Business
Access Bank Novare Partnership Unveils Unforgettable Retail Banking Revolution
Access Bank Novare partnership transforms African retail with digital-first banking, offering microloans, wallets, and financial tools to millions of underserved shoppers.
Access Bank Novare partnership transforms African retail with digital-first banking, offering microloans, wallets, and financial tools to millions of underserved shoppers
Access Bank Novare partnership is poised to reshape Africa’s retail experience by combining real estate and financial technology in a groundbreaking initiative.
Also read: Access Bank’s $500m Eurobond Oversubscribed By 200%
In a joint announcement, Novare, a top pan-African real estate developer, and Access Bank Plc, one of Africa’s leading financial institutions, revealed plans to roll out a digital-first platform across Novare’s malls.
This partnership will seamlessly blend retail and finance, allowing millions of African shoppers to access microloans, digital wallets, insurance, and buy-now-pay-later services directly through the Novare shopping app. The goal is simple: to make shopping smarter, easier, and more inclusive.
The digital platform will serve both online and offline retail environments. By embedding advanced banking services into everyday commerce, the partners are bridging a crucial gap. Many consumers across the continent remain outside formal financial systems, and this effort could bring them in.
“This partnership aligns with our mission to create real, inclusive value for communities across Africa,” said Rosevelt Ogbonna, Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc.
“By embedding banking services within the retail ecosystem, we are removing barriers for both merchants and shoppers, helping them to grow, thrive, and participate meaningfully in the formal economy.”
One of the standout features of this initiative is the microloan function. It aims to provide credit access to up to 13 million individuals.
These small loans will be integrated directly into the Novare app, making it easier than ever for people to access funds responsibly. It targets populations historically excluded by traditional banking.
“We are giving millions of people across Africa a chance to access credit safely and conveniently, all through a retail app,” said Iyabo Soji–Okunsanya, Executive Director of Corporate and Investment Banking at Access Bank.
“This is not just financial innovation, it’s social impact at scale. We’re proud to help bridge the gap between commerce and capital.”
In addition to lending, the new digital platform will support instant account and wallet creation. The app will include a robust loyalty system known as Novas Cash.
Shoppers will also benefit from flexible payment options, including debit and credit cards, wallet-to-wallet transfers, and other convenient features.
Merchants, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises operating within Novare malls, will gain access to digital payment tools and financing solutions. Thousands of SMEs will now be empowered to grow in a market that is becoming increasingly digitised.
Derick Roper, Managing Director of Novare Equity Partners, emphasised the transformative nature of the partnership. “This collaboration with Access Bank is a strategic leap forward—not just for Novare, but for the future of retail in Africa.
Together, we are redefining the shopping experience by fusing world-class real estate with cutting-edge financial services. It’s a win-win for customers, merchants, and the broader economy.”
The initiative does not stop at payments and loans. Shoppers will be offered tailored insurance products such as electronics protection and extended warranties. This addition ensures a complete ecosystem of financial services built around the retail journey.
Although the platform is still in its early stages, expectations are high. By marrying banking and retail at scale, Access Bank and Novare are setting a new standard for what African consumers can expect from their shopping experiences.
With the Access Bank Novare partnership, the goal is not just to boost convenience, but to drive inclusive economic growth. Millions stand to benefit from this digital revolution, from small shop owners to shoppers seeking affordable financing.
Also read: ACCESS BANK’S FIRST POST-MERGER H1PBT HITS N74.1BN, DECLARES 25K INTERIM DIVIDEND
As Africa’s economies grow, initiatives like this one will play a key role in ensuring no one is left behind.
TotalEnergies and Nigerian independent energy company AMNI International have taken the Final Investment Decision on the $800 million Ima Gas Project, more than five decades after the gas field was discovered.
The Ima Gas Project, located in shallow waters across Oil Mining Leases 112 and 117 near Bonny Island, Rivers State, is expected to begin production in 2028 and reach a plateau of 350 million cubic feet of gas per day.
The development is expected to play a major role in supplying feed gas to Nigeria LNG, with the Ima field projected to provide about one-third of the additional gas required for the ongoing Train 7 expansion.
Train 7 is expected to increase Nigeria LNG’s liquefaction capacity from 22 million tonnes per annum to 30 million tonnes per annum, strengthening Nigeria’s capacity to process and export liquefied natural gas.
The Ima field was discovered in 1973 but remained undeveloped for more than 50 years. The Final Investment Decision provides the commercial and financial basis for finally developing the long-dormant resource.
Under the development plan, TotalEnergies will operate the project with a 40 per cent interest, while AMNI will hold the remaining 60 per cent.
The field will be developed using a single offshore platform connected to Nigeria LNG’s facility on Bonny Island through a 22-kilometre pipeline.
TotalEnergies said its investment in the project is more than $600 million, while the Federal Government described the overall Final Investment Decision as an $800 million investment.
At the FID signing ceremony in Abuja, TotalEnergies Exploration and Production Nigeria Managing Director, Mathieu Bouyer, described the decision as the culmination of a development process that had stretched across several decades.
He said the project reflected increased confidence in Nigeria’s investment environment and highlighted reforms targeting the non-associated gas sector as part of the factors that helped make the development commercially viable.
President Bola Tinubu welcomed the investment, saying the project demonstrated the potential of reforms introduced to reduce the cost and time required to develop oil and gas projects.
The President said the government had introduced incentives aimed specifically at unlocking onshore and shallow-water gas projects that had remained undeveloped for years.
He said the Ima development would create opportunities for Nigerian businesses, engineers, technicians and contractors, while generating jobs, economic activity in host communities and additional export earnings.
The project is also expected to have a strong Nigerian content component. TotalEnergies said all key contractors for the development would be Nigerian companies, while about 60 per cent of the workforce during the development phase is expected to come from host communities.
The development will incorporate measures aimed at reducing emissions. TotalEnergies said the platform would receive electricity from shore, operate without routine flaring and use permanent methane detection and monitoring systems.
The Federal Government said the project is part of efforts to turn Nigeria’s large natural gas reserves into productive assets capable of supporting industrialisation, energy supply, jobs and export earnings.
Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, said the Ima development illustrated the importance of creating commercial and investment conditions that allow previously stranded resources to be developed.
The government also noted that Nigerian financial institutions arranged 77 per cent of the project’s financing, further highlighting the participation of domestic financial institutions in the development.
For Nigeria LNG, the project comes as the company continues work on the Train 7 expansion, which is designed to increase the Bonny Island plant’s liquefaction capacity and strengthen the country’s position in the global LNG market.
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