The Central Bank of Nigeria formally introduced eNaira, a pilot retail central bank digital (CBDC) currency on October 25.  

Nigeria, Africa’s largest country by population, becomes the first on the continent to introduce a pilot CBDC. The amount of electronic currency currently issued is tiny in proportion to Nigeria’s GDP, which was estimated at $432 billion in 2020 by the World Bank.

Central bank governor Godwin Emefiele said that the CBN had produced 500 million eNaira, equivalent to $1.22