Business
NIM To Make Inputs Into 2013 National Budget
Chief Olawale Cole, President of Nigerian Institute of
Management (NIM), has said that the institute would soon present its
suggestions on the 2013 budget to President Goodluck Jonathan.
The NIM president made the promise at the ongoing 2012 Annual
National Management Conference of NIM in Abuja.
He said the institute had been addressing contemporary
issues of national importance in its ‘Managing Nigeria Series’ under the
auspices of NIM Academy of Corporate Management.
“NIM had looked at subsidy removal, national security and
2012 national budget and submitted the report on the first two to the President
to assist in resolving the issues.
“The report on 2012 budget and input into the 2013 budget
are about to be presented to government.
“We will be focusing on power, employment/job generation,
transformational leadership, integrated performance and local content, among
others,” he said.
He said the institute launched its latest campaign platform
known as “Nigeria: Arise and Shine” in the course of the conference.
Cole said the institute believed that the challenges
bedevilling the nation were temporary and that Nigeria would rise again and
take its rightful place in the scheme of things.
“This was what informed the institute’s decision to launch a
new platform from which it intends to vigorously preach and fight for this
commendable cause.
“For the nation to move forward strategically; for the
nation to arise and shine, there must be a break from the norm.
“The operating environment must be conducive and peaceful.”
The NIM president said that meaningful development could not
take place in a chaotic atmosphere.
“Nigerians should heed the battle cry and key into the
mantra: “Nigeria: Arise and Shine”.
“If we make a good show of it, Nigerians and indeed Nigeria
will be ultimate beneficiaries at the end of the day,” he said.
Reports say that four eminent Nigerians were conferred with
Fellow of Nigerian Institute of Management (FNIM) for upholding high standards
and ethics of management.
They include Mr Mike Onolememen, the Minister of Works, and
Mrs Aderoju Smith, wife of former Inspector General of Police.
Others are Dr Martha Akpana, Permanent Secretary in Bayelsa
Government and Mr Adebayo Jimoh, Chairman, Odua Investment Group.
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.