With a national licence, Kuda must expand its physical footprint, giving customers more options for in-person support while keeping digital banking as its core. “Securing a national microfinance banking licence is an important step for us as a regulated institution,” said Musty Mustapha, MD/CEO of Kuda MFB, in a statement. While the CBN’s licencing guidelines do not explicitly outline a direct path for unit MFBs to become national MFBs, they do for state MFBs. Beyond physical expansion, the licence also puts Kuda under stricter regulatory and disclosure requirements. National MFBs, for instance, must publish their annual accounts in a national daily newspaper for accountability.