The Economic Forum Series

09/03/2026

Closing the Financing Gap for Women: A Strategic Imperative for Africa’s Growth

Despite notable progress in financial inclusion, over 700 million women worldwide still lack access to a transaction account, with women in developing economies facing a 4-percentage point gap compared to men. Without access to credit, savings, insurance, or secure payments, women-led businesses struggle to grow, limiting job creation and economic resilience.

For Africa, closing this gap is not just a social imperative—it is an economic one. Africa Global Economic Forum, through The Economic Forum Series®, in strategic partnership with Access Bank, Mastercard, Bank Of Industry, Nigeria, EFInA, Zest Payment, Hydrogen Africa, Credit Direct Finance Company Limited, Accion Microfinance Bank, AXA Mansard, LAPO Microfinance Bank, FSDH Merchant Bank, Jaiz Bank Plc, Sterling Bank, and Polaris Bank Ltd., is driving initiatives to empower women in finance. These include:

1️⃣ 6th Edition – Annual MSME & Startup Economic Summit – spotlighting access to capital for women entrepreneurs.

2️⃣ 2nd Edition – MSME Finance CEO Forum – fostering dialogue between financiers and women-led businesses.

3️⃣ MSME Digital Finance: CEO & CTO Awards – celebrating innovations that expand digital financial inclusion for women.

4️⃣ 3rd Edition – MSME Finance & CEO Awards – highlighting leaders driving scalable solutions for women’s economic empowerment.

Digital finance, gender-disaggregated data, and innovative partnerships can bridge systemic barriers. By integrating women’s realities into product design, financial institutions unlock new growth opportunities while creating resilient local economies.

Expanding financial access empowers women to save, invest, and grow enterprises—benefiting families, communities, and nations. As we celebrate International Women’s day, we reaffirm our commitment to building an inclusive African economy where women can thrive, jobs multiply, and growth accelerates.

08/03/2026

08/03/2026

International Women’s Day 2026: How Women Leaders Are Transforming MSME Finance

This year’s International Women's Day carries a powerful message from UN Women: “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls.”

In the world of finance and entrepreneurship, that message resonates strongly within the MSME ecosystem. Across Africa, women leaders are shaping policies, building fintech infrastructure and expanding financial inclusion for millions of small businesses.

The principle is simple but profound: “Give to Gain.” When women are empowered to lead, they unlock opportunities for entrepreneurs, strengthen institutions and accelerate economic growth.

The impact is already visible across Nigeria’s financial services and fintech sectors.

📌 Femi-lawal Folasade, Country Manager and Area Business Head (West Africa) at Mastercard, was recognized as MSME Fintech CEO of the Year for expanding digital payment platforms that help small businesses participate in the digital economy.

📌 Foyinsola Akinjayeju, CEO of Enhancing Financial Innovation and Advancement EFInA, received the MSME Financial Inclusion Partner CEO of the Year award for advancing research, policy and innovation that expand access to finance for underserved entrepreneurs.

📌 Kemi Okusanya, CEO Hydrogen Payment Services Company, earned recognition as MSME Fintech Payment CEO of the Year for strengthening digital payment infrastructure for businesses.

📌 Bukola Smith, Managing Director of FSDH Merchant Bank, was honored as MSME Merchant Bank CEO of the Year for supporting enterprise growth through innovative financial services.

📌 Cynthia Ikponmwosa, Managing Director of LAPO Microfinance Bank, received the MSME Financial Inclusion Microfinance Bank CEO of the Year award for expanding access to microfinance and empowering grassroots entrepreneurs.

Their leadership highlights an important truth: when women lead, MSMEs grow. And when MSMEs grow, economies transform.

On this International Women’s Day, the focus is not only celebration — it is a call for continued action, investment and leadership opportunities for women across finance, technology and enterprise development.

27/02/2026

🌟 MSME Finance & CEO Awards 2026 | MSME Digital Finance CEO & CTO Awards 2026

The Africa Global Economic Forum proudly announces two landmark initiatives shaping the future of MSME finance in Africa.

The 3rd edition of the MSME Finance & CEO Awards will convene Nigeria’s leading voices in banking, fintech, development finance, and enterprise support in a hybrid event celebrating innovation, inclusion, and executive excellence. With 4 pillars, 20 categories, and 15 CEO Awards, the platform recognizes institutions and leaders driving access to capital, boosting MSME productivity, and contributing to national economic growth.

Simultaneously, the maiden edition of the MSME Digital Finance CEO & CTO Awards 2026 will spotlight executives redefining digital transformation across Africa. From digital payments and lending to AI-powered finance, embedded finance, RegTech, and cybersecurity, these awards honor CEOs and CTOs accelerating financial inclusion and pioneering technology-driven enterprise solutions.

Both platforms are designed for policymakers, fintech innovators, institutional financiers, regulators, and enterprise leaders, fostering collaboration, insight-sharing, and strategic partnerships across the continent’s MSME ecosystem.

Knowledge & Technical Partner:

📌 Proshare

Key Government & Institutional Partners:

📌 Office of the Vice President on Job Creation & MSMEs
📌 Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN)
📌 FinTech Association of Nigeria (FinTechNGR)
📌 Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME)

Sponsorship & Partnership Opportunities Open:

📧 [email protected]

📞 0803 418 7233 | 0802 688 3004 | 0803 717 9007

Celebrating leadership, innovation, and measurable impact — because financing and transforming MSMEs is not just business; it’s economic strategy.

26/02/2026

OFFICIAL RELEASE: MSME Finance & CEO Magazine — Special Report & Power List Edition 2025

The Africa Global Economic Forum announces the release of the inaugural MSME Finance & CEO Magazine — Special Report & Power List Edition 2025, a flagship publication documenting the leaders, institutions and strategies shaping the future of MSME finance and inclusive economic growth across Africa.

This executive edition introduces the MSME Finance Power List, spotlighting decision-makers redefining access to capital, digital finance, risk governance and enterprise enablement. At the center of the 2025 edition is Roosevelt Ogbonna, Group Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank, recognized as MSME Finance CEO of the Year 2025 for outstanding leadership and measurable sector-wide impact.

In the National Category, Hassan Imam, MD/CEO of Keystone Bank, was honoured for driving domestic SME lending growth and innovation.

The edition also celebrates excellence across development finance, non-interest banking, merchant banking, microfinance, fintech and insurance. Honourees include Olasupo Olusi of Bank Of Industry, Nigeria, Haruna Musa of Jaiz Bank Plc, Bukola Smith of FSDH Merchant Bank, Taiwo Joda of Accion Microfinance Bank, and Cynthia Ikponmwosa of LAPO Microfinance Bank.

Digital finance leaders recognized include Stanley Jacob of Zest Payments, Femi-lawal Folasade of Mastercard West Africa, Kemi Okusanya of Hydrogen Payment Services, and Chukwuma Nwanze of Credit Direct.
Insurance and inclusion leadership is represented by Kunle Ahmed of AXA Mansard and Foyinsola Akinjayeju of EFInA.

Positioned as an institutional leadership index, the magazine serves policymakers, financiers, fintechs and development partners advancing MSME growth.

At MSME Finance & CEO Magazine, we are building more than a publication — we are nurturing an ecosystem where MSME challenges are understood, voiced and solved through insight, leadership and collaboration.

📥 Download the executive edition:
https://economicforumseries.com/magazine/

For enquiries and partnerships:

📧 [email protected]

📞 08034187233 | 08026883004 | 08037179007

26/02/2026

🌍 Maiden Edition Announced: MSME Digital Finance CEO & CTO Awards 2026 to Debut as Hybrid Event

The inaugural MSME Digital Finance CEO & CTO Awards 2026 is set to launch as a hybrid event under the Africa Global Economic Forum, spotlighting executive excellence in MSME digital transformation across Africa.

Positioned as Africa’s premier awards for leadership in MSME digital finance, the platform will recognize CEOs and CTOs driving innovation in digital payments, lending, AI-powered finance, embedded finance, credit infrastructure, RegTech, cybersecurity and financial inclusion technology.

The Awards will convene banking leaders, fintech founders, regulators, policymakers and technology architects shaping the continent’s digital finance ecosystem.

Knowledge & Technical Partner

📌 Proshare

Key Government & Institutional Partners

📌 Office of the Vice President of Nigeria
📌 Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria
📌 FinTech Association of Nigeria
📌 Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises

The initiative aims to recognize transformational leadership, accelerate financial inclusion for underserved MSMEs, and set new benchmarks for digital innovation and technology governance in Africa’s MSME economy.

Coming Soon.

For sponsorship and partnership:

📧 [email protected]

📞 0803 418 7233 | 0802 688 3004 | 0803 717 9007

26/02/2026

🌟 MSME Finance & CEO Awards 2026: Third Edition Announced

The third edition of the MSME Finance & CEO Awards will convene Nigeria’s leading voices in banking, fintech, development finance and enterprise support for a hybrid gathering designed to spotlight innovation, inclusion and executive excellence.

Scheduled for 2026, the platform builds on the momentum of previous editions, expanding its reach and impact across the MSME finance ecosystem.

Theme Focus:

4 Pillars | 20 Categories | 15 CEO Awards

The awards continue to recognise institutions and chief executives driving access to finance for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), strengthening productivity and supporting national economic growth.

The 2026 edition will feature strategic collaboration with knowledge, technical and institutional partners shaping Nigeria’s enterprise landscape.

Knowledge & Technical Partner

📌 Proshare

Key Government & Institutional Partners

📌 Office of the Vice President on Job Creation & MSMEs
📌 Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria
📌 FinTech Association of Nigeria
📌 Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises

The hybrid format is expected to attract policymakers, financial institutions, fintech innovators, development partners and enterprise leaders from across Nigeria and beyond.

Sponsorship and partnership opportunities are now open.

📧 [email protected]

📞 0803 418 7233 | 0802 688 3004 | 0803 717 9007

The MSME Finance & CEO Awards continues to position itself as a premier platform celebrating leadership, innovation and measurable impact within Nigeria’s MSME ecosystem.

14/02/2026

MSME FINANCE & CEO MAGAZINE — SPECIAL REPORT & AWARDS EDITION 2025

An initiative of the Africa Global Economic Forum, in collaboration with The Economic Forum Series®, the MSME Finance & CEO Magazine is officially released as a Limited Executive Edition.

Release Date: February 2026

This edition delivers an authoritative leadership and market analysis of the individuals and institutions shaping MSME finance across Africa. It goes beyond accolades to provide a strategic lens on the executives redefining enterprise finance through innovation, policy impact, and digital transformation.

Cover Story:
Who is our MSME Finance CEO of the Year 2025?

The magazine unveils the most powerful leaders driving systemic change in MSME finance, combining digital adoption, inclusive growth, and forward-thinking governance.

Executive Overview

In emerging economies, the strength of small businesses defines national growth. In Nigeria, where MSMEs constitute the majority of businesses and a critical employment base, access to finance is not simply a banking function—it is an economic imperative.

The 2025 MSME Finance CEO Awards, captured in this publication, provides a comprehensive, structured spotlight on Nigeria’s most influential financial leaders driving MSME development. Positioned within the TEF Series, the magazine combines recognition with data-driven insights, profiling executives and institutions expanding access to capital, strengthening inclusion, and redefining innovation in enterprise finance.

At the core of the Awards framework are five pillars: MSME Impact Scale, Innovation & Delivery Model, Inclusion & Access, Risk & Governance Discipline, and Ecosystem Leadership. These dimensions create a rigorous lens for evaluating how institutions deploy digital platforms, scale sustainable portfolios, expand reach to underserved markets, and influence policy and partnerships across the financial ecosystem.

The 2025 profiles span commercial banking, development finance, microfinance, fintech, payments infrastructure, and insurance. Leaders from institutions including Keystone Bank, Access Bank, Bank Of Industry, Nigeria, LAPO Microfinance Bank, Zest Payment, Mastercard West Africa, and AXA Mansard demonstrate exceptional performance across impact and innovation metrics, with many rated High to Very High in inclusion, governance, and ecosystem leadership.

What sets these leaders apart is not balance sheet performance alone. It is their ability to scale digital infrastructure, extend financial access to women-led and rural enterprises, build resilient risk frameworks, and champion partnerships and policy engagement. Across traditional banks and next-generation payment platforms, the 2025 data signals an industry evolving toward enterprise enablement, sustainable growth, and measurable social impact.

This special report underscores a clear narrative: Nigeria’s MSME finance landscape is maturing. Digital transformation is accelerating access. Inclusion is measurable. Governance is central. Coordinated leadership is replacing fragmented intervention.

The MSME Finance CEO Awards 2025 therefore represents more than recognition—it is a strategic snapshot of leadership excellence, institutional resilience, and the evolving architecture of enterprise finance, led by executives who understand that financing small businesses is not corporate social responsibility—it is economic strategy.

What’s Inside the Magazine:

📌 About Africa Global Economic Forum.

📌 Executive Foreword.

📌 Market Context: Why MSME Finance Leadership Matters.

📌 Methodology & Governance Framework.

📌 Flagship Feature.

📌 Comparative Leadership Landscape.

📌 Sectoral Leadership Profiles.

📌 Policy, Capital & Ecosystem Implications.

📌 Forward Outlook: The Next Phase of MSME Finance Leadership.

For enquiries, partnerships, and sponsorship:

📧 [email protected]
📞 08034187233 | 08026883004 | 08037179007

03/02/2026

Nigeria’s Fintech Moment Is No Longer About Speed — It’s About Power

Nigeria has already won the fintech adoption race. What comes next will matter far more.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Fintech Policy Insight Report 2025 makes one thing clear: the country’s challenge is no longer building digital finance at scale, but governing it. Nigeria is shifting from fast follower to potential rule-setter in how emerging markets regulate fintech.

With nearly 11 billion real-time payment transactions processed in 2024, Nigeria operates one of the world’s most mature instant payment systems — launched as early as 2011, ahead of many advanced economies. This is not experimentation. It is national financial infrastructure running at population scale.

Scale, however, changes everything.

As fintech becomes systemic, regulation cannot remain reactive. The CBN is signaling a deliberate move toward structured engagement: deeper collaboration with fintechs, clearer licensing pathways, shared compliance utilities, and more predictable supervisory processes. This is not deregulation. It is regulation redesigned for speed, complexity, and risk.

The report is also blunt about friction. Nearly nine in ten fintechs say compliance costs constrain innovation, while prolonged approval timelines delay product launches. In a global digital economy where capital, talent, and platforms are mobile, regulatory drag is not a technical issue — it is a competitiveness risk.

Just as critical is trust.

Nigeria’s exit from the FATF grey list marks a quiet but decisive turning point. For years, global perceptions around financial integrity have limited cross-border partnerships and capital flows. Stronger AML enforcement and supervisory coordination are beginning to reverse that narrative. In digital finance, credibility travels faster than code.

Financial inclusion remains the backbone of Nigeria’s fintech story, but the ambition is maturing. Payments alone do not create growth. The next phase is productive finance — credit, savings, and capital for MSMEs and informal enterprises. That shift requires better digital identity systems, interoperable data frameworks, and regulatory confidence to support lending at scale.

The most strategic signal in the report looks beyond Nigeria itself.

More than 60% of Nigerian fintechs plan regional expansion, yet fragmented regulation across Africa remains a barrier. By pushing for regulatory harmonisation and interoperable payments, Nigeria is positioning itself not just as Africa’s largest fintech market, but as a continental standard-setter.

This is the inflection point.

Nigeria no longer needs to prove it can innovate quickly. The harder task is proving it can lead responsibly.

If it succeeds, Nigeria’s fintech story will stop being about catching up with the world — and start being about shaping it.

23/01/2026

Nigeria Is Operating Far Below Its Productive Capacity

By Victor Ogiemwonyi | Marketconversations.substack.com

Nigeria’s economic output remains a fraction of what it should be. Given the size of our population, resources, and entrepreneurial energy, our Gross Domestic Product ought to be several multiples of its current level. To meaningfully lift millions out of poverty and place the country on a sustainable development path, Nigeria must sustain annual growth of at least 7 percent over the next decade.

As Dr. Ndubisi Ekekwe recently observed, nearly 90 percent of existing Nigerian companies are structurally incapable of delivering the scale of growth required to drive national transformation. Many operate on weak foundations, guided by outdated assumptions and legacy business models that no longer align with today’s economic realities. Unlocking Nigeria’s potential will require new thinking, new models, and supportive, forward-looking policies.

Breaking the Cycle of Stagnation

Beyond the familiar challenges of unreliable electricity, policy inconsistency, and recurring leadership failures across both public and private sectors, Nigeria urgently needs a fundamental reset. This reset must be powered by fresh perspectives and bold economic imagination, rather than incremental adjustments to systems that no longer work.

Lessons from the Banking Revolution

Nigeria has successfully engineered such transformations before. The modern banking sector emerged during the administration of Ibrahim Babangida, under the economic leadership of Chief Olu Falae, supported by a strong team of technocrats including Dr. Chu Okongwu and Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu. With deep global exposure and reformist instincts, this group dismantled the dominance of inefficient government-controlled banks such as First Bank, Union Bank, and UBA.

Those institutions, in their pre-reform state, functioned more like bureaucratic ministries than engines of economic growth. Banking was synonymous with frustration, long queues, and the infamous “tally number” system. Credit to productive enterprises was scarce, and innovation was almost nonexistent.

Privatisation and competition changed everything. The entry of private banks such as GTBank and Zenith Bank revolutionised financial services, expanded access to credit, created thousands of jobs, and accelerated the adoption of modern technology.

The telecommunications sector followed a similar trajectory. Nigeria moved from fewer than 600,000 unreliable phone lines to over 100 million active connections, fundamentally transforming communication, commerce, and daily life. These reforms demonstrate what is possible when competition, private capital, and smart regulation converge.

Human Capital and Value Creation

Despite having a workforce availability estimated at about 65 percent, Nigeria continues to grapple with widespread unemployment and underemployment. This persistent mismatch fuels poverty and steadily erodes the middle class. A sustainable solution lies in building large-scale industries capable of absorbing labour and discouraging the mass export of talent abroad.

Equally important is value addition. Processing raw materials locally before export would significantly raise productivity, reduce import dependence, and boost foreign exchange earnings. The capacity exists; what remains missing is consistent policy direction and the political will to execute it.

Rethinking Public-Private Partnerships

Nigeria must also rethink its approach to Public-Private Partnerships. Too often, PPPs are poorly structured or compromised, yielding limited public benefit. A better model is exemplified by Nigeria LNG, which combines Nigerian equity ownership and oversight with international technical expertise.

Going forward, the government should be willing to divest portions of mature assets and redeploy capital into new infrastructure projects. Absolute ownership is neither efficient nor fashionable in today’s global economy. Just as private equity and venture capital firms recycle capital to drive growth, governments must adopt similar discipline. Competition, not monopoly, improves outcomes.

From Money to Capital

As Dr. Ekekwe aptly argues, Nigeria must shift its focus from money to capital formation. Nations that allow money to dominate their thinking inevitably underperform. Without capital—productive assets, infrastructure, and institutions—money merely scales poverty rather than prosperity.

South Africa offers a telling comparison. With less than half of Nigeria’s population, it manages a national budget of roughly $100 billion and boasts a stock market capitalisation of about $1.6 trillion.

Nigeria still has a long road ahead. While recent policy steps by the current administration suggest a move in the right direction, progress must accelerate if the country is to recover lost ground. Growth must be inclusive, sustained, and strong enough to guarantee every Nigerian the opportunity for a decent life.

Victor Ogiemwonyi is a retired investment banker and writes from Ikoyi, Lagos.

18/01/2026

A Deep Dive: The Shifting Fortunes of MSMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa

Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises remain the backbone of Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy. They account for about half of regional GDP and nearly 95% of registered businesses. Yet their growth is constrained by a persistent $331 billion financing gap. Over the past six months, however, powerful trends have begun to reshape both the risks and the opportunities facing African entrepreneurs.

Digital transformation stands out as both a challenge and an opportunity. About 65% of payments across the region are still cash-based, underscoring how much potential remains untapped. At the same time, mobile pe*******on and fintech innovation are accelerating change. Embedded finance, item-based lending and fintech–bank partnerships are making payments, credit and insurance more accessible to MSMEs, signaling progress toward a more inclusive financial system.

Access to capital remains the biggest hurdle, but the financing landscape is evolving. The World Bank’s $500 million FINCLUDE project in Nigeria reflects growing policy and focuses on MSMEs. In the private sector, AI-powered credit scoring, challenger banks and mobile network operators are widening access to finance by using alternative data and digital channels to reach underserved businesses.

Women-led MSMEs are gaining renewed attention as drivers of inclusive growth. Despite facing higher health, climate and social risks, women entrepreneurs are benefiting from targeted initiatives such as digital financial services, gender-focused funding programs like We-Fi, and growing policy advocacy aimed at leveling the playing field.

Climate resilience is also emerging as a priority. MSMEs, especially in agriculture, are on the front lines of climate change. Green inclusive finance, funds like the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund, and embedded insurance models are helping small businesses manage climate risks and build long-term sustainability.

At the continental level, the African Continental Free Trade Area offers MSMEs access to a 1.3 billion-person market. AfCFTA can help small businesses enter new markets, integrate into regional value chains and improve competitiveness. Success, however, will depend on digital readiness, trade facilitation and access to reliable market information—areas where initiatives such as ITC’s One Trade Africa are playing a key role.

The message from recent trends is clear. MSMEs in Sub-Saharan Africa are at a turning point. Unlocking their full potential will require coordinated action from governments, financial institutions, development partners and entrepreneurs themselves. The stakes are high, but so is the opportunity to build a more inclusive, resilient and prosperous African economy.

18/01/2026

💼 Delta State Unlocks ₦1 Billion MSME Fund to Power Local Enterprise

For entrepreneurs across Delta State, access to affordable capital just got real.

Through a newly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bank of Industry, Delta has launched a ₦1 billion revolving fund to support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) engaged in production and value addition.

What makes this intervention stand out?

- ✅ Single-digit interest loans

- ✅ Focus on artisans, manufacturers, and local producers

- ✅ Strengthening of value chains and job creation

- ✅ A vision for a more productive and resilient Delta economy

This is more than funding — it’s a strategic investment in grassroots innovation, economic inclusion, and sustainable growth.

To every Delta entrepreneur ready to scale: the runway is open.