More than a year after the CBN and NIBSS announced a partnership to launch a domestic card scheme, Ebehijie Momoh and Ugo Obasi have been appointed as Managing Director/CEO and Chief Operating Officer, respectively.
Launched at a time when Nigerian financial institutions were struggling under the weight of card fees charged in dollars, AfriGO was billed as Nigeria’s answer to Mastercard and Visa. Never mind the fact that a homegrown alternative, Verve, existed with more than 50 million cards issued as of July 2023.
“The scheme is important to plug in the gap that has remained in the economy since the introduction of the cashless policy and will integrate the informal segment of our economy, reduce shadow banking, bring more Nigerians into the formal financial services with an attendant diversification of deposit portfolio, which will further strengthen the stability of the banking industry,” former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said at the time.
Experienced leaders at the wheel
Momoh, a financial industry veteran, is a graduate of the University of Lagos and holds MBAs from the University of Benin and Bangor University. Her banking career began at Guaranty Trust Bank before she moved to Diamond Bank and subsequently First City Monument Bank (FCMB). At FCMB, she was Vice President and Group Head, Commercial Banking.
Following her stint at FCMB, she moved to Standard Chartered Bank, where she was, at various times, Head of SME Banking and Head of Retail Banking. Her most recent role was at Mastercard, where she was the Area Business Head, West Africa. She was replaced by Folasade Femi-Lawal in February 2024.
Similarly, Obasi has spent most of his career in financial services, including spells at Unity Bank, where he was Head of Card Services. He was also Group Head, West and Central Africa at Verve and was recently the Director, Business Development & Bank Partnerships at Ceviant.
The combination of Momoh’s and Obasi’s skills and experience suggests that AfriGO is poised for success. However, the fact that little has been heard about the card scheme since its launch in January 2024, except for an announcement by Access Bank, raises questions about its progress and potential challenges.