Routelink Group says its subsidiary, Routelink Microfinance Bank, has received an operating licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), marking the group’s entry into regulated banking. S
Routelink Group says its subsidiary, Routelink Microfinance Bank, has received an operating licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), marking the group’s entry into regulated banking.
Stanley Oduah, co-founder and group chief operating officer of Routelink Group, announced the approval in a LinkedIn post, describing it as “a defining milestone for the Group.”
Routelink licence effective from 3 August, CAC confirms registrationAccording to the announcement, the licence took effect on 3 August 2026, six days before it was made public. Routelink Microfinance Bank is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) under that name, Technext confirmed. However, as of publication, Routelink Microfinance Bank had not appeared on the CBN’s public register of licensed microfinance banks or the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation’s (NDIC) list of insured institutions.
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The new bank is expected to deliver accessible, technology-driven financial services to individuals, businesses and underserved communities across Nigeria, Oduah said. The move adds a regulated financial-services arm to the Group, which also operates across telecommunications, payments and enterprise services, including its RoutePay product.
Oduah framed the licence as part of the group’s broader push to widen access to financial services using its existing technology and payments infrastructure. The company said the new venture would focus on “building trust” and “creating possibilities” for customers, though it has not yet disclosed specific product offerings, branch locations or a launch date for public operations.
Group’s Co-founder and COO, Stanley Oduah and Steve Obiago, Programme Director, MTN-IT Operations Services Management (Nig & WECA). Credit: Sun Nigeria The CBN issues microfinance bank licences in three tiers — unit, state and national — with differing minimum capital requirements. Routelink has not stated which tier its licence falls under, a detail that would clarify the scale at which the bank is permitted to operate.
If confirmed, Routelink Microfinance Bank would become the newest addition to Nigeria’s microfinance banking sector, which the CBN continues to expand as part of its financial inclusion agenda for individuals and small businesses with limited access to traditional banking.
