E-Financial
MFS Africa Scales up to 320 million Mobile Money Wallets

Pan-African Fintech company MFS Africa has announced that it now reaches over 320 million mobile money wallets on the continent.
In a statement released to the media, the company said based on the 2021 State of the Industry report on Mobile Money released by the GSMA, it effectively covers 60% of all mobile money wallets in sub-Saharan Africa.
The MFS Africa partnership with Xoom was also mentioned as a key highlight for the industry in this year’s report.
In early December 2020 MFS Africa announced a partnership with Xoom.
At the time, Dare Okoudjou, CEO and founder of MFS Africa, said: “Xoom – and their parent company PayPal – are pioneers in digital-first payments, and we are excited to partner with Xoom to further connect our network to the wider world.
Diaspora remittances have always been critical for the livelihood of hundreds of millions of Africans and leveraging digital channels to deliver those remittances has always been an important part of our mission.
“But in a time of global crisis, when brick-and-mortar money transfer stores are not open, connecting digital payments players in the diaspora to the largest network of mobile wallets in Africa doesn’t just make good business sense – it’s the right thing to do from a public health and human welfare perspective, too.”
Since the launch of the services in December, Xoom has added Cote d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Malawi and Mozambique.
Okoudjou added: “In 2010, MFS Africa took a bet that mobile money accounts would be the most dominant form of financial accounts in Africa and emerging markets at large. The new numbers released by the GSMA have now removed any lingering doubts about that.
We also wagered that through our work, these accounts would be able to exchange value with each other and with the rest of the world, in the same way we communicate with each other by mobile phones.
We are now in a position to make that a reality for over 320 million accounts in Africa. This means that a tech company in Liberia can now gun for a market 64x the size of its home market – underlining the positive economic impact that creating new financial pathways can create.”
According to the Fintech firm Sub-Saharan Africa is the most developed market for mobile money, accounting for roughly two-thirds of global mobile money transactions in 2020.
“However, more complex transactions, such as those across borders or involving distinct financial institutions, can be costly and inconvenient for African consumers and businesses. The high cost of remittances on the continent (8.9% in the last quarter of 2019) is just one example,” it said.
E-Financial
GTCO to Become First Nigerian Bank to List on London Stock Exchange

By 8 am on July 9, GTCO Holdings is set to commence trading on the London Stock Exchange.
As the group is set to list all its shares on the London Stock Exchange, becoming the first Nigerian banking entity to do so.
This is as the group launches a public offer of new ordinary shares to raise approximately $100 million on the London Stock Exchange.
The equity offering, which is an accelerated bookbuild and managed by Citigroup, began on July 2 and is to last until July 31.
On July 31, the group announced that it would cancel the listing of its Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs) on the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Official List.
It will also cancel their admission to trading on the London Stock Exchange (LSE)’s main market.
In place of the GDRs, the group will list all its ordinary shares directly.
aims to admit all its shares to the equity shares category for international commercial companies under a secondary listing on the FCA’s Official List.
The shares will also begin trading on the LSE’s main market for listed securities.
According to a regulatory filing on the London Stock Exchange, the net proceeds from the offering will be used to recapitalize GTBank Nigeria.
Based on the prevailing exchange rate of N1,540 to the US dollar, the targeted $100 million equates to approximately N154 billion.
This capital raise is expected to position the Group to fully meet the N500 billion minimum paid-up share capital required by regulators for banks with international licenses.
As of now, both Zenith Bank and Access Holdings have already met—and exceeded—this threshold.
E-Financial
NAICOM Issues New Licenses to SanlamAllianz Life, General Insurance

The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has handed over new licenses to SanlamAllianz Life and General Insurance Nigeria Ltd at brief ceremony held in Abuja.
Olusegun Omosehin, commissioner for Insurance emphasized the Commission’s commitment to supporting the growth of insurance entities in the country, while ensuring strict compliance with regulatory requirements. He urged the companies to prioritize good corporate governance, stability, and timely claims settlement processes.
The Commissioner reiterated NAICOM’s dedication to removing unnecessary bottlenecks and improving the insurance industry’s overall performance. He expressed confidence that the merger would enhance the companies’ capabilities and contribute to the industry’s growth.
SanlamAllianz recently launched its operations in Nigeria, marking a significant step in the company’s Pan-African expansion.
The launch follows the merger of Sanlam and Allianz’s Nigerian operations, creating a new entity named SanlamAllianz Nigeria.
This joint venture aims to transform the Nigerian insurance landscape by offering enhanced customer experiences, innovative solutions, and improved financial inclusion.
E-Financial
World Bank Approves Extra $65m for Nigeria’s SPESSE

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.
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.
- Telecom3 days ago
AVEVA Highlights Climate Impact Gains in 2024 Sustainability Report
- General News3 days ago
AfCFTA Opens Opportunity for Logistics Sector
- Telecom3 days ago
ALTON Explains SIM-related Services Disruption Across Mobile Networks
- Telecom2 days ago
NCC Approves MTN, 9Mobile Roaming Collaboration Deal
- E-Financial2 days ago
World Bank Approves Extra $65m for Nigeria’s SPESSE
- E-Financial2 days ago
Ecobank Taps Google Cloud to Deepen Financial Inclusion
- Telecom3 days ago
MTN Foundation, NDLEA, UNODC Unite in Abuja Against Substance Abuse
- Telecom21 hours ago
MTN Nigeria Debuts Game-Changing CPaaS Platform at NextNow Forum