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Tag: traditional banking

  • Access Holdings Affirms Long-Term Value Strategy at 4th Annual General Meeting

    Access Holdings Affirms Long-Term Value Strategy at 4th Annual General Meeting

    Access Holdings Plc (Access Holdings) today held its 4th Annual General Meeting (AGM), reaffirming its strategic transition towards long-term value creation, balance sheet resilience, and disciplined growth, even as it navigates a dynamic and evolving operating environment.

    Speaking at the AGM, the Chairman, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, CFR, emphasised that the defining test of a financial institution is not merely its capacity for growth, but its ability to grow profitably, sustainably, and with discipline over time.

    He noted that Access Holdings’ performance in 2025 reflects a deliberate approach to strengthening the institution’s long-term fundamentals while maintaining strong financial performance.

    The Group delivered Profit Before Tax of ₦1.007 trillion, underscoring the strength of its diversified platform and expanding earnings base across key markets. Total assets increased to ₦51.56 trillion, while customer deposits grew strongly, reflecting sustained franchise momentum and deepening customer trust.

    The Chairman, however, stressed that these results must be viewed within the context of the Group’s prudent risk management actions during the year. Access Holdings accelerated provisions on legacy and regulatory forbearance credit exposures, resulting in elevated impairment charges. He explained that the Group consciously prioritised balance sheet strength and long-term resilience over short-term earnings optimisation.

    “Periods of economic uncertainty often reveal more about an institution than periods of uninterrupted growth. Our focus remains on building a business that is not only growing, but improving in the quality, resilience, and sustainability of its earnings,” he stated.

    The AGM highlighted the Group’s continued evolution beyond traditional banking into a diversified financial services ecosystem, with growing contributions from investment management, insurance, pensions, consumer finance, and payments.

    While banking remains the Group’s core earnings engine, emerging growth platforms, including Access ARM Pensions, Access Insurance Brokers, Oxygen X Finance, and Hydrogen Payments, are expanding its footprint across digital finance, consumer lending, retirement services, and payments, thereby strengthening the Group’s long-term earnings mix and scalability.

    Looking ahead, the Chairman reiterated the strategic imperative underpinning the Group’s next phase of growth:

    “Our strategy, From Scale to Value, reflects the natural evolution of our journey. Scale created opportunity; value creation is how we fully realise it.”

    He noted that while the Group continues to generate strong returns, ensuring that earnings per share consistently exceed the cost of capital remains central to unlocking sustainable shareholder value. He also acknowledged the significant unrealised value embedded within the Group’s international subsidiaries and reiterated management’s focus on improving market recognition of that intrinsic value over time.

    The Board also addressed shareholders’ concerns regarding dividend payments, clarifying that the temporary suspension of dividend distributions was due to regulatory requirements rather than any deterioration in the Group’s financial performance.

    Aig-Imoukhuede reaffirmed that the Group’s earnings capacity remains strong and that the Board’s position reflects adherence to supervisory expectations and prudent capital management principles. He assured shareholders of the Board’s commitment to resuming dividend payments as soon as the relevant regulatory conditions are satisfied.

    “Our approach is clear: capital retained today must translate into greater value tomorrow and sustainable returns for our shareholders.”

    Access Holdings further highlighted progress in strengthening governance and leadership continuity. During the year, Innocent C. Ike was appointed Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, while the Board was reinforced through the appointment of Ibironke Adeyemi as an Independent Non-Executive Director.

    Shareholders also expressed appreciation for the outstanding contributions of Bolaji Agbede, Executive Director, Business Development, who successfully led the management team as Acting Group Chief Executive Officer prior to the appointment of Mr. Ike.

    The Chairman noted that the leadership transition was executed seamlessly, ensuring continuity of strategy, operational stability, and stakeholder confidence.

    Despite continuing macroeconomic uncertainties across its operating markets, Access Holdings expressed confidence in its strategic positioning, underpinned by disciplined execution, a diversified business model, a strengthened capital base, and a clear focus on sustainable value creation.

    Concluding his remarks, Aig-Imoukhuede reaffirmed the Group’s long-term commitment to shareholders: “Our responsibility is to justify the confidence of our shareholders by building an institution that endures, one defined by clarity of purpose, discipline of execution, and sustainable value creation over time.”

  • Corporate Comms in the Age of Crypto: Why Nigeria’s Digital Finance Future Depends on Trust

    Corporate Comms in the Age of Crypto: Why Nigeria’s Digital Finance Future Depends on Trust

    By John  Kokome

    By the time you finish reading this article, the price of Bitcoin may have changed twice. That is the nature of cryptocurrency, fast, volatile, and borderless. Yet beyond price charts and trading apps lies a less discussed but critical pillar of Nigeria’s digital finance revolution: corporate communications. In the age of crypto, communication is no longer a support function. It is infrastructure.

    Nigeria is one of the world’s fastest-growing crypto markets. Chainalysis ranked the country second globally in cryptocurrency adoption in 2023, driven largely by everyday retail users rather than institutions. Between July 2023 and June 2024 alone, Nigerians received an estimated $59 billion in cryptocurrency value, the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet public perception remains sharply divided, crypto is seen as opportunity by some and risk or outright scam by others.

    In such an environment, how crypto companies communicate can determine whether they earn trust, attract scrutiny, or lose credibility entirely.

    The Complexity Challenge

    Blockchain, decentralised finance, wallets, custody, smart contracts etc., are not everyday concepts for most Nigerians. Yet millions are expected to trust these systems with their savings, businesses, and livelihoods.

    Corporate communications must therefore evolve from promotion to translation. Crypto companies must become educators, simplifying complex ideas without downplaying risks. Hype must give way to clarity; speculation must yield to responsibility.

    Some homegrown platforms, including FlashChange and other emerging African crypto brands, have begun prioritising financial literacy and user education. That shift is encouraging, but it must become the industry norm, not the exception.

    Trust as a Strategic Asset

    Trust in financial institutions is fragile globally, but particularly so in emerging markets where currency devaluation and policy uncertainty are familiar experiences. Crypto gained traction in Nigeria partly because people sought alternatives.

    Still, crypto companies cannot assume automatic trust. In traditional banking, trust has been built over decades. In crypto, trust is built in real time, on social media, customer support channels, and community forums.

    A single outage, security breach, or regulatory misunderstanding can escalate into a reputational crisis. Silence is read as guilt. Ambiguity feels deceptive. Delay looks incompetent. In Nigeria’s fast-moving digital ecosystem, communication speed must match market speed.

    Nigeria’s policy evolution on crypto reinforces this point. In December 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued guidelines allowing banks to open accounts for Virtual Asset Service Providers, effectively shifting from restriction to regulation. The CBN acknowledged that global trends demand oversight, not exclusion, while warning of risks related to money laundering, terrorism financing, and consumer protection gaps.

    The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has echoed this stance, emphasising that Nigeria’s digital asset future must be anchored on innovation, collaboration, and trust, with clear licensing and investor protection frameworks. The message is clear: crypto is now part of Nigeria’s financial architecture, and communication is central to compliance.

    A Young, Digital Audience

    Nigeria’s demographics explain crypto’s momentum. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, over 63 per cent of Nigerians are under 25, and internet penetration now exceeds 50 percent, driven largely by mobile broadband. This digital-native population consumes information quickly, questions authority openly, and shapes narratives in real time.

    Corporate communications teams must engage this audience with transparency and relevance, not marketing noise.

    Crisis Communications in a 24/7 Market

    Crypto markets never sleep. Crises do not respect office hours. Hacks, liquidity shocks, and regulatory announcements can happen at any moment.

    Communications teams must therefore operate like newsrooms, prepared, responsive, and coordinated. Pre-approved crisis playbooks, trained spokespersons, and real-time monitoring are no longer optional.

    Most importantly, crisis communication must be human-centred. Nigerians want clear answers: Is my money safe? What happened? What comes next?

    Brands that respond with honesty and empathy endure. Those who hide behind jargon do not.

    Narrative Capital vs Market Share

    In Nigeria’s crowded fintech and crypto space, companies often compete on fees and features. But the most durable advantage is narrative capital the credibility and emotional connection built over time.

    Narrative capital determines whether users stay during downturns, regulators listen during consultations, and the media seek your voice. Platforms like FlashChange have a responsibility to tell Africa’s crypto story with authenticity, data, and purpose.

    From Evangelists to Translators

    Nigeria no longer needs crypto evangelists promising disruption. It needs translators, professionals who connect blockchain to remittances, wallets to small businesses, and decentralisation to economic opportunity.

    As crypto matures, corporate communications will increasingly determine its legitimacy. Code may power platforms, but communication powers confidence. And confidence, more than any algorithm, will decide whether digital finance fulfils its promise for Nigeria.

    John Kokome is the Corporate Communications Manager at FlashChange, a fintech platform redefining secure digital asset exchange. With experience across fintech, cryptocurrency, telecoms, and development communications in Africa. He currently leads strategic storytelling, reputation management, and stakeholder engagement initiatives at the company, focusing on building trust, transparency, and financialliteracy in the digital assets space. John’s work sits at the intersection of policy, technology, and public perception, with a strong emphasis on Africa-first narratives and responsible innovation. He has contributed opinion pieces and thought leadership articles on governance, youth empowerment, branding, and Nigeria’s evolving digital economy.

  • Feature: Artificial intelligence (AI) could create a turning point for financial inclusion in Africa

    Feature: Artificial intelligence (AI) could create a turning point for financial inclusion in Africa

    …AI tools can analyse data from client discussions, producing legal documents in simple language and at a fraction of the cost of what it would typically take to draft a contract

    It’s difficult to imagine a time before the widespread adoption of mobile technology in Africa – particularly where financial services are concerned. For millions of unbanked people, transactions were limited to cash, postal services or even the barter system. Now, in much the same way as mobile payments completely disrupted the status quo, AI has the potential to propel the fintech industry into a new era of financial inclusion. And perhaps most exciting of all is that Africa is not simply catching up with AI-powered developments, but surging ahead with innovative solutions that have considerable implications for the underbanked. 

    Already, homegrown fintech companies have completely changed the way people in Africa transact, helping to reduce reliance on cash transactions.

    Innovative payment solutions have revolutionised access to essential services, such that millions of people can now afford everyday necessities like airtime. In fact, research from McKinsey has shown that these items are now available to lower-income households at up to 80 percent less of the cost associated with traditional banking players.

    And when one considers that half of Africa’s population is still unbanked or underbanked, we can begin to appreciate just how dramatic an impact the fintech sector has had on the very nature of financial services in Africa.

    The net result in Kenya, for example, is that the adoption of digital payment solutions helped increase financial inclusion by as much as 25 percent in just 15 years. 

    A cloud-powered payment revolution

    More recently, cloud technology has created a whole new realm of possibilities for fintech companies looking to accelerate financial inclusion, helping them scale their operations, create operational efficiencies and spin up new innovations overnight.

    African payment giant, Flutterwave, is a case in point, having recently shifted its legacy infrastructure to Microsoft Azure with a view to expanding its operations and processing high volume payments at scale. As one of the continent’s safest and most reliable payment companies, Flutterwave has been at the forefront of Africa’s payment revolution. Its multiple payment modes, including local and international cards, mobile wallets and bank transfers, continue to change the game for many African people and businesses on a daily basis.

    AI ushers in a new era

    Now, building on the progress enabled by the cloud, the world is undergoing a new wave of technological transformation, driven by AI. Suddenly, businesses don’t need vast datasets or powerful computers to benefit from the technology, with most of the necessary compute power now available through cloud providers. And as the barriers to AI adoption have fallen away, so new tools are giving rise to substantive productivity gains and revolutionising industries such as fintech.

    While AI is providing champions of financial inclusion like Flutterwave with the tools they need to expand their reach, it’s also helping to fast-track access to financial services in a vast number of different ways. 

    Traditionally, cost has been a significant barrier for local SMEs when it comes to the adoption of digital financial services. In fact, it’s estimated that around 90 percent of transactions in Africa are still cash-based, and this is often because cash transactions don’t carry any fees. However, the ability for AI to lower the cost of the entire ecosystem of financial services – from fraud detection to risk management optimisation and compliance improvements, can lead to substantial operational efficiencies and cost savings, which can ultimately be passed on to the end-user.

    Banks, for example, can make their services more affordable to their customers by rolling out AI-powered chatbots to handle routine queries, at the same time sparing them from having to travel to a bank branch.

    Already, fintech companies are helping their customers to improve their financial literacy by using these same chatbots as affordable advisors. Drawing on the power of AI, these bots can produce personalised recommendations such as budgeting strategies so that the user can make a more informed financial decision. Mosabi, a company, in Sierra Leone has even gamified the process to help customers elevate their financial behaviours.

    What’s more, AI tools can analyse data from client discussions, producing legal documents in simple language and at a fraction of the cost of what it would typically take to draft a contract, extending access to these services in terms of both understanding and affordability.

    Real-time lending at scale

    Perhaps most important of all, many fintech companies have access to vast amounts of data, meaning that when AI is introduced to the equation, they have formidable ability to offer real-time digital lending on a major scale.

    M-KOPA, for example, leverages Microsoft’s AI services to manage lending risk and provide financial forecasting. The company provides digital financial services to underbanked consumers by combining digital micropayments and IoT technology, drawing on cloud technology to process over 500 payments per minute, and making it possible for 3 million people across Africa to access essential services such as solar power systems, digital loans, health insurance and smartphones.

    The use of AI has helped M-KOPA achieve significant increases in customer repayment performance – particularly for the follow-on products and services that M-KOPA offers to customers once they have successfully repaid their initial loan. In fact, more than 440,000 additional credit lines have been made to customers following payment of their first product.

    With the digital payments market maturing quickly in Africa and AI rapidly gaining traction among fintechs on the continent, the implications for accelerated financial inclusion are significant.

    The question is – how do we ensure fintechs are able to fully realise the AI opportunity?

    Much of the answer lies with capacity building, from infrastructure to connectivity, skills and essential digital tools. With improved internet access, fintechs have the potential to access more data, and with larger volumes of data available, they can provide more innovative services.

    It’s for that exact reason that Microsoft continues to make significant investments to bolster the continent’s digital capacity – from new connectivity solutions through our Airband Initiative to essential cloud infrastructure through our enterprise-grade datacentres in the region. Through key partnerships, such as our collaboration with Safaricom, we’re upskilling hundreds of thousands of developers to build new entirely new digital ecosystems.  

    Regulation is another hurdle that must be overcome to accelerate AI-powered payments in Africa. Though more African countries are expected to introduce regulations to guide AI development and deployment, relatively few have strategies and policies in place at a national level. In fact, many FSI organisations in Africa view the risk of new safety and regulatory requirements as one of the biggest stumbling blocks to wider implementation of the technology, hindering greater progress in financial inclusion.

    Finding new ways of collaborating across industry and government is critical to the advancement of AI in financial services. To this end, Microsoft continues to engage with the African Union and national governments in priority markets to help strengthen our collective role as responsible stewards of AI.

    For some time now, Africa has been at the forefront of the payment technology revolution – empowering millions of people with access to financial services. Imagine what more could be done through the unprecedented power of AI? To turn that opportunity into reality tomorrow, we must begin by ensuring the groundwork for AI transformation is done today.