Broadcasting
UK Government Launches Climate Finance Accelerator Nigeria, Calls for Proposals
UK Government-funded CFA Nigeria has today, opened a call for proposals for the Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) Nigeria programme. CFA Nigeria is a climate finance country platform designed to directly respond to the urgency and scale of the climate crisis in Nigeria, by mobilising finance for the country’s just transition to a resilient, low-carbon economy.
Project developers in Nigeria helping to tackle the climate crisis are invited to apply by completing the online application on or before the 17 February 2023. Interested project developers must be in pre-feasibility stage and should be seeking investment of at least USD$1 million with no upper limit.
Crowding in private finance at scale is essential to implementing Nigeria’s ambitious climate commitments articulated through Energy Transition Plan and Nationally Determined Contribution. A fraction of the funding necessary for the transition is considered to be available in the market, demonstrating the scale of the challenge and the immense opportunity.
British Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos, Ben Llewellyn Jones, said: “I’m delighted that the Climate Finance Accelerator Nigeria is now open for applications from low-carbon projects. The private sector has the potential to play a large part in helping to meet Nigeria’s climate change commitments and I’m excited to see what innovative projects apply.
“The CFA has already seen great success globally and in Nigeria and it is fantastic that Nigerian projects will continue to receive bespoke support from technical and financial experts to help increase their chances of securing investment.
“The CFA builds on the UK’s climate leadership, as host of COP26 in Glasgow and is part of the UK’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s transition to a prosperous low carbon future.”
CFA Nigeria is a build-out of the pilot CFA launched in 2017 and was successfully established as an independent legal platform in 2022. As a catalytic public-private initiative, CFA Nigeria offers substantial value to project developers, financial institutions and the Federal Government of Nigeria. It creates common ground for project developers and financial institutions to deploy blended finance, de-risk and fund low-carbon, resilient opportunities. It acts to improve the bankability of projects and public-private partnerships and to connect projects with financial institutions. It also identifies policy, regulatory and fiscal interventions to enable greater flows of finance and builds understanding and awareness of the climate finance supply chain between finance, business, and government.
In 2021-22 CFA Nigeria amassed a pipeline worth USD445 million and worked directly with innovative projects to engage Nigerian and global financiers. This year CFA Nigeria intends to expand its pipeline with two further calls for proposals. It engages extensively with Nigerian financial institutions and members of the Glasgow Finance Alliance for Net Zero Citibank and Standard Chartered to identify avenues by which finance can be made available to viable proponents.
The projects are expected to be selected from the country’s priority sectors according to Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contribution: renewable power, transport, energy efficiency, residential, oil and gas, agriculture, forestry and land use, waste and the circular economy, water, and industrial processes. Successful projects will receive one-to-one advice and support from technical, financial and gender equality and social inclusion experts to help them move closer to investment. The support will culminate in an event in June 2023 to bring project developers together with potential investors.
Dr. Uzo Egbuche, Team Leader of CFA Nigeria, said: “CFA Nigeria is recognised as a country platform capable of deploying blended finance and leveraging private finance at scale. We are proud to have established ourselves as an independent legal entity in 2022 able to serve our core clients of financiers, developers and of course the Federal Government
“We invite all developers in the climate economy seeking finance to join the pipeline as we begin this next chapter in 2023.”
In addition to Nigeria, the CFA programme is also operational in Colombia, Egypt, Viet Nam, Mexico, Pakistan, Peru, South Africa and Turkiye and is being delivered by PwC and Ricardo Energy & Environment. It is funded by the UK Government’s Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and is implemented in Nigeria with Adam Smith International as the in-country partner.
American Tower Corporation (ATC) Nigeria and the ProFuturo Foundation have announced a strategic partnership aimed at transforming the educational sector through digital innovation and technology.
The programme, which is being implemented in conjunction with the Kukah Centre, is expected to benefit over 5,600 school children and 34 teachers across 11 schools in Kano, Kebbi and Taraba states.
The initiative is part of a broader global collaboration between American Tower and ProFuturo Foundation, targeting education gaps in seven African and Latin American countries.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, ATC Nigeria Chief Executive Officer, Mr Pieter Van Der Westhuizen, said the partnership was aligned with the company’s Digital Communities programme, which facilitates technology-driven learning, financial literacy for adults and access to healthcare services in underserved areas.
“At ATC Nigeria, we are proud to support this impactful collaboration, which brings digital tools directly into classrooms. This partnership is not just about equipment—it’s about giving children the future they deserve,” he said.
General Manager of ProFuturo Foundation, Ms Magdalena Brier, described the partnership as a crucial step towards bridging the digital divide and empowering vulnerable communities.
“This alliance reinforces our mission to transform lives by improving access to education and digital tools. Every child and teacher reached through this programme is a testament to what we can achieve together,” she said.
Each school will be equipped with a digital learning kit, which includes computers, tablets, routers, projectors and other essential components tailored to foster interactive learning—even in areas with limited connectivity.
The initiative seeks to strengthen innovative teaching practices and promote inclusive education through digital transformation, with active support from local authorities who were present at the official launch.
About ₦2 billion changes hands in bets every day (KPMG Gaming Outlook 2025), driven by a 60-million-strong punter base that treats wagering as both entertainment and side-hustle. Industry revenue is on pace to hit US $3.63 billion in gross gaming revenue (GGR) by December 2025 – roughly the size of Nigeria’s entire recorded-music market.
Smartphones rule this universe: more than 90 percent of slips now start and finish on a handset, which is why the market leaders obsess over data-lite apps and USSD deposits almost as much as odds feeds.
Our Litmus Test for “Best”
To separate hype from heft we graded each book on the nine variables that still matter after the banner ads fade:
- Odds edge & market depth – average margin on EPL, NPFL and niche sports
- Live tech stack – cash-out latency, in-play uptime, streaming rights
- Payout speed & reliability
- Responsible-gaming tools (RG) – time-outs, self-exclusion, deposit caps
- Licensing strength & dispute history
- Promotions that actually pay
- Product breadth – virtuals, jackpots, prediction games, casino
- Financial resilience – operating cash flow, retail footprint, VC war chest
- Cultural traction – agent networks, grassroots sponsorships, meme power
The Heavyweights – and Why Each Owns a Piece of The Best
| Operator | What They Nail | Ticking Time-Bombs | Verdict |
| SportyBet | Biggest traffic (≈ 57 M visits / month), sub-5-second cash-outs, crazy-low EPL margin (~4.5%). | Still no retail city hubs; crash loops on older Tecno devices. | Mobile kingpin |
| Bet9ja | Heritage trust, retail agents in 20 states, jackpots like Super9ja; circa ₦10 billion monthly handle. | Dated UX; odds less sharp since 2024 revamp. | Legacy war-horse |
| BetKing | Data-driven odds, Genius Sports in-play feed, renewed deal with Gamble Alert for RG training. | Slower KYC queues at peak traffic. | RG poster-child |
| Surebet247 | NLRC Permit 0001081; cash-first agent model with mobile slip tracking; boosted welcome bonus to ₦150k; full cash-out on domestic basketball. | Android app, iOS app; livestream rights still pending. | Mobile dark horse |
| 1xBet & Betway | Global market buffet, esports, crypto options. | Offshore-licence optics; occasional geoblock glitches. | International muscle |
| NairaBet, AccessBET, Msport, Premier Bet, BetPawa | NairaBet = pioneer cachet; Msport & BetPawa blitz TikTok; Premier Bet just signed Francis Ngannou. | Each misses at least one core pillar (RG tooling, market depth or fast payouts). | Specialist niches |
Two Deep-Cut Insights the Billboards Won’t Show You
- Women are quietly reshaping the market. According to University of Abuja (“according to data from the University of Abuja”), 30 percent of urban Lagos women now gamble regularly, and a 2025 field survey found daily spend often tops ₦50,000 despite lower median income.
- Mobile-money betting dents student wallets. According to Lagos State University, mobile-money deposits explain 26.7 percent of the variance in student financial well-being – a stat that should make every platform’s RG desk sweat.
So, Who Actually Wins?
- Premier-League diehards who live for lightning-fast in-play cash-out: SportyBet wears the crown.
- Corner-shop loyalists who still like to chat with a clerk: Surebet247 Betshop nails the cash-plus-mobile sweet spot.
- Jackpot chasers who want EPL on Saturday, Ugandan Super League on Tuesday, and darts on Thursday: Bet9ja is still the Swiss-Army knife.
Punters who value self-exclusion toggles and deposit caps (you should): BetKing edges ahead.
In reality, “best” is contextual. Odds hawks, live-stream junkies, crypto degenerates and agent-network stalwarts will all point to different logos. What you don’t want is a bookie that melts down at 89′ when Villarreal finally scores.
On that front, the four names above – plus a rapidly innovating Surebet247 mobile bet shop – look built to survive Nigeria’s next data-price hike and the NLRC’s tightening audit screws.
The rest? Keep one eye on their uptime dashboards – and the other on your bankroll.
By Lukman Otunuga, Senior Market Analyst at FXTM.
A flurry of high-risk events may pump global financial markets with fresh volatility this week.
Top-tier data, including US Inflation, the unofficial start of earnings season, and US Congress “Crypto Week,” among other themes, could spell fresh opportunities.
Amidst this, uncertainty over global trade will add to the mix after President Donald Trump threatened 35% tariffs on the EU and Mexico over the weekend.
Regarding US inflation, this may impact bets around Fed cuts in the second half of this year. Markets are forecasting CPI to rise 2.6% from 2.4% in the prior month, with core CPI rising to 2.9% from 2.8%. Signs of rising prices may shave bets around the Fed cutting interest rates – boosting the dollar as a result.
Closer to home, Nigeria’s June CPI data due July 15 is expected to show signs of cooling inflationary pressures. This could offer some relief to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which aggressively hiked interest rates throughout 2024. Inflation is expected to have eased to 21.4% year-on-year from 23% in May – marking the 4th consecutive month of decline. However, the slowdown is largely a technical adjustment aided by the recent gains in the Naira amid higher non-oil exports and a weaker dollar.
The CBN is scheduled to meet later this month and will most likely keep rates unchanged at 27.5%.
One key challenge for the country will be how to re-tweak its budget for lower oil prices. Indeed, the budget was based around oil production at 2 million barrels and oil prices of $75. Brent is trading around $70 with the nation producing 1.544m b/d of crude in May according to OPEC. Nigeria is hoping to raise production to 1.9m b/d by the end of 2025. But its impact on the economy may be muted if oversupply and tepid demand keep oil prices subdued. Brent is up 4% this month but still down over 6% since the start of 2025.
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