The Nigerian equities market has emerged Africa’s strongest performer in U.S. dollar terms with a 68.2 percent Year- till-Date (YtD) return in the first seven months of 2026.

The bourse performance between January and July 24, 2026 outpaced other continental stock markets helped by investors confidence on the back of reforms by the Nigerian government.

The strong performance in dollar terms highlights the impact of exchange rate dynamics and renewed foreign portfolio participation.

By comparison, Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, trails Nigeria when returns are converted into dollars, underscoring how currency movements can significantly alter relative market standings from a global investment perspective.

Source: ThisDay

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called on central banks and financial regulators to strengthen governance frameworks for Artificial Intelligence (AI), warning that the rapid adoption of the technology across the financial system could create new systemic risks if left inadequately supervised.

The recommendation was made by the IMF’s Financial Counsellor and Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department, Tobias Adrian, in a blog post outlining how AI is transforming financial markets, lending, supervision and risk management.

Adrian noted that AI is increasingly being used to price financial risks, allocate credit, execute trades and support supervisory activities, creating opportunities for greater efficiency while introducing new vulnerabilities that regulators must address.

He identified three immediate priorities for policymakers: strengthening oversight of AI-driven trading, lending and supervisory technology (SupTech); improving transparency around AI adoption, model dependencies and correlated investment strategies; and expanding international cooperation on cyber security and operational resilience.

According to him, AI has compressed the speed of financial transactions, allowing trading, lending decisions and supervisory analysis to occur in real time. While these innovations have improved market efficiency, they also increase the speed at which financial shocks can spread across institutions and markets.

• Solar

The Rural Electrification Agency (REA)is on the move to establish 3.7 gigawatts (GW) of local solar photovoltaic (PV) panel manufacturing capacity by the end of 2027.

The planned manufacturing expansion will significantly reduce imports while strengthening Nigeria’s renewable energy value chain.

Managing Director of the agency, Engr. Abba Aliyu, disclosed the initiative in Abuja during a benchmarking visit by officials of the Zanzibar Utilities Regulatory Authority (ZURA).

He said that the agency is encouraging Chinese solar manufacturers to establish production facilities in Nigeria, noting that locally assembled solar panels are already being exported from Lagos to neighbouring Ghana.