Business
Nigeria seeks World Bank loan to upgrade CBN technology
Nigeria has approached the World Bank for a $10.50m loan to support a CBN technology upgrade loan, enhancing its supervisory capabilities and payment infrastructure.
Nigeria has approached the World Bank for a $10.50m loan to support a CBN technology upgrade loan, enhancing its supervisory capabilities and payment infrastructure
The funds aim to bolster the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) technical capacity and modernise the nation’s domestic payment infrastructure.
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Information obtained exclusively from the World Bank website by The PUNCH on Thursday reveals that the proposed CBN Technical Assistance Facility intends to support the integration of innovative technologies and data science into the CBN’s supervisory processes.
This initiative is expected to equip the apex bank to tackle both long-standing and emerging challenges within Nigeria’s rapidly evolving financial landscape.
Furthermore, it aims to improve the safety and reliability of the domestic payment infrastructure, particularly for remittances.
The project, currently at the concept review stage, will concentrate on three key areas.
Firstly, it will strengthen the CBN’s institutional capacity to keep pace with technological advancements.
This will involve establishing a robust governance framework, providing expert advisory support, facilitating peer-to-peer central bank exchanges, and modernising the CBN’s internal processes to align with the digital era.
Secondly, the project will enhance the CBN’s supervisory capacity through technology and data improvements.
This includes funding modern technical solutions, such as Supervisory Technology (SupTech) systems, to improve data accuracy, operational efficiency, and risk-based supervision.
Thirdly, the initiative aims to modernise domestic payment systems for remittances to improve their safety and reliability.
It will explore innovative methods to attract informal remittance flows into formal channels, conduct annual surveys on remittance households, and foster peer-to-peer learning for knowledge exchange.
According to the World Bank, the overarching objective of this project is “to strengthen technology-enabled, data-driven, risk-based supervision at the CBN and improve domestic payment infrastructure for remittances in Nigeria.”
The project aligns with the Nigerian government’s ongoing pursuit of a cashless economy and the increasing adoption of digital financial services across the country.
The scheme, with a committed amount of $10.50 million, is scheduled for board presentation approval on June 12, 2025. The Central Bank of Nigeria will be the implementing agency.
The PUNCH had previously reported the World Bank’s approval of three financing operations totalling $1.08 billion to support education, nutrition, and economic resilience in Nigeria.
These concessional loans aim to improve education quality, build household and community resilience, and enhance nutrition for underserved groups.
The approved operations include additional financing for the Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme, the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRIN 2.0) initiative, and the Hope for Quality Basic Education for All (HOPE-EDU) initiative.
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Dangote Petroleum Refinery has set its initial public offering price at ₦525 per share, with the company seeking to raise about ₦2.15 trillion as it prepares to enter Nigeria’s public equities market.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the offer for 4.1 billion ordinary shares at ₦525 each. If fully subscribed, the offer would generate approximately ₦2.15 trillion, equivalent to about $1.6 billion at current exchange rates.
The offering is expected to open on 14 September 2026, according to Aliko Dangote, the president of Dangote Industries. The planned sale is positioned to become one of the largest equity offerings in Africa.
The IPO marks a significant step in Dangote Group’s plans to broaden ownership of the refinery and raise additional capital for expansion.
The refinery currently has a stated processing capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Dangote has said the company plans to increase that capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day as part of its longer-term expansion strategy.
The planned share sale follows a $1 billion underwriting programme completed in August, providing additional financial backing ahead of the public offering.
The refinery, located in the Lekki area of Lagos State, is one of Africa’s largest industrial projects and has become an increasingly important player in Nigeria’s fuel supply market since beginning operations.
The public offering will give Nigerian investors an opportunity to acquire shares in the refinery directly, while providing Dangote Petroleum Refinery with fresh capital to support its next phase of growth.
The company has also indicated ambitions to expand beyond its current Nigerian operations, with Dangote recently announcing plans for another refinery project in Kenya.
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