This will enable the instant transferal of funds while reducing liquidity and credit risks within the system. Through RTGS, the upgrade will increase the use of digital payments, mobile money, and other digital services.
With the AfDB’s Board of Directors having approved the loan on 8 March, the funds will be disbursed through the Nigerian Trust Fund, one of the institution’s financial arms that assists low-income regional member countries that require concessional financing. The funding is poised to supplement a grant of $2 million made in 2017 by the AfDB’s main concessional lending window, the African Development Fund, to support São Tomé and Príncipe with state-of-the-art Automatic Transfer Systems.
The agreement was signed on 23 March by São Tomé and Príncipe’s Minister of Planning, Finance and the Blue Economy Ginésio da Mata, and the AfDB’s Country Manager for Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe, Pietro Toigo.
“This fund will facilitate the financial inclusion of the population and further digitalization of the financial services,” da Mata stated during the brief signing ceremony.
“We are delighted with the support of the Nigerian Government and the determination of São Tomé and Príncipe to integrate its financial system in the continental and global economy,” Toigo added.
