Africa received over $95 billion in remittances in 2024, nearly equaling the continent’s total foreign direct investment (FDI) for the year, according to the State of Africa’s Infrastructure Report 2025 by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).

The report reaffirms the growing strategic importance of remittances as one of Africa’s most stable external financing sources, particularly amid heightened global economic uncertainty and declining capital flows.

Nigeria, Egypt, and Morocco Remain Top Recipients

Nigeria continued to dominate the Sub-Saharan remittance landscape, alongside Egypt and Morocco. The AFC attributed Nigeria’s lead to its large and increasingly organized diaspora network, supported by the country’s recent efforts to harness remittance flows for foreign exchange stability and national development.

“In 2024, Africa received over $95 billion in remittances from its global diaspora—an amount roughly equivalent to total FDI inflows to the continent that year,” the report noted. “The largest recipients were Egypt, Nigeria, and Morocco.”

Remittances have now consistently outpaced FDI, portfolio flows, and official development assistance, serving as a critical economic buffer, especially for countries grappling with FX volatility.

Nigeria’s CBN Prioritizes Remittances for FX Stability

In response to foreign exchange pressures, Nigeria is increasingly touting diaspora remittances as a major FX source, with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) adopting a range of policies to formalize, boost, and redirect these inflows into official channels.

As part of broader efforts to unify Nigeria’s FX market, the CBN emphasized remittances as one of the pillars of narrowing the demand-supply gap in the official forex window.

In May 2025, the CBN launched the Non?Resident BVN (NRBVN) Platform. This system allows Nigerians abroad to register for a Bank Verification Number remotely. Cardoso highlighted the platform as central to reducing remitting costs (~7% current average), deepening financial inclusion, and improving data flow for IMTOs

These reforms are intended to restore confidence in the naira by expanding non-oil FX inflows, with diaspora remittances being a central focus.

Cardoso had earlier emphasized that boosting formal remittance inflows would “strengthen our external reserves, stabilize the naira, and support balance of payments.”

“Furthermore, we introduced innovative policies and reforms across a range of areas: from the FX market and remittances to financial inclusion, diaspora engagement, compliance, private sector growth, and more,” he said earlier this year.

“This year, the CBN will build on this momentum, implementing sound monetary policies to safeguard our economic future, strengthening regulatory frameworks to inspire stability and confidence, and advancing initiatives that drive prosperity for all.”

Mixed Performance in Early 2024

Data from the CBN shows that Nigeria recorded $282.61 million in direct diaspora remittances in Q1 2024 through IMTOs, a 6.28% drop from the $301.57 million in Q1 2023.

Month-by-month figures showed volatility:

• January 2024: $138.56 million (up 75% YoY)
• February 2024: $39.15 million (down 53% YoY)
• March 2024: $104.91 million (down 24% YoY)

However, overall, Nigeria remains Sub-Saharan Africa’s top remittance destination, accounting for around 35% of the region’s total inflows. According to a World Bank report, Nigeria received an estimated $19.5 billion in remittances in 2023.

NiDCOM Chairperson Abike Dabiri-Erewa disclosed that Nigerians abroad had remitted over $90 billion over the past five years, supporting sectors such as education, health, housing, and entrepreneurship.

Turning Remittances into Development Capital

The AFC report notes that while most remittances still go into household consumption, a growing share is being directed toward structured national investment, including diaspora bonds and infrastructure funds. Nigeria’s $300 million diaspora bond in 2017, which was fully subscribed, remains a model example, thanks to clear terms, competitive yields, and transparent oversight.

The AFC cautioned, however, that inconsistent uptake in other African countries—like Egypt and Kenya—underscores the need for regulatory improvements and trust-building between diaspora communities and African financial institutions.

“Africa’s remittance boom is a chance to turn brain drain into capital gain,” the report said. “It provides a reliable avenue to anchor FX stability and crowd in diaspora-backed development funding, especially as FDI becomes more volatile.”

Marc Benioff, the outspoken CEO and co-founder of Salesforce, is doubling down on artificial intelligence, calling it a “digital labor revolution” that is already reshaping the company from the inside out — and, according to him, it’s working with near-flawless accuracy.

In a new interview with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang, Benioff said Salesforce is having “hundreds of thousands” of AI-powered conversations with customers and that its AI models are hitting a 93% accuracy rate in resolving queries.

“Even for a large brand or a large company that we work with, like Disney, it’s about 93%,” Benioff said, emphasizing that AI is no longer experimental — it’s embedded, and it’s delivering.

Benioff pointed to Agentforce, Salesforce’s platform for building AI agents, which he previously touted as handling tens of thousands of customer service issues with minimal human intervention. According to him, the tool is helping Salesforce’s clients — including some of the world’s largest corporations — streamline support, reduce wait times, and free up human employees to focus on complex, high-value interactions.

AI Already Doing Half the Work

Benioff made a striking claim that AI now does between 30% and 50% of all work at Salesforce, playing a central role in engineering, software development, and customer support. While the company didn’t provide granular breakdowns of which departments are most affected, Benioff painted a picture of a future in which intelligent agents, not just human employees, make up a growing portion of the global workforce.

“We’re looking at the deployment of an estimated $3 trillion to $12 trillion of digital labor,” Benioff told Bloomberg, suggesting that AI agents and robots will eventually operate alongside — or in place of — human workers at a global scale.

That prediction aligns with broader forecasts from McKinsey and Goldman Sachs, both of which estimate that AI could automate a significant portion of white-collar jobs within the next decade.

Layoffs and Hiring Amid AI Expansion

AI’s rising role at Salesforce is believed to have fueled its growing job cuts. Bloomberg reported earlier this year that the company plans to eliminate over 1,000 roles in 2025, touting AI as a productivity driver. The company had about 76,500 employees as of January, according to its latest annual report.

These layoffs have sparked renewed debate over whether AI tools are augmenting or outright replacing workers. While Benioff frames AI as a way to enhance productivity and reduce repetitive labor, it raises concerns about how many employees may be impacted by this transition.

However, Salesforce isn’t freezing hiring entirely. On Thursday, its careers page listed 359 open roles in the U.S., suggesting a shift in skills demand, with more emphasis on AI-literate roles and internal mobility.

Internal AI Tools: From Hiring to the C-Suite

Salesforce is also turning AI inward. The company recently launched Career Connect, an internal AI tool designed to help employees discover other roles within the company that match their skills and job history — a move Benioff says is intended to foster internal mobility and reduce friction in job matching.

Benioff himself is reportedly using AI in his own daily workflow, including for planning Salesforce’s annual business strategy.

It’s less lonely at the top with an AI helper, he said.

A Values-Based Digital Future?

Despite the promise of AI, Benioff also issued a caution: the future of AI-driven productivity must be shaped with ethical foresight.

“It’s a digital labor revolution,” he said, “but it’s on CEOs to make sure their values are in the right place.”

In other words, as the AI economy expands and automation becomes a central part of business operations, Benioff believes corporate leaders have a responsibility to ensure that efficiency gains translate into shared prosperity — not just higher profits and thinner payrolls.

The comments come at a time when tech companies across the board are facing tough questions about AI’s impact on job security, and ethics, even as they pour billions into developing and deploying it.

President Bola Tinubu has signed into law four major tax reform bills, bringing about the most comprehensive overhaul of Nigeria’s tax structure in decades.

The laws, proposed in 2024 by the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, aim to simplify the tax system, widen the formal tax base, protect low-income earners, and increase compliance across sectors through stricter enforcement measures.

Here is what you need to know:

FIRS Rebranded as Nigeria Revenue Service with Expanded Powers

A major institutional shift in the new tax framework is the transformation of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) into the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS). The renamed agency is now vested with broader powers, taking over revenue functions previously handled by several major government bodies including the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Ports Authority, NIMASA, and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

This centralization of tax collection under the NRS is designed to reduce duplication, block leakages, and create a unified platform for fiscal oversight. Experts believe the move could streamline administration and improve efficiency—provided that inter-agency coordination challenges are properly managed.

Low-income Nigerians (N800,000 or less per annum) Pay No Tax

At the heart of the reforms is a redesigned Personal Income Tax framework that significantly raises the threshold for taxable income. Under the previous regime, individuals earning N300,000 annually were liable to pay a minimum of 7% in taxes. The new law lifts the exemption threshold to N800,000, meaning anyone earning that amount or less per year pays zero tax.

For middle- and upper-income earners, a new sliding scale applies, ranging from 15% to 25%, depending on income levels. For example, someone earning N3 million to N12 million annually will now pay N1.95 million in tax, while those making above N50 million will part with 25% of earnings beyond that threshold.

The restructuring is a major shift toward progressive taxation, long advocated by policy experts to align tax obligations with the ability to pay. However, the actual impact on tax revenue is expected to be limited—at least in the short term.

VAT Stays At 7.5%, Zero on Essential Goods

The new laws also revise Value Added Tax (VAT) rules to ease the burden on everyday Nigerians. The VAT rate remains at 7.5%, but lawmakers have exempted essential items such as food, healthcare, education, public transport, house rent, and renewable energy products. These categories represent a significant share of household spending, especially among lower-income groups.

While these exemptions are expected to ease inflationary pressures and protect purchasing power, they may also reduce overall VAT collections. Lawmakers tried to balance this by changing the VAT-sharing formula, favoring the place of consumption rather than the point of origin. The goal is to ensure that states where goods and services are consumed receive a fairer share of VAT revenue.

Mandatory Tax Filing

The reforms also end the automatic tax shield that employees previously enjoyed under the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) system. Under the new framework, every employee—regardless of income type—must now file an annual tax return disclosing all sources of income, not just their salary. This includes rental income, dividends, freelance work, and crypto earnings.

The move is intended to plug gaps in the informal sector and prevent under-reporting of income. However, the capacity of tax authorities to enforce these provisions effectively across millions of informal workers remains uncertain.

TIN Now Required for Banking, Government Contracts, and Digital Finance

The reforms make possession of a Tax Identification Number (TIN) a legal prerequisite for several everyday transactions. Nigerians will now need a TIN to:

• Open or operate a bank account
• Register for insurance or stock trading
• Sign contracts with government bodies
• Access certain digital finance services

To ensure full coverage, the law empowers authorities to automatically assign TINs to individuals and businesses that fail to register voluntarily. The aim is to bring more people into the tax net—but again, enforcement could prove difficult in a largely informal economy.

Banks Must Report Large Transactions

In a move aimed at curbing tax evasion and money laundering, banks and financial institutions must now report individuals whose total monthly transactions exceed N50 million, and companies that exceed N250 million. This requirement was raised from N25 million for individuals after pushback during the legislative review.

Failure to comply attracts a N50,000 fine in the first month, and N25,000 monthly thereafter. Additionally, companies that issue contracts to unregistered individuals face an N5 million fine.

Crypto, and NFTs, Now Taxable as Digital Assets

The new tax laws explicitly categorize digital assets such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs as taxable property. While the 2023 Finance Act had already acknowledged these assets as chargeable, the new laws provide more clarity and enforcement power to tax authorities. This applies to both residents and non-residents who earn income from digital asset transactions in Nigeria.

Corporate Tax and Development Levy

Lawmakers retained the 30% corporate income tax rate, rejecting earlier proposals for a gradual reduction. However, the definition of small companies was adjusted upward to include businesses with up to N50 million in annual turnover.

A new National Development Levy, ranging from 2% to 4%, will be applied to support national priorities such as TETFund, NITDA, NASENI, education, and security. This levy is meant to support federal investment in critical sectors without solely relying on oil revenue or debt.

Only 10% of Nigerians Earn Enough to Pay Income Tax

While the reforms introduce bold steps in aligning tax policy with economic realities—such as expanding exemptions, improving revenue collection, and incorporating digital asset taxation—analysts warn that the revenue returns may fall short of expectations due to the sheer scale of poverty and informality in the economy.

Despite Nigeria’s large population, the majority of citizens fall below the new income thresholds. According to a 2023 report by Intelpoint, a Lagos-based analytics and research firm, only 10% of Nigerians earned above N100,000 monthly, or N1.2 million annually. This means the overwhelming majority of Nigerians will now be exempt from personal income tax under the new structure.

This means government revenue from income tax may remain modest, despite the expanded framework. With only a small share of Nigerians earning enough to be taxed, and with most of the economy still informal, the potential gains will depend heavily on economic growth, job creation, and rising incomes in the coming years.

The government’s hope is that by broadening the legal framework, simplifying compliance, and closing loopholes, Nigeria can gradually build a more inclusive and sustainable tax culture. But in the short term, the most visible outcome of the new laws will be greater financial scrutiny, more enforcement, and a broader expectation that every Nigerian must now be tax-visible, even if they are not yet tax-liable.