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E-Financial

IFIN Wins First Prize in EFICA Awards 2021

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IFIN (“Islamic Finance Initiation Network”) the first of its kind fintech, stands out with its state-of-the-art solutions for the Islamic finance industry and wins the Ethical Finance Initiative Award at the annual EFICA Awards 2021 held recently at JW Marriot Marquis, Dubai and organized by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (“ADIB”), a leading Arab financial institution, and Refinitiv, a London Stock Exchange Group business.

Founded in 2014 by two industry pioneers IFAAS and Path Solutions, IFIN offers next-generation fintech solutions that link Islamic financial institutions with retailers, MSMEs, corporates and regulators, originating Sharia-compliant instant financing for retail and MSME segments.

Through digitalizing the entire financing process, IFIN is revolutionizing the Islamic financial services industry, taking it to the next level.

Manar Abbas, IFIN Chief Operating Officer said, “It is tremendously exciting for us to have won the industry’s most coveted and prestigious award in the face of rising competition. This prize constitutes a very gratifying recognition of our continued perseverance towards reinventing Islamic finance and will make a genuine difference to what IFIN is able to achieve”.

The Ethical Finance Initiative Award recognizes individuals and organisations that offer emerging and innovative ethical financial solutions and initiatives that have been successfully implemented and made a positive social impact for their stakeholders.

IFIN was carefully selected among 200 applications for the $80,000 prize for being the first of its kind Sharia-compliant, next-generation Buy-Now-Pay-Later fintech that connects all types of Islamic financial institutions, including banks, windows, finance companies, microfinance, and crowdfunding platforms, with retailers – both online and offline – allowing customers to submit their finance applications to their preferred institution and get it approved instantly.

“This is an incredible honor”, commented Mohammed Kateeb, Path Solutions’ Group Chairman & CEO and IFIN Co-founder & Board Member. “This has been an amazing year of innovation and growth for IFIN in an exciting new era of digitalization, and today we are proud to receive one of the highest awards that can be bestowed annually, which again confirms the success of our project and increase our motivation to building innovative solutions that continue to shape the overall fintech and financial services ecosystem”.

EFICA was launched in 2013 by ADIB and Thomson Reuters – now Refinitiv – with the aim of inspiring and recognising thought leaders and forward-thinking firms which offer the most dynamic, ground-breaking solutions that advance ethics in the world’s financial services.

The other prize winners on the evening were Manzil – Canada’s first Islamic Neobank and Islamicly App.


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E-Financial

World Bank Approves Extra $65m for Nigeria’s SPESSE

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World Bank has approved an additional $65 million loan for Nigeria to support the Sustainable Procurement, Environmental, and Social Standards Enhancement (SPESSE) project, increasing the total financing for the initiative to $145 million.

World Bank Approves Extra $65m for Nigeria’s SPESSE

The approval was granted on June 24, 2025, according to details posted on the World Bank’s website, which also indicates that the project’s status has moved to “active” following the approval.

The SPESSE project, initially launched with an $80 million loan approved in February 2020, aims to strengthen institutional capacity for managing procurement, environmental, and social standards in both the public and private sectors across Nigeria.

The World Bank described the project’s development objective as the establishment of sustainable capacity in these areas.

This latest approval is part of a broader wave of financing expected from the World Bank to Nigeria in 2025.

The bank is scheduled to approve loans totalling $1.61 billion over the coming months, supporting various development initiatives.

Among these is a $300 million loan for the ‘Solutions for the Internally Displaced and Host Communities Project,’ expected to be finalised by the end of July.

This project aims to improve access to basic services and economic opportunities for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and host communities in selected local government areas in northern Nigeria.

In September, the World Bank plans to approve four additional loans: a $10.5 million facility to support technical assistance for the Central Bank of Nigeria, a $300 million Health Security Program targeting Western and Central Africa (Nigeria – Phase IV), a $500 million project for building resilient digital infrastructure (BRIDGE), and a $500 million loan under the Nigeria Sustainable Agricultural Value-Chains for Growth project aimed at promoting sustainable growth and job creation within key agricultural sectors.

Earlier in March 2025, the bank approved three financing requests amounting to $1.13 billion.

These funds are directed towards projects focused on enhancing quality education, boosting household and community resilience, and improving nutrition.

Among the approved loans were $80 million for the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 project, $552 million for the HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All programme, and $500 million for the Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme.

In February, the Nigerian government announced expectations of new World Bank loans totalling $2.2 billion for six different projects in 2025. This follows a $1.5 billion loan disbursed in 2024 aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s economic stability and resource mobilisation efforts.


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E-Financial

Ecobank Taps Google Cloud to Deepen Financial Inclusion

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Ecobank, a pan-African financial services group, has partnered with Google Cloud in a deal to improve financial services with advanced analytics, AI and driving digital empowerment across Africa.

This collaboration will focus on leveraging Google Cloud’s advanced technologies and AI to enhance Ecobank’s digital offerings to accelerate the digital transformation of the Bank.

The partnership agreement is designed to empower individuals, support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region, and contribute to the overall economic development of Africa.

“Our collaboration with Google Cloud is a leap forward in Ecobank’s digital transformation journey. We look forward to leveraging Google Cloud’s world-class technology to unlock new possibilities for individuals and businesses to grow and scale across Africa,” said Jeremy Awori, group chief executive officer of Ecobank.

“This collaboration signifies our shared intent to explore building a more connected and financially inclusive future for the continent.”

Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud, stated that Google Cloud and Ecobank have a shared vision for using technology to help deliver financial empowerment to more people and businesses in Africa.

“We look forward to exploring the ways our cutting-edge AI, powerful data analytics, and scalable infrastructure can support Ecobank’s efforts to fuel the continent’s economic development and digital future.”

The collaboration aims to simplify and streamline money transfers, both domestically and across borders. By leveraging Google Cloud’s capabilities, including its powerful data analytics platform, BigQuery, for AI-driven insights, Ecobank will aim to develop solutions that improve access to finance for SMEs, simplify payment acceptance, and provide valuable data-driven insights to help businesses scale across more than 33 countries in Africa.


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E-Financial

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Rights Issue Oversubscribed by 21.9%

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Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has announced the successful close of the N148.7 billion Rights Issue subscription exercise following the completion of the verification exercise by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and final clearance by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Stanbic IBTC Holdings said the Rights Issue was oversubscribed by 21.9 percent, adding that the holding company has injected N140 billion into Stanbic IBTC Bank.

Kunle Adedeji, acting Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc while commenting on the just concluded rights issue programme said that “The turnout and participation of existing shareholders taking up their rights was impressive such that the rights issue was oversubscribed by 21.9percent to the tune of N181.4 billion. Our shareholders’ interest shows the confidence they continue to have in the brand,” he said.

“We appreciate the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria, The Securities and Exchange Commission, the Lead Issuing house, Joint Issuing houses and other stakeholders in the successful completion of the recapitalisation exercise.

“We are optimistic about future opportunities, as the injection of new capital will position us to take advantage of them to enable us to deliver to our shareholders. To all shareholders, we are grateful for your unwavering belief and support for the Stanbic IBTC Brand and your willingness to continue this journey with us,” Adedeji said.

Having received an injection of N140 billion from the parent company, the Chief Executive of the Banking subsidiary, Wole Adeniyi, remarked that “the injection of the new capital into the banking subsidiary is a positive development. This will enable the Bank to seize additional opportunities within the industry and enhance our Single Obligor Limit (SOL).

“We deeply appreciate the dedication and hard work of our regulators, issuing houses, and all other stakeholders. We extend our sincere gratitude for your continued support.”


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