Business
‘Accurate Data, Key To Foreign Investment’
An Information and Com
munications Technology (lCT) expert, Mr Kelvin Makinde, has said accurate data gathering and collation is key to boosting foreign investments if the country must make progress in foreign business partnership.
Makinde, who made this statement in an interview with newsmen recently in Abuja, said this has become imperative the country must make progress in foreign business partnerships.
He said most foreign investors come from advanced economies where data gathering and collection has become a common practice where any type of information can be obtained just by pressing a button.
“Most foreign investors want to be assured of returns on their investments. They come from systems where through data they can easily monitor progress on their investment or lack of it.
“Nigeria is a fertile ground for any investor, the only problem that I see that hinders our progress is the lack of infrastructure and most importantly lack of accurate data.
“An investor wants to know the demography of the place he wants to operate in, the number of people they are dealing with and other information that will affect their businesses.
“All these information are supposed to be available to anybody who is interested in them but you find that this simple information is usually not readily available.
According to him, even most hospitals in Nigeria cannot boast of knowing the number of children that are born in them and the national population commission also cannot provide the information ..
“It is necessary for the government to look into the proper funding of the sector as it is critical in driving the development process ..
“I suppose that is the reason why African governments came to the agreement to devote one per cent of their GDP to the sector.
“I believe if this is done investors will flow in because Nigeria has all the potential to attract foreign investor who are serious to make money in this century. No nation can excel without good data backup facility,” Makinde said.
The expert said the Open Data Initiative launched by the Ministry of Communications Technology recently, was a laudable development but appealed to the ministry to make it workable.
“The initiative is very good but we all know that we are not lacking in policies in this .country but the will to implement the policies is what we find difficult.
“Of course it will help even indigenous businesses to flourish if the implementation is comprehensive, so the Minister, Mrs Omobola Johnson should try and ensure that the impact of the initiative to be felt among the citizens.
“When small businesses can also go and access information this will aid them to grow their businesses, it’s all about information gathering and dissemination, so data gathering, processing and collection is key to national development.”
The ministry of communications technology recently kicked off the Open Data Development Initiative to support the federal government’s objective of driving innovation, investment and economic growth by ensuring access to government data.
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.