Business
‘Nigeria’ll Be Benchmark For African Countries’
The Special Adviser to the President on the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), Mrs. Fidelia Njeze, has said that Nigeria would be the benchmark for other developing nations in terms of good governance and development.
Njeze said this on Friday in Nairobi at the end of the five-day study visit of a team of NEPAD Nigeria Staff she led to the NEPAD Kenya Secretariat in Nairobi.
She said the visit was successful because both countries had gained knowledge on different strategies and policies that could be implemented to enhance their development and Africa in general.
The presidential aide said that in the course of the study tour, she observed that the aim of the African Peer Review Mechanism, a flagship programme of NEPAD, had been achieved.
“We have seen all the policies that NEPAD Kenya has initiated in different sectors including agriculture, infrastructural development, education and power, among others and we would learn from them.
“We have also seen the level of synergy between NEPAD Kenya and the implementing agencies and how it has brought all key players together, relating under one umbrella.
“This is one aspect that Nigeria would key into, to ensure effective implementation of NEPAD programmes in Minstries, Departments and Agencies.”
Njeze said that she was going to take NEPAD Nigeria back to the days of its glory as it was at its inception, so that the country’s secretariat could also be a benchmark for other African countries.
She said that on assumption of duty in February 2014, she constituted a Think Tank Committee with members from within and outside the country, in a bid to revamp NEPAD Nigeria.
She said that in addition, with the help of a Technical Support Team, the team developed the six ‘R’strategies.
The strategies include to re-orientating staff, restructuring the organisation, recruiting experts and rehabilitating infrastruture.
Others are: re-engage in strengthening partnerships with internal and external stakeholders and harnessing resources to provide adequate funding for the Implementation of NEPAD Nigeria’s programmes and activities.
Njeze said that she was committed to re-introducing NEPAD to the consciousness of Nigerians.
She presented the document of the six ‘R’ strategy to the Chief Executive Officer of NEPAD Kenya, Ms. Lillian Mbogo-Omollo,
Responding, Mbogo-Omollo said that the study visit was not only a benefit to the Nigerian team but also to NEPAD Kenya as her staff have gained a wealth of knowledge.
She said she would study the six ‘R’ strategy framework and also adopt some NEPAD Nigeria strategies in the implementation of their programmes.
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.
