Remita Payment Services Limited (RPSL), a leading player in Nigeria’s financial technology landscape, reaffirmed its commitment to sectoral growth and transformation at the seventh edition of the Nigerian Fintech Week (NFW) held recently in Lagos.
The Nigerian Fintech Week has become Africa’s foremost gathering of fintech innovators, industry leaders, and trailblazers. It is recognised for driving significant innovations, fostering strategic collaborations, and catalysing transformative advancements within the fintech ecosystem. Remita’s sponsorship of this prestigious event underscores its unwavering dedication to the development of financial technologies for the empowerment of people, businesses and nations across the African continent.
During the first day of the conference, Remita’s Chief Technology Officer, Mujib Ishola, joined a distinguished panel of experts, including Rodger Werkhoven, Independent Creative Director at OpenAI; Carmelle Cadet, Founder and CEO of EMTECH; and Gbolahan Atoyebi, Head of FSI Sales at MainOne, to discuss “Africa’s Tech in the Age of AI.” The insightful session delved into the promises and challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within Africa’s unique context.
In his remarks, Ishola expressed concern about the current overreliance on black-box AI models, warning of the risks this poses to the continent. He observed:
“We’ve been discussing AI in silos for some time, but the real concern lies in our overconsumption of black-box models. While promising, these models often come with unseen biases, as they are trained on data that may not fully reflect our realities. The question is, how can Africa benefit from these technologies if we don’t have the infrastructure to build them ourselves? Without open and honest collaboration, we risk missing out on the transformative potential AI could have for financial inclusion and beyond.”
On Day 2, ‘DeRemi Atanda, Managing Director of Remita, delivered a keynote address titled “From Financial to Economic Inclusion: The Fintech Ecosystem Connection.” In his speech, Atanda emphasised the need for fintech players to drive tangible economic growth, not just impressive figures.
He remarked “The fintech ecosystem has seen a remarkable 243% growth, yet this has not resulted in GDP per capita growth. The data compels us to reflect on our approach and ensure that fintech’s expansion contributes meaningfully to economic outcomes. Fintech players must ask themselves, what is the reality of our role as catalysts for economic change? It’s no longer enough to generate impressive figures; we must ensure that our innovations drive tangible economic growth.”
‘DeRemi also highlighted the importance of nurturing a robust tech talent pipeline to sustain the industry’s growth and impact, saying: “Tech talent is the lifeblood of the fintech industry. We must continuously nurture and expand this pipeline, ensuring that these talents create value not only locally but globally.”
Day 3 witnessed the inauguration of new members to the Governing Council of the Fintech Association of Nigeria. ‘DeRemi Atanda was appointed to serve on the council alongside the newly elected president, Dr Stanley Jacob, CEO of Zest Payments Limited.
Reflecting on his new role, Atanda emphasised the importance of collaboration in driving industry growth: “Being part of the governing council comes with the responsibility of pursuing a collective vision for fintech in Nigeria. By fostering partnerships and ensuring inclusive stakeholder engagement, we aim to add 100,000 new members to the association in the coming year. This will not only spur growth but also further position Nigeria as a leading fintech hub on the continent.”
With decades of industry leadership, Remita continues to play an instrumental role in shaping Nigeria’s fintech landscape. The company was joined by over 50 other top organisations at the Nigerian Fintech Week, showcasing cutting-edge technologies that are propelling the industry to support Africa’s next growth phase. Through its ongoing commitment to innovation, Remita remains a driving force in Africa’s financial services sector, consistently setting new standards and contributing to the continent’s economic development.
Southern Baptists are poised to ban churches with women pastors. Some are urging them to reconsider
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From its towering white steeple and red-brick facade to its Sunday services filled with rousing gospel hymns and evangelistic sermons, First Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia, bears many of the classic hallmarks of a Southern Baptist church.
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On a recent Sunday, its pastor for women and children, Kim Eskridge, urged members to invite friends and neighbors to an upcoming vacation Bible school — a perennial Baptist activity — to help “reach families in the community with the gospel.”
But because that pastor is a woman, First Baptist’s days in the Southern Baptist Convention may be numbered.
At the SBC’s annual meeting June 11-12 in Indianapolis, representatives will vote on whether to amend the denomination’s constitution to essentially ban churches with any women pastors — and not just in the top job. That measure received overwhelming approval in a preliminary vote last year.
Leaders of First Baptist – which has given millions of dollars to Southern Baptist causes and has been involved with the convention since its 19th century founding — are bracing for a possible expulsion.
“We are grieved at the direction the SBC has taken,” the church said in a statement.
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And in a Baptist tradition that prizes local church autonomy, critics say the convention shouldn’t enshrine a constitutional rule based on one interpretation of its non-binding doctrinal statement.
By some estimates, women are working in pastoral roles in hundreds of SBC-linked churches, a fraction of the nearly 47,000 across the denomination.
But critics say the amendment would amount to a further narrowing in numbers and mindset for the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, which has moved steadily rightward in recent decades.
They also wonder if the SBC has better things to do.
It has struggled to respond to sexual abuse cases in its churches. A former professor at a Southern Baptist seminary in Texas was indicted in May on a charge of falsifying a record about alleged sexual abuse by a student in order to obstruct a federal investigation into sexual misconduct in the convention.