E-Financial
Shirley Somuah Named as Partner @ CardinalStone Capital Advisers
African private equity fund manager, CardinalStone Capital Advisers (CCA), has appointed Shirley Somuah as a Partner, as it strengthens its presence in Ghana with a new office opening in Accra in Q2.
This will be CCA’s first physical presence in Ghana, and will support the fund manager’s current portfolio, as well as deepen relationships with entrepreneurs in the country. Somuah joins current Partners Yomi Jemibewon and Femi Ogunjimi, as the company takes an important additional step towards institutionalization by strengthening its leadership bench.
Somuah has over a decade of experience spanning management consulting and investing, and has been integral to the firm’s activities in both Nigeria and Ghana during her tenure at CCA. Since CCA’s inception in 2016, she has been part of the investment team managing the $64m CCA Growth Fund (CCAGF), which targets growth stage SMEs in Nigeria and Ghana.
CCA Growth Fund has made four investments to-date and portfolio companies include i-Fitness, Quality Foods Africa, and Afya Care. The fund also made its first institutional investment into fintech in 2021, leading on the $10M Series A round for Nigerian fintech software provider, Appzone.
The CCA team is now looking to double down on leveraging and embedding innovative technologies for its real sector portfolio companies, as it looks to see how tech can help these businesses scale and improve operational efficiencies while also creating tangible impact.
Speaking on her new role as Partner at CCA, Shirley Somuah says, “This new role is incredibly exciting for me, and I am thrilled to be joining Yomi and Femi as a Partner at CCA. I am passionate about transformational impact at scale, and look forward to working with more growth stage companies in the coming years.
“We’ve always considered ourselves as much entrepreneurs and venture-builders as investors, and we are not afraid to roll-up our sleeves for more challenging businesses – this model and unique approach to PE investing has delivered significant results for CCA.
“I am also proud of CCA’s commitment to gender balance in the PE and investment space in Africa; we have one of the more gender balanced leadership teams, with 30% of partners and 30% of the overall leadership team being women.”
Femi Ogunjimi of CCA says, “We are delighted to be confirming Shirley in her role as a Partner at CCA. Her track record when it comes to sourcing, analyzing and executing deals is peerless and thanks to her wealth of experience in the West African market, she has a unique perspective on the entrepreneurial and investment landscape we operate in.”
In addition, Yomi Jemibewon adds “Shirley’s role at CCA extends beyond her strengths as an investment professional. She was one of our earliest team members in our Principal Investments days, and an integral part of our transition to private equity. Her leadership and mentorship have contributed significantly to building the team and institution we have today.”
Prior to CCA, Shirley was a Vice President on the Principal Investments team at CardinalStone Partners, and before that was a management consultant with Oliver Wyman, serving clients in North America, the Middle East and Africa from the New York and Dubai offices.
She holds an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a BSc. in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. She chairs the Board of the non-profit West Africa Vocational Education.
E-Financial
SEC Restates Commitment to Transparency in Fintech Regulation
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has assured stakeholders in the fintech space it is committed to ensuring transparency and integrity in the regulation of the space.
Dr. Emomotimi Agama, director general, SEC, said it has provided a level playing field to all applicants.
Agama, stated this during a meeting with Regulatory Incubation and Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Program applicants on Monday.
The SEC DG stated that the commission understands the anxiety and the need to be regulated but added that they have to be very careful even in its desire to be inclusive.
He said, “The process of registration is a very technical process because registration is the hallmark of regulation. It goes beyond onboarding and registering, it requires monitoring, education, and surveillance and all of these are continuous. This journey is a new one that we have not gone through before. As we continue, we will find challenges, which we need to solve because every challenge is solvable.
“I am here to assuage fears being exhibited, we have provided a level playing field but as a government institution we must take things into context while doing this. The groups that were admitted into the ARIP and RI are beginning to see that we have started demanding for some information, operational updates and more regulatory requirements in line with the concept of a Regulation Incubation Programme or a Sandbox as some other institutions call it. In doing this, we are understudying what they are doing and the risk that they pose to investors and to themselves.
“We have not only done that, we have also issued new regulations to the public, which we call an exposure document. If you look at it, it is an upgraded version of our earlier regulations and the regulation making process demands that we get your views as stakeholders before it becomes a regulation.”
Agama stated that the inputs of stakeholders is important as regulators cannot claim to know everything adding that the rules would be amended to include all valid points to make it an all-inclusive document.
He further disclosed that the commission has increased the space to include more regulations to accommodate more individuals, more institutions and more functions because accommodation is the stance of the government regarding the space.
E-Financial
Ecobank Warns against Fraud during Yuletide
Ecobank Nigeria has cautioned customers to be vigilant against fraudsters during the Yuletide while promising uninterrupted access to banking services through its digital platforms throughout the holiday season.
In a statement on Monday, Adeola Ogunyemi, head, Consumer Banking at Ecobank Nigeria, emphasised that customers can continue their shopping and transactions smoothly via the bank’s various digital channels.
Ogunyemi highlighted the Bank’s long-standing commitment to digital transformation, which aims to improve customer experience and provide alternative access to banking services.
Ecobank Nigeria is an affiliate of the Ecobank Group, the leading pan-African banking group.
The bank offers a comprehensive suite of financial services and solutions to consumer, commercial, corporate, and investment banking customers at over 240 branches and 35,000 Xpress Point agencies across Nigeria.
E-Financial
CBN Permits BDC Operators to Buy FX from NAFEM During Festive Season
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that eligible Bureau de Change (BDC) operators will have temporary access to the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) to purchase $25,000 weekly. This arrangement, aimed at addressing seasonal foreign exchange (FX) demand, will be effective from December 19, 2024, to January 30, 2025.
In a statement signed by T.G. Allu, CBN’s acting director of trade and exchange, the apex bank said BDC operators would buy FX from authorized dealers—banks licensed by the CBN—exclusively to meet retail market demand.
“To meet expected seasonal demand for foreign exchange, the CBN is allowing temporary access for all existing BDCs to the NAFEM for the purchase of FX from Authorized Dealers, subject to a weekly cap of $25,000,” the statement read.
BDC operators must fully fund their accounts before accessing the market at prevailing NAFEM rates, choosing only one authorized dealer for transactions under this arrangement. A maximum price spread of 1% is allowed for retail pricing by BDCs, and all transactions will be reported to the CBN’s Trade and Exchange Department.
The CBN reiterated that personal travel allowance (PTA) and business travel allowance (BTA) remain available through banks for legitimate travel needs. The bank emphasized that all FX transactions must be conducted at market-determined exchange rates.
“The CBN remains committed to a fully functional foreign exchange market and will continue to provide liquidity when necessary to manage price volatility,” the statement added.
Earlier in September, the CBN approved FX sales to eligible BDC operators at a rate of N1,590 per dollar to cater to demand for invisible transactions, reflecting ongoing efforts to stabilize the FX market.
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