Strategy /

Nigeria’s payments business moves quickly, and it is easy for strategy, budgets and delivery to drift apart. When that happens, teams work hard but value slips, decisions slow down, and the story to the Board becomes unclear. There is a practical fix. Put the Chief Strategy Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Technology Officer on one plan, one page and one weekly rhythm, and make them jointly responsible for progress. When the three work this way, the CEO gets a clear line of sight to value and the Board sees steadier results with fewer surprises.

What each leader brings

The CSO keeps the work tied to the outcomes the company is trying to achieve now. They cut through long lists and set a simple order: do the few things that matter, in the right sequence, with clear measures everyone can understand. They also keep the message consistent so staff, partners and regulators hear the same story.

The CFO makes money follow evidence. Funding is released in stages, not promised once a year. Budgets move towards streams that show progress and away from those that do not. This gives the work discipline without slowing it down, and it helps the company change course without drama.

The CTO turns clarity and funding into delivery that people can trust. They organise teams around the few priorities that matter, publish honest progress, and raise issues early. Because there is one plan and one set of measures, time is not lost debating which work matters most.

How the alliance runs week to week

Keep it simple. Agree one plan with three active streams that genuinely move outcomes for the company this quarter. Set a short, fixed weekly meeting for the three leaders to confirm priorities, remove blockers and record decisions. End every session with a one-page update that the CEO can share with the Board. Use plain language. State what moved, what stalled, what decision is needed next, who owns it and by when.

Use five lenses to keep the conversation focused

• Direction. Are we doing the right few things in the right order.
• Delivery. What shipped, what slipped, and what changed as a result.
• Performance. Which outcome moved this week and by how much.
• Stakeholders. Are investors, regulators, partners and customers seeing the same progress.
• Risk. Which two risks are rising, who owns the next step, and when it will be taken.

These lenses keep the meeting short and the Board paper clear. They also reduce the temptation to celebrate activity rather than results.

Make outcomes unmissable

Boards care about outcomes they can read in one glance. Pick a small set that reflects how the business actually succeeds. For a payments company in Nigeria, these often include adoption, authorisation, loss per ₦1m processed, uptime and impact on margin. Track them every week. If a stream is not moving one of these measures, the CFO pauses funding and the CSO reshapes or stops the work. The CTO focuses teams only where there is a clear path to impact.

Practical moves that work on the ground

When instant transfers, cards, QR, agent networks and platform upgrades all compete for attention, group streams by the outcome they drive. If the goal is higher authorisation, keep the work list short and specific: token coverage, retry logic and issuer routing, for example. If the goal is lower loss, focus on the few controls that shift losses without slowing genuine customers. When external timelines tighten, sequence what must land before public dates are set. Confidence grows because plans respect reality and evidence is shared.

What changes for the CEO and the Board

Decisions become faster and better because trade-offs are explicit and time-bound. Money, effort and results sit on one page, so progress is simple to judge. The message to the market becomes steadier because the company is talking about the same things it is actually delivering. Waste falls because funds move to the streams that change outcomes. The Board sees a company that is serious about choices and honest about progress.

A one-page update your Company Secretary can lift into the pack

Keep it to five short blocks:

1. The two or three outcomes that matter most this quarter, with targets.
2. The few streams tied to those outcomes, each with a named owner.
3. What changed this week and the decision needed next.
4. The short list of risks and who is handling them.
5. A brief note to align teams and partners on the story and the next steps.

This page becomes the heartbeat of the programme. It also gives Audit, Risk and Strategy Committees a shared view, so oversight improves without extra meetings.

Why this approach suits Nigeria’s payments market

The sector is regulated, high volume and highly visible. Progress depends on clear choices, reliable delivery and a steady message to customers, partners and regulators. The CSO–CFO–CTO alliance fits this reality. It turns ambition into a small set of actions that move outcomes, and it gives Boards a clean way to judge whether the company is on track. Because the cadence is light and the language is plain, the approach travels well across product, operations and compliance.

If you want everyone pulling in the same direction, H. Pierson can co-create a plan with your CSO, CFO and CTO, or with the full executive team if preferred, using your priorities and language. We will make targets, owners and next moves clear. Then we will work with you to cascade it with key middle-manager groups.

Nigeria’s recapitalisation push is compressing time and raising governance expectations. For many carriers, consolidation—mergers of equals, anchored acquisitions, or selective carve-outs—offers a safer route to meet capital rules while simplifying portfolios and protecting franchise value. 

What Robust Insurance Deals Actually Achieve 

The strongest transactions do three things at once: close the capital gap; concentrate the book around advantaged lines and channels; and hard-wire governance and risk disciplines that withstand regulatory and investor scrutiny. Deals that miss any of these levers often store up integration drag or credibility risk later. 

Routes Boards Are Using 

• Merger of equals to reach scale, improve loss ratios and reduce overhead—decision rights and culture guardrails set up-front. 

• Anchored acquisition where a stronger carrier absorbs a weaker peer—valuation gaps bridged through earn-outs or deferred consideration. 

• Portfolio carve-outs to release capital from non-core or high-loss units. 

• Reinsurance-backed relief when capital efficiency beats dilution; treaty redesign considered early in the process. 

A Partnership Built for Cross-Border Confidence 

Consolidation only works if bankability and execution move together. Quoin brings a global investment-banking bench with an Africa-centred platform—senior practitioners with deep cultural fluency and a track record across the continent, connecting U.S. and diaspora pools to African opportunities. This reduces closing risk and improves the narrative for international investors.  
H. Pierson anchors the Nigerian side: regulator engagement, board governance, RBC alignment, and a disciplined programme office that steers filings and post-close integration—so the combined entity stays investable and operationally stable. 

Signals Your Consolidation Path Is Sound  

• A one-sentence deal logic everyone can repeat—from call centre to boardroom. 

• Customer continuity safeguarded (channels, claims, service levels) so revenue holds during integration. 

• A simple story for regulators and investors that links capital impact, portfolio focus and governance uplift. 

• Named leadership and culture guardrails to preserve momentum after close. 

• A visible clock with clear milestones so diligence, approvals and integration move together. 

A Simple Next Step 

If this perspective is useful, we can share comparative lessons from recent African cross-border transactions on request.

Drawing on insights from the Advanced Payments & Fintech Report 2025 and our strategy consulting experience in Africa’s payments industry, this brief outline how Nigerian payment companies — and those entering the market — can turn disruption into competitive edge. The sector is expanding as cash use declines, mobile adoption rises, and the Central Bank drives interoperability. Yet competition is intense, with fintechs, bank-led wallets, and cross-border players converging on the same customers. Winners will be those who align technology bets with revenue growth, operational efficiency, and regulatory agility. 

1. AI as a Profit Driver 

Globally, 85% of leading PSPs use AI for fraud prevention, and over half for processing automation. In Nigeria, fraud risk inflates compliance costs and erodes merchant trust. 
Strategic play: Integrate AI into high-volume channels to detect fraud in real time and use AI-driven segmentation to upsell credit, FX, or insurance. In our advisory work, PSPs that applied AI in both fraud and customer analytics saw measurable gains within the first year. 
Impact: Lower fraud loss ratios, faster dispute resolution, and increased merchant lifetime value. 

2. Wallets and Super-Apps for Retention 

Mobile wallets are projected to hit 77% of global e-commerce value by 2028. Locally, mobile money penetration exceeds 50%, yet most wallets are undifferentiated. 
Strategic play: Expand payments into ecosystems with loyalty, micro-lending, insurance, and investment services. Integrate with retail and e-commerce for frictionless checkout. 
Impact: Higher transaction frequency, stronger customer retention, and diversified revenue streams. 

3. Cross-Border Payments as a Growth Channel 

B2B cross-border flows will rise from $401T in 2024 to $561T by 2030, while Nigerian businesses face high fees and slow settlements. 
Strategic play: Offer multi-currency virtual accounts for merchants and SMEs, and partner regionally to enable near-instant intra-African payments under AfCFTA. Our project work in this space shows that aligning treasury, compliance, and partnership strategy early can cut go-to-market time by months. 
Impact: Increased merchant acquisitionexpanded revenue beyond domestic flows, and improved working capital cycles. 

4. Blockchain for Merchant Trust 

Blockchain adoption will hit $162.8B globally by 2027, with PSPs using it to speed up settlement and improve transparency. In Nigeria, merchants often cite slow payouts as a top pain point. 
Strategic play: Use blockchain-based reconciliation for high-volume merchants, enabling faster, dispute-free settlements. 
Impact: Reduced churn, stronger merchant loyalty, and improved operational efficiency. 

5. IoT Payments for First-Mover Advantage 

The IoT payments market is worth $711B in 2024, with over 40B connected devices expected by 2027. Nigerian adoption is minimal, offering a niche opening. 
Strategic play: Partner with device makers to embed payments into fuel pumps, vending machines, tolling, and utilities. 
Impact: Revenue diversification, reduced cash leakage, and improved throughput in high-traffic locations. 

Execution Imperatives 

• Differentiate beyond fees: Win on merchant experience, speed, and added value. 

• Design for interoperability: Align with CBN’s vision and ensure seamless integration across bank and fintech systems. 

• Leverage partnerships: Entrants can fast-track market penetration via alliances with banks, telcos, and agent networks. 

• Anticipate regulation: Build systems that meet emerging CBN directives on AML, data privacy, and cross-border flows. 

Bottom Line: 
Our experience working with payment companies in high-growth African markets shows that the next three years will determine market leadership in Nigeria. Operators who embed AI, evolve into ecosystems, capture cross-border flows, and lead in blockchain and IoT will not just defend market share — they will expand it. Those who wait risk being locked out by faster, more agile competitors. 

Author

H. Pierson Business Advisory Team

Cross-border technology deals are gaining renewed momentum in 2025. Global M&A value has surged to $2.6 trillion year-to-date, marking the strongest rebound since 2021. Nigerian corporates, particularly in fintech and software, are increasingly participating in this wave—fueled by the need to scale, acquire infrastructure, and close strategic capability gaps. 

However, the return of deal activity does not guarantee value creation. In a year defined by political transitions, tighter monetary conditions, and rising scrutiny on data and AI, the difference between a successful acquisition and a costly misstep will come down to integration discipline and execution clarity. 

Strategic Fit Must Be Clearly Defined and Measurable 

Successful acquirers are now guided by capability maps, not just market ambition. Nigerian firms seeking expansion through technology deals must first identify which capabilities they lack and how a target asset fills those gaps. 

For example, acquisitions of core infrastructure—such as payment orchestration engines, data centres, or API security platforms—have enabled some Nigerian players to deepen control over their ecosystems. Each transaction must be assessed based on its contribution to efficiency, scale, and long-term defensibility, not just short-term revenue. 

Regulatory and Financing Conditions Require Structural Creativity 

Dealmakers must account for rising policy and financial complexity. With the Central Bank of Nigeria maintaining interest rates at 27.5%, traditional debt-financed acquisitions have become more expensive. Nigerian buyers are turning to performance-based earn-outs, staged equity entries, and vendor financing structures to de-risk their capital deployment. 

Simultaneously, cross-border deals must account for evolving regulatory regimes. Nigeria’s Data Protection Act (NDPA 2023) has shifted data governance from optional to mandatory. Compliance assessments are now as critical as financial due diligence. Transactions that overlook regulatory alignment face delays, increased approval risks, or penalties post-close. 

Technology and AI Governance Are Now Core to Diligence 

Acquisitions in the tech space must now assess technology stacks, data quality, cybersecurity maturity, and AI model governance. Nigerian acquirers expanding regionally or internationally need to ensure compatibility between local data infrastructure and cross-border hosting or analytics models. 

Forward-thinking deal teams are leveraging AI-powered tools to streamline due diligence, identify risk hotspots, and compress timelines. These tools are particularly useful in navigating complex documentation across jurisdictions and generating integration playbooks. This shift improves both speed and reliability of decision-making. 

Integration Planning Begins Before the Deal Is Signed 

Integration is no longer a post-deal activity. High-performing acquirers begin integration planning during the deal structuring phase. They define 90-day value capture plans, assign clear accountabilities, and establish cross-functional transition teams. 

In Nigeria, this approach is proving essential. Integration planning that includes service levels, communication protocols, and customer migration strategies has helped reduce churn and accelerate revenue recognition. The presence of a coordinated integration team—from product, legal, engineering, and operations—can determine whether value is preserved or eroded in the months after acquisition. 

Practical Steps for Nigerian Dealmakers 

• Map out the core capabilities required to scale in the next 24 months. Screen only targets that address these directly. 

• Conduct dual-track due diligence: one focused on financial and regulatory exposure; the other on technology infrastructure, data governance, and AI maturity. 

• Structure consideration with flexibility: use performance-linked mechanisms where macro risks are high. 

• Ensure integration readiness with clear transition milestones and a timeline that begins pre-close, not post-deal. 

Decisions Made in Integration Rooms Will Determine Market Leaders 

2026 is a year of opportunity for bold but prepared acquirers. Boards that define clear outcomes, plan for execution, and integrate with intent will capture the most value from a recovering deal environment. In Nigeria and beyond, those who treat M&A as a capability-building exercise—not just a transaction—will set the pace for the next cycle of growth. 

Author

H. Pierson Business Advisory Team

Volatile FX, tight liquidity, and policy swings expose a simple truth: performance management is not about tracking activity; it is about tracking what drives resilience and growth. 

With capital expensive, customers cautious, and operating costs rising, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should function as the Chief Executive’s navigation system. Yet many organisations still rely on outdated or one-dimensional metrics that do not reflect today’s realities. 

Moving Beyond Vanity Metrics 

Leadership packs often highlight top-line revenue, sales volume, and profit-before-tax. These can mask fragility. A firm may show 15 percent revenue growth, yet shrinking Gross Margin from energy costs or FX losses makes that growth unsustainable. Net Profit Margin and Operating Cash Flow cut through the noise. A healthy margin signals pricing discipline and smart cost control; positive operating cash flow confirms the business can fund operations despite delayed receivables or lumpy government payments. 

Three KPI Categories Every Nigerian CEO Should Prioritise 

1) Growth and Market Position 

• Revenue Growth Rate must be read in real terms. If growth trails inflation, value is eroding even when nominal numbers rise. 

• Net Revenue Retention shows customer quality and market fit better than raw acquisition counts. In recurring models, retaining and expanding existing accounts is usually cheaper and more profitable than constant acquisition. 

2) Operational Efficiency 

• Cash Runway shows how many months the organisation can operate before needing new funding — critical when credit is tight and equity selective. 

• Burn Multiple (cash burned per naira of new revenue) indicates whether growth is capital efficient. 

• Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) shows how long customers take to pay. Weak DSO quietly erodes liquidity and constrains service quality. 

3) Customer and People Dynamics 

• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) must be paired with Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) to confirm that marketing spend creates durable economics. 

• Employee Turnover Rate is a leading indicator of organisational health. With skilled professionals accessing global remote work, retention deserves board-level attention. 

From Tracking to Action: Build a KPI Operating System 

Numbers do not change performance; decisions and follow-through do. High-performing teams use KPIs to drive weekly choices, not just quarterly slides. 

• Focused dashboards: Track 12–15 metrics that mirror strategy, not everything that is measurable. 

• Contextual targets: Benchmark against inflation, FX volatility, and sector costs. A “good” Gross Margin in manufacturing will differ from that of SaaS. 

• Clear ownership: Assign each KPI to an executive who is accountable for movement and for a weekly corrective action when variance appears. 

The CEO’s 2026 KPI Playbook 

1. Audit and simplify: Retire vanity metrics. Keep measures that move growth, margin, cash, and talent outcomes. 

2. Add leading indicators: Watch churn, Net Revenue Retention trajectory, CAC payback period, and early movements in DSO. 

3. Tie KPIs to initiatives: Every project must declare which KPI it will move and by how much. 

4. Review quarterly: Rebase targets to current conditions so the board sees real progress, not nominal optics. 

Final Word 

In 2026, the advantage belongs to CEOs who treat KPIs as a control panel for outcomes. Choose the few metrics that matter, anchor them to Nigeria’s realities, and run a weekly cadence that converts data into action. Expect sharper decisions, stronger cash, and growth that can withstand volatility. 

Author

H. Pierson Business Advisory Team

Walk into any boardroom and you will find a strategy deck filled with bold ambitious goals, sharp frameworks, and competitive insights. Six months later, the only test that matters is what has changed.  

In many organisations, the thinking may be sharp, but the doing is scattered. High-performing leadership teams are distinguished not by the brilliance of their ideas, but by their ability to close the space between insight and impact. That space—between knowing and executing—is where strategies live or die. 

The Two Halves of Strategic Competence 

We have worked with executive teams across finance, public, technology, and energy. The most effective leaders operate on both ends of the strategy spectrum. 

Strategic Thinking 
They grasp complexity, frame problems in ways that unlock opportunity, model scenarios, and pressure-test trade-offs. 

Strategic Doing 
They convert decisions into action, sequence work, fund the bottlenecks, and deliver outcomes that Boards and investors can measure. 

Both capabilities are essential. Most leadership teams underperform because they excel at one and neglect the other. 

How to Tell Where You Are 

Mode	You are in this zone if…	You are stuck if…
Strategic Thinking	The problem is clear, the opportunity is sized, scenarios are defined, and a go or no-go trigger exists.	The strategy keeps being rewritten while no team, budget, or timeline has been secured.
Strategic Doing	Resources are deployed, a cross-functional squad is named, and real outcomes are being tracked.	Activity is high, but the strategic rationale and value case are not explicit.

Many organisations mistake motion for progress. They celebrate activity over traction. Traction is measurable movement on the outcomes that matter. 

A Simple Test for Leaders 

Ask for a one-page link between each strategic priority and four items: 

1. Customer outcome (for example, reduced onboarding time, increased activation) 

2. Financial outcome (for example, lower cost-to-serve, revenue lift) 

3. Risk outcome (for example, non-performing loans, service level agreement (SLA) compliance) 

4. Owner, timeline, and budget 

If this cannot be produced within forty-eight hours, the organisation remains in the thinking. 

Where the Best Leaders Shift Gears 

1. Define value in plain terms 

In 2024, the Dangote Refinery stopped spreading effort across too many fronts. The team focused on three immediate tasks: finishing mechanical work, clearing regulatory checks, and coordinating product distribution. That focus enabled local fuel supply to begin, diesel exports to neighbouring countries, and gasoline shipments to overseas buyers by mid-2025. It was not a new strategy; it was finishing what mattered most. 

2. Fund the constraint, not the noise 

MTN Nigeria faced a constraint: growing network capacity was not converting into active data users. Instead of launching new products, the team aligned infrastructure, affordable device access, and customer onboarding into a single flow. This shift unlocked a seven percent increase in active users and over thirty percent growth in data traffic between 2024 and 2025. Growth came by resourcing the bottleneck, not adding complexity. 

3. Measure what proves impact 

India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) grew by focusing on behaviour, not just technology. Rather than add new features, national leaders directed attention to merchant sign-ups, user education, and close tracking of where transactions were—or were not—happening. By June 2025, the platform handled over nineteen billion payments in a single month. The focus on usage habits, not just platform design, delivered scale. 

4. Show operational discipline at scale 

At Singapore’s port, rising container traffic in 2024 put pressure on turnaround times. Instead of rushing into new construction, leaders focused on better scheduling, real-time tracking, and efficient yard operations. More than forty-one million containers moved through that year—without disruption. Careful execution, not expansion, kept the system moving. 

What Gets in the Way—and How the Best Teams Fix It 

In our work with leadership teams, four strategy–execution breakdowns appear again and again. Here is how high-performing organisations address them: 

1. Too many priorities. Not enough focus. 
   Align senior leadership around three to five bold moves. Pause or sequence the rest. 

2. No follow-through after approval. 
   Establish a 90-day delivery rhythm. Review progress in sprints, not annual reports. 

3. Unclear ownership. Weak coordination. 
   Name accountable initiative leads. Give them access, authority, and executive backing. 

4. Boards see activity. Not outcomes. 
   Focus reporting on five outcome-level metrics. Track them consistently at executive and Board level. 

These simple shifts unlock traction and restore confidence—internally and externally—that the strategy is not just approved, but moving. 

The Final Discipline 

Elite leadership teams treat strategy as a system. They know when to think, when to decide, and when to move. They protect focus, stop weak bets early, and make results visible quickly. They can prove, on any given day, that their strategy is working. 

Act now: 
Select your top two priorities. Produce one page per priority that states: 

• The problem 

• The intended outcome 

• The first three moves 

• The three metrics that prove success 

• The named owner, timeline, and budget 

Then begin the first move this week. 

Author

Eni-Edom John