Business

Access Bank unveils App to support SMEs

Published

1 day ago

July 27, 2026

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By Cynthia Alo

Access Bank Plc has launched a new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered application, Access SME App, designed to help Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) manage their daily business operations from a single application.

The app was formally unveiled during the bank’s maiden SME conference held over the weekend in Lagos themed, “AI for SMEs: Scaling Through Digital Tools”.

Experts including government officials, technology experts and business leaders who spoke at the event said AI is no longer optional for businesses seeking to improve efficiency, expand their customer base and scale operations.

Speaking, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Entrepreneurship Development in Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Chalya Shagaya, urged entrepreneurs to take advantage of AI to grow their businesses.

Shagaya said while entrepreneurship begins with an idea, businesses now require technology to execute those ideas effectively.

She noted that many small business owners perform several roles at once, including marketing, customer service, inventory management and accounting, adding that AI can reduce such workload by automating routine tasks.

On his part, Executive Director, University of Lagos Business School, Prof. Sunday Adebisi, said SMEs remain the backbone of Nigeria’s economy and as such business owners must improve their digital skills, use AI to deepen customer relationships and strengthen their online presence.

Adebisi said despite the sector’s importance, about 50 percent of small businesses fail within their first year of operation, adding that business owners can deploy AI to analyse information and help them make better decisions.

Speaking on the newly launched app, Head, SME Banking at Access Bank, Abiodun Olubitan, said the app was developed after the bank listened to feedback from SMEs who often considered digital tools too complex or designed mainly for large corporations.

According to her, the bank created the platform with small business owners in mind and to give them complete visibility over their operations, enabling them to monitor sales, inventory and staff activities from anywhere.

Also speaking during a panel session, Executive Director, Information Technology and Digitisation at Access Holdings Plc, Lanre Bamisebi, said many business owners wrongly believe digital transformation is all about technology.

According to him, successful digital transformation begins with understanding customers’ needs before choosing the right technology.

“Technology is only an enabler. The first thing is to understand what your customers want and how to serve them better,” he said.

Country Manager, Financial Services Industry at Huawei Nigeria, Glarry Gao, said AI offers SMEs the opportunity to compete with larger companies by helping them understand customers better, improve efficiency and expand their businesses through digital platforms.

Business

High interest rate, FG borrowings drive rise in pension investments

Published

3 hours ago

July 28, 2026

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By Peter Egwuatu

Pension assets invested in the Federal Government of Nigeria, FGN, debt securities rose 17.5% Year-on-Year, YoY, to N17.479 trillion in May 2026 from N14.468 trillion in the corresponding period 2025, according to data from the National Pension Commission, PenCom.

Financial analysts said the development is driven by high interest environment in the financial market and sustained Federal Government (FG) borrowings.

The total pension Net Assets Value, NAV increased by 27.1%, YoY, to N31.322 trillion in May 2026 from N24.654 trillion in the corresponding period 2025 on the back of rising yield on investments in FGN securities.

The PenCom data also reveals that FGN Bonds accounted for 55.8 per cent of total pension assets in May 2026.

According to PenCom, the considerable proportion of government securities in the overall Asset Under Management AuM portfolio can primarily be attributed to PenCom regulatory limits on investments.

To further illustrate the renewed interest in government assets, pension investment in treasury bills increased by 86.9 % YoY to N1.131 trillion from N604.587 billion in May 2025.

However, the Sukuk Bonds, which comprises Hold Till Maturity, HTM, and Available for Sale, AFS, declined marginally YoY to N92.589 billion from N94.894 billion in May 2025.

Commenting on the report, analysts at InvestData Consulting Limited stated: “The interest rate, which has been high and remained unchanged has been the major factor and the government’s increased borrowing need to plug the 2025 budget deficit also drove the YoY growth”.

Commenting as well, David Adonri, analyst and Executive Vice Chairman at Highcap Securities Limited, stated: “The rise in demand for government securities is driven by their reputation as safe-haven assets, high liquidity, attractive yields compared to other low-risk options, and increased participation from both institutional and retail. As the size of pension funds grows, obviously more of their investments will flow to FGNs.”

Business

New EDs will strengthen NDPHC, boost transformation agenda – Adighije

Published

3 hours ago

July 28, 2026

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By SebastineObasi

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Mrs Jennifer Adighije, has said the appointment of two new Executive Directors will further strengthen the company’s leadership and accelerate the implementation of its strategic objectives.

The appointments, according to her, form part of NDPHC’s commitment to reinforcing corporate governance, improving operational efficiency, and delivering on its mandate to expand electricity generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure across Nigeria. Adighije also stated that the appointments reflect the Federal Government’s resolve to reposition NDPHC for enhanced performance and drive reforms aimed at improving electricity supply nationwide.

Welcoming the new members of the Executive Management Team, she expressed appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for appointing experienced professionals with proven competence to support the company’s vision of delivering sustainable value to Nigeria’s power sector.

The newly appointed Executive Directors are Mr. Patrick Obahiagbon, Executive Director, Strategy and Commercial, and Mr. ChukwumaUmeoji, Executive Director, Corporate Services.

According to the NDPHC boss, the appointments mark another important milestone in the company’s transformation agenda and are expected to strengthen strategic planning, corporate governance, commercial operations, stakeholder engagement, and institutional effectiveness. She stressed that effective leadership, teamwork, and collaboration remain critical to achieving NDPHC’s strategic priorities, particularly as the company continues to improve electricity generation, expand transmission capacity, strengthen distribution networks, and unlock stranded generation assets.

Adighije noted that the experience and expertise of the newly appointed Executive Directors would complement the existing management team and further enhance the company’s ability to deliver on its mandate in line with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

Business

CBN data localisation directive will boost investment in digital infrastructure — GFA Co-Founder

Published

3 hours ago

July 28, 2026

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By Babajide Komolafe

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, data localisation directive will create measurable, long-term demand for local data centres, cloud services and other sovereign digital infrastructure, GFA Technologies Group has said.

Co-founder of GFA Technologies Group, Adebola Omololu, stated this while assessing the investment opportunities arising from the directive, describing it as a catalyst for the next phase of Nigeria’s digital infrastructure development.

The CBN recently directed banks, fintechs, mobile money operators and other payment service providers to ensure that payment transaction data generated in Nigeria is stored and managed locally, with full compliance expected by January 1, 2027.

Omololu said: “The CBN Data Localisation Directive should therefore be viewed not simply as a compliance requirement, but as a catalyst for Nigeria’s next phase of digital infrastructure development.

“For the first time, a regulatory directive has the potential to create measurable, long-term demand for sovereign digital infrastructure in Nigeria.”

He noted that requiring sensitive financial data to remain within Nigeria would create sustained demand for local data centres, sovereign cloud services, disaster recovery facilities and cybersecurity infrastructure.

According to him, the directive strengthens the investment case for GFA’s planned 200-megawatt Abeokuta Technology Zone, ATZ, Data Centre & Digital Infrastructure Campus, a nine-year phased, carrier-neutral facility.

He said the campus is being developed to support data centre providers, sovereign cloud services, managed infrastructure, disaster recovery, artificial intelligence workloads, enterprise colocation and future hyperscale expansion.

Omololu said Nigeria’s rapidly expanding electronic payments ecosystem further reinforces the need for increased investment in domestic digital infrastructure.

Citing actual and extrapolated CBN data, he said electronic payment transactions increased from 16.3 billion in 2021 to 22.1 billion in 2022 and 38.7 billion in 2023.

He estimated transactions at 44.8 billion in 2024 and projected 51.9 billion transactions for 2025 and 60.1 billion in 2026.