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MasterCard Says Nigeria, 3 Others on Digital Evolution Threshold

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A new Digital Evolution Index from MasterCard shows that South Africa, Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria are quickly moving towards digital evolution.

However, South Africa’s digital economy is the most developed in Africa, and one of the fastest growing in the world, according to the new Digital Evolution Index developed by MasterCard and The Fletcher School at Tufts University that tracks a country’s movement toward digital evolution, gauges progress and assesses challenges in 50 countries comprising the Index.

South Africa ranks 33 out of the countries measured by the index in digital readiness, which is defined by the markets’ ability to support and encourage digital commerce and payments. In Africa, it ranks ahead of Egypt (48), Kenya (49), and Nigeria (50).

South Africa also emerged as the fourth fastest growing digital economy behind China, Malaysia and Thailand.

“South Africa’s speed of growth can be attributed to the rapidly increasing proportion of the population with Internet access, an 86 percent adult mobile phone penetration rate, and a highly developed telecommunications network. However, what is significant is that all four of the African countries measured share a common trait of moving at a high rate of speed toward digital evolution, demonstrating huge growth potential for e-commerce,” said Ted Iacobuzio, Vice president, Global Insights, MasterCard.

The Index analyses four key underlying drivers and barriers that govern a country’s evolution into a digital economy, Demand (consumer demographics, income and internet access); Supply (technology and infrastructure); Institutional Environment (governmental policy), and Innovation (environment for creating startups and the overall competitive landscape).

Each country is given an overall digital readiness score between 0 (low digital readiness) and 100 (digitally saturated), which is derived from an average score of these four interdependent drivers.

The index also provides an indication, by country, where the next billion Internet users will come from globally.

According to McKinsey, Africa’s Internet penetration stood at 16 percent (167 million people) in 2013, and is forecasted to reach 50 percent (600 million people) by 2025, indicating the online consumer market will quadruple over this time.

“There are currently 2.9 billion Internet users in the world, a feat that took over 20 years to achieve. The next billion users will enter the market much faster than this. A significant proportion of these will come from Africa, where the four countries studied – Egypt, Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria – all represent exceptional growth potential coupled with short-term opportunity,” said Iacobuzio.

The study analysed each market’s evolution from 2008 to 2013 and grouped each country into one of four trajectory zones:

‘Stand Out’ countries have historically moved at a high rate of digital readiness and maintain high levels of digital transactions;

‘Break Out’ countries are typically developing countries that currently have low readiness scores, but are rapidly evolving;

‘Watch Out’ countries face various challenges, but have significant opportunities for investment; and

‘Stall Out’ countries, while possessing a history of strong growth, are highly evolved and offer little potential for change.

The Index positions South Africa as a ‘Break Out’ country with an overall score of 30 out of 100 in 2013. Its score jumped from 24 to 34 between 2008 and 2012, a substantial increase compared to other countries.

While infrastructure investments in South Africa will drive e-commerce to achieve a likely 30 percent growth rate in 2014, the Index indicates that demand for e-commerce currently lags the global average.

“South Africa may have a relatively average Index score overall, but its digital landscape is evolving rapidly. If this evolution continues at its current rate, South Africa has the potential to grow into a strong digital economy. It is a prime candidate for becoming a ‘Stand Out’ nation in the future,” he says.

The three other African countries ranked in the index are classified as “Watch Out” countries. Egypt scored 17.3, Kenya scored 16.9 and Nigeria scored 13.7 out of 100. These countries are just starting out on their journeys towards digital readiness, each facing different challenges.

“Encouragingly, Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria fared well in their speed of digital growth. This points to their potential to develop into evolved digital economies that further encourage digital payments, and enable future e-commerce opportunities,” he said.

Key African Insights:

Egypt’s Innovation score of 29.5 and its Demand and Supply drivers both above 15 helped place it second in the African rankings.

According to the Index, Egypt has the potential to be one of the top 10 fastest evolving countries globally in the next five years.

Mobile payments are in place for an impressive run due to the the first ever interoperable Arabic mobile money implementation in Egypt. While the e-commerce penetration rate among Egyptians is still low at 3.4 percent, Egypt’s online purchases are expected to triple by 2016, according to Euromonitor.

Kenya’s Innovation score of 32.9 was its highest driver score followed by its Institution score of 14.

This is due to a combination of factors including the country’s mobile payment capabilities, led by the M-Pesa platform, which shows an evolved mobile market where 25 percent of Kenya’s GDP travels through M-Pesa.

In 2013, Kenya’s mobile penetration rate was 72.5 percent growing by 5.6 percent to 32.3 million subscribers during the second quarter of 2014. Kenya faces challenges with its Supply and Demand drivers, which if focussed on over time will lead to an improved overall Index score.

Nigeria’s Innovation and Institution drivers fared relatively well largely owing to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Cashless Policy that is expected to drive growth in electronic payments and e-commerce, the country’s increasingly urban population that will have better access to the Internet over the coming years, and the fact that Nigeria has 94 percent mobile penetration.

Its Supply and Demand drivers have much potential for improvement, with scores of 6.8 and 7.3 respectively, pointing to a need for improved technology and infrastructure.

However, Nigeria showed the greatest potential for digital growth.

Globally, Singapore, Sweden and Hong Kong are the top three countries on the Index with the most active and advanced digital economies with scores of 56, 55 and 53.5 respectively.

The United Kingdom and Switzerland round out the top five, while the United States ranks sixth among the 50 countries measured.

The Digital Evolution Index is an output of the study conducted by researchers at The Fletcher School with the support of MasterCard.

Analyzing datasets from public sources, such as The World Bank, and private sources such as EMPEA and Dow Jones VentureSource, the research team created an analytical framework for recognizing patterns and making sense of the global digital landscape, discerning country trends and evaluating their relative strengths and weaknesses.

The methodology for the Digital Evolution Index measures the current ability of countries to deliver on consumer demand and business supply capabilities, in combination with governmental policy and climate for innovation – four drivers defining digital readiness that were identified in the research hypothesis.

In addition to the current state, the study measured each country’s trajectory across the four drivers from 2008 through 2013.

The index then layers a quadrant matrix to visualize the trajectory of a particular country.


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E-Financial

Moody’s Upgrades Ecobank’s Outlook to Stable

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Moody’s has upgraded the outlook on Ecobank Transnational Incorporated’s long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to stable from negative.

In the latest rating commentary, made available to media on Thursday, Moody’s also affirmed the pan-African banking group’s B3/Not Prime long- and short-term issuer ratings; B3 senior unsecured debt rating; b2 notional Baseline Credit Assessment and b1 Adjusted BCA.

ETI’s subsidiaries operate across 38 countries, including 35 African countries, and total assets of $28.9bn as of March 2025, details from the rating note highlighted. Moody’s said the decision to change the outlook to stable on the long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings reflects ETI’s resilient financial performance.

The rating upgrade also takes into consideration higher dividends being upstreamed to ETI, resulting in lower double leverage and reduced refinancing risk.

The rating adjustment also reflects an expectation that the recapitalisation process of Ecobank Nigeria Limited will be completed by the end of 2025, with limited impact on the group’s financial fundamentals.

“The stable outlook also captures our expectation that a series of capital-boosting initiatives and actions to cure Ecobank Nigeria’s total capital position will be completed before the end of 2025”, according to the ratings agency.

In May 2025, ETI received shareholder approval to raise $250 million in Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital and announced the launch of the transaction effective 9 July 2025, of which a portion is expected to be downstreamed to Ecobank Nigeria as AT1 capital during Q3 2025.

Ecobank Nigeria’s plan to raise $200m in AT1 capital was noted in the rating note. The ratings analysts said they consider

“We also note that Ecobank Nigeria’s recent successful offer to tender $150m of its February 2026 $300 million notes and consent to remove the capital adequacy ratio covenant from this bond’s terms alleviates risks of an event of default in Nigeria that would trigger cross default at the ETI level. Over the past year, ETI has shown resilience in its financial performance, which supports our change in outlook to stable. Liquidity risks are being moderated by the group’s gradually improving profitability during 2024 and Q1-2025.

“This has translated into a 22 per cent increase in dividends upstreamed to ETI during 2024, these being received from 22 dividend-paying subsidiaries compared to just 14 in 2021,” the rating commentary revealed.

In turn, albeit high, ETI’s double leverage ratio, which measures the liquidity risk taken on by the holding company, as a result of it borrowing in order to invest in the equity of its subsidiaries, has eased to 168 per cent as of December 2024 from 173 per cent in 2023.

Additionally, the stable outlook reflects reduced liquidity risk at the holding company level with the refinancing of short-term liabilities in 2024 with longer-term funding.

Moody’s said this is underpinned by demonstrated market access, notably through senior unsecured notes issuance of $400m in October 2024 and a tap increase of $125m in May 2025, maturing in October 2029.

ETI’s B3 long-term issuer ratings affirmation reflects the affirmation of the group’s b2 notional BCA; the affirmation of the group’s b1 adjusted BCA as captured by a one-notch uplift for affiliate support, reflecting Moody’s assessment of a moderate probability that the firm’s major institutional shareholders would extend support to the group. Moody’s said asset quality for the group has improved over recent years.

 


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SEC Grants “No objection” to N323Bn First Holdco Shares Deal

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted a “no objection” to the N323.45 billion First Holdco off-market deal that occurred on July 16.

The regulator in a statement clarified its role in the deal, which is famous for being the largest on the NGX, following public speculation over the nature of its involvement.

In a statement released Thursday, the Commission stated it conducted a comprehensive review. This review was carried out in line with existing laws and regulatory requirements. The capital market regulator also emphasised that there were no subsequent requests for additional information. It added that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made no further inquiries after the transaction was finalised.

Addressing circulating reports, the SEC noted that its communication with the parties involved should not be misconstrued as a query. Instead, it described the correspondence as part of an automated compliance mechanism designed to ensure transparency and proper closure of large-scale transactions in the Nigerian capital market.

“The Commission remains firmly committed to its mandate of regulating a fair, orderly, and efficient market; protecting investors; and fostering capital formation in Nigeria,” the statement added.

The June 16 transaction involved the sale of over 10.4 billion shares in First Bank Holdings by entities linked to Oba Otudeko and Tunde Hassan-Odukale to RC Investment Management. RC Investment has since been identified as a trustee acting under an arrangement coordinated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and First Bank Holdings.

Otudeko and Hassan-Odukale, both former chairmen of First Bank of Nigeria, were key figures in the long-running power tussle for control of the lender.

The leadership struggle dates back to 2021, when billionaire investor Femi Otedola entered the fray and eventually emerged as chairman of First Bank Holdings. Otudeko, through his investment vehicle Barbican Capital, had taken legal action against the CBN and First Holdco, challenging the refusal to acknowledge his claimed majority stake.

 


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Kuda Unveils New Wallet for Multiple Currencies

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As the first currency supported by the functionality, Kuda launched an update for its app that allows users to send, receive, hold, and convert USD directly.

Kuda Unveils New Wallet for Multiple Currencies

Babs Ogundeyi, MD, Kuda

The action comes in response to growing consumer demand for currency-neutral spending, savings, and income management.

As part of its expansion strategy, digital bank Kuda has introduced a multicurrency wallet to assist Africans who live, work, and travel internationally.

Users may keep, fund, and convert between five main currencies—the US dollar, British pound, euro, Nigerian naira, and Canadian dollar—all within a single wallet on the Kuda app with this application, which is still undergoing testing.

“The new wallet is designed to simplify the fragmented experience Africans face when managing money across different countries and currencies,” said Nosa Oyegun, senior vice president, Business Banking, Kuda, during a media parley in Lagos.

“People no longer reside in a single nation. Due to their global reach, Africans should be able to transfer their money with ease, Oyegun stated.

He claims that eligible customers outside of Nigeria may already access the wallet on Android smartphones, and an iOS deployment is planned.

He clarified that Kuda purposefully decided against developing a distinct wallet app.

Customers will be able to log in as normal, open foreign currency balances, convert money when needed, and send or spend money without switching platforms because it will be integrated into the core Kuda experience.

More than N100 billion entered Kuda accounts from LemFi in 2024 alone.

“This wallet is just our first step in acknowledging and supporting the fact that our customers are already living this cross-border reality,” Oyegun stated.

Kuda wants to give people a smooth financial tool that suits their lifestyle, not only currency exchange.

By removing the bottlenecks involved in the need to switch between various apps or financial services, the wallet will enable users from overseas to send money home, exchange currencies, and continue spending from the same account when they visit Nigeria.

Oyegun emphasized throughout the event that the wallet also takes client retention into account.

Kuda plans to keep helping people who move overseas as they adjust to life in other nations rather than losing them.

He further claimed that these users had not churned. “They simply switched nations. We wish to continue servicing them.

Kuda is now one of many African fintech companies developing products for cross-border use cases as a result of the move.

Oyegun pointed out that Kuda’s goal is to become a financial partner for Africans wherever they may be, going beyond simply exchanging currencies.

The bank’s growth trajectory is reflected in Kuda’s first-quarter 2025 performance, which was disclosed during the briefing. Customer confidence in the company’s digital-first strategy was strengthened when it recorded N453 billion in savings deposits and processed N8.4 trillion in total transaction volume.

With the new feature being introduced on the app, Kuda Microfinance Bank hopes to assist online business owners, freelancers, and remote workers who make money in USD with the recently added feature, which is currently undergoing testing.

Users can choose to accept USD payments directly or convert naira into USD using the Spend tab.

In the near future, GBP and EUR will be recognized as alternative currencies, according to the financial institution.

Additionally, in Nigeria, where inflation is severe, having USD on hand might be advantageous and convenient for people.

More Nigerians have recently begun to use digital platforms to improve the stability of their financial status.

For the majority of them, managing multiple currencies—whether via remote work, cryptocurrency, or international trade—has become the standard. Kuda Bank aims to meet these demands and grow its business to meet the demands of the market.

The financial institution’s continued dedication to providing solutions that give its users the best possible experience which is demonstrated by the multicurrency wallet feature.

Speaking about the project, Kuda representatives emphasized that the new wallet was created to make it easier for Africans to manage their money across various nations and currencies.

Customers can log in as normal, open foreign currency balances, convert funds, and spend or send money without switching platforms thanks to the integration of this feature within Kuda.

Along with currency conversion, Kuda plans to provide a financial tool that eliminates the need for users to switch between apps or financial services by enabling users from other countries to send money to Nigeria, convert currencies, and spend from the same account when they visit.


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