United Capital strengthens $1.3 Billion fund base on Côte d’Ivoire expansion

By Michael Kalu

United Capital Plc is deepening its footprint in Francophone West Africa as its Côte d’Ivoire subsidiary emerges a key growth driver in the group’s $1.3 billion fund management portfolio. The firm’s strategic expansion into Abidjan, one of West Africa’s fastest-growing financial hubs is paying off, boosting assets under management and diversifying its revenue base beyond Nigeria’s volatile market.

Analysts say the move reflects United Capital’s broader ambition to position itself as a pan-African investment powerhouse, leveraging regional integration under the ECOWAS framework and rising investor appetite in the WAEMU zone. The Côte d’Ivoire operation not only strengthens the company’s foreign currency earnings but also underscores its ability to capture cross-border opportunities amid intensifying competition in the subregion’s financial services landscape.

Its newly incorporated subsidiary in Côte d’Ivoire (United Capital Asset Management West Africa Limited), provides geographic diversification benefits and enables the group to operate across eight countries within the WAEMU region.

“Looking ahead, we expect the group’s operational expansion drive to support earnings generation capacity over the next 12-18 months…and sustain the growth trajectory in the AUM,” ratings agency GCR said.

As of 30 June 2025, the UCAP group had total Asset under management (AUM) of N2.0 trillion (USD1.3 billion) through its asset management and trustee subsidiaries and accounted for an estimated market share of 28.0% within the Nigerian asset management segment.

The United Capital group’s competitive assessment reflects its position as one of the prominent financial services groups in Nigeria, with diverse operations and an established track record of over two decades.

Through its six wholly owned subsidiaries, UCAP has demonstrated a defensive franchise in investment banking, asset and wealth management, trusteeship, micro-lending, and financial advisory services. Its various business segments leverage cross-selling opportunities within the UCAP ecosystem to drive growth, while also benefiting from the group’s affiliation with United Bank for Africa Plc.

The group’s lending subsidiaries’ loan portfolio registered at NGN58.8 billion as of 30 June 2025, representing 3.7% of its total assets.

These are largely short-term loans extended to micro, small and medium-scale customers.

As of June 2025, the non-performing loans registered at 1.9% and 0.4% respectively (31 December 2024: 2.0% and 0.1% respectively), both well below the regulatory tolerable limit of 5.0%. Similarly, the cost of risk remains low at 0.1% as of June 2025 compared to a writeback position in December 2024.

Côte d’Ivoire is the “ideal gateway” to expand United Capital’s footprint across French-speaking West Africa, group chairman Chika Mordi said in a June 13 statement.

United Capital Plc’s West Africa Asset Management business launched 2 mutual funds earlier this year, under its asset management business in Francophone West Africa and expects to have a total of 5 mutual funds for the region by year end.

The financial services group’s new West Africa subsidiary will have its official headquarters in Abidjan and will serve the member states of the West African Economic & Monetary Union, which are Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo.

The unit offers portfolio management, mutual funds and financial advisory services.

United Capital’s Gross earnings rose 57% to N23.76 billion in H1 2025 driven by fee and commission income up 80% year on year.

Profit Before Tax (PBT) increased 52% to N13.79 billion and Profit After Tax came in at N11.89 billion for H1 2025 up 54%. Total assets were N1.59 trillion for the period and shareholder funds rose 25% to N166.91 billion.