Seven stories.
Every morning at seven.

SEVEN STORIES. EVERY MORNING AT SEVEN.

Yesterday,
brought into
focus.

The morning seven today looks at Onafriq’s Baxi shutdown, Roqqu’s planned blockchain route to Nigerian equities, AI governance gaps among internet operators, and market pressure from Dangote’s wider IPO push and rising oil prices.

17 October 20267 a.m. WAT~5 min read
THE MORNING SEVEN, READ TO YOUAI-narrated · 9 min listen
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The morning seven

01.
FintechNigeriaTHE BIG PICTURE

Onafriq winds down Baxi after five years in Nigerian agent banking

Onafriq is closing Baxi, its Nigerian agent banking business, after concluding that the offline cash-in, cash-out model no longer fits its strategy or economics. The company cited inflation, naira depreciation, higher operating costs, weaker transaction volumes, tighter margins and the rapid shift to instant account-to-account payments. Baxi came into Onafriq through the 2021 acquisition of Capricorn Digital, when it had more than 90,000 agents and had processed over $1.6 billion in transactions that year. Agents are being moved to another principal bank and have 30 days to transfer funds to a preferred principal bank, while employees tied to the unit will be affected. Onafriq says it is not leaving Nigeria and will remain active as a Payment Solution Service Provider focused on its payments network and card issuing services.

Read at TechCabal ↗
02.
FintechNigeria

Roqqu works on tokenised Nigerian stocks for investors abroad

Roqqu wants to put Nigerian listed equities on blockchain networks and distribute corresponding tokens to eligible investors outside the country, reversing the model through which African users already buy tokenised US stocks. The proposed structure would still rely on traditional market plumbing: authorised brokers would buy shares on the Nigerian Exchange, regulated custodians would hold them, and Roqqu would provide infrastructure for tokens backed by those holdings. Executives say the company is engaging regulators, brokers, custodians and fund managers, but it has not named partners, disclosed the first stocks, or fully explained the legal link between token holders and underlying shareholder rights. The significance for Nigeria is clear but conditional: tokenisation could widen foreign participation, yet it will only work if securities rules, custody, dividends, voting rights and redemption mechanics are enforceable.

Read at TechCabal ↗
03.
AINigeria

NCC survey finds AI use running ahead of governance controls

A Nigerian Communications Commission survey has found that AI adoption among internet-sector stakeholders is moving faster than internal safeguards. Seventy-three percent of respondents said they were using or piloting AI, but only 39% had an approved AI policy and just 34% applied human oversight. The findings were presented at the NCC Internet Governance Symposium 2026, where the regulator also said only two of 19 surveyed licensees were fully ready to implement the 2026 Internet Code of Practice. Cybersecurity obligations and AI provisions were among the difficult areas, with operators asking for clearer templates and practical guidance. The NCC has launched an Internet Governance Working Group and says it will publish implementation guidelines and FAQs, a necessary step if Nigerian digital services are to deploy AI without leaving users exposed to opaque decisions, fraud or privacy risks.

Read at Digitnomics ↗
04.
StartupsNigeria

Mytherapist.ng adds instalment payments and physical therapy sessions

Mytherapist.ng is relaunching with therapy financing through MyItura and in-person sessions through Café One locations, trying to address both affordability and trust in Nigerian mental healthcare. Users will be able to book therapy and spread payment over time through MyItura’s Mediloan product, after eligibility checks based on identity, repayment capacity, existing obligations and available transaction information. The platform is also letting Lagos users book online and meet therapists in private rooms at selected Café One spaces, with Abuja sessions planned through a clinic. Mytherapist.ng says it has more than 100 verified therapists and has completed over 5,200 sessions since inception. With therapy priced from about ₦4,000 to as high as ₦80,000–₦100,000 per session, financing may broaden access, though it also introduces credit obligations into care.

Read at TechCabal ↗
05.
FinanceNigeria

NGX takes Dangote Refinery IPO roadshow to Egypt, Ethiopia and Botswana

NGX Group is marketing Dangote Refinery’s $1.6 billion IPO to investors in Egypt, Ethiopia and Botswana as it tries to expand cross-border participation in one of Nigeria’s largest current share offers. The IPO opened on September 14 and has been extended to October 27, with 4.1 billion ordinary shares offered at ₦525 each, or about ₦2.15 trillion in total. NGX chairman Umaru Kwairanga said the roadshow is meant to introduce the offer to investors outside Nigeria and support a more connected African capital market. The move follows interest from investors in other African countries and arrangements being pursued in Kenya for depositary receipt programmes. For Nigerian markets, the exercise tests whether big domestic listings can draw regional capital without forcing every investor through Nigeria-only distribution channels.

Read at Nairametrics ↗
06.
FinanceNigeria

Brent at $110 puts Nigeria’s petrol-price relief under pressure

Brent crude rose to $110 per barrel on Friday, its highest level since May, as attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East and Russia renewed fears about crude and refined-product supply. The rally matters to Nigeria because it threatens the government’s recent 30-day petrol discount and could keep pump prices elevated, although crude prices do not move Nigerian petrol prices mechanically. Nairametrics reported petrol selling at ₦1,380 to ₦1,400 per litre in many Lagos stations, while energy inflation more than doubled year-on-year to 10.85% in September from 4.69% in August. Nigeria’s downstream pricing still depends on refined product costs, exchange rates, refinery economics, transport, distribution and marketers’ decisions. Even so, dearer global oil tightens the room for relief in a country where fuel prices feed quickly into business costs and household budgets.

Read at Nairametrics ↗
07.
FinanceNigeria

DMO rejects most Treasury bill bids as one-year rate ticks up

Nigeria’s Debt Management Office accepted only ₦269.06 billion from ₦1.032 trillion in Treasury bill subscriptions at the October 14 auction, rejecting about 74% of bids even as the one-year stop rate rose slightly to 15.90%. Investor demand was heavily concentrated in the 364-day bill, which drew ₦982.21 billion against a ₦350 billion offer, but the DMO allotted just ₦220 billion. The five-basis-point rise interrupted the recent decline in one-year Treasury bill pricing after the CBN’s September rate cut. Nairametrics, citing FMDA analysis, framed the restricted allotment as an attempt to resist higher borrowing costs while liquidity in the banking system remained strong after OMO maturities. For Nigerian investors and companies, the auction signals that public debt pricing is still sensitive even after monetary easing, with government borrowing appetite restrained at higher rates.

Read at Nairametrics ↗

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