E-Financial
Cloud-based Toolset Enables 30% Growth of Financial Institutions in West Africa – Oradian
Microfinance institutions, microfinance banks and Cooperative Societies in West Africa using Oradian’s cloud-based toolset have the potential to grow by more than 30% per year by becoming more efficient.
This was part of the conclusions of a Networking Dinner organized by Oradian at the FourPoints By Sheraton, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The event brought together leaders of financial institutions, regulatory groups, financial inclusion experts and fintech providers to form strategic partnerships that will boost financial inclusion in Nigeria and West Africa at large. The event connected the private sector, public sector and financial services regulator.
Attesting to the positive impact of Instafin utilization in rural microfinance institutions, the Head, LAPO Rural Development Initiative, Mrs. Florence Omofonmwam said that LAPO, through Oradian and its CBS Instafin, LAPO has been enabled to continuously open new branches, reach new clients and boost financial inclusion in Nigeria.
She stated: “Oradian has helped us eradicate the cumbersome process of monitoring packs and client data management is now simpler and less stressful. With digitization, my team has less administrative work to do and they can spend more time in the field out of the office, finding new clients”.
Addressing guests at the Networking Dinner that included other stakeholders from Oradian, media and ICT sector of Africa, Antonio Separovic affirmed that their CBS Instafin enables financial institutions to eliminate manual, pen and paper processes and move to digitized operations.
By reducing the time spent on administration through digitization, financial institutions have more time to focus on their core competency: delivering financial services to clients in their communities.
He added that as part of the process to minimize inefficiencies, Instafin reduces high operational costs through automatic reporting that replaces time-consuming month end reporting processes.
The CEO highlighted several other tools for such digital transformation such as Instafin Messaging, Automatic Updates, Maximum Data Security, Training and Implementation – including data migration from their previous CBS or from spreadsheets.
Co-founder and Programme Director for Africa, Oradian, Mr. Onyeka Adibeli added that financial institutions on the Instafin platform can offer time-based loans on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis. He added that the system is not customized but parameterized in a bid to ensure that every entity can configure their products to suit their clients.
“Providing loans is the main service for many microfinance institutions and microfinance banks in West Africa. Clients don’t just come to the institution because they want to save, they are saving because they need a loan. And in anticipation and understanding this demand, we create the tools that financial institutions need to service their clients in the most efficient way”, he detailed.
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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