Business
Nigeria Has Potentials For Better GDP – Experts
Some Financial experts on Thursday said that Nigeria had the potentials to achieve higher economic growth rate than the 7.68 per cent achieved in 2011.
The experts told newsmen in separate interviews in Lagos on Thursday that this was possible if government adopted measures that would impact positively on all sectors of the economy.
It would be recalled that Dr. Yemi Kale, Statistician–General, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), disclosed last Tuesday that Nigeria achieved 7.68 per cent growth in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2011.
Mr Titus Okunronmu, a former Director of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said that any growth rate that was less than 12 per cent would not impact postively on the standard of living of the people.
He said that the wealth of the nation was being controlled by less than four per cent of the population, adding that there was gross inequality in the national income distribution.
“The economy is not developing at an optimal level due to persistent increase in unemployment and poverty rates,” he said.
Okunronmu advised government to bridge the wide gap between the rich and the poor to achieve some fairness in the distribution of the national income.
“If the Federal Government can resolve the problems of refineries and invest in petrochemical industry, this will create more job opportunities for the people,” he said.
Mr Olumide Adegoke, the General Manager, Standard Alliance Insurance, said that the nation’s economy “growth model is narrow and difficult to examine the various sectors of the economy”.
“There must be deliberate efforts by the government to put the economy on the right path so that the GDP can impact better on the standard of living of the citizens.
Adegoke advised the government to stimulate the real sector to ensure sustainable growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“The ability of the government to reactivate the real sector and diversify the economy will impact positively on the Nigerian economic growth rate,” he said.
General Manager, Regency Assets Management Ltd., Mr Adewale Adeniyi,said that the economy would not grow when unemployment rate was on the increase.
He said that that many companies had folded up because of inconsistency in government policies, resulting in downsizing of workers. Adeniyi said that Nigeria had a lot of potential, but the poor state of the infrastructure would not allow the economy to grow at the optimal level.
“Provision of infrastructure and stable power are major catalysts than can develop the economy,” he said.
The General Manager, Cash Craft Assets Management Ltd, Mr Ayodeji Fagbenle, commended the growth rate, but said that the nation could be better.
“Once there is growth in the agricultural sector, there will also be growth in the GDP. “Government needs to galvanise the agricultural sector so that the GDP can improve and impact positively on the standard of living of citizens”, he said.
A senior lecturer in the Department of Economics University of Lagos, Dr. Tunde Adeoye, advised the government to address the issue of corruption in the country. He also advised that all monies recovered from fraudulent Nigerians should be used to improve the economy.
Adeoye said that better economic growth could be achieved through reforms.
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.
