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Paga to Further Accelerate Growth with $10M Series B2 Investment

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Paga, the leading mobile money company in Nigeria has announced that it has closed a $10 million growth financing led by the Global Innovation Fund.

Also participating in the round were existing investors Goodwell (managed by Alitheia Capital), Adlevo Capital, Omidyar Network and Unreasonable Capital. This new financing brings the total Paga has raised since inception in 2009 to $35 million.

The company commenced commercial operations in August 2012 and recently revealed that since then it has served 9 million customers and created over 10,000 jobs through its 17,000 agents who hire staff to run their stores.

“GIF is proud to lead Paga’s Series B2 round,” said Alix Peterson Zwane, GIF’s CEO. “Paga’s mission of helping people ‘make life possible” aligns with our core mission of supporting entrepreneurs and innovators that seek to improve the lives of those living on less than $5 per day. I am pleased that GIF will help enable Paga’s next phase.”

Nigeria is one of the fastest growing emerging markets in the world, and the biggest economy in Africa with $405 billion GDP.

Nigeria currently has a population of 186 million but is expected to become the 3rd largest country in the world (behind India and China) by 2050 with 411 million people. In Nigeria today, over 100 million adults find it difficult to transfer or leverage money for basic human needs.

This problem is one that exists even for those that are banked, and is something Paga’s team is passionate about solving.

The growth financing announced today will enable Paga further scale its business in Nigeria to drive the growth of Paga’s mobile wallet and agent network, and explore expansion opportunities in other markets where similar problems exist.

“Our belief in Paga as an effective platform to drive financial inclusion is unwavering,” says ‘Tokunboh Ishmael, Managing Partner at Alitheia Capital, “Paga has shown solid progress, and alongside other investments in our portfolio has played a huge role in our ability to demonstrate that enabling access to essential services for the broad population has both significant financial and developmental impact.”

Paga’s massive transformative purpose is “To make it simple for one billion people to access and use money.” With a nationwide network of 17,000 agents and more than 9 million users accessing funds in Nigeria, Paga is making strides by enabling efficient digital payments and building successful societies.

This has translated to over 57 million transactions processed worth approximately $3.6 billion, a business that is profitable and growing at 110% compounded annual growth rate (2016-2018).

“At Paga, we are building an ecosystem that enables people to digitally send and receive money, and creating simple financial access for everyone,” explains Tayo Oviosu, “We do not seek to be a bank, but rather to partner with banks and financial institutions in the markets we operate.

“We are proud to welcome the Global Innovation Fund as a partner on our journey. We were attracted to them because of their global focus, network to help us achieve our ambition and a clear alignment of values.

“It is also fantastic that our existing investors remain committed to our strategy and are demonstrating that by their additional investments.”

Paga’s mission is strengthened by the recent release of Paga’s new money transfer app that will drive use of the Paga wallet for person-to-person transfers and in-store payments.

In a country where digital financial services still leave much to be desired, Paga is staking a claim at being the Venmo of Nigeria. With cash still being king in emerging markets, and the general unreliability of POS services coupled with the sparsely located Banks and ATM’s, the company has created a viable solution for ease of payments: a simple app that allows you to send money to or request money from anyone only using their phone number or email address and a digital wallet to which you can link any debit card or bank account. In this sense, Paga is acting as a facilitator to provide a swift and reliable payment gateway for your already existing financial accounts.

This reinforces the idea that Paga is seeking to be the reliable access point to all relevant financial services for all people.

The core ethos of the Paga brand is “Making Life Possible”, so the decision to provide free money transfers was driven by the underlying desire to solve basic human needs and to ease the pain of not only person to person payments but payments for small to medium businesses, especially those trading through social media channels.

According to the 2018 Global Entrepreneurship Index, Nigeria ranks 12th in Africa for entrepreneurship, even with its uniquely challenging environment.

The high unemployment rate forces its citizens to be creative in order to thrive, and cultural barriers which sometimes prevent access to education and traditional workspaces means that a  higher percentage of these entrepreneurs are female.

The company, which prides itself in aiding economic empowerment for less advantaged citizens, particularly in empowering women, notes that women are some of the highest performing agents.

Paga also prides itself on providing opportunities for small businesses to grow and create even more employment opportunities for others.

Nigeria is not the final frontier – Paga has already noted an important trend: the problem they are solving also exists in other markets. The platform is scalable and multi-currency, and the company has already begun considering opportunities in large countries such as Ethiopia, Mexico and the Philippines.

The growing tech ecosystem in Africa is garnering international notice, as evidenced by Mark Zuckerberg’s visit to Lagos and the opening of the Facebook tech hub; not too far from Paga’s office in an area that has been dubbed “Yabacon Valley”, and the exportation of African tech can be a big driver for the economy.


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E-Financial

Kuda Unveils New Wallet for Multiple Currencies

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As the first currency supported by the functionality, Kuda launched an update for its app that allows users to send, receive, hold, and convert USD directly.

Kuda Unveils New Wallet for Multiple Currencies

Babs Ogundeyi, MD, Kuda

The action comes in response to growing consumer demand for currency-neutral spending, savings, and income management.

As part of its expansion strategy, digital bank Kuda has introduced a multicurrency wallet to assist Africans who live, work, and travel internationally.

Users may keep, fund, and convert between five main currencies—the US dollar, British pound, euro, Nigerian naira, and Canadian dollar—all within a single wallet on the Kuda app with this application, which is still undergoing testing.

“The new wallet is designed to simplify the fragmented experience Africans face when managing money across different countries and currencies,” said Nosa Oyegun, senior vice president, Business Banking, Kuda, during a media parley in Lagos.

“People no longer reside in a single nation. Due to their global reach, Africans should be able to transfer their money with ease, Oyegun stated.

He claims that eligible customers outside of Nigeria may already access the wallet on Android smartphones, and an iOS deployment is planned.

He clarified that Kuda purposefully decided against developing a distinct wallet app.

Customers will be able to log in as normal, open foreign currency balances, convert money when needed, and send or spend money without switching platforms because it will be integrated into the core Kuda experience.

More than N100 billion entered Kuda accounts from LemFi in 2024 alone.

“This wallet is just our first step in acknowledging and supporting the fact that our customers are already living this cross-border reality,” Oyegun stated.

Kuda wants to give people a smooth financial tool that suits their lifestyle, not only currency exchange.

By removing the bottlenecks involved in the need to switch between various apps or financial services, the wallet will enable users from overseas to send money home, exchange currencies, and continue spending from the same account when they visit Nigeria.

Oyegun emphasized throughout the event that the wallet also takes client retention into account.

Kuda plans to keep helping people who move overseas as they adjust to life in other nations rather than losing them.

He further claimed that these users had not churned. “They simply switched nations. We wish to continue servicing them.

Kuda is now one of many African fintech companies developing products for cross-border use cases as a result of the move.

Oyegun pointed out that Kuda’s goal is to become a financial partner for Africans wherever they may be, going beyond simply exchanging currencies.

The bank’s growth trajectory is reflected in Kuda’s first-quarter 2025 performance, which was disclosed during the briefing. Customer confidence in the company’s digital-first strategy was strengthened when it recorded N453 billion in savings deposits and processed N8.4 trillion in total transaction volume.

With the new feature being introduced on the app, Kuda Microfinance Bank hopes to assist online business owners, freelancers, and remote workers who make money in USD with the recently added feature, which is currently undergoing testing.

Users can choose to accept USD payments directly or convert naira into USD using the Spend tab.

In the near future, GBP and EUR will be recognized as alternative currencies, according to the financial institution.

Additionally, in Nigeria, where inflation is severe, having USD on hand might be advantageous and convenient for people.

More Nigerians have recently begun to use digital platforms to improve the stability of their financial status.

For the majority of them, managing multiple currencies—whether via remote work, cryptocurrency, or international trade—has become the standard. Kuda Bank aims to meet these demands and grow its business to meet the demands of the market.

The financial institution’s continued dedication to providing solutions that give its users the best possible experience which is demonstrated by the multicurrency wallet feature.

Speaking about the project, Kuda representatives emphasized that the new wallet was created to make it easier for Africans to manage their money across various nations and currencies.

Customers can log in as normal, open foreign currency balances, convert funds, and spend or send money without switching platforms thanks to the integration of this feature within Kuda.

Along with currency conversion, Kuda plans to provide a financial tool that eliminates the need for users to switch between apps or financial services by enabling users from other countries to send money to Nigeria, convert currencies, and spend from the same account when they visit.


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Reps Investigate 25 Insurance Firms for Financial Infractions

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The House of Representatives has launched an investigation into 25 insurance companies over alleged financial infractions that have reportedly led to the loss of hundreds of billions of naira in government revenue.

Chairman of the House Sub-Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, Hon. Kwamoti Laori, made the disclosure on Monday during a meeting with representatives of the affected companies at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.

Laori said the probe was prompted by petitions accusing the companies of violating statutory provisions in their operations, thereby shortchanging the federal government.

“This committee is saddled with the responsibility of addressing a petition based on infractions by these insurance companies regarding their operations and non-compliance with certain statutory provisions,” he said.

“These infractions have led to the federal government losing hundreds of billions of naira in revenue. That is why the companies were invited—to either confirm or refute the liabilities ascribed to them.”

According to the lawmaker, each of the 25 companies had been formally notified of their respective liabilities and summoned to explain their financial dealings.

“The essence of this engagement is to ensure that what is due to the federal government from these private entities is fully remitted,” Laori added.

He emphasized that it is within the constitutional mandate of the National Assembly to track government revenue and block leakages, particularly in sectors involving private sector collaboration.

The committee also frowned at some of the companies’ attempt to stall the investigation by resorting to legal action.

“Some of the companies have gone to court and served the House with court processes. It is now up to us and the House leadership to examine those court papers,” Laori said. “If the court action does not affect the core of our mandate, we will proceed. If it does, we’ll await the court’s decision.”

He criticized what he described as a strategy aimed at obstructing parliamentary oversight.

“Going to court appears to be a deliberate attempt to throw a spanner in the works of the National Assembly,” he stated.

Laori also expressed dissatisfaction with the failure of some company heads to appear in person, instead sending representatives who were unable to respond to critical questions.

“We have insisted that Chief Operating Officers (COOs) must appear in person. One of the COOs sent someone who couldn’t answer any of the allegations—this is unacceptable,” he said. “It is the same people that will later accuse the National Assembly of not doing its job.”

The committee chairman did not spare the industry’s regulator—the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM)—which he accused of negligence.

“NAICOM has a supervisory role, and if they were doing their job effectively, we wouldn’t be here conducting this investigation. They need to sit up,” Laori said.

 

Meanwhile, 17 of the companies currently in court sent a legal representative, Mr. Abimbola Kayode, to the hearing on Monday.

 


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Naira Slides Again, Hits ₦1,532.34/$ Despite CBN’s Dollar Push

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The naira closed the past week weaker than the previous one, as it depreciated by 0.14 per cent week-on-week to settle at 1,532.34/$ at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.

This weakening came despite the naira rebounding to a four-month high on the first trading day to close at 1,518.88/$. After that, it weakened to 1,530.25/$, then lower to 1,533.11/$ before gaining some strength to close the week at 1,532.34/$ at the official market.

During the past week, the highest amount that the naira traded for was 1,538/$, and the lowest was 1,515/$ on the NFEM.

At the parallel market, the currency closed trading within the band of 1,535.00/$ and 1,544.00/$1.

Analysts have maintained that the intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria and improvement in the foreign exchange liquidity were essential to stabilising the naira at the FX market.

Cowry Assets Management Limited, in its weekly market report, averred that the naira had recorded mixed trading across the markets as it appreciated slightly by 0.06 per cent week-on-week to close at 1,544.00/$1 at the parallel market while closing in the red zone at the official market.

“The divergent movements reflect ongoing supply-demand imbalances and the evolving FX liquidity landscape,” stated the analysts, who, however, maintained that the naira looks to record further gains as improved oil output and elevated prices drive higher dollar inflows, which could sustain the current pace of reserve accretion.

“The positive oil earnings outlook, combined with steady capital inflows, should offer continued support for the naira and enhance near-term FX market stability,” the report added.

Recent data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission shows that the average daily crude oil production (excluding condensates) rose by 3.6 per cent to 1.51 million barrels per day in June 2025 from 1.45 mbpd in May. This marks the first time in five months that Nigeria has met its OPEC production quota, reflecting improvements in operational efficiencies and security around key oil-producing assets.

AIICO Capital Limited, in its weekly report, noted that the CBN had intervened intermittently in the FX market in the past week.

It stated, “Dollar sales early and late in the week helped maintain relative stability. The naira closed at 1,532.34/$, down 13.6 bps w/w. Reserves rose by $422m to $37.85bn” as of Thursday from $37.43bn in the previous week.

It is expected that the naira will likely hold its current range amid better liquidity, while markets weigh potential FX impacts from the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision starting Monday (today).

Analysts are split on what the decision of the MPC should be regarding the benchmark. On one side, doves are calling for a modest rate cut, pointing to cooling inflation, a more stable naira, and signs of reform traction. On the other hand, hawks are warning that premature easing could undo all the gains of FX reforms and decelerating inflation, especially with food supply shocks and global risk still very much in the picture.

“For now, traders are positioning around the edges, but the real signal will come from the tone of the communique,” Comercio Partners asserted.


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