Business
NGO Urges Intervention Fund For Energy Financing
The International Centre for Energy and Environmental Development (ICEED), has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to set aside 10 per cent of the power intervention fund for the “alternative energy financing” programme.
The Executive Director of the centre, Mr Ewah Eleri told newsmen in Abuja last Thursday that CBN, should ensure that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission also established a clear framework for the utilisation of the fund.
Eleri also called for the use of a proportion of the ecological fund to finance cooking energy; establish a donor’s platform on pro-’poor energy; and the mobilisation of civil society in providing community-level energy services.
He said that the centre, in its annual report to the Federal Government, suggested the need to support the access on the National Policy Agenda.
He said that the report presented new evidence of the growing energy poverty in Nigeria.
Eleri analysed the level of government, private sector and donor funding for energy services that would benefit poor people and review international best practice in expanding access to energy services.
He lamented that about 15.3 million households had no access to grid electricity, while 72 per cent of the population depended on traditional fuel wood for cooking.
“Contrary to the expectations of the National Energy Policy and Vision 2020, deepening poverty has forced a reversal in the transition to modern and efficient energy forms.
“Today, more Nigerians are climbing down the energy ladder moving from electricity, gas and kerosene to fuel wood and other traditional bio-mass energy forms,’’ he said.
Eleri also said that the Federal Government’s response to the challenge had been inadequate, and funding pro-poor energy access was in decline.
“The report finds a significant decline in political interest for expanding electricity services to rural areas.
“Even though Nigeria has embarked on ambitious power sector reforms, ensuring that electricity reaches the poorest has over the years taken a back seat.
“Not only is investments in rural electrification in decline, Nigeria has no history of providing annual budgets for cooking energy programmes,’’ he said
WHO statistics showed that about 95,300 Nigerians, mostly women and children die annually from smoke coming from the use of fire wood.
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.