Zenith Bank Plc has announced plans to expand its operations into Côte d’Ivoire and eight other Francophone African countries, marking a major step in its regional growth strategy following the successful completion of its N614.65 billion hybrid capital raise.

At a closing gong ceremony held at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Adaora Umeoji, said the recapitalization has positioned Zenith Bank for accelerated growth and regional scale.

“Since the capital raise exercise, we’ve been able to use part of the money to expand our footprints. We started by opening our Paris branch, and we are going to move from there to Côte d’Ivoire, which we are already processing the license,” Umeoji said.

She explained that the Côte d’Ivoire expansion represents a strategic entry point into Francophone Africa, as securing the license will grant the bank passporting rights into eight additional French-speaking markets across West and Central Africa.

“This expansion strategy is a result of us following our customers’ business and ensuring that we go to countries and economies where we can scale and be able to provide more returns for our shareholders,” Umeoji said, emphasizing that the new phase of growth aligns with Zenith Bank’s broader ambition to become a pan-African financial powerhouse.

The move also reflects a broader shift in the Nigerian banking industry, where institutions are increasingly looking beyond domestic borders to mitigate currency and regulatory pressures while tapping into high-growth regional markets. Francophone West Africa, which includes economies like Senegal, Benin, and Burkina Faso, offers strong growth potential due to rising cross-border trade, expanding financial inclusion, and relatively stable monetary policies under the CFA franc zone.

Zenith Bank’s hybrid capital raise — combining debt and equity instruments — was significantly oversubscribed, lifting its capital base by 160% to N614.65 billion. The successful raise not only fortified the bank’s balance sheet but also expanded its shareholder base.

“This recapitalization exercise has really helped us, positioned us, grown our business, and it has made us have more than 700,000 shareholders since we got listed,” Umeoji said.

The bank’s latest financial performance underscores its readiness for the next phase of growth. For the first half of 2025, Zenith Bank reported a pre-tax profit of N625.63 billion and a post-tax profit of N532.18 billion. Gross earnings rose 19.96% year-on-year to N2.521 trillion, driven mainly by a surge in interest income.

Interest income contributed 73% to gross earnings in H1 2025, up sharply from 55% in the same period last year, with a 60% year-on-year increase to N1.839 trillion. The figure already accounts for 67% of the bank’s full-year 2024 interest income, reflecting strong credit growth and improved yield on assets.

In recognition of its robust performance, Zenith Bank’s Board approved an interim dividend of N1.25 per share, a 25% increase from the N1.00 paid in H1 2024. The dividend hike, Umeoji noted, reaffirms the bank’s commitment to rewarding shareholders while sustaining its expansion agenda.

Zenith’s expansion drive comes amid renewed capital requirements for Nigerian banks following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recapitalization directive, which aims to strengthen the banking sector ahead of macroeconomic challenges and currency volatility. Analysts say Zenith Bank’s early capital raise gives it a competitive advantage, positioning it ahead of peers in meeting regulatory thresholds while pursuing regional diversification.

With its Paris branch now operational and Côte d’Ivoire next in line, Zenith Bank appears poised to leverage its strengthened capital base to tap into Africa’s fast-growing cross-border banking corridor. The move, analysts say, could transform Zenith into one of the continent’s most influential financial institutions — linking Anglophone and Francophone Africa under a single, integrated banking network.

Figma CEO Dylan Field believes the conversation about artificial intelligence and the future of work is missing the point. In his view, AI isn’t coming to take jobs — it’s coming to reshape them.

“I think it’s pretty encouraging that folks understand, viscerally, that this is not coming for you,” Field said during an appearance on Lenny’s Podcast on Thursday.

His remarks come at a time when concerns about AI’s impact on employment continue to dominate public debate. But Field, who has led Figma since co-founding it in 2012 with Evan Wallace, said the company’s latest research paints a more optimistic picture.

A Figma survey published in September examined how AI tools are affecting productivity and creativity among 1,199 professionals, including designers, product managers, developers, researchers, data specialists, and marketers. The findings challenge fears of mass job displacement.

Nearly 60 percent of respondents said AI helps them spend more time on “high-value work” by reducing repetitive tasks. About 70 percent reported feeling “more productive or efficient overall” since integrating AI tools into their workflow.

Field said those results align with what he’s observed across creative and technical industries: that workers are not being replaced but rather assisted by automation that removes the dullest parts of their jobs.

“The drudgery — how do we remove that from the design process? How do we give more access to more people?” he asked, echoing a similar sentiment he shared on the Rapid Response podcast earlier this month.

He believes this shift should empower workers rather than alarm them, and instead of worrying, people should focus on how they’ll adapt as AI tools and models advance.

A Designer’s Perspective on the AI Revolution

Figma, based in San Francisco, has built its reputation on creating collaborative software for designing websites, apps, and digital interfaces. Its tools have become indispensable to product teams around the world, making it one of the most influential companies in design technology.

The company’s July IPO was one of the biggest of the year, valuing Figma at nearly $30 billion. With more than 1,600 employees, Figma continues to expand, even as many tech firms have slowed hiring or cut staff amid automation-driven efficiency pushes.

Field said Figma is exploring how AI can streamline internal operations and lower costs, but he emphasized that its broader strategy centers on using AI to unlock new creative and business opportunities — not on workforce reduction.

Field’s perspective stands in contrast to predictions from economists and technology analysts who warn of potential large-scale job losses as AI becomes more capable. A number of studies have suggested that millions of white-collar jobs could eventually be automated, particularly in industries reliant on writing, coding, and administrative work.

But Field argues that history suggests otherwise. Each technological leap — from the industrial revolution to the internet boom — has ultimately led to new industries and roles that didn’t exist before.

This philosophy is woven into Figma’s approach to product development. The company has integrated generative AI features into its design suite, allowing users to quickly generate design variations, analyze user feedback, and automate parts of the creative process — while leaving the conceptual and emotional aspects firmly in human hands.

“There’s a need for designers to lead the charge, and AI will only get you so far,” Field said.

 A Future of Human-AI Collaboration

For Field, the future of work is not about competing with AI, but collaborating with it. He believes the more we learn to use these systems as partners, the more we’ll be able to focus on what makes us human — our ideas, our empathy, our curiosity.

He sees AI as a force that will democratize creativity and empower non-designers to participate in product building. This could lead to broader innovation across industries, as people who once lacked technical skills gain the ability to create through natural-language interfaces and intuitive AI-driven tools.

“You can see it as a path for you to learn and grow, and explore the world and human consciousness,” he said.

That vision aligns with Figma’s founding mission — to make design accessible and collaborative. AI, in Field’s view, accelerates that mission by removing barriers and expanding access to creative expression.

As one of Silicon Valley’s youngest CEOs to take a company public, Field has become a leading voice in the discussion on how technology reshapes work. His optimism about AI stands out in an industry where automation is often portrayed as a threat to human labor.

Figma’s growth trajectory, combined with its deep integration of AI into design tools, suggests that the company is positioning itself at the center of that transformation — one where technology amplifies human potential rather than replacing it.

Thus, the takeaway for Field is that the future belongs to those who learn to work with AI, not against it.