Chief Executive Officer Bismarck Rewane of Financial Derivatives Limited projected that inflation for March 2023 would decline marginally by 0.06 percentage points to 21.85 percent. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had recorded February’s inflation at 21.91 percent and is expected to publish the March figures in the coming days. Rewane made this forecast during his presentation, “Global Tremor But No Contagion,” at the April Breakfast Meeting of Lagos Business School. He explained that the modest drop would be driven by exchange‑rate appreciation, base‑effects, and reduced transportation costs.
In the same presentation, Rewane noted that core inflation was expected to fall to 18.54 percent, down from February’s 18.84 percent, while food inflation was projected at 23.83 percent, a decrease from 24.35 percent in February. However, the monthly inflation rate was likely to remain flat at 1.71 percent. He attributed the overall inflationary pressure primarily to money‑supply growth, citing the integration of old and new naira notes that increased currency in circulation. Additionally, the naira appreciated by 1.32 percent in the parallel market to N745 per dollar, and diesel prices fell sharply by 12.78 percent to N710 per litre.
Rewane also warned that the recent collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank in the United States could constrain funding for fintech startups in Nigeria. “The SVB was a major financier of tech startups and venture capital in the United States. Its failure, together with the Signature Bank crisis, will squeeze and restrain financing for Nigerian fintech startups, putting the sector under pressure,” he said. The U.S. bank failures triggered widespread sell‑offs in global banking stocks, heightening investor anxiety.
Finally, Rewane highlighted the volatility in fintech venture‑capital funding. The total value of fintech start‑up financing rose dramatically to $536.7 million in 2021 from $20.9 million in 2015, before slipping to $507 million in 2022.
Comments are closed for this story.