Business
ADB, Ekiti To Partner On Infrastructure Dev
The African Development Bank (ADB) plans to partner with the Ekiti State Government in the provision of infrastructure.
The ADB’s Country Representative in Nigeria, Mr. Ousmane Dore, made the announcement at the weekend in Lagos at a meeting between Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and officials of the bank.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Olayinka Oyebode, on Sunday in Ado-Ekiti quoted Dore as saying that ADB would assist the state government in the development of rural roads with a view to boosting agriculture in the state.
It said the meeting highlighted key potential areas for foreign investments and technical support for the state.
Dore noted that two of ADB’s 29 projects in Nigeria were already sited in Ekiti State, and promised that it would also be among the eight states that would benefit from the Capacity Building Fund being proposed by the bank.
Fayemi had earlier urged the ADB to strive to surpass the World Bank in its development programmes in the state.
In a related development, the Swedish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Per Lindgarde, also said at a meeting with Fayemi in Abuja that some Swedish companies were seeking collaboration with the state government in the areas of agriculture and environmental sustainability.
Fayemi had emphasised the state government’s preference for collaboration with big players in the area trade as opposed to aid.
He explained that investments in agriculture and tourism in the state would help to revive the peoples’ agrarian life style, boost the economy and create employment opportunities.
Fayemi assured the envoy of the safety of foreign investment in the state, stressing that the state was noted for its peaceful and secure environment.
The Senator representing Ekiti Central, Mr. Babafemi Ojudu, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on MDGs, Mrs. Bunmi Dipo-Salami, were on the governor’s team.
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.