Business
NACCIMA Tasks FG On Growth-Stimulating Sectors
Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), has appealed to the Federal Government to give more attention to sectors that could grow the economy.
The association’s President, Dr Herbert Ajayi, who made the call in a press statement issued in Lagos, advised that more attention should be paid to agriculture, power supply, health and education.
Ajayi said that lack of adequate attention to these sectors was responsibility for the slow growth of the nation’s economy.
He noted that some of these challenges were part of the blueprint that the association wanted to discuss with the flag bearers of the various parties in a dialogue that was never held.
“We therefore decided to put across to all flag bearers our major concerns on the major challenges that militate against resounding success of the business community.
“The concerns, if looked into will galvanise the whole nation to achieve double digit real growth in all sectors of our national economy,” he said.
Ajayi urged the government to revive the farm settlements, industrial clusters, irrigation, storage, processing and packaging facilities, among others, to boost trade.
According to him, Nigeria can be food self-sufficient in the next four years if adequate attention is given to agriculture sector.
NACCIMA boss explained that agriculture employed more than 60 per cent of the nation’s population while contributing over 40 per cent to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP).
He said that it was worrisome that the sector was not well supported with cheap loans.
On the power, he called for community-based power generation and distribution to enhance power supply.
“All three phases of generation, transmission and distribution, including insurance and maintenance, must be planned as well as research into the possibility of generating solar power on a big scale,” he said.
Ajayi called for more commitment from the Federal Government on the implementation of the Local Content Law, saying the implementation had been slow and poor.
According to him, the development had inhibited the realisation of the laudable aspirations of job creation and inclusivity in the oil and gas sector.
“Our concern is the need to intensify more commitment and sincerity towards local refining of crude oil to make Nigeria a net exporter of refined products within the next five years and create jobs,” he said.
He noted that such achievement would provide opportunities for industrial growth and save the huge amount spent on subsidy on importation petroleum products annually.
The NACCIMA chief also advocated integrated transportation system that would connect roads, rails, airport, and waterways with the major cities and industrial estates.
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.