E-Financial
ThriveAgric Partners Heifer to Provide Farmers with Access to Financial Inclusion Services
Agricultural technology company, ThriveAgric, in collaboration with global nonprofit organisation, Heifer International, today hosted a breakfast meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, to mark the official launch of the company’s AYuTe (Agriculture, Youth and Technology) Project.
The initiative which aims to empower 125,000 smallholder farmers with financial inclusion access, further reiterates the company’s mission to build the largest network of profitable farmers across Africa while ensuring food security on the continent.
Over the next twelve months, ThriveAgric and its technical partners will facilitate the opening of bank accounts for 125,000 smallholder farmers across 8 northern states including Adamawa, Gombe, Yobe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, and Bauchi, giving them access to debit cards and other various financial services.
The Project will be in fulfilment of winning the 2022 edition of the annual Agriculture, Youth and Technology (AYuTe) Africa Challenge, an initiative of Heifer International.
In addition to employing over 200 young people to execute this project, ThriveAgric will also be providing 1,000 Point of Sale (POS) devices to selected Nigerian youths to boost and provide additional income to their families.
According to the EFInA Access to Financial Services Survey 2020, only 51% of Nigerian adults use formal financial services with women being continuously more excluded than men.
The report particularly highlights that large gaps in financial access remain for some of Nigeria’s most financially excluded groups with adults in Northern Nigeria significantly more financially excluded than those in the South of Nigeria.
Of this group, rural adults are even more excluded than those in urban areas and this translates to very limited access to funding or funding options.
ThriveAgric will therefore be approaching this project with a gender lens to ensure that at least 40% of the targeted beneficiaries in the 8 northern states of Nigeria, including smallholder farmers, POS operators and project employees are women.
Speaking on the company’s vision behind the AYuTe Project, Ayodeji Arikawe, Co-Founder at ThriveAgric, said: “At ThriveAgric, our driving force has always been to empower smallholder farmers for a dignified livelihood.
“By connecting smallholder farmers to the formal financial economy, we are positioning them for better access to finance, credit, digital services and introducing them to the formal economy which has numerous other benefits in the long run.
“We are excited about this initiative we’re undertaking with Heifer International through the AYuTe Africa Challenge, and for the long term impact of this strategic partnership with VISA towards the creation of job opportunities, financial and social inclusion.
“Our unwavering commitment to positively impact smallholder farmers and their immediate communities across Africa will become even more evident through this project, as we power towards our goal of developing the largest network of profitable farmers in Africa.”
Last year, ThriveAgric emerged as the West African winners of the annual AYuTe Africa Challenge, receiving a $1m grant prize as reward.
Organised by Heifer International, the Agriculture Youth Technology (AYuTe) Challenge was set up to support young entrepreneurs working to scale food security on the continent by developing and deploying affordable tech solutions to impact smallholder farmers.
In addition to the cash grants, Heifer International also deploys a team of expert advisers and accomplished business veterans to support AYuTe Africa Champions as they translate this funding into business expansion strategies.
According to the Country Director of Heifer International, Rufus Idris, “Inadequate access to financial services is a key barrier limiting smallholder farmers from improving farming practices, adopting innovation and increasing their production outputs.
“We are excited about this opportunity to not only invest in ThriveAgric’s solutions but to scale up an agritech innovation that confronts financial inclusion challenges facing smallholder farmers in Nigeria”.
Access to funding remains one of the biggest challenges confronting smallholder farmers in Africa. According to WillAgri, only 10% of farmers have access to credit in rural areas across Sub-Saharan Africa.
By facilitating account opening, distribution of bank cards and setting up POS operators in the rural northern communities, ThriveAgric will be increasing access to formal financial services through digital tools thereby driving financial inclusion, a key promoter of access to finance and markets for more smallholder farmers.
Key partnerships with companies like Visa to reach the most financially excluded groups, a lot of whom are smallholder farmers, demonstrates how ThriveAgric will be leveraging strategic partnerships to attain the company’s ambition of providing $500 million in credit to 10 million smallholder farmers across Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya by 2027.
Commenting on the innovative move, Ayodeji Alabi, Fintech Lead at Visa Inc. West Africa said, “We wish ThriveAgric well with this initiative to onboard over 125,000 farmers on the Financial Inclusion drive in Nigeria.
“With ThriveAgric as winners of the Visa Everywhere Initiative in 2022, they have our full support in this to facilitate payment solutions towards ensuring that underserved communities are banked.”
The AYuTe Project is yet another step in the right direction for ThriveAgric, as the company accelerates towards its goal of building an Africa that feeds itself.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a fresh advisory warning the public about the persistent activities of fraudsters peddling fictitious contracts, loans, grants and intervention funds under the guise of affiliation with the apex bank.
This is aimed at protecting Nigerians from financial fraud.
The advisory, signed by Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, acting director, Corporate Communications, noted that despite an earlier advisory issued on November 18, 2024, these criminal elements continue to exploit unsuspecting individuals with fake offers falsely attributed to the CBN.
The apex bank has once again disclaimed any association with such claims, describing them as entirely fraudulent and misleading.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria has not authorised, licensed, or appointed any individual, group, or organisation to act on its behalf in offering contracts or financial benefits to the public,” the statement clarified.
According to the CBN, it does not engage in unsolicited communications, via emails, phone calls, SMS, WhatsApp or any social media platforms, to award contracts or disburse funds. It also stressed that the bank does not request payments or fees in exchange for any financial service or opportunity.
The apex bank urged the public to remain vigilant and to immediately report any suspicious approaches to law enforcement agencies or the nearest CBN branch.
“The Central Bank remains committed to safeguarding the financial interests of the Nigerian public and continues to work closely with security agencies to investigate and curb fraudulent activities,” the statement added.
This advisory, the CBN spokesperson noted, comes as part of the regulator’s wider mandate to ensure transparency, financial integrity and public trust in Nigeria’s financial system.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ramped up its fight against Ponzi schemes in Nigeria, vowing to take decisive action against illegal fund operators while educating the public to prevent further victimisation.
At an awareness campaign held in Abuja, the SEC emphasized its commitment to saturating public spaces with information about illegal investment schemes before enforcing the law on perpetrators.
Speaking at the event, Ms Frana Chukwuogor, executive commissioner Legal and Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission, warned of the dangers of patronising illegal fund operators known as Ponzi schemes.
She said that the Commission deemed it crucial to sensitize traders, empowering them to make informed decisions when approached with investment requests.
She explained that the campaign is a proactive step to combat the surge in fraudulent investment schemes in Nigeria, aligning with the Commission’s broader strategy to educate the public about Ponzi scheme risks and unregistered investment platforms before enforcing regulatory action.
“Our approach is simple but firm. We are not just a regulator that barks and does not bite. We believe in engaging, enlightening, and empowering the Nigerian people before enforcing the law. We will sensitize before barking and biting,” she stated.
She explained that too many Nigerians, especially those at the grassroots, fall victim to Ponzi schemes due to lack of information or false promises of quick, unrealistic returns, emphasizing that many of these schemes are not registered or regulated by the SEC, making them dangerous and illegal.
“We have seen people lose their life savings, their businesses, and their peace of mind.
That is why we are taking this message to the markets, motor parks, online platforms, anywhere Nigerians are making financial decisions. Prevention through education is our first line of defense,” she added.
Mr Abdusalam Khalid, head of Enforcement Department, Securities and Exchange Commission, warned that while education is the first step, it will not hesitate to prosecute illegal operators who refuse to cease their fraudulent activities
He urged the public to verify all investment opportunities through official channels and report suspicious activities through the SEC helpline.
Some bank users in Abuja have declared they will opt for electronic mail alerts from their banks to cut costs and reduce charges on their accounts.
Some of them who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday said they would deactivate the Short Message Services transaction alert linked to their accounts.
Mrs Dorathy Azinge, a customer of GTCO, described the increase in SMS charges as exploitative.
Azinge said that in spite of various transaction charges debited from her bank account on a daily basis, the bank still increased SMS charges.
”This move of increasing SMS charges is very exploitative even though they cited telecommunication charge.
”What about all the numerous unwarranted debits that I get from my account, and they are using telecommunication increase as yardstick to increase theirs.
”GT will remove different charges from my account until they give me minus balance,” she said.
Another customer, Ms Elizabeth Abu, said she would visit her bank to opt for her transaction alerts to be sent to only her e-mail address.
Abu who complained about the reduction in her capitalised interest on her account, said the numerous debits were becoming frustrating.
” It does not make sense for the bank to charge me for a transaction I did and also charge me for the alert they sent.
” It means that customers are the ones paying heavily for all these services.
” These charges are reflecting on the profits declared by these banks, and we are the ones paying for this,” she said.
Mr Clement Arubu, a customer with First HoldCo Plc, said he received various transaction debit alerts from his bank totalling N1, 050 monthly.
Arubu said the debits were huge, especially when calculated between 10,000 customers of the bank.
” Most customers receive these alerts and neglect them because to them, the money is small but when you debit the same money from about 10,000 customers then, you can be sure that the money is huge,” he said.
Mrs Catherine Itoha,, said a bank had yet to reverse over N20,000 debited from her account through various failed Point of Sale transaction since about 11 months.
Itoha urged some banks and their staff to adopt principles of fair practice in handling their customers.
” Customers are the reason why banks are in existence so, we deserve to be treated fairly.
”GTB debited me in about four different transactions that I did but up till now, they did not reverse any of these monies.
”I visited the bank, filled forms, spoke to their staff personally but still the issue was not resolved since last year.
”If this money did not go to a staff, it means it is part of their profit,” she alleged.
Mrs Esther Arthur, a Fidelity Bank customer alleged that some of the banks were making profits from charges on customers for their transactions.
Arthur described the situation as sad and frustrating, recounting,”I withdrew N10,000 from a First Bank Automated Teller Machine and the machine showed me that I will be charged N100 because it wasn’t my bank.
”When I finished the transaction, to my greatest surprise an alert came into my phone and when I checked it, it was an alert of N630.00 against the N100 on-site ATM charges that the Central Bank of Nigeria instituted.
”This is so sad,” she said.
Mr Augustine Ode, a Zenith Bank customer, appealed to the CBN to check excesses of some banks that were allegedly defrauding customers.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that GTCO had informed its customers of the SMS transaction alert fee increase from N4 to N6 per message.
The bank had said that the adjustment was due to a recent increase in telecom rates.
Credit: NAN
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