– Fintechs focused on remittances are capturing legacy lenders’ market share – The UN and other bodies are calling for remittance fees to be capped at 3% – Emerging markets have been at the forefront of mobile-first fintech growth – Cryptocurrency is also increasingly disrupting the remittances space A number of remittance-focused financial technology (fintech) start-ups are gaining…
– Cryptocurrency uptake continued to grow exponentially in 2021 – Emerging nations led the world in terms of crypto adoption – The new incarnation of blockchain-based currencies is driving uptake – Adoption is set to expand despite ecological and economicconcerns Emerging markets were at the forefront of last year’s massive growth in global cryptocurrency adoption. With this…
Nigeria is the biggest economy in Africa, with GDP of $432.3bn in 2020, according to the World Bank, and home to one of the largest proven oil reserves on the continent. The country has developed an investment-friendly business climate over two decades of civilian rule and in the nearly 60 years since independence, boosted by its oil and gas wealth, and the entrepreneurial spirit of its young popu
In September 2020 Wamkele Mene, the secretary-general of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, told a conference in South Africa that AfCFTA negotiations on e-commerce and digital trade would be fast-tracked, with the Covid-19 pandemic heightening the need for an adequate legal and governance framework. These talks were initially planned for phase three of the trade zone’s…
The Covid-19 pandemic and the corresponding drop in global oil prices caused both a recession and lower inbound investment in the early months of the health crisis in Nigeria. However, GDP and investment figures improved as the economy reopened. Foreign investors shied away from many emerging markets in the early months of 2020 as the pandemic took hold, but levels of pledged foreign investment picked…
The year 2020 was a dramatic one for the global energy sector, with the Covid-19 pandemic slashing demand for hydrocarbons and upending market norms. Seeing that investment in oil took a hit while renewable energy remained resilient, some stakeholders expect the pandemic to result in a permanent realignment of the international energy market. Oil Crisis The energy sector was dramatically affected…
In late September 2020 President Muhammadu Buhari submitted the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to the National Assembly, breathing new life into the stalled legislation. Both chambers of Parliament passed the then-bill on July 1, 2021, and it was signed into law the following month. The PIA aims to overhaul the oil industry, focusing on its organisational structure and fiscal terms, with an eye to increasing…
The Nigerian landscape holds over 30 types of solid minerals in an identified 450 locations. Deposits span gemstones, metallic ores, energy minerals and construction materials, such as granite. While the mining sector was a mainstay of the economy up until the late 1960s, the focus on oil from that point on has seen the mining’s share of GDP fall to 0.5% in 2019. To diversify economic activity and…
While the Covid-19 pandemic rapidly accelerated a worldwide trend of digital transformation, inadequate infrastructure has hampered the shift in many emerging economies, limiting their capacity to fully capitalise on the opportunities stemming from the disruption. As such, it is necessary for public and private actors to collaborate on closing the gap, as high-quality ICT infrastructure is key to enhancing…
