R-L: GMD/CEO of VFD Group Plc; Nonso Okpala, Founder and CEO, Cashpot Limited; Kelvin Orogun and wife; Diana Orogun at the Jollof Faceoff in Lagos, Nigeria recently. | www.brandnewsday.com
VFD Group Plc has hinted that it plans to acquire a commercial banking licence and take a major stake in an insurance underwriting firm as part of an ambitious medium-term plan.
BrandNewsDay reports that VFD Group, the investment holding group that recently bought the single largest equity stake in Nigerian Exchange (NGX), made this disclosure that it will acquire a commercial banking licence.
Speaking at a breakfast meeting with strategic stakeholders in Lagos, Group Managing Director, VFD Group Plc, Mr Nonso Okpala, said the group remained focused on implementing a medium-term plan that would leverage its balance sheet to more than N500 billion.
Okpala outlined that the group will be scaling up its direct participation in the banking sector through the acquisition of a commercial banking licence and acquiring a strategic stake in an insurance underwriter as part of efforts to build an African global one-stop financial services powerhouse.
According to him, the group plans to enhance its global status by opening operations in four additional countries over the medium term.
He added that one of the group’s ambitions is to own a strategic stake in an Exchange, which allows the group to bring its bespoke managerial and governance model to bear on such Exchange.
Okpala said the group would have over the medium term acquired enough global recognition to enable it to list its shares on major across the world.
He noted that the group is building an investment holding firm with a whole ecosystem that benefits several value chains across countries and continents.
According to him, VFD Group is symbolically a diverse array of businesses presenting diverse opportunities for partnerships and collaboration.
He outlined that the group’s investment consideration for any business is guided by a strict set of predetermined objectives including profit, high leverage, ecosystem fit and cash flow.
“We will focus on investing in businesses that have a proven track record and can guarantee a steady income. We will focus on investing in businesses that have high leverage capabilities, and whose balance sheets can provide benefit across the ecosystem.
We will focus on investing in businesses that complement our ecosystem, thereby maximizing overall synergy. We will focus on investing in businesses that would give us access to long-term cash flow, Okpala said.
He said the group has started replicating its business VFD model across selected geographies guided by a defined strategy driven by innovation and market expansion.
“We have begun establishing our footprint outside of the market and we will continue to explore offshore investments that align with our ecosystem build,” Okpala said.
He outlined that the group with a presence in the United Kingdom, Nigeria and Ghana, plans to establish operations in the United States, Netherlands, Kenya, Zambia and South Africa over the medium term.
According to him, founded in 2009, VFD Group is building a sustainable ecosystem by exploring new markets and businesses that will aggregate viable investment for its partners.
Consistently collaborating and improving its capital market businesses through its portfolio companies, expanding cross-border investments and partnerships to gain a significant foothold beyond the Nigerian market and establishing a presence in every sector of the financial services across – banking, insurance, asset management and investment banking among others.
VFD Group owns a microfinance bank-VFD Microfinance Bank and a loan-investment firm – VFD Bridge as well as strategic investments in a mortgage bank- Abbey Mortgage Bank. It also has a strategic investment in an insurance brokerage firm-Atiat Insurance Broker among others.
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