Business

FG Drives Financial Innovation to Empower Nigerian Youth

Published

2 months ago

August 21, 2025

Joel Ajayi

The Honourable Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to practical and innovative solutions that deliver real impact in the lives of young Nigerians.

Speaking at the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), led by its Director-General, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, the Minister emphasized that lasting legacies are built through action and collaboration, not bureaucracy.

“This initiative is about breaking barriers and opening doors,” Olawande said. “For too long, the capital market has been seen as a space reserved for the wealthy. Today, we are saying clearly that Nigerian youth deserve access too. We want to empower them not just to seek jobs, but to create them, to become entrepreneurs, investors, and employers of labour.”

He highlighted the Nigerian Youth Academy (NIYA) as a central pillar of this vision, designed to provide accessible financial education and practical skills to young people across the country, regardless of background or location. The Minister also stressed the importance of strong collaboration between government and private sector partners to ensure no youth is left behind:

“Our goal is to raise a generation of financially savvy, empowered young Nigerians who will shape the future prosperity of this nation. With partners like the SEC, we are proving that it is possible.”

Comrade Olawande expressed appreciation to the SEC for its leadership and urged other stakeholders to join in building pathways of opportunity for Nigerian youth:

“This is about the future of our country. Together, we can ensure that every young Nigerian has the tools, knowledge, and opportunities to thrive.”

In his remarks, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, Director-General of the SEC, highlighted the importance of empowering youth through strategic partnerships and financial innovation. He commended the Honourable Minister for his youthful, relatable, and action-oriented leadership, noting his ability to break bureaucratic barriers and implement impactful solutions.

Dr. Agama reaffirmed the SEC’s commitment to working with the Ministry to provide access to funding, financial education, and investment opportunities.

He described the partnership as the start of a meaningful legacy, with programs designed to empower young Nigerians from all backgrounds, ensuring sustainable socio-economic impact and long-term national prosperity.

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Business

TAJBank Emerges Nigeria’s Biggest Non-Interest Bank

Published

2 weeks ago

October 23, 2025

The Gleamer

Cyril Ogar

After five years of operations in Nigeria’s rapidly evolving non-interest banking (NIB) space, TAJBank Limited has become the biggest player in the NIB subsector based on its total assets and gross earnings values.

Disclosing this during his paper presentation on the key performance indices in the non-interest banking space over the past few years at a seminar organized by Leaders Corporate Services with the theme “Roles of Non-Interest Banks In SMEs’ Financing” for SME entrepreneurs yesterday in Abuja, an investment expert, Mr. Olabode Akeredolu-Ale, maintained that based on the non-interest banks’ approved financial statements for the half year 2025, TAJBank currently remained the biggest in terms of its total assets.

The expert, a chartered stockbroker, specifically confirmed that his recent investment researches on the NIBs and their financial performances showed that TAJBank, with its total assets rising to N1.017 trillion in half year 2025 up from N953.098 billion as of December 2024, which is about N53 billion higher than the nearest NIB’s assets, now ranked top in the banking subsector.

According to him, TAJBank’s gross earnings for H1 2025 also surged to N53.752 billion from N32.86 billion as of December 2024, representing a 64% growth, and higher than the nearest NIB’s gross earnings in the period under review.

This is even as he disclosed that on the NIBs’ earnings per share during the half year, TAJBank reported N61.36 kobo earnings per share, about 92% higher than the earnings per share of the next NIB during the period.

Akeredolu-Ale, who is also a chartered accountant, clarified: “The figures I am reeling out here on the NIBs are sourced from the banking and capital market regulatory institutions’ platforms, which anyone can access to verify.

“I am part of this event because of my research interest in non-interest banking and how the players in the subsector in Nigeria can help to leverage their competencies in innovation and ethical banking to support our MSMEs.

“Today, the MSMEs cannot access DMBs’ loans due to high lending rates and other inclement macroeconomic factors. This is where I think the NIBs have become very crucial to Nigeria’s economic growth.

“Overall, my findings on the NIBs indicated that they are all trying their best with non-interest loans to support entrepreneurs, particularly the MSMEs owners. I have advised those of them at this seminar to explore the cost-friendly financing options of the NIBs to grow their businesses by opening accounts with the NIBs”, the expert added.

Another speaker at the event, Benjamin Chukwudi, also commended the NIBs for their “catalytic roles in helping SMEs to access interest-free loans and providing them the needed financial management advisory, which have been helping them in sustaining their operations in the face of rising cost of doing business in the country.”

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