According to several local reports, the Central Bank of Nigeria has lifted bans on several fintech and forex players which were banned during the crypto ban period of 2021.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks to vacate a post-no-debit restriction placed on the bank accounts of 440 individuals and companies. A post-no-debt restriction means that all debit transactions, including ATMs and cheques, on the accounts have been blocked but can receive inflows.

The circular was issued by A.M. Barau on behalf of the CBN Director of Banking Supervision, directing banks to inform the respective customers about a certain development. However, the circular did not provide any specific reasons for this action taken by the central bank.

The list of affected entities comprises of:

• Bamboo Systems Technology Limited
• Escale Oil & Gas Limited
• Rise Vest Technologies Limited
• Chaka Technologies Limited
• AbokiFX Limited
• Nairabet International
• Northwood Energy Services
• Proport Marine Limited

and various others.

The circular reads:

“You are hereby directed to vacate the Post-No-Debit restriction placed on the accounts of the under-listed bank customers at our instance.”

In 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued instructions to banks, directing them to freeze the accounts of 18 companies. These companies covered a wide range of industries, including bureaux de change, construction firms, investment companies, money laundering services, and property companies.

All 18 companies have had their bank accounts unfrozen by the apex bank.

Back in September 2021 as the CBN felt the heat of a weakening local currency, we reported on the freezing of bank accounts belonging to 4 investment startups namely:

• Risevest
• Bamboo
• Trove
• Chaka

In 2021, CBN accused the startups of utilizing forex sourced from the Nigerian forex market for purchasing foreign bonds/shares in contravention of a CBN provision issued in 2015.

As a consequence of the forex trades that the companies were involved in, the bank said that the companies were making the Naira weaker to the United States dollars, hence, the need to block 15 of their accounts for 180 days. They were also accused of dealing in cryptocurrency.

Moreover, in an affidavit, the bank claimed that the platforms were violating Nigeria’s trading laws including dealing in cryptocurrency in contravention of the CBN policy.

In September 2021, FX rates aggregator, AbokiFX, was also forced to suspend operations after it was accused by then Governor, Godwin EMefiele, of manipulating rates. The platform said it does not trade FX nor does it create the rates and thus lacks the power to manipulate rates. It said it only publishes the information it gets from BDCs (Bureau de Change) and parallel rate dealers.

Emefiele was suspended as CBN Governor by the new President, Bola Tinubu, in June 2023.

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A total of 31 African cities will have more than five million inhabitants by 2040, says a new report by Mckinsey, the world’s leading global consultancy firm.

Based on the report, within the next two decades, Africa is anticipated to witness the migration of over 500 million individuals to its urban areas, establishing it as the continent with the highest urban population worldwide.

By the year 2040, Africa is expected to have a total of 12 metropolises, with populations surpassing ten million each. This will occur as ten additional cities join the ranks of Cairo and Lagos in terms of population size.

Additionally, there will be 19 cities in Africa with populations ranging from five to ten million, representing an increase of nine cities compared to the current figures.

According to the report, Africa will be home to the world’s largest working-age population by 2040, and urges that smart deployment of its labor force in highly productive jobs will spur economic growth.

"Africa will add 796 million people to the global workforce and be home to the largest and youngest population by 2050" – @McKinsey https://t.co/oUj7sb4sUO pic.twitter.com/CXHISMlM5B

— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) August 6, 2023

“By 2030, the services sector on its current trajectory will create at least 85 million net new jobs across the continent, enough to absorb half of new labor market entrants in highly productivity work.”- McKinsey Report

When considering a weighted average, the GDP of the 31 cities in the report experienced a growth rate of 4% in comparison to their respective national averages of 3.2% and the average for the entire continent, which stood at 3.3%, during the same period.

Below are the 31 cities expected to grow exponentially in the next 20 years:

1. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Average city GDP growth (2010 to 2019): 9.5%
Average country GDP growth (2010 to 2019): 9.1%

2. Kumasi, Ghana
Average city GDP growth: 8.0%
Average country GDP growth: 7.1%

3. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Average city GDP growth: 7.9%
Average country GDP growth: 6.6%

4. Accra, Ghana
Average city GDP growth: 7.9%
Average country GDP growth: 7.1%

5. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Average city GDP growth: 7.8%
Average country GDP growth: 5.7%

6. Khartoum, Sudan
Average city GDP growth: 7.3%
Average country GDP growth: 3.1%

7. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Average city GDP growth: 7.3%
Average country GDP growth: 6.5%

8. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Average city GDP growth: 7.2%
Average country GDP growth: 6.1%

9. Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Average city GDP growth: 6.8%
Average country GDP growth: 6.1%

10. Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Average city GDP growth: 6.4%
Average country GDP growth: 6.1%

11. Lusaka, Zambia
Average city GDP growth: 6.0%
Average country GDP growth: 4.3%

12. Mogadishu, Somalia
Average city GDP growth: 5.7%
Average country GDP growth: 4.4%

13. Abuja, Nigeria
Average city GDP growth: 5.7%
Average country GDP growth: 3.0%

14. Bamako, Mali
Average city GDP growth: 5.6%
Average country GDP growth: 6.9%

15. Kampala, Uganda
Average city GDP growth: 5.5%
Average country GDP growth: 5.3%

16. Yaoundé, Cameroon
Average city GDP growth: 5.4%
Average country GDP growth: 4.6%

17. Nairobi, Kenya
Average city GDP growth: 5.3%
Average country GDP growth: 5.1%

18. Douala, Cameroon
Average city GDP growth: 5.2%
Average country GDP growth: 4.6%

19. Casablanca, Morocco
Average city GDP growth: 4.8%
Average country GDP growth: 3.4%

20. Dakar, Senegal
Average city GDP growth: 4.7%
Average country GDP growth: 5.2%

21. Onitsha, Nigeria
Average city GDP growth: 4.6%
Average country GDP growth: 3.0%

22. Antananarivo, Madagascar
Average city GDP growth: 4.4%
Average country GDP growth: 3.2%

23. Cairo, Egypt
Average city GDP growth: 4.0%
Average country GDP growth: 3.8%

24. Alexandria, Egypt
Average city GDP growth: 3.6%
Average country GDP growth: 3.8%

25. Lagos, Nigeria
Average city GDP growth: 3.1%
Average country GDP growth: 3.0%

26. Ibadan, Nigeria
Average city GDP growth: 2.4%
Average country GDP growth: 3.0%

27. Algiers, Algeria
Average city GDP growth: 2.3%
Average country GDP growth: 2.6%

28. Kano, Nigeria
Average city GDP growth: 2.2%
Average country GDP growth: 3.0%

29. Johannesburg, South Africa
Average city GDP growth: 2.0%
Average country GDP growth: 1.6%

30. Cape Town, South Africa
Average city GDP growth: 1.7%
Average country GDP growth: 1.6%

31. Luanda, Angola
Average city GDP growth: 1.3%
Average country GDP growth: 1.9%

On another note, the analysis indicates that Africa has fewer and often smaller second cities than other regions of the world. Among the largest cities on the continent, only 4 out of 14 have a second city bigger than half the size of their primary cities.

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