Village County Company Limited (VCCL) has identified 10 financial institutions across West Africa that have the potential to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) for competitive advantage in 2026. The Kumasi-based AI and agribusiness innovation company has published an analysis highlighting banks in Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Togo and Cape Verde that are positioned to champion a new paradigm of regional innovation.
Moniepoint Nigeria leads the rankings after launching M, said to be Nigeria’s first artificial intelligence-powered chatbot dedicated to simplifying insights into the informal economy. The fintech company launched the tool in October 2025 at an event in Abuja attended by Vice President Kassim Shettima, who was represented by Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Jumoke Oduwole, along with its second informal economic report. The chatbot uses Large Language Model (LLM) technology to provide conversational responses to complex queries about small business and informal transaction data.
Moniepoint serves over 10 million active businesses and individuals, processing over 1 billion transactions and facilitating over $22 billion in payments each month. The company recently closed its Series C funding extension round and raised an additional $90 million in equity led by Development Partners International (DPI), bringing its total Series C funding to over $200 million. The Central Bank of Nigeria named Moniepoint the Financially Inclusive Fintech of the Year, and the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards named the company Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Microfinance Bank of the Year for both 2024 and 2025.
Fido Ghana ranks second in the outlook for finance to identify growth sectors that will drive job creation among the government’s concerns. The microfinance institution provides innovative financial solutions such as small business loans, savings and personal insurance to individuals and small businesses across Africa. Trust Bank Gambia is on top with the potential to become an AI bank that provides digital services across Africa with automation to improve productivity for customers and their businesses.
Trust Bank Gambia Limited was established on 3 July 1997 to take over the business of Meridien Biao Bank Gambia and began operations on 1 October 1997. The institution was listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) in November 2002, marking the first cross-border listing in the sub-region. The bank ranks as the 24th most valuable stock on the GSE, with a market capitalization of approximately 182 million Ghanaian cedis, representing approximately 0.13 per cent of the exchange’s stock market. Major shareholders include Gambia Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation and Ghana Databank.
Cape Verde International Investment Bank ranks fourth in AI prospects, including new tourism banking products and services for international investments that support clean energy farms with the potential to power data centers. Over the past year, the bank has focused on enabling trade, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and expanding access to financial services across key sectors. Compagnie Bancaire de l’Afrique Occidentale (CBAO) Senegal is ranked 5th among digital-focused banks in Strategy, Financial Management, Finance, Operations and Transformation.
Coris Bank International Burkina Faso is exploring new possibilities in digital banking and occupies the 6th position with a presence across French-speaking West Africa. The outlook for AI includes working on cross-border solutions to facilitate intra-African trade, while the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could benefit as well. Ivory Coast International Bank of Commerce and Industry (BICICI) ranks seventh after transitioning from the BNP Paribas group to full ownership in Ivory Coast.
BICICI uses reporting tools with data visualization solution BanksAnalytics to analyze client profitability, among other metrics. The AI landscape includes a partnership and collaboration with BNP Paribas to leverage the European AI paradigm, especially after the France Global AI Summit in February 2025. Fidelity Bank Ghana is ranked 8th, with AI as a philosophy for its CEO, who positions AI not as a distant tool but as a companion to leadership embedded in daily work.
Carbon Microfinance Bank Nigeria ranks 9th among financial services providers for instant loans, Buy Now Pay Later, and savings products. The AI vision includes becoming a full-stack AI fintech team with products and services that can operate in direct financial services and new international branches within adjacent branches. SUNU Bank Togo ranks 10th in Togo as the location of SUNU Group’s first banking operations.
The group recently introduced a new chairman in Lomé on November 19, 2025, and is aiming to expand into Ivory Coast in the coming months. The AI outlook includes AI for language translation services, expanding the market beyond language boundaries. VCCL says the rest of December can be used to explore the direction of a serious company, and the new year is ripe for acceleration in championing artificial intelligence in Africa.
Mr. Babatunde Olofin, Managing Director, Mannypoint Microfinance Bank, stressed that the informal economy is not a shadow of national progress but the pulse of it. According to the Informal Economy Report 2025, 79% of informal businesses faced an increase in operating costs in the past year and 65% reported an increase in revenue, but only 47% saw an increase in profits. Approximately 74 percent of informal enterprises save in digital wallets or cooperatives, and 55 percent extend informal credit to customers on a trust basis.
VCCL operates as an AI and agribusiness innovation organization based in Kumasi, Ghana, with a vision to drive a new paradigm of AI innovation in West Africa in the new year. The company aims to become the center of gravity for architecture in a favorable direction to win the future of West Africa with its partners. The analysis comes as financial institutions in the region consider artificial intelligence applications for customer service, risk management, fraud detection and personalized banking experiences.
