Dolapo Faith Sule

Evidence from developed countries has shown that larger banks usually have more financial and technical resources to finance and implement blockchain technology more effectively, compared to smaller banks. Even though interest in blockchain is rising in the Nigerian banking sector, there is little empirical research on how bank size affects blockchain adoption. In view of this gap, this study examines the influence of bank size on the adoption of blockchain technology within Nigerian Deposit Money Banks (DMBs). A longitudinal research design was used, and secondary data were extracted from the published annual reports of the banks from 2015 to 2024. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to present the findings of the study. Findings revealed that the size of banks has a positive and significant effect (coeff = 0.124, p = 0.000) on blockchain technology adoption of banks in Nigeria. This demonstrates that larger banks tend to adopt blockchain technology compared to smaller ones. Similarly, return on assets (ROA) has a positive and significant impact (coeff = 0.133, p = 0.0162) on the extent of blockchain adoption of the examined banks. Because ROA was used to proxy the profitability of the banks, this result suggests that an increase in the profitability of banks is an advantage in terms of blockchain adoption. A negative relationship exists between leverage and blockchain technology adoption (−0.0071) as anticipated, but the impact is not significant (p = 0.5731). Lastly, this study found that age has a positive and significant (coeff = 0.0158, p = 0.016) impact on blockchain technology adoption among Nigerian banks, as older banks are investing in this technology more than younger ones. The study concludes that larger banks demonstrate a higher tendency to adopt blockchain technology due to greater resource availability, enhanced technical capacity, and stronger strategic incentives. This study, therefore, concludes that policymakers and industry players should provide supportive policies and programmes to promote blockchain adoption across all bank sizes. Partnerships between smaller banks and fintech firms can help bridge resource gaps, allowing smaller banks to benefit from fintech expertise and innovations without incurring full development costs.

This study investigats both emerging and existing ethical issues associated with the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in Africa, a region characterised by unique socio-economic and cultural complexities. Even though AI adoption is rapidly transforming and delivering substantial benefits in sectors such as healthcare, finance, agriculture, education, industry, and governance, its implementation still raises ethical concerns. These ethical issues include digital colonialism, algorithmic bias, job displacement, limited infrastructure, data scarcity, linguistic diversity, and the risk of imposing foreign values that may undermine indigenous knowledge and social cohesion. Grounded in Afro-communitarianism and stakeholder theory, which emphasises communal values such as Ubuntu and cooperative engagement among stakeholders, this desk-based research identifies these major challenges and introduces a culturally grounded framework for responsible AI adoption in Africa. The framework calls for stronger governance, capacity building, collaboration among stakeholders, and tailored strategies across multiple stakeholders to ensure AI supports Africa’s inclusive and sustainable progress.

There are indices for measuring the different aspects of how companies disseminate information, but none specifically assesses the level of blockchain technology adoption by financial institutions. Given the rapid development and applications of blockchain technology in finance, evaluating its adoption by financial institutions is crucial. In this context, this study develops and tests a formative blockchain technology adoption index to quantify the extent of blockchain adoption in the financial sector, based on data from the annual reports of leading banks in Africa. The research employs a triangulation methodology, which involves identifying indicators that can be combined to form a blockchain technology adoption index. These indicators were evaluated against the SMART criteria for selecting effective metrics. The index was then created based on these indicators and applied using data from 20 leading banks in Africa. These banks were chosen for their regional representation, size, and rankings derived from Africa Business data, a reputable source that uses Tier 1 capital as a key indicator of bank strength. Findings revealed that banks in West Africa lead with the highest adoption score of 72%, followed by South Africa at 66%. Furthermore, an ANOVA test at a 0.05 confidence level was used to examine whether bank size significantly influences blockchain adoption levels. The results showed no statistical difference in the average total assets between larger and smaller banks in the sample, thereby indicating the index’s broad applicability regardless of bank size. This study concludes that the developed blockchain technology adoption index in this study can be applied to banks and other financial sector companies of varying revenue sizes across different regions in Africa and beyond.

The demand for improved segment disclosure is driven by the need to address investment inefficiencies and boost investors’ confidence in listed companies around the world. Transparency in corporate activities is essential for investors to determine the parameters of their stock return and investment efficiency across various segments of firms. Previous studies have primarily focused on a broader investment landscape in Nigeria, without paying adequate attention to the impacts of segment disclosure and cost of capital on the investment efficiency of listed firms. Against this backdrop, this study represents the first empirical research to examine the joint impact of segment disclosure and cost of capital on the investment efficiency of listed firms in Nigeria. Using a longitudinal research design, secondary data from 2015 to 2022 were extracted from the annual reports of 85 listed firms on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX). The data were analysed through descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Firms that reported their business or geographic segments were purposively selected for this study. The findings show that the cost of capital of the examined firms has a negative and significant impact on their investment efficiency (coefficient = −0.0268, p-value = 0.03079). On the other hand, the segment disclosure of the firms has a positive impact on their investment efficiency (coefficient = 0.0119, p-value = 0.0303). Lastly, total segment disclosure and cost of capital jointly have positive and significant effects (coefficient = 0.0192, p-value = 0.0030) on the investment efficiency of the firms. This study contributes to the growing research on segment disclosure by providing evidence that increased segment disclosure and a lower cost of capital can improve the investment efficiency of listed firms in Nigeria. Thus, this study recommends that the management of firms in Nigeria should disclose more segment information in their annual reports. This could consequently boost investors’ confidence in the reporting practices of firms, reduce the cost of capital of firms, and improve firms’ investment efficiency.

Mandatory and voluntary segment disclosure is crucial for shareholders to assess a firm’s financial health and make informed investment decisions. Given the importance of disclosure to investors, this study investigates the extent of voluntary and mandatory segment disclosure of listed companies in Nigeria from 2015 to 2022. Using descriptive analysis, specifically a recursive transition matrix approach, this study tracked yearly changes in mandatory and voluntary segment disclosure for 85 companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange Group. The findings revealed that mandatory segment disclosure has a mean score of 11.3, which is notably higher than the mean score of 6.86 for voluntary segment disclosure. Also, the recursive transition matrix revealed a notable increase in companies transitioning from lower to higher levels of mandatory segment disclosures. For instance, 87.5% of companies were at Level 1 (Low-level disclosure) in 2016, but this dropped to 35.4% by 2022, showing a shift to higher levels. Levels L2, L3, and L4 remained relatively stable, indicating sustained improvements. This trend reflects the impact of regulatory changes on the increased transparency of companies in Nigeria. For voluntary segment disclosures, in 2016, 72.5% of companies were at L1, 25% moved to L2, and 2.5% advanced to L3. By 2022, the percentages were 41.1% at L1, 34% at L2, and 24.9% at L3. Although some companies have progressed, many continue to maintain low levels of voluntary segment disclosure. The study concluded that listed companies in Nigeria need to improve their voluntary segment disclosures to enhance transparency and address investors’ concerns about inadequate segment disclosure practices among firms.

Investment inefficiencies in listed firms around the world have led to investors demanding more transparency in segment disclosure. Transparency in corporate activities is essential for investors to determine the parameters of their stock return and investment efficiency across various segments of firms. Previous studies have primarily focused on a broader investment landscape in Nigeria, without adequate attention to the impacts of segment disclosure and cost of capital on investment efficiency of listed firms. Against this backdrop, this study investigates the impacts of segment disclosure and cost of capital on investment efficiency of firms in Nigeria, using longitudinal research design. Secondary data from 2015 to 2022 were extracted from the annual reports of 85 listed firms on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), which were analysed through descriptive and inferential statistical methods. Firms that reported their business or geographic segments were purposively selected for this study. Study findings showed that the cost of capital of the examined firms has a negative and significant impact on their investment efficiency (Coefficient = -0.0268, p-value = 0.03079). On the other hand, the segment disclosure of the firms has a positive impact on their investment efficiency (Coefficient = 0.0119, p-value = 0.0303). These findings imply that improved segment disclosure and a lower cost of capital tend to improve the investment efficiency of listed firms in Nigeria. This study, thus, recommends that the management of firms in Nigeria should disclose more segment information in their annual reports. This could consequently boost investors’ confidence in the reporting practices of firms, reduce the cost of capital of firms, and improve firms’ investment efficiency.