RITD/RIEDS- Consultant – Expert for technical support on PAPSS in Nigeria

Duty Station: Addis Ababa

Department/Office: Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)

Deadline: Nov 16, 2026

Job Description

Result of Service

The assignment is expected to result in:

i. Updated policy action plan with a set of practical priority actions and measures to support wider adoption and fully-fledged operationalization of the PAPSS in Nigeria by addressing the barriers that are limiting its adoption.

ii. Improved awareness and understanding of PAPSS among policymakers, banks, businesses, traders, fintech, MSMEs and other relevant stakeholders engaged in intra-African trade.

iii. Stronger engagement between key stakeholders, particularly government, regulators, banks, fintech companies and the private sector on accelerating the adoption and implementation of the PAPSS in Nigeria

iv. Enhanced national capacities for policymakers, regulators and private sector stakeholders in addressing specific challenges and bottlenecks impeding the adoption and utilization of the PAPSS in the context of the AfCFTA.

v. Enhanced national capacities for policymakers, regulators and private sector stakeholders in addressing specific challenges and bottlenecks impeding the adoption and utilization of the PAPSS in the context of the AfCFTA.

Work Location

Work Remotely

Expected duration

3.0 months

Duties and Responsibilities

Background

In 2022, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) supported Nigeria in strengthening the national capacities to measure the value added that is generated by the financial services sectors and assess the degree to which services sector may improve the tradability of goods and services and improve integration into regional value chains, resulting in the validation of a policy actions plan under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (MITI) and the Bank of Industry.

The overall objective of the policy action plan is to strengthen Nigeria’s trade competitiveness through strengthening the country’s financial services sector’s integration into Regional Value Chains (RVCs) under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement by enhancing institutional coordination, regulatory coherence, digital financial services, trade data systems, financial inclusion, and regional payment integration. In this regard, one of the major priority quick wins identified is the regional payment integration, particularly the support related to accelerating the adoption and implementation of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) in the framework of the implementation of the AfCFTA.

Indeed, with a combined market of over 1.5 billion people in 2025, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) provides African countries with an unprecedented opportunity to expand markets, promote value addition and strengthen the participation of businesses, particularly Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), in regional and continental trade. To support business activities, reliable and affordable services, including infrastructure and payment systems, are necessary for effective cross-border trade. The PAPSS was therefore introduced to help African countries make and settle cross-border payments using African currencies, thereby reducing the need for third-country currencies and external correspondent banking arrangements.

If widely adopted, PAPSS can lower transaction costs, speed up payments and make it easier for African businesses to trade with one another. Nigeria has a particular interest in the expansion of PAPSS because as Africa’s largest economy and an important regional trading centre, it has many businesses, banks and fintech companies that operate across African markets. At present, more than 22 Nigerian banks are already connected to PAPSS, and some banks provide PAPSS services through their branches and digital banking platforms. By June 2026, PAPSS had connected more than 200 commercial banks and payment service providers as well as 16 regional and national switches across 31 African countries.

However, this connectivity does not translate into widespread or sustained utilisation among businesses, traders and other potential users. The relatively limited visibility and understanding of PAPSS among these users, together with the need for deeper integration across financial institutions, payment service providers and digital channels, highlights the gap between existing infrastructure and actual usage. This underscores the need for targeted stakeholder engagement, awareness creation, capacity building and policy dialogue to accelerate adoption and utilisation of PAPSS in Nigeria. There is therefore a need to strengthen awareness and facilitate structured dialogue among policymakers, regulators, financial institutions, payment service providers, and businesses to identify and address barriers to adoption, promote greater understanding of PAPSS, and support its broader and sustained use for intra-African trade and payments.

It is against this background that the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria and other stakeholders, requested the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to provide technical assistance to accelerate the Adoption and Utilization of PAPSS in Nigeria. In this light, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Regional Integration and Trade Division seeks to hire a consultant to provide technical support on Accelerating the Adoption and Implementation of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) in Nigeria.

2. DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the leadership and coordination of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), the Central Bank of Nigeria, the National Bureau of Statistics, other stakeholders and the ECA Regional Integration and Trade Division, the consultant will:

i. Evaluate and update the policy action plan for promoting trade in services and integrating Nigeria’s financial services sector into regional value chains within the context of AfCFTA implementation, focusing on the rollout and adoption of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPPS)

ii. Undertake a desktop review and analysis of the economic landscape, trade structure and sectoral overview with a view to identify challenges, gaps and bottlenecks affecting the wider adoption and utilization of PAPSS in Nigeria;

iii. Undertake relevant stakeholder consultations, engagements and interviews to obtain firsthand feedback from market participants (banks, fintech or other financial services providers/traders & businesses) to understand the status in terms of PAPSS adoption/utilization in Nigeria, what is working and the challenges faced.

iv. Explore opportunities for Nigerian exporters, importers, manufacturers, service providers, both larger businesses and MSMEs to leverage PAPSS for cross-border trade;

v. Provide relevant advisory services to the relevant stakeholders to address specific challenges and bottlenecks impeding the adoption and utilization of the PAPSS upon request;

vi. Build national capacity for policymakers, regulators and private sector stakeholders on implementation of the Nigeria’s AfCFTA Financial Services commitments related to regional payment integration, with a view to strengthen the country’s competitiveness in financial services trade

vii. Support the organization and proceedings of national seminars/workshops and policy dialogues in Nigeria under the context of this project and make presentations on relevant topics, as required;

viii. Formulate relevant policy, regulatory, institutional and capacity-building measures required to support the adoption and increased utilization of PAPSS and develop a practical roadmap towards its fully-fledged operationalization in Nigeria.

ix. Contribute to other ad-hoc requests within the context of this project and interact regularly with national coordination committee and the UNECA project team.

Qualifications/special skills

An advanced university degree (master’s degree or higher) in economics, trade and financial services, payment systems, or a related field is required.
A minimum of seven years of experience in economics and trade research and policy analysis is required.
Minimum five years’ experience in high level policy dialogue, payment systems with engagements with government entities, businesses, banks and financial institutions in West Africa and/or Africa.
Experience in the AfCFTA negotiations is desirable.
Experience in the Nigerian economy and trade is an advantage.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this consultancy, Fluency in English is required.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.