E-Financial
AfDB to Establish Resource Centre in Abuja
African Development Bank (AfDB) said it will establish a Public Private Partnership Resource Centre in Abuja to support governments’ efforts to reduce infrastructure gap in the country.
Emmanuel Akinwunmi, ADB Private Sector Specialist, made the disclosure at the 4th National PPP stakeholders Forum in Abuja on Thursday.
Akinwunmi said, “The bank is making effort to support the country in the drive toward improving infrastructure delivery and a more robust and efficient PPPs.
“In the light of this, recently we shared ideas with our colleague in South Africa on how the bank could set up a PPP advisory hub.
“We found out in Nigeria that there are initiatives made at various levels of government which is very commendable.
“At the same time to compliment the effort of the federal and state government, we are planning to establish a PPP advisory hub in the country’s office in Abuja.
“This is going to be a resource centre where the Federal Government, ministries, states and even local government can interact with us and share resources that we have.”
According to him, the forum will be another avenue to help the bank facilitate the speedy establishment of the centre.
He said that the ADB was planning to hold a foundation training workshop in October, adding that the bank had been involved in the efforts to support PPP projects in the country.
Akinwunmi said that PPP was a sure way to engage the private sector finances into developmental projects in the country.
According to him, this will bring about cost effectiveness in execution of projects, speedy service delivery and maintenance in the system.
“Nigeria and the African continent are still confronted with huge infrastructure deficit.
“According to Nigeria Integrated Infrastructure Master plan, Nigeria needs $2.9tr over the next 30 years to close the infrastructure gap.
“This figure is scary but we will go from one step to the other and bring it down,” he said.
He commended the Infrastructure Regulatory Concession Commission, the organisers of the forum, and urged participants to make contributions that would be of benefit to both the government and the private sector.
Mr Faruok Gumel, West Africa Territory Advisory Leader, Price Waterhouse Copper, multinational company, said Africa’s infrastructure deficit was estimated at $38bn per year.
“Nigeria, despite being the largest economy in Africa with GDP of $509.9bn in 2013 is also experiencing huge challenges in the area of infrastructure.
“Estimate of about $630bn as infrastructure investment requirement for Nigeria for 2011 to 2020.
“According to the National Planning Commission’s infrastructure master plan, Nigeria would require $26bn yearly to deliver pipeline of priority projects in the first five years of the master plan,” Gumel said.
Gumel said it was expected that the infrastructure spending in Nigeria would grow from $23bn to $77 bn in 2025.
He said this was the projection of 2014 study conducted by PWC and Oxford Economics study.
“To bridge the prevalent infrastructure gap in the power sector alone, it is estimated that we require an annual infrastructure investment of $10bn each year over the next 10 years,” he said
Gumel said government alone could not fund infrastructure because of the huge amount involved in the process, saying that the need for private sector participation could not be over emphasized.
The naira appreciated to N1,600 per dollar in the parallel market at the close of trading hours on Monday, strengthening from N1,610 per dollar recorded over the weekend.
Similarly, the naira saw a slight gain in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), trading at N1,605 per dollar compared to N1,606 last Friday, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This represents a marginal N1 appreciation.
As a result, the gap between the parallel market and official exchange rate widened slightly to N5 per dollar, up from N4 over the weekend.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spent N315.18bn on currency issue expenses in 2024, marking a sharp increase of 306 per cent compared to N77.67bn recorded in 2023, the apex bank’s audited financial statement for the year has shown.
Currency issue expenses cover the printing, processing, distribution, and disposal of banknotes.
The latest figures reveal that the CBN’s cost of managing physical cash spiralled dramatically during the year under review, as Nigeria grappled with lingering cash shortages and disruptions in the money supply chain.
The surge in expenditure came as the country continued to deal with the effects of the naira redesign policy introduced in late 2022.
Despite efforts to stabilise cash circulation throughout 2023, Nigerians still faced queues at ATMs and difficulties in accessing cash in early and late 2024.
Faced with mounting public outcry, the CBN deployed several emergency measures to address the crisis.
Deposit Money Banks were directed to ensure consistent ATM loading and rural cash distribution, while the Bank also launched public hotlines for citizens to report cash scarcity incidents.
Also, the CBN ramped up enforcement efforts, including deploying monitoring teams, issuing sanctions against non-compliant banks, and mandating improved cash distribution.
PalmPay, a full-service digital bank, has reaffirmed its dedication to advancing the future of payments in Nigeria by promoting the widespread adoption of contactless-enabled payment terminals.
This was made known during the recently concluded BusinessDay Future of Payment Conference, themed “Fintech Evolution: Gateway to Payments.” In his welcome address, BusinessDay Publisher, Frank Aigbogun, emphasized that the next phase of fintech innovation must be driven not only by speed, safety, and simplicity but also by trust, inclusion, and accessibility to ensure broad-based impact across all segments of society.
Talking about PalmPay’s impact in the panel session titled “The Next Wave of Digital Payments: Trends and Innovation,” Ifeanyi Uzoka, Senior Business Development Manager at PalmPay, discussed the evolving landscape of digital payments in Nigeria.
He noted that while regulatory frameworks have supported the introduction of contactless payments, the high level of cash dependency remains a key barrier to widespread adoption.
“At PalmPay, financial inclusion is central to everything we do,” Uzoka stated. “To support this mission, we’ve launched contactless-enabled debit and premium cards, ensuring our users have access to convenient and secure payment experiences. We also understand that trust is critical, which is why all contactless transactions on PalmPay’s platform include an additional layer of authentication for enhanced security.”
PalmPay continues to lead innovation in Nigeria’s digital finance ecosystem by delivering secure, user-friendly, and future-ready solutions. The company’s recently launched debit and premium cards in partnership with Verve are now serving its growing base of over 35 million users nationwide.
This move into contactless payments underscores PalmPay’s alignment with global payment trends and its ongoing commitment to building a more inclusive and digitally empowered economy.
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