In the world of high-stakes institutional finance, a 21-year career usually ends with a quiet board seat.
But for Rashidat Adebisi, the former executive director and chief client officer at AXA Mansard, the exit is actually a pivot into systemic design.
Adebisi has officially launched “The Re-Architecture Project,” a strategic roadmap designed to align Nigeria’s insurance and financial plumbing with the federal government’s $1 trillion economy target.
Framing herself now as a Financial Systems Architect, Adebisi is betting that Nigeria’s path to a trillion-dollar GDP isn’t just about more capital, it’s about fixing the “invisible infrastructure” that excludes 60% of the continent’s workforce.
The Macro Play: Insurance as the ‘Secret Sauce’
While Nigeria is currently navigating the turbulence of the Nigeria Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA 2025), Adebisi views the current “watershed” moment as more than just a regulatory hurdle. For her, the industry’s sub-3% penetration rate isn’t a failure of sales, but a failure of architecture.
“Insurance is the net that allows a nation to jump higher,” Adebisi stated. “Every decimal point in a financial model represents a business stabilized and a future secured. Nigeria isn’t lacking capital; we are lacking ‘invisible infrastructure’, specifically Trust, Access, and Regulatory Clarity.”
NIIRA 2025: Compliance as a Competitive Moat
In an industry often wary of the regulator’s hand, Adebisi’s blueprint reframes NIIRA 2025 as structural reinforcement rather than friction.
She identifies “Policy Fluency” as the new core competency for the 2026 leadership era.
Capital Recalibration: The project views the current reform as a necessary “reset” to build the institutional rigour required for a $1 trillion economy.
The Compliance Edge: “Those who view compliance as a burden will struggle; those who see it as a competitive advantage will thrive,” she noted.
Fintech for the Unseen: The FileAm App
The most tangible expression of this re-architecture is the FileAm App. The project aims to “engineer inclusive ecosystems” by turning tax compliance into a digital utility for SMEs and informal entrepreneurs.
The goal? Moving the informal sector from economic invisibility into formal digital tax rails, which then unlocks insurance coverage and credit history. It’s a “Wealth Pipeline” strategy: building digital identity and verifiable credentials to turn compliance into creditworthiness.
Building the Afro-Fintech ‘Operating System’
Adebisi’s transition is emblematic of a new trend in African tech: the “Institutional Disruptor.” By combining 21 years of “inside-the-system” experience with a tech-forward blueprint, she is attempting to solve the fragmentation of African finance.
The strategy is governed by three “Core Rules”: Data-aware. Policy-conscious. Africa-focused. In a market prone to copy-pasting Western fintech models, Adebisi’s emphasis on interoperable ecosystems and regulatory alignment suggests she is building the “operating system” for the next decade of African prosperity.
“The future of finance in Africa will not be inherited. It will be architected,” Adebisi concluded. “It is our turn to build.”
