Leadway Group Empowers Media Professionals to Navigate AI-Driven Financial Landscape
By Azeez Disu
Leadway Group, one of Nigeria’s largest non-bank financial services providers, convened an intensive strategic training session for media professionals on 16th July 2026, seeking to bridge the critical gap between rapid technological disruption and national financial literacy.
By assembling its diverse executive leadership alongside external technology experts, the Group took a decisive step to empower journalists as society’s primary educators, equipping them with the toolkit required to navigate the “Fourth Revolution” of Artificial Intelligence while decoding a complex economic landscape defined by a 97% health insurance gap and a staggering 95% failure rate for family-owned businesses.
Opening the session, Niyi Abiola, Brand and Communications Manager at Leadway Group, delivered a welcome address that underscored the media’s dual mandate as both reporters and public mentors. He emphasised that in an era of unprecedented change, a robust partnership between the financial sector and the press is indispensable for building a resilient, informed, and financially inclusive society.
The headline speaker, Dr. Monday Ashibogwu, Group CEO of Billsboxx Services Limited, delivered a seminal presentation titled “Publishing in an era of AI,” in which he framed the technology as a once-in-a-generation shift for Nigerian publishing. He challenged the industry’s apprehension regarding automation, famously asserting, “Artificial Intelligence will not replace journalists. Journalists who use Artificial Intelligence will replace those who don’t”.
Dr Ashibogwu demonstrated that AI tools can reduce production time by up to 75%, turning an eight-hour editorial cycle into just two hours, but he warned that human oversight remains the “non-negotiable” core of journalism. “The future belongs neither to traditional journalism nor to artificial intelligence alone. It belongs to journalists who combine human wisdom with machine intelligence,” he stated, urging publishers to adopt rigorous AI policies to protect their credibility against “hallucinations” and synthetic deepfakes.
The conversation then shifted to the urgent need to modernise the Nigerian insurance sector. Adekunle Osuntuyi, Team Lead, Product Management at Leadway, discussed “Redesigning the insurance playbook with Digital-First Insurance in Nigeria”. He noted that while Nigerians pool risk informally through systems like Ajo and Esusu, formal insurance penetration remains at a mere 0.4% of GDP. Osuntuyi argued that the industry must move beyond paperwork-heavy processes to “Digital First” systems where low-value claims are settled in minutes via automated processing. “Digital first isn’t a slogan,” he remarked, “it’s distribution that meets customers where risk decisions actually happen”.
Addressing the national health crisis, Oluwadamilola Awoloye, Team Lead, Commercial Business at Leadway Health, presented “The NHIA Act & Mandatory Health Insurance: The journey so far”. He revealed that although enrolment has grown to 22.03 million as of July 2026, approximately 70% of health spending in Nigeria is still paid out-of-pocket, pushing many families into poverty. Awoloye noted that while the policy groundwork is complete, “disciplined, accountable execution” is now required to turn the mandatory authority of the Act into real healthcare access.
The seminar also tackled the “Black Tax” and long-term security. Rahinatou Omolamal, Head of Personal Pension Plan at Leadway Pensure, presented “Combating old age poverty,” highlighting that retirement planning can no longer wait in an economy where the value of ₦1,000 has plummeted from $6.62 in 2010 to less than $1 today. She encouraged journalists to help move Nigerians from “procrastination to preparation,” noting that Fund VII now allows eligible contributors to diversify their savings through foreign currency to preserve value.
On the subject of legacy, Adedoyin Aiyeola, Head of Private Trusts at Leadway Trustees, delivered a session titled “Moving beyond wealth accumulation to wealth transfer”. She pointed out that while wealth creation is increasing, 95% of family businesses fail to reach the third generation due to poor succession planning. Aiyeola challenged the myth that estate planning is only for the wealthy, stating, “It is determined by responsibility, not age”. She urged the media to ask every entrepreneur one responsible question: “What is your succession plan?”.
Finally, Adaobi Ideli, Regional Manager at Leadway Asset Management, provided an “Interview Toolkit” in her presentation, “Beyond the Headlines: Decoding Economic Trends”. She explained that while official data may show Real GDP growth of 3.89%, the lived experience of Nigerians is dictated by a 15.93% headline inflation rate. She cautioned journalists against relying on secondhand aggregators, advising them to consult primary sources like the NBS and CBN to provide accurate context for their audiences.
The session concluded with a powerful reminder that “numbers will remain just that, numbers; until you bring them alive with your story telling and reportage”.