Business
World Bank Commends RSG’s Investment On Entertainment…Wants Stop To Piracy
As the ION International Film festival comes to an end in Port Harcourt, most of the participants have given kudos to the Rivers State government for the successful hosting of the world event which lasted from December 9th to December 12, 2009.
One of the commendations is from Ismail Radman, World Bank Senior Economist, Finance and Private Sector Development in Africa who lauded the state Governor Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi for his immense contributions towards the development of the entertainment industry in the state and Nigeria as a whole.
The world bank executive who spoke with The Tide during the event said “it was good to be in Port Harcourt to witness the global event for the first time in Africa.
“I sincerely appreciate the warm welcome, the peaceful environment, security and hospitality of the state.
He stressed that the movie industry in Nigeria is expanding and providing job opportunities to many. He noted that the event is a rare opportunity for practitioners in the industry to partner with other movie industries in the world especially Hollywood of America and Bollywood of India which are rated first and second movie industries in the world respectively.
The World Bank economist however, urged the federal government to come, out with policies that would curb piracy which he said is a major problem in the industry. He also called for effective distribution network as a way of eliminating piracy and move the industry forward as well as more private sector participation in the movie industry.
According to him Hollywood and Bollywood are where they are today because of the huge investments from the private sector. He said Nollywood should be able to learn from the experience of these industries to improve on its standards equipment and other facilities.
Addressing the guests during the closing ceremony held at the Polo Club on Saturday, the State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi lauded the organisers of the event for a job well done. He noted that Nigerian movie makers had a lot to learn from the event as it affords them the opportunity to partner with other professionals in the movie industry across the world.
He assured of government’s commitment towards the development of the entertainment industry in the state and tasked them to improve on their standards that could stand the test of time.
At the end of the event some movies that were nominated for the event got awards. They include; You Didn’t See Anything in Kingshasha, a documentary by Ngangura Mwoese from Congo; “Examination Malpractice”, a youth project by Emoedumba Joshua from Nigeria, “Micheal Jackson Shinning” by Trevor Parham of the USA got award under the music video category, ‘Renouncing Angelica’ by Temi Ojo of USA also won award under the short film category as well “From A Whisper” by Wanuri Kanya of Kenya which got award under the Narrative feature category.
Jacob Obinna
Cornerstone of Financial Services
A survey of more than 1 000 global finance leaders undertaken by digital payment network Ripple shows that 72% of respondents believe they need to offer a digital asset solution to remain competitive.
According to Ripple, leaders from the banking, fintech, corporate and asset management sector have made it clear that the “digital asset revolution is happening now”.
“Digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of financial services, underpinned by progressive regulation, growing interest from Tier-1 banks, a steady consumer shift from banks to fintech providers, and booming stablecoin adoption,” Ripple says.
The survey was conducted in early 2026 and the findings released in March.
Stablecoin Boon or Bane?
Ripple has experienced significant success in the stablecoin sector since launching its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in 2024.
With a market cap of $1.56 billion, it is considered a major regulated player in the market.
No doubt the platform was pleased to learn through its own survey that financial leaders were most bullish about stablecoins.
Roughly three-quarters of respondents believed they could boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock trapped working capital.
Ripple noted that finance leaders were thinking about stablecoins as more than “just a new way to execute payments”; instead, they viewed them as effective tools for treasury management.
In March 2026, Ripple began testing a new trade finance model built around RLUSD in a bid to increase the speed of cross-border payments.
The pilot initiative, developed alongside supply chain finance company Unloq [https://unloq.com], is running on the XRP Ledger inside a testing framework developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Asian city-state is one of the platform’s biggest growth markets.
The idea behind the project is to see whether stablecoin-based settlement can streamline trade finance, too often hampered by reliance on intermediaries and slow reconciliation.
The only potential drawback is that if the initiative takes off, the Ripple to USD price could be negatively affected.
Ripple has always championed its native XRP token as a bridge asset, the “middleman” in the process of a financial institution turning dollars in the US into pounds in the UK, for example.
Ripple converts dollars into XRP and then back into pounds.
If RLUSD can do exactly the same thing, questions will be asked about XRP’s relevance.
That is a bridge Ripple will have to cross if it gets to that point.
Tokenisation Partners
Another interesting finding from Ripple’s survey is that most banks and asset managers are seeking tokenisation partners to help execute their strategies.
Some 89% of respondents said digital asset storage and custody were top priority. “Token servicing/lifecycle management also ranks highly for banks at 82%, while asset managers place greater emphasis on primary distribution at 80%,” Ripple found.
The survey also revealed that just more than half of fintechs and financial institutions want an infrastructure provider that can offer a “one-stop-shop solution”. This rose to 71% among corporate financial leaders.
Ripple attributes this to institutions and firms wanting uncomplicated, cohesive systems.
Infrastructure Rules
In its final analysis, Ripple says companies across the board are looking for partners and solutions that are “secure, compliant, battle-tested and that enable growth and execution”.
“The message is clear: infrastructure decisions made today will shape competitive positioning tomorrow.”
No surprise that this is precisely where Ripple is placing much of its focus.
