Pastel Leads AI Charge in Compliance, Advocates Localised Regulatory Models

Nume Ekeghe and Oluchi Chibuzor

As Nigerian banks face increasing pressure to modernise compliance infrastructure and reduce exposure to fraud, Pastel, Africa’s leading AI-powered Enterprise solutions firm has advocated for a localised regulatory models in the charge for AI compliance in the country.

Speaking at the second edition of its Breakfast Meeting held in Lagos,the CEO of Pastel, Abuzar Royesh, emphasised the company’s commitment to designing technology that reflects Africa’s unique operational and regulatory challenges.

The event themed, ‘Technology for Trust: Reinventing Compliance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence’, Royesh said the event aimed to explore the growing role of AI and automation in fraud prevention, regulatory reporting, and operational resilience.

The event, which a featured a live demonstration of Sigma’s capabilities, showing how the platform helps banks and other institutions detect suspicious activity instantly, generate regulator-ready reports, and integrate seamlessly with existing risk frameworks.

According to him, “Sigma is not a Western system retrofitted for Africa. It is purpose-built using African data, CBN standards, and risk models from across the continent. We’re not just offering tools, we’re helping banks and regulators scale trust and performance in an increasingly complex financial ecosystem.

Built using local regulatory models and datasets, Sigma offers real-time fraud detection, anti-money laundering, automated reporting, comprehensive customer risk assessment, and more features that position it as the standard for compliance infrastructure in African banking.”

In partnership with FintechNGR the event brought together senior banking executives, and fintech operators, saw Chief Revenue Officer at Pastel, Anthony Amodu, addressed the inefficiencies of traditional compliance systems.

“Manual reporting and fragmented monitoring can no longer keep pace with today’s threats. Sigma offers the speed, clarity, and accountability that C-suite leaders now require not just to stay compliant, but to stay competitive”, Amodu said.

However in a keynote address, President of FintechNGR and CEO of Zest Payment Limited, Stanley Jacob, emphasised the global momentum around AI for compliance.

Representing by Seun Folorunsho, Jacob, said: “Non-compliance is extremely costly. Financial institutions around the world are spending over $200 billion annually on AI tools for regulatory assurance. Nigeria must move in step with that reality,”

On his side,, Chief Compliance Officer at Optimus Bank, Wede Thompson, said: “Regulation is ultimately about trust. If we want to build that trust using artificial intelligence, banks, fintechs, and regulators must work in lockstep and with the end customer in mind.”

For the Head of People and Operations at Pastel, Yeyetunde Caxton-Martins, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to industry collaboration.

According to her, “This event reaffirms what we believe, which is the fact that building intelligent compliance infrastructure isn’t optional; it’s foundational. Sigma is how we help institutions move from burden to advantage.”