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SEVEN STORIES. EVERY MORNING AT SEVEN.

Yesterday,
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The morning seven today looks at startup funding from NSIA, SEC’s investor-recovery desk and OPay stance, JPMorgan’s planned Nigerian merchant bank, and fresh power and retail moves.

25 October 20267 a.m. WAT~5 min read
THE MORNING SEVEN, READ TO YOUAI-narrated · 9 min listen
0:00 / 8:33

The morning seven

01.
StartupsLagos, NigeriaTHE BIG PICTURE

NSIA and partners award $277,000 to seven Nigerian startups

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and its partners awarded $277,000 to seven Nigerian startups at the fourth NSIA Prize for Innovation Demo Day, after 12 finalists pitched from a pool of more than 6,000 applicants. Come Again Foods won the top prize with a combined $105,000 package, while Protein Kapital, which uses Black Soldier Fly larvae to process organic waste into protein and biofertiliser, received $70,000. InstantRad, an AI-enabled teleradiology platform linking hospitals and diagnostic centres with radiologists, took third place with $50,000. Other winners covered emergency medical services, solar deployment, agricultural machinery and AI-enabled hydroponics. The awards mix cash and equity, and the finalists will also attend a Lagos Business School programme, making this one of the more concrete local support channels for early-stage Nigerian innovation in manufacturing, health, food security and climate.

Read at Nairametrics ↗
02.
FintechAbuja, Nigeria

SEC opens unclaimed-funds office and repeats OPay listing stance

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission has created an Unclaimed Monies Office to give investors a direct route for recovering unresolved funds, with Director-General Emomotimi Agama saying complaints can come through channels such as telephone, WhatsApp, Instagram and other digital platforms. The office is meant to reduce the procedural friction that can discourage investors from pursuing unclaimed or disputed market entitlements. In the same podcast appearance, Agama said the SEC approved the Dangote Refinery IPO in five days, attributing the speed to technology and process improvements, and reiterated that OPay should list in Nigeria because it earns revenue from the country. The comments combine investor-protection reform with a broader regulatory push for large consumer-facing financial technology companies to give Nigerian investors local participation in their growth.

Read at Nairametrics ↗
03.
InfrastructureNigeria

Thomson Broadcast seeks $450 million Nigerian broadcasting upgrade

Thomson Broadcast, the French broadcasting technology company controlled by Madagascan billionaire Ylias Akbaraly’s Redland Group, is seeking a $450 million contract to modernise Nigeria’s television and radio infrastructure. The proposed project would involve public broadcasting institutions including the Nigerian Television Authority, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Voice of Nigeria and the National Broadcasting Commission. The report says talks followed a 2025 memorandum of understanding, but the contract has not been finalised and Thomson would still need financing to execute it. For Nigeria, the significance is not in Akbaraly’s wealth profile but in the possibility of a large upgrade to state broadcast transmission systems, which could affect how public radio and television infrastructure is digitised, maintained and expanded if the government eventually approves the deal.

Read at Nairametrics ↗
04.
AINigeria

Nigerian employers told to prepare for AI-driven skills shifts

Business and human-resource leaders at the Lead the Future Conference 2026 warned that Nigerian companies need to move beyond credential-led hiring and plan more deliberately for AI, data, cybersecurity and digital-literacy demands. Kola Oluyemi of Sterling Academy cited the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, which estimated that 39 percent of workers’ current skills could change or become outdated by 2030, while 59 out of every 100 workers may need training. The discussion was less about hiring more technologists alone and more about redesigning roles, retraining existing staff and using skills-based hiring to test whether people can apply what they know. For Nigerian firms trying to digitise operations, the message is that technology spend will not translate into productivity unless workforce systems, leadership and learning pathways change with it.

Read at BusinessDay ↗
05.
FinanceLagos, Nigeria

CBN clears nominees for JPMorgan’s planned Nigerian merchant bank

JPMorgan Chase’s proposed Nigerian merchant bank has moved forward after the Central Bank of Nigeria granted approval-in-principle and cleared seven board nominees, five of them Nigerians. The proposed subsidiary, JPMorgan Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited, would expand the US bank’s local presence beyond its Lagos representative office if it satisfies the remaining regulatory and operational conditions. Dapo Olagunju, who has led JPMorgan’s West African business since 2018, was approved as managing director, with nominees including Chi Nzelu, Sarah Alade, Konyin Ajayi and Seni Adetu bringing experience in markets, regulation, law and corporate leadership. The approval is important for Nigeria’s institutional finance market, but it is not a final licence; the bank still cannot begin operations until the CBN’s remaining requirements are met.

Read at BusinessDay ↗
06.
InfrastructureKano and Katsina, Nigeria

FG adds 640MW transmission capacity in Kano and Katsina

The Federal Government commissioned six transmission substations in Kano and Katsina, adding 640MW of capacity to the national grid’s delivery infrastructure. Four Kano substations at Walalambe, Kumbotso, Dakata and Dan-Agundi account for 544MW, while two 60MVA substations in Kankia, Katsina, add another 96MW. The distinction matters: these projects do not generate new electricity; they improve the grid’s ability to move available power to distribution companies and consumers, so the effect on actual supply will still depend on generation and downstream distribution capacity. The ministry presented the projects as part of wider transmission upgrades across key corridors. For businesses and households in northern Nigeria, better transmission capacity can reduce bottlenecks, but reliability gains will require the rest of the power value chain to keep pace.

Read at Nairametrics ↗
07.
BusinessNigeria

Shoprite Nigeria plans smaller neighbourhood stores after restructuring

Shoprite Nigeria plans to open standalone neighbourhood stores as it tries to rebuild after financial and operational strain forced temporary shutdowns and supplier negotiations. Adekunle Adebiyi of MBO Capital said three stores have reopened and the retailer now wants smaller outlets outside the mall-heavy model that shaped its earlier expansion. The shift is partly financial: supermarkets typically lease space and invest in shelves, refrigeration and operations, but Nigerian lenders often prefer fixed assets as collateral, making financing harder for an asset-light retail model. Adebiyi also pointed to foreign-exchange pressure, saying 17 of 28 stores had dollar-denominated rents when the business was acquired, leaving costs exposed as the naira weakened. The plan could bring Shoprite closer to residential customers, but the company has not disclosed locations, store numbers or timing.

Read at Nairametrics ↗

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