The outlook comes against the backdrop of far-reaching reforms, including a substantial increase in minimum capital requirements and a gradual transition toward more sustainable revenue models, as regulators move to reinforce the sector’s resilience amid persistent macroeconomic volatility.

Despite these pressures, Nigerian banks continue to rank among the most profitable on the continent, outperforming regional peers on the back of elevated interest rates, aggressive loan repricing strategies, and strong foreign exchange gains.

The report identified foreign exchange liberalisation as a key contributor to recent earnings growth, noting that, following the 2023 reforms, the country’s top five banks generated over $1.7 billion in FX-related income, equivalent to about 40 per cent of total operating income.

However, it added that regulators have since taken steps to curb excessive reliance on such windfalls.

Also, McKinsey & Company explained that Nigeria’s growth outlook is also tied to structural shifts in revenue composition.

While corporate banking accounted for the largest share of new revenue between 2019 and 2024, the retail and SME segments recorded faster growth rates, supported by expansion in digital payments and agency banking.

The report highlighted the rapid rise of financial technology firms as a key competitive pressure, with fintechs now ranked among leading merchant acquirers, and increasingly competing with traditional banks across payments, savings, and business services.

These firms, it said, are leveraging digital channels to scale quickly, targeting individuals, agents, and small businesses. In response, banks have increased spending on technology, with annual software and e-banking investments running into tens of billions of naira per institution.

“Despite currency volatility, Nigerian banks are highly profitable, surpassing the African average due to repriced loans, higher interest rates, and stronger foreign-exchange gains. Nigeria’s banking market is forecast to grow at a 7 per cent Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), reaching about $16 billion by 2030.

“Between 2019 and 2024, corporate banking accounted for the largest share of new revenue growth in Nigeria’s banking sector; however, the retail and SME segments grew faster, leveraging digital payments and agency banking to capture previously untapped markets.

“While the Nigerian market is less concentrated than some, consolidation is increasing. Between 2019 and 2024, the top banks increased their domestic asset share from 59 per cent to 64 per cent,” it added.

The report argued that the Nigerian banking sector over the past five years has been affected by macroeconomic shocks, increased regulation, and the maturation of digital disruption.

A weaker local currency, it maintained, has driven a revenue drop in dollar terms, but noted that top banks are mitigating this by expanding into new markets, with, for example, Access Bank’s foreign operations now accounting for 23 per cent of the bank’s total operating income.

Additionally, McKinsey highlighted that the central bank has significantly raised capital requirements from $33 million (50 billion naira) to $330 million (500 billion naira) for international banks, and from $16 million (25 billion naira) to $130 million (200 billion naira) for national banks by March 2026 and halted capital distributions for banks under forbearance to strengthen balance sheets and build resilience in the sector.

“A key feature of the landscape has been the evolution of fintechs like OPay and Moniepoint into major players that now rival traditional banks. OPay has surpassed 50 million downloads on the Google Play store, while Moniepoint ranks among the leading merchant acquirers, rivaling traditional banks in user adoption.

“Both companies offer savings wallets, debit cards, and business tools, building attractive ecosystems where individuals, agents, and SMEs alike want to stay. Traditional banks are responding by investing heavily in IT and digital in response. Recent filings show tens of billions of naira per bank per year in software additions and IT/e-banking expenses,” the report pointed out.

To navigate this dynamic and shifting environment, McKinsey stressed that Nigerian banks are building reliability and scale, and embracing the digital reality to reach new consumers, notably young, digitally native Nigerians and micro-, small, and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs).

With Nigeria’s digital shift underpinned by strong demographic and connectivity trends, it stressed that the country has more than 160 million active internet subscriptions, while over 60 per cent of the population is under the age of 25, creating a large, digitally active customer base.

The introduction of the open banking framework, according to McKinsey, is expected to intensify competition further by enabling customers to share financial data across institutions, allowing new entrants to build integrated services on top of existing banking infrastructure.

Across Africa, the report stated that similar growth dynamics are evident, with the continent’s banking sector expanding at a compound annual growth rate of about 17 per cent between 2020 and 2024 in constant currency terms, compared with a global average of 7 per cent.

However, currency depreciation significantly reduced headline performance, it said, noting that in dollar terms, African banking revenues grew from $81 billion in 2020 to $99 billion in 2024, representing a CAGR of 5.2 per cent, in line with global averages.

Within the continent, the industry, it said, remains highly concentrated, with about 70 per cent of total revenue generated by five markets—South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and Morocco. South Africa alone accounted for more than $26.4 billion in banking revenue in 2024 it added.

The report estimated Africa’s total banking market size at approximately $107 billion in 2025, highlighting both its scale and growth potential despite structural constraints,” the report explained.

“Strong fundamentals position African banking to sustain, and perhaps even increase, its profitable streak. With a total market size of around $107 billion in 2025, Africa’s banking market is sizeable yet highly concentrated,’’ the report said.

Looking ahead, it emphasised that growth in Nigeria is expected to be driven by increased financial inclusion, expansion of digital ecosystems, and deeper penetration of the SME segment.

However, it explained that risks remain from persistent inflation, exchange-rate volatility, and low per capita income levels, noting that Nigerian banks will need to balance growth with financial discipline, scale operations through consolidation, and invest in data and technology capabilities.

According to the announcement available to Techeconomy, Aminata, based in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire,  will lead Visa’s newly established sub-regional team, covering 23 markets across four key offices in Abidjan, Accra, Kinshasa, and Lagos.

Kane is a recognized leader in digital financial services and telecommunications, bringing over a decade of executive experience from Orange’s operations in the Middle East and Africa.

Most recently, she served as Regional Chief Executive Officer for Orange Money Group, where she oversaw Orange Money and Orange Bank Africa services across 17 countries.

A committed advocate for inclusive development, Kane has championed initiatives that empower youth and women through technology, establishing the Orange Foundation and the Orange Digital Center in Sierra Leone—both dedicated to fostering leadership and equipping individuals with essential digital skills for the future

“Aminata’s leadership and deep expertise in digital financial services will be instrumental in driving Visa’s mission to expand financial inclusion across Western and Central Africa. We are excited to have her lead this dynamic region and believe that her strategic vision will help enhance our efforts to create more accessible and innovative digital payment ecosystems,” said Andrew Torre, Visa’s regional president for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa

Aminata Kane began her professional journey at Goldman Sachs, then joined McKinsey & Company as a consultant in Paris, where she developed deep expertise in financial strategy, transformation, and market expansion.

With a strong academic foundation from HEC Paris and the MIT Sloan School of Management, she is recognised as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and has more recently been named as one of the Top 100 Women CEOs in Africa.

“I am deeply honoured to join Visa at such a pivotal moment for Africa’s digital transformation”, said Aminata Kane. “Building on years of work advancing digital and financial inclusion across Africa and the Middle East, this a unique opportunity to help shape a more inclusive, innovative ecosystem that reflects the talent, ambition, and potential of our region. I look forward to collaborating closely with our teams, partners, and public sector stakeholders to expand access, empower businesses, and deliver trusted, impactful payment solutions that drive sustainable growth and opportunity for all”.

Businesses in Nigeria are increasingly exploring AI-driven automation to enhance efficiency, drive innovation, and remain competitive.

However, AI adoption remains relatively low, as many businesses struggle to identify practical use cases that deliver measurable ROI.

A key emerging trend addressing this challenge is Agentic AI –a more advanced form of AI that enables businesses to create autonomous digital agents capable of handling complex tasks, optimising workflows, and improving decision-making. Unlike traditional AI models that react to user inputs, Agentic AI proactively learns, makes decisions, and automates entire processes, making it a game-changer for businesses looking to scale productivity.

The Rise of Agentic AI in Business

Globally, AI adoption has grown, but many businesses still hesitate due to concerns over cost, implementation complexity, and lack of clear ROI.

According to McKinsey & Company, organisations that have successfully integrated AI-driven automation report efficiency improvements ranging from 20–30%. The key to unlocking AI’s full potential lies in specialised AI models designed for specific business functions–precisely where Agentic AI excels.

For example, in customer service, AI-powered agents can automate repetitive tasks, resolve issues faster, and enhance customer satisfaction.

Studies have shown that nearly 88% of Nigerian consumers consider customer experience critical to their purchasing decisions. Agentic AI can help businesses meet these expectations by providing instant, personalised support.

In sales, AI-driven Sales Development Representative (SDR) Agent can analyse customer interactions, identify sales opportunities, and suggest targeted outreach strategies.

Research highlights that businesses using AI in sales automation experience increase conversion rates and higher sales productivity.

Similarly, Human Resources (HR) operations are being transformed by AI-powered automation. Tasks such as leave management, employee onboarding, and performance tracking can be effectively handled by Agentic AI, allowing HR professionals to focus on strategic employment engagement.

Deloitte indicates that AI-powered HR automation reduces administrative workload significantly, enhancing employee satisfaction and operational efficiency.

In IT operations, AI-powered Help Desk Agents streamline troubleshooting, diagnose issues, and execute quick fixes. This reduces downtime and significantly improves operational continuity and productivity.

How Zoho is Innovating with Agentic AI

At Zoho, we recognise the potential of Agentic AI and have developed Zia Agents for specific use cases within various products.

Unlike generic AI models, Zia Agents provide contextual intelligence, real-time decision-making, and deep business-specific insights.

Additionally, Zoho ensures that Zia agents operate within a secure infrastructure, fully compliant with various global privacy regulations, making it a trusted solution for businesses handling sensitive data.

We have also launched Agent Studio, an AI-powered platform that enables our customers, partners, and independent developers to create specialised agents for their specific needs.

These can be hosted on Agent Marketplace, where they can be monetised. Nigerian businesses can utilise Agent Studio to build hyperlocal agents for various industries.

The Future of Business with Agentic AI

The shift towards Agentic AI is inevitable as businesses increasingly seek smarter, more autonomous systems to drive efficiency and growth.

Organisations that embrace AI-driven today will be better positioned to compete in Nigeria’s evolving digital economy.

For Nigerian businesses looking to scale efficiently, Agentic AI  offers a practical and results driven approach to automation.

By leveraging Zoho’s Zia Agents, companies can achieve higher productivity, ensuring long-term success in a competitive marketplace.

Conducted in collaboration with McKinsey & Company, the study reinforces the important role of women’s economic empowerment in driving the continent into a new era of transformational growth.

The report, Young Women in Africa: Agents of Economic Growth and Transformation By 2030 – Mastercard Foundation, outlines a series of immediate, actionable solutions for government, private sector, and civil society to reverse the steep decline of young women’s contribution to Africa’s GDP from 18 percent in 2000 to just 11 percent in 2022. 

The most pivotal areas to tackle include care burdens that restrict women’s access to the labour market, poor education completion rates, the need to bolster competitive skills in key sectors and adopt gender-inclusive employment policies, and lack of access to financial services. 

The report notes that effective private sector-led approaches and government-funded models focused on expanding childcare centres and employer-provided childcare can alleviate the burden of care on young women and create over 11 million jobs by 2030. 

With agriculture, education, food and accommodation, trade, wholesale, and retail sectors among Africa’s highest employers of young women, the Foundation advocates for the roll-out of apprenticeships and boot camps to accelerate women’s participation in these high-growth areas. 

The ICT sector is also identified as a leading industry to catalyze substantial productivity, boasting a higher rate of remuneration for women compared to men in Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda.

The study spotlights Namibia as a key model for other African nations to follow in prioritizing the economic benefits of gender equality, having increased women’s economic participation from 40 percent to 42 percent in just five years. 

Egypt, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda have the potential to achieve the fastest growth should they replicate Namibia’s strategy.

Speaking on the launch of the report, Marieme Esther Dassanou, Director, Gender Programs at the Mastercard Foundation, said: “Empowering young women in Africa is both an economic imperative and a transformative opportunity for the continent. 

By addressing systemic barriers, enhancing skills, and fostering gender-inclusive policies, we can unlock $287 billion in additional GDP by 2030. We need to create environments where women can succeed as employees and entrepreneurs, ensuring Africa’s growth will be inclusive, sustainable, and driven by the full potential of its young women’s population.”

Women’s unemployment rates have historically been higher than those of men, a disparity further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 26 percent of girls complete secondary school, and the high burden of unpaid care work keeps 35-to-40 percent of women out of the workforce. 

Furthermore, financial inclusion remains a significant challenge, with 63 percent of African women being unbanked compared to 52 percent of men.

The Foundation also plans to expand successful programs aimed at transforming the educational landscape for women and girls. 

Over the next seven years, the Foundation will scale its long-standing partnerships with Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) and Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) with $360 million to support more than 70,400 young women and girls in completing their education journeys, starting their own businesses, or accessing employment opportunities.

The report findings inform the Mastercard Foundation’s sideline event Invincible: Empowering Women, Transforming Africa at the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79) on September 22, 2024, at the Millenium Hilton New York, One UN Plaza Hotel. 

Held in collaboration with ALADI – African Leadership and Dialogue Institute, the event will spotlight the unrivalled impact of young African women in driving economic transformation and propose bold strategies to bolster their access to critical and affordable finance.

To download the full report, please click here.

A report from McKinsey, for example, found that the number of African tech startups tripled between 2020 and 2021.  

Nigeria and Ghana’s West African economic powerhouses are no exception to that economic fervour. World Bank data shows that 97,988 new businesses were registered in Nigeria in 2020, and in Ghana (with a population about a sixth as big as Nigeria’s) 18000 new businesses were forecast to be started in 2022. 

Those businesses will, of course, be crucial to the region’s ongoing economic growth. But if you’re one of the entrepreneurs behind those businesses, you’ll know that success is far from guaranteed.

That makes it critical that you do everything possible to ensure your business is primed for growth. And one of the most effective ways of doing so is to embrace digital marketing and that you get it right from day one. 

Digital is still growing in importance, for everyone 

That’s especially true when you consider how rapidly internet and smartphone penetration has grown in the region in recent years.

Research suggests that there are more than 155 million internet users in Nigeria, representing 55.4% of the population and just under 17 million users in Ghana, representing 53% of the population. And as more and more undersea cables land on the continent, making internet access more affordable and ubiquitous, those numbers will keep growing. 

The same is true of smartphones. According to Statista, smartphone penetration in Nigeria grew 10% between 2019 and 2022, hitting just over 37%, and is set to grow another 10% by 2027. While it’s difficult to find equivalent numbers for Ghana, it’s worth noting that nearly 100% of internet users there have a smartphone. 

In other words, a sizable portion of any Nigerian or Ghanaian business’s customers are already online and an even more considerable portion will be in the very near future. So in order to reach them, that business has to be online too.  

Of course, many early-stage entrepreneurs, in particular, either need help figuring out where to start with digital marketing or feel like they can’t afford it. Those barriers do not, however, have to be challenging to overcome. 

As Gaston Taratuta, Founder and CEO of Aleph Group, Inc points out, you can build up digital marketing expertise relatively quickly. 

“To become an expert in digital marketing, you have to be curious and certify yourself on digital platforms for free,” he says. “Learn things like Google Adwords; learn to do marketing on different social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. This can be achieved in more or less six months, and you can then put what you have learned into practice.” 

As he further points out, building this expertise is already key to thriving as an entrepreneur and will be even more important in the near future. 

Additionally, digital marketing is one of the most effective ways for any business to build awareness and engagement with both existing and potential customers. It’s also more targeted, meaning you can get a greater return on investment. 

Using the right partner 

As important as it is for entrepreneurs to understand the effectiveness of digital marketing and at least have a basic grasp of how to use them, it’s also important to remember that they don’t have to do it alone. 

The right media buying partner will help ensure that they’re on the right platforms and are reaching their intended customer bases.

They’ll also understand that a business doesn’t always have a major marketing budget and will get it started advertising with relatively small amounts, keeping costs to a predefined frame. Many partners that Aleph is working with additionally offer ‘trial’ budgets at lower minimum costs to allow new advertisers to give it a go and see if they gain value from it. Remember, if they see the same potential in a business as an entrepreneur, they’ll want to grow with it. 

No reason to wait 

Ultimately, it should be clear that African entrepreneur s can supercharge their growth journeys by embracing digital marketing. Moreover, they can get to grips with it relatively quickly and can affordably get help in maximising their digital marketing efforts.

This is according to McKinsey & Company’s report titled ‘fintech in Africa: The end of the beginning’, released on 30 August 2022.

African fintech has a significant impact on day-to-day life on the continent and with its current upward trend it can be perfectly poised to rapidly advance Africa’s global competitiveness with an increase in the exporting of fintech services globally.

These fertile grounds do have challenges. Regulatory uncertainties and differences between countries are a bottleneck, throttling the expansion of financial inclusion in Africa. This has led to the continent’s fintech’s calling for a Pan-African regulatory body to define comprehensive regulatory policies for regions rather than countries.

Certain governments and the private business sector continuously work on providing regulatory policy frameworks for businesses, customers, and economies with the current focus on:

1. Regulations – digital-only banks and fintech are influenced by but independently regulated from the traditional financial system regulations.
2. Anti Money Laundering Scrutiny – more regulatory bodies are insisting on compliance herewith, worldwide there is a clamp down on non-compliant companies. This requires the verification of information received from the client to avoid fraudulent, terrorist, or other illegal activities being facilitated, supported by other processes such as Know Your Customer.
3. Consumer centrism – fintech must be vigilant in consumer education, especially the consequences of services and products that did not exist before, protecting the consumer from being exploited.
4. Protection of Privacy and Security of Data – stored personal consumer information is susceptible to cyberattacks. Fintech companies must comply and have the necessary security systems and protocols to secure sensitive data.

The Global fintech Index of 2020 lists the top 100 fintech ecosystems,  4 sub-Saharan African cities features, that are leading this sector namely Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos and Cape Town, and account for most of the continent’s fintech start-up funding.

The countries represented by the 4 cities above have taken significant strides towards regulatory systems designed to protect stakeholders. Each country’s approach to regulations shares similarities, while others are unique to the challenges faced in their market. What is definite is that these regulations evolve rapidly as access to technology empowers this market to scale significantly.

Regardless of the size of the fintech, these changes become prohibitive to the success of fintech due to the cost and/or inconvenience caused since they impact all areas of the customer relationship lifecycle.

Bizzamm, comes from South Africa, home to 2 of the 4 African cities represented in the top 100 Global Fintech Index. Bizzamm is a user-friendly, intuitive, affordable tool that empowers its clients to automate their business processes and addresses many (if not all) of the current regulatory requirements.

Bizzamm is the future of affordable business processing – providing absolute control with an all-in-one tamper-proof, end-to-end document management solution on blockchain, offering management, solutions, and control over the increasing regulatory demands discussed here, most importantly, with an emphasis on customer convenience.

As it relates to the 4 focuses highlighted above, Bizzamm offers a non-exhaustive list to aid with, and to manage compliance; such as the flexibility to create custom document templates; making use of verification; validation and mandatory fields. Setting automatic reminders for actions required by specific parties by specific dates, the highly secure yet flexible cloud environment wherein Bizzamm is housed keeps data safe and provides ease of access when searching for documents. Role and permission-based access allow only authorised access and only authorised changes to documents. Bizzamm offers an electronic signature, on completion of a document it is anchored to the blockchain, providing an immediate unique digital fingerprint, with a permanent record of creation and making it tamperproof.

Regulations around the safe gathering and storing of sensitive client information, how information is processed are becoming more robust, encompassing, and enforceable worldwide. Bizzamm enables businesses to become compliant in an easy, practical and affordable way that is customer friendly.