Connect with us

Finance

FSD Africa Backs Fintech Pioneer To Build Platform To Access Carbon Markets

Published

on

FSD Africa, the UK Government’s flagship financial sector programme in Africa, is making an initial investment (£650,000) in a highly innovative digital solution connecting carbon credits from small-scale green projects across the global south to international buyers. The investment will deliver funding through the test phase of the solution being developed by Nick Hughes, who led the development of Africa’s revolutionary mobile money service M-PESA.

Hughes is co-founder of 4R Digital, a green fintech start-up developing financial solutions for a range of business partners committed to climate positive projects in Africa spanning distributed solar energy, electric mobility and nature-based schemes. 4R Digital is building a solution that connects these projects to investors looking to offset greenhouse gas emissions at the same time as supporting locally-led climate action.

Voluntary markets allow individuals, organisations or governments to offset their greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing credits from projects that prevent, reduce, or remove an equivalent level of carbon. However, the markets are currently dominated by large-scale projects such as wind farms and waste-to-energy plants while smaller players struggle to complete the complex and costly process of verifying the emissions they have helped avoid or absorb. 4R Digital’s Carbon Value Exchange (CaVEx) is being developed in response to this challenge.

CaVEx leverages technological innovations such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and machine to machine connectivity to remotely monitor tiny levels of activity by connected devices such as solar pumps and e-vehicles and to calculate their impact on carbon emissions.

By pooling and aggregating these data, the platform centralises verification of emission reductions, significantly cutting the cost for these projects to issue high quality carbon credits. The exchange also enables micro-payments from the sale of carbon credits to be digitally transferred direct to the individuals involved in the projects, increasing the flow of capital to locally-led initiatives that both combat the climate crisis and support incomes in developing economies.

To ensure the exchange meets international standards for verification, 4R Digital will engage an expert third-party organisation to audit the system. This evaluation will give purchasers confidence that each carbon credit they buy translates directly into an equivalent reduction or removal.  

Over the last year FSD Africa has been working with 4R Digital to test the feasibility of using digital technology to open up access to climate finance, committing £250,000 in grant funding. It has now approved a further investment of £400,000 in the form of a convertible grant to enable 4R Digital to build a functioning version of the platform around several use cases, bringing the total investment to £650,000.

The investment is one of a number of new initiatives by FSD Africa as part of its increased focus on green finance. By working with partners to develop robust regulatory and policy frameworks FSD Africa aims to strengthen the continent’s capacity to tap into the growing pool of international ESG funds whilst also building a pipeline of investable and scalable projects that are aligned with a low-carbon and climate-resilient future.

Nick Hughes, Managing Director of 4R Digital, said:

There are many projects that simply cannot access climate finance because of the overhead costs associated with the processes involved and concerns on the ’buy side’ about the accuracy of credit sources. Advances in digital technology and connectivity let us remove barriers on both sides and ultimately enable more finance to flow to worthwhile initiatives in the global south.  We’re pleased to move this from concept into pilot with partners who are committed to seeing real action on the ground”.

Juliet Munro, Director, Digital Economy at FSD Africa, said:

This investment is a demonstration of the important role development finance can play in providing early-stage funding for high-risk, high impact projects that would otherwise struggle to find the necessary capital.

It is illogical that Africans highly exposed to environmental change find themselves barred from carbon markets intended to fund our fight against the climate crisis. 4R Digital is developing a revolutionary solution with the potential to throw open international sources of finance for entrepreneurs, farmers, and small businesses in developing countries. The early-stage funding FSD Africa has committed so far will enable it to take the next step of its journey, delivering a viable product to demonstrate its enormous potential and opening the way for private finance to play its crucial role”.   

Continue Reading

Finance

Tinubu Launches Personal Income Tax Calculator to Improve Compliance, Fairness

By ORJI ISRAEL

Published

on

Bola Ahmed Tinubu
President Bola Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has launched a Personal Income Tax Calculator to help Nigerians work out their tax obligations under the new tax law.

The tool is expected to make compliance easier and improve transparency in the system.

In a post on his X page, the president said the calculator shows how the recent reforms protect low-income earners while ensuring fairness.

“A fair tax system must never punish poverty or weigh down the most vulnerable. With the new tax laws I recently signed, taking effect from January 2026, we have lifted this burden and created a path of equity, fairness, and true redistribution in our economy,” Tinubu said.

Some months ago, he signed four major tax bills into law to bring Nigeria’s scattered tax system under one framework. These include the Nigeria Tax Administration Law, which sets out a uniform process for tax administration across federal, state, and local governments; the Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill, which replaces the current Federal Inland Revenue Service Act with a stronger, more independent revenue agency; and the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill, which creates a formal structure for cooperation between revenue bodies at all levels.

The introduction of the tax calculator, together with these reforms, is expected to reduce confusion for both individuals and businesses, while also making it easier for them to meet their obligations and contribute to national growth.

Tinubu added that the reforms are part of building renewed hope for the economy and urged Nigerians to trust in the country’s future for themselves and their families.

Continue Reading

Finance

FIRS e-Invoicing Hits 20% Adoption in Two Weeks

Reporter: SANDRA ANI

Published

on

VAT controversy | FIRS e-Invoicing

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) says that no fewer than 1,000 companies, representing 20% of total eligible firms, have begun integrating its newly launched electronic invoicing  (e-invoicing) system less than two weeks after it went live.

The FIRS e-invoicing platform, which went live on August 1, 2025, after a successful pilot phase that began in November 2024, was designed to modernise Nigeria’s tax administration, curb evasion, and enhance transparency in revenue generation. It also provides the FIRS with real-time visibility into commercial transactions, ensuring authenticity and completeness of invoices.

According to a statement by Dare Adekanmbi, special adviser on Media to FIRS Chairman Zacch Adedeji, at least 1,000 companies, representing 20% of more than 5,000 eligible firms, have already adopted the system and begun integrating with the FIRS platform.

Adekanmbi noted that the initiative, also known as the Merchant-Buyer Model, will be rolled out in phases. “Large taxpayers, which are companies with annual turnover of N5 billion and more, are expected to be the first to be onboarded on the platform,” he said.

FIRS revealed that MTN Nigeria was the first taxpayer to transmit live electronic invoices to the platform, while Huawei Nigeria and IHS Nigeria have concluded test transmissions and are expected to go live soon.

The agency added that the initial compliance deadline of August 1, 2025, has been extended by three months to accommodate companies currently facing onboarding challenges. The new deadline is now November 1, 2025.

Continue Reading

Finance

NGX Boss, Umaru Kwairanga, to Chair Business Journal Fintech Roundtable 2025

By Our Correspondent

Published

on

NGX Boss, Umaru Kwairanga
NGX Boss, Umaru Kwairanga

Dr. Umaru Kwairanga, Group Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) will Chair the 2nd Business Journal Fintech & Financial Inclusion Roundtable 2025 scheduled for Friday, August 29, 2025 at Oriental Hotel, Lekki, Lagos. Time is 10-am prompt.

The theme of the Roundtable is: Fintech & Financial Inclusion: The Opportunities & Challenges for Nigeria.

In a statement, Prince Cookey, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Business Journal Media Group said the choice of Umaru Kwairanga to chair the event is a reflection of his immense and chequered journey in the Nigerian economic system over the years.

“Dr. Umaru Kwairanga is a noted player in the Nigerian economy and financial services sector. Over the years, he has carved a positive niche in driving the narrative in national policy formulation, implementation and review. He remains a worthy point of reference and role model to current and future players in the Nigerian economy.”

Alhaji (Dr.) Umaru Kwairanga, Sarkin Fulani Gombe and Group Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), is a notable player in the Nigerian corporate world, a thorough-bred professional and a prominent community leader in Gombe State and the North East region.

He has served at the highest levels of the banking, pension, investment, manufacturing and commercial sectors of Nigeria’s economy. He is the current Chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, Nigeria’ oldest stock exchange and also Chairman of Tangerine General Insurance Limited.

The NGX Chairman is also a Director on the Boards of First Bank Senegal Limited, Tangerine Apt Pensions Limited and the Group Managing Director of Finmal Finance Services Limited.  

He is a past Chairman of Ashaka Cement plc and previously served on the Boards of Jaiz Bank Plc, Central Securities Clearing System Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc and First Bank Mortgages Limited to mention a few.

Professionally, Alhaji Kwairanga is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, Chartered Institute of Directors of Nigeria, the Certified Pension Institute of Nigeria and the Abuja Commodities and Securities Exchange.

He is also a Council Member of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers; the Chartered Institute of Directors and he is the current President of the Certified Pensions Institute of Nigeria.

Kwairanga is a holder of the prominent traditional title of Sarkin Fulani Gombe and has led several initiatives for peace and development in Gombe State and the North East region in general.

He has also been involved in policy and strategy formulation in the public sector as a Member of the Vision 2020 Committee, the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan and several committees of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Continue Reading

Trending