E-Financial
BoI, IFC Partner to Enhance Finance Accessibility, Export Credit
The Bank of Industry (BoI) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have partnered to enhance the accessibility of finance and export credit, contributing to the advancement of Nigeria’s industrialization efforts
Dr Olasupo Olusi, managing director of BOI, said this at the BOI-IFC Conference on Empowering Futures in Lagos.
He said the conference presented an opportunity to develop innovative ideas and initiatives towards improving access to finance, export credit, partial credit guarantees and other risk-sharing financing structures.
He reiterated the importance of Nigeria’s current macro-economic realities placing a lot of responsibility on development banks like BoI and multilateral and financial institutions like IFC to expand their risk appetite through out-of-the-box financing ideas.
He added that the visit of IFC’s Regional Vice President for Africa, Sergio Pimenta, and his team, to Nigeria, underscored IFC’s strong commitment to supporting the development of Africa’s largest economy even as the event also signified the strong bond that existed between the IFC and development finance institutions (DFIs).
He said: “This conference is very important and timely which convenes leaders from the financial sector and other critical sectors of the economy to discuss how to advance Nigeria’s industrial sector. Few people may remember that the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (NIDB) – which later became BoI – was set up in 1964 by the federal government in partnership with the IFC.”
He said the event aimed at delivering a coherent and actionable plan to advance Nigeria’s industrial growth and development in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’.
Delivering his keynote, Pimenta said IFC’s investment portfolio in Nigeria is the second largest in Africa, and stands at $2 billion, concentrated across trade finance, manufacturing, financial markets, and infrastructure.
He added that IFC’s strategic objectives in Nigeria are aimed at supporting diversified growth, enhancing inclusion, and promoting sustainability and job creation.
“In addition, IFC’s work boosts universal energy access and green energy adoption, fosters increased access to finance for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) through financial intermediaries, supports agribusiness and manufacturing to enhance food security, meet domestic needs, and grow export and foster digitisation,” he said.
He stated that the Nigerian financial sector has a key role to play supporting trade, financial inclusion and access to finance for MSMEs.
Speaking on the nation’s infrastructure gap, he said Nigeria’s rapidly growing population—projected to nearly double to 400 million by 2050 coupled with urbanisation underscore the urgent need for infrastructure development.
“Estimates suggest that infrastructure deficits already cost Nigeria about 4 per cent of GDP growth annually. Therefore, it is imperative to work together to close infrastructure gaps, which are impeding private sector growth and overall economic development,” he advised.
Fidelity Bank Plc, one of Nigeria’s leading Tier-1 financial institutions, has announced a remarkable financial performance for the first quarter of 2025, recording a Profit Before Tax (PBT) of N105.8 billion, representing an impressive growth of 167.8% compared to N39.5 billion in Q1 2024.
Mrs. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, MD/CEO, Fidelity Bank Plc
The bank’s unaudited financial statements, released on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on April 30, 2025, highlight a substantial increase in Gross Earnings, which rose to N315.4 billion, marking a year-on-year growth of 64.2% from N192.1 billion in the same period last year.
Growth in interest income was primarily led by 38.6% yoy (7.4% ytd) expansion in earning assets base, while the increase in non -interest revenue came from FX-related income, trade and commission on banking services, etc., supported by increased customer transactions.
Commenting on the bank’s performance, Dr. Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe,OON, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank Plc, stated, “We started the year with triple-digit growth in profit and sustained the momentum in our earning assets growth.
This performance shows the resilience of our business model and reinforces our confidence in delivering a better result in the 2025 financial year.”
Other areas of the unaudited financial statements, equally show a marked improvement with Total Deposits growing by 11.1% ytd to N6.6tn from N5.9tn in December 2024, driven by 10.6% ytd growth in low-cost deposits to N6.1tn, which represents 92.2% of total customer deposits. Local currency deposits increased by 2.0% ytd while foreign currency deposits increased by 21.4% from $1.9bn in December 2024 to $2.3bn.
Net Loans and Advances increased by 5.0% ytd to N4.6tn. The growth in the bank’s Loan Book was skewed to LCY Loans as cost of risk declined to 0.6% from 1.5% in 2024FY.
“Beginning the year with such positive momentum reinforces our commitment to supporting the growth of individuals and businesses, while enhancing our financial sustainability. As we go into the rest of the year, we remain focused on building a resilient banking franchise with a diversified earnings base,” Onyeali-Ikpe added.
Ranked among the best banks in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc is a full-fledged Commercial Deposit Money Bank serving over 9.1 million customers through digital banking channels, its 255 business offices in Nigeria and United Kingdom subsidiary, FidBank UK Limited.
The Bank is the recipient of multiple local and international Awards, including the 2024 Excellence in Digital Transformation & MSME Banking Award by BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards; the 2024 Most Innovative Mobile Banking Application award for its Fidelity Mobile App by Global Business Outlook, and the 2024 Most Innovative Investment Banking Service Provider award by Global Brands Magazine.
Additionally, the Bank was recognized as the Best Bank for SMEs in Nigeria by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence and as the Export Financing Bank of the Year by the BusinessDay Banks and Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has unveiled a technology adoption assessment survey for registered capital market operators as part of efforts to deepen innovation and efficiency in the Nigerian capital market.
In a circular, the SEC stated that the exercise was designed to evaluate the level of adoption of advanced technologies among CMOs operating within the Nigerian capital market.
According to the notice, “The following technology adoption survey is designed by the Commission to assess the adoption of advanced technologies among registered Capital Market Operators.”
The SEC directed all registered operators to log into the e-portal at using their current access credentials to complete the survey. The exercise will run for two weeks, from 5 to 20 May 2025.
Speaking recently on the role of innovation in the capital market, Emomotimi Agama, director-general of the SEC, urged stakeholders to embrace technology as a catalyst for growth, improved transparency, operational efficiency, and market resilience.
He noted that the SEC recognises the emergence of new financial products and services driven by technological advancements, and remains committed to adapting its regulatory framework to meet the evolving needs of the market.
According to him, the commission’s approach to innovation is anchored on three pillars: investor safety, market deepening, and problem-solving aimed at building a robust and efficient capital market ecosystem.
Agama also highlighted the commission’s Regulatory Incubation Programme, which allows fintech startups to operate within a controlled environment for one year while appropriate rules are developed to govern their activities.
He said the programme is part of the SEC’s broader strategy to support innovation while safeguarding market integrity and investor interests.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) ,has confirmed that Nigeria has fully repaid about US$3.4 billion loan it got in April 2020 under the Rapid Financing Instrument to help alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp fall in oil prices.
IMF said the loan has been repaid as of April 30, 2025 in a statement issued in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital on Thursday.
However, IMF said Nigeria is still expected to honour some additional payments in forms of Special Drawing Rights charges hat will amount to US$30 million annually.
“In line with the IMF’s Articles of Agreements, these charges, levied at the SDR interest rate, which is updated at the beginning of each week, apply to the difference between Nigeria’s SDR holdings (SDR 3,164 million) (US$4.3 billion) and its cumulative SDR allocation (SDR 4,027 million) (US$5.5 billion)
“The net payment of the charges stops when Nigeria’s SDR holdings reach the cumulative allocation amount,” IMF said in the statement. Online fitness
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Fidelity Bank grows PBT by 167.8% to N105.8 billion in Q1 2025
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