashtag #PalmPayHustleGrant. From these, the top entries will be shortlisted, with four more winners set to be announced in the final round.

Omowunmi Osholeye, a corporate banker and researcher on digital finance and cybersecurity, has asserted that the growth and survival of SMEs in today’s digital economy depend on integrating strong cybersecurity measures into their operations.

Disclosing this recently in a press briefing, she underscored the growing cyber threats facing SMEs.

Osholeye, who in 2021 published ‘The Growth of Digital Currencies and the Impact of Cyber Risk,’ explained that cryptocurrencies, stablecoins, and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are not speculative bubbles but represent ‘a significant shift reshaping the future of finance.’

According to her, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated this shift as lockdowns forced businesses, trade, and payments online, making digital wallets and cashless services part of daily life.

She noted that for SMEs, this rapid transition opened new markets through faster transactions, but at the same time exposed them to cyberattacks.

‘Technology alone cannot safeguard businesses. Most SMEs lack the funding and technical support needed to protect themselves, which makes them easy targets for cybercriminals,’ Osholeye said.

Her warning comes as cybercrime continues to surge globally, rising in tandem with the adoption of digital financial systems. Phishing emails, ransomware, and impersonation scams have become dominant threats.

The Cybersecurity Breaches Survey confirms this trend, reporting phishing as the most frequent cybercrime targeting businesses.

Small firms, Osholeye added, are particularly vulnerable to impersonation attempts, with cybercriminals replicating staff emails or fabricating supplier invoices to steal funds.

‘Digital currency adoption without cybersecurity measures is a dangerous trap,’ she cautioned. ‘A business cannot scale if its cash flow is at risk from cyberattacks; similarly, a loan becomes worthless if ransomware drains a company’s accounts.’

Osholeye also argued in the statement that digital finance can significantly contribute to economic growth in emerging markets, but only if cybersecurity safeguards are built into financial systems from the ground up.

‘Without these protections, the growth potential of digital currencies will be severely compromised,’ she stated.

She pointed to practical steps SMEs can adopt, drawing attention to the UK National Cyber Security Centre’s Small Business Guide, which recommends simple but effective measures such as securing passwords, implementing two-factor authentication, and regularly backing up data.

Looking ahead, Osholeye highlighted that digital currencies, blockchain, AI-driven fintech platforms, and CBDCs will continue to shape the future of global finance. However, each technological advance also increases the exposure of SMEs to cybercrime.

She concluded by urging SMEs to take proactive steps to secure their digital infrastructure. Osholeye is a seasoned corporate banker and researcher whose work bridges development economics and digital security, with a focus on how emerging technologies shape financial growth and risk management.

The Nigerian Pension Commission (PENCOM) recently welcomed a new chairman, Otunba Opeyemi Agbaje. He is a fine gentleman I have followed since his days at GTBank. We started writing for BusinessDay Newspapers around the same time. I religiously followed his column. I have also been an active participant in his Policy Council from its inception, both on television and now as a WhatsApp forum. I can claim to know him.

PENCOM has been fortunate to have a long line of very competent people. They include those who birthed the industry in Nigeria and have regulated it since the beginning. I expect nothing less from Mr. Agbaje and his board.

I want to suggest an agenda for them. This will give me something to benchmark their performance against in the future.

Lessons from the Capital Market.

This is not the first time I have proposed an agenda for a regulator. Sometime in 2010, I suggested an agenda for Ms Arunma Oteh. She was appointed the Director General (DG) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during a crisis in the Nigerian capital markets. Reporters at BusinessDay Newspapers asked for my suggestions in an interview they later published.

I suggested three focus areas for her:

Resolve Disputes: Clean out all disputes and claims from the collapse of the Nigerian Stock Market in 2009.

Foster Self-Regulation: Focus on the rapid development of market associations. These associations would serve as her monitors in the market. Many of the groups we see today did not exist then, apart from a few like the Association of Issuing Houses (AIHN),. responsible for the primary side of the capital market . actually (the Association of Investment Bankers, which cuts across the bank and non-bank institutions in the market) . These associations are now monitored and self-regulating entities. They keep the market vibrant and self-correcting. The market has fewer infractions today than at any other time in its history. I believed then that self-regulation was the best regulation. If market participants organise and work with regulators, the market becomes more accountable. Regulation then becomes easier and more efficient.

Implement Reforms: Focus attention on implementing the Dotun Suliaman committee report on the Nigerian Capital Market. This committee was prompted by the 2008 financial crisis in the US. It was a proactive move by the then-SEC Chairman, Senator Udo Udoma, to better prepare the market for the impending crisis in Nigeria.

The Suliaman Committee’s Impact.

The committee consisted of some of the brightest minds in our market, including people within Nigeria and in the diaspora.

For instance, Ms Yvonne Ike, managing director of Renaissance Capital, West Africa, who was previously a managing director at JP Morgan, was a standout. Her work ethic and devotion were second to none. I was a member of that committee, and I know how often she hosted a small group in her home to ensure the work got done. The committee’s work was detailed and benchmarked against best market practices globally. Many of its recommendations are why the market is working so well today.

This work could have been more impactful. It might have partially saved the market from the 2009 stock market crisis if the government had taken our suggestions seriously and intervened. Unfortunately, the authorities did not react quickly enough before the crash came. During our work, we stumbled on a brewing crisis and feared its impact. We set up a subcommittee to focus on what we found.

Warning the Government.

The sub-committee’s report was grave. The SEC Chairman, Senator Udo Udoma, called the attention of the federal authorities to it. He arranged a meeting at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja.

Attendees included the Minister of Finance, Mallam Shamsuddeen Usman, as our host; the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Chukwuma Soludo; the Director General of SEC, Mr Musa Al-Faki; the Economic Adviser to the President, Mr Yakubu Tanimu; and Mr Udo Udoma, representing the Government.

Three of us were chosen to represent the market: Mr Dotun Sulaiman, the committee chairman, is a very experienced former chairman of Accenture, the consulting firm. Mr Tola Mobolurin, a capital market expert, and I.

We presented our findings, stating that the exposure of our banks was far larger than reported. Our review indicated the Banks were exposed in a bad way that could lead to a serious crisis. We asked for immediate intervention. We feared a market crash, coupled with a large exit of foreign portfolio investors, that could trigger a currency crisis.

Despite our alarm, the Government’s reaction was understated. Professor Soludo, the CBN Governor, outrightly dismissed our concerns. He said most bank managing directors were his personal friends and that he would have known if the numbers were that large. The Minister of Finance, Mallam Shamsuddeen Usman, jokingly laughed us out of his office. He quipped that we had privatised the profits when times were good but now wanted to socialise the losses in bad times.

The arguments grew heated. Mr Mobolurin became frustrated and agitated. He warned that this was exactly what US officials did in 1929, burying their heads in the sand before the crash. Our cool-headed chairman, Mr Sulaiman, intervened. He admonished us to step back. He said we had done our job and should leave them with the reports to do what they wished. The government did not take specific action before the market crash. However, Professor Soludo, the CBN Governor, must have read our reports later. He issued notices for banks to fully disclose their exposure to the capital markets.

The problem was complicated because many banks did not distinguish between a margin loan trading line and an overdraft backed by shares. A margin loan was a credit line to trade securities. Beneficiaries had to put up a 30 percent margin upfront. This margin absorbed any market decline. The bank controlled the trade and could halt it if the 30 percent margin vanished and the trader failed to replenish it. An overdraft line was simply a loan to buy specific stocks the bank believed would be profitable. The blurring of this line made the true exposure much bigger than anyone knew.

Given that Ms Oteh implemented all three recommendations, her tenure was successful. She was effective and brought about many changes.

The Agenda for PENCOM.

I am now encouraged to do the same for our pension subsector. It is another important segment of Nigeria’s financial markets. The Nigerian pension industry is vast and full of unrealised opportunities. Its potential has not been fully exploited. Therefore, I need to highlight and put up three broad agenda items for the new chairman and his board to consider.

1. Growth in Size: Participants and Investment

No industry needs size more than the pension industry. Its growth must be continuous and perpetual because its liabilities are also perpetual. It must have perpetual streams of revenue and contributions to always meet these obligations. Revenues are more critical than profits, even though profitable investments are the goal. Revenues to meet day-to-day obligations are more important.

The current move to tap the huge opportunities in the informal sector is a step in the right direction.

I would like to see pension companies come together. They should tackle our huge infrastructure deficits, which also hold vast commercial opportunities. They should enter into syndication arrangements and pool resources to make commercial infrastructure projects work. This will create a perpetual source of revenue while diffusing the associated risks.

Imagine two or three large pension companies backing a project like the Lagos-Abuja rail line. They would de-risk the project, then invite other investors and infrastructure companies to join. This is a practical way to create revenue. It would take care of our very young population, who are now contributing to their pensions.

These projects not only reduce our infrastructure deficits but also create other opportunities, jobs, and new pension contributors.

My expectation is that the current size of the industry, currently about N25 trillion (Assets Under Management), can be five times larger by the time Mr Agbaje and his team complete their first five-year term.

2. Expanding the Investment Horizon.

The regulator should also issue guidelines to allow pension companies to invest abroad. The recent stability in the Naira presents an opportunity.

The sovereign and pension companies of Norway and Singapore all invest abroad. This diversifies risks and earns in places where there is growth. Our pension industry’s size is tiny compared to its potential. It should be a consistent capital formation source that many other industries can rely on for their growth. Creating these investment revenue streams is essential to quickly developing the industry. They should also aim to benefit from available investment management expertise by using multi-managers for assistance.

3. Aim To Be The Top-Ranked Regulator.

They must take their regulatory responsibility seriously. They must understand that their role is an enabler of the industry they are regulating. They must avoid the penchant for constantly creating revenue for the regulator. This happens through all manner of fees and constantly playing the police. They should adopt the thinking that less regulation is not necessarily bad regulation. They should help their industry modernise its processes. They should bring plenty of insights for constant improvements to better serve their stakeholders.

Our pension industry has a long way to go. It has the potential to influence development in many other areas. Mr Agbaje and his board have the opportunity of a lifetime to make a huge difference.

Mr Victor Ogiemwonyi is a retired investment banker and writes from Ikoyi, Lagos.

Nigeria has taken a step towards decarbonising its ports with a new partnership between APM Terminals and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to chart a roadmap for electrifying container freight.

The agreement, signed on Monday at the Dutch Consulate in New York during the Global African Business Initiative, will see APM Terminals commit $60 million to fund the collaboration. Under the plan, Onne Port in Rivers State will become Nigeria’s first green port.

‘We believe Nigeria is ideally situated to lead West Africa’s transition to low-carbon logistics by electrifying its container transport sector,’ said Frederik Klinke, chief executive of APM Terminals Nigeria. He said that the country could leapfrog fossil-fuel infrastructure by adopting proven electric technologies, with a phased roadmap for container logistics already being designed.

Abubakar Dantsoho, managing director of the NPA, said the move would position Nigeria as a continental leader in sustainable port operations.

‘By this development, the Onne Port will be the first green port in Nigeria, thereby promoting the decarbonisation efforts within the transportation ecosystem,’ he said.

The MOU builds on a study presented by APM Terminals at the Decarbonising Infrastructure in Nigeria Summit in July, which concluded that electrified container freight could unlock private investment, create skilled jobs and deliver more reliable energy supply.

But the report stressed that coordination between public and private actors will be essential to make the transition work.

Jeethu Jose, managing director of the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT) in Onne, said the partnership was about long-term growth.

‘Our investments are for our shared future and for the people living in the region, and we look forward to driving this project with our stakeholders in the port industry.’