₦airaland Forum

Months after its Chief Executive Officer, Herbert Wigwe, donated N1 billion to the Coalition Against COVID-19 (Ca-COVID), Access Bank has announced that it can no longer afford the salary of its employees, hence, a need to sack some workers and cut salary, in order to remain operational.

The new development is aimed at cutting cost as the lockdown period - a measure taken to curb the spread of Coronavirus - has affected the operation of Nigeria's largest lender and rendered some workers in Access Bank redundant.

Allnews learnt that Access Bank no longer intend to place some of its... https://allnews.ng/news/mass-sacking-looms-at-access-bank-as-ceo-plans-to-sack-workers-cut-salary

A Techpreneur and the owner of the building Jumia used in Cameroon, Rebecca Enonchong has picked holes in the operations of the e-commerce giant, which she alleged led to the shutdown of the firm in the Central African state.

The Chief Executive Officer, Appstech, who took to twitter some hours Jumia shut its operations in the country, alleged that the firm used to stock fake merchandise and treated its workers unfairly. She noted that these two things, among others, led to the company’s failure in Cameroon.

Enonchong is a technology entrepreneur in Cameroon where she founded AppsTech. She also chairs ActivSpaces (African Center for Technology Innovation and Ventures), supporting entrepreneurs from two tech hubs in Cameroon.

Enonchong’s condemnation of Jumia had begun in 2016 in a mail she sent to the company. She had watched the company’s development in the last five years, but her anger was only... https://nairametrics.com/2019/11/21/cameroon-shutdown-techpreneur-picks-holes-in-jumias-operations/

Chicken Republic is currently the butt of joke among Nigerians after some of its outlets reportedly told customers, including Nollywood Actress, Funke Akindele, that the company was out of chicken.

The response of the quick-service restaurant to orders by customers was a shocker. It’s like telecommunication companies telling their customers they are out of airtime. Although Chicken isn’t the only delicacy sold by Chicken Republic, who wants to order rice without complementing it with Chicken?

While such rhetoric is common at Nigerian wedding receptions where meat is often exhausted before rice, such is not expected of Chicken Republic. A Nairametrics staff, who visited one of Chicken Republic outlets in Magodo, Lagos, was told... https://nairametrics.com/2019/11/18/nigerians-react-as-some-chicken-republic-outlets-go-out-of-stock-for-chicken/

Chicken Republic is currently the butt of joke among Nigerians after some of its outlets reportedly told customers, including Nollywood Actress, Funke Akindele, that the company was out of chicken.

The response of the quick-service restaurant to orders by customers was a shocker. It’s like telecommunication companies telling their customers they are out of airtime. Although Chicken isn’t the only delicacy sold by Chicken Republic, who wants to order rice without complementing it with Chicken?

While such rhetoric is common at Nigerian wedding receptions where meat is often exhausted before rice, such is not expected of Chicken Republic. A Nairametrics staff, who visited one of Chicken Republic outlets in Magodo, Lagos, was told... https://nairametrics.com/2019/11/18/nigerians-react-as-some-chicken-republic-outlets-go-out-of-stock-for-chicken/

Seyi Tinubu has acquired advertising company, E-Motion Advertising, founded by Sim Shagaya. Tinubu, an industry player in outdoor advertising, acquired E-Motion through his company, Loatsad Promomedia Limited.

The acquisition is the latest in the advertising world. Both E-Motion Advertising and Loatsad Promomedia operate in the same market and this deal is expected to accelerate the growth of both companies and position them as the market leader of the advertising industry. Tinubu is the son of former Lagos State Governor and National Leader of the ruling party, All Progressive Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu.

What you need to know: The financial aspect of the deal was... https://nairametrics.com/2019/11/18/seyi-tinubu-acquires-sim-shagayas-advertising-company-e-motion/

Before you invest in a Mutual Fund, you need to read the experience of a Nigerian Researcher, Solomon Udoh, so you won’t get your fingers burnt. Udoh invested N10,000 monthly for 10 years only to get less than he would have had if he had just saved the money for that same period.

Udoh’s disclosure provoked reactions from Nigerians who pointed out the problem with Mutual Funds and how to properly invest.

Udoh disclosed his disappointment in a post via his Twitter account, with images to back his claim. In the post, Udoh stated that Nigeria as an entity defies all logic one could possibly think of after his balance from the N10,000 monthly investment of 10 years in ARM Discovery Fund showed N936,621.

Contrary to the expectations of Udoh, a https://nairametrics.com/2019/11/15/mutual-fund-nigerian-investor-discloses-his-10-years-investment-that-nosedived/

Some Nigerians have been left frustrated after they discovered that their flight, RwandAir (the national carrier of Rwanda), dumped their luggage in Dubai instead of Nigeria, their destination.

The Nigerian passengers boarded the RwandAir flight from the United Arab Emirates’ region with the mindset that their luggage had been loaded. However, when the flight touched down in Lagos, they couldn’t find their luggage and no official of the airline was present to explain the situation. The RwandAir WB 305 had moved from Dubai to Kigali (Rwanda) before another connecting flight WB 202 left for Lagos.

The luggage of the passengers had been checked and tagged before... https://nairametrics.com/2019/11/15/outrage-as-rwandair-dumps-luggage-belonging-to-nigerians-in-dubai/

In Nigeria, buying a car is regarded as a liability while owning a house is rated as a good investment. However, this line of thought was recently questioned by finance expert, Tayo Oyedeji, who argued that home ownership is a bad investment if the purpose is to live there.

Oyedeji is an entrepreneur who feels renting a home is wiser than owning it. He gave an example of himself, stating that he owns few properties which according to him are a bad investment on his part. According to Tayo Oyedeji, most people own properties because of... https://nairametrics.com/2019/11/13/nigerians-react-as-finance-expert-rates-home-ownership-a-bad-investment/

The Federal Government has ordered that fuel stations close to the land borders should no longer get petroleum products. The directive is coming at a period government is tightening security and ensuring strict compliance to the border closure.

The directive was issued to the Nigeria Customs Service manning the land borders across Nigeria. The Customs Comptroller General, Hameed Ali, in a statement seen and obtained by Nairametrics, said that no petroleum product no matter the tank size should be permitted to be discharged in any of those filling stations. The affected oil companies are... https://nairametrics.com/2019/11/07/fg-bans-fuel-supply-to-border-petrol-stations-order-threatens-businesses-jobs/

Total Group is looking for buyers for one of its major oil blocks in Nigeria. The oil company wants to sell off its 12.5% stake and has already contracted an investment bank to manage the sale process of the deepwater oilfield.

Total’s 12.5% stake in the deepwater oilfield, Oil Mining Lease 118, is estimated to worth $750 million. Part of the oil block includes Bonga field which began production in 2005. According to report, the Bonga field has produced around 225,000 barrels of oil and 150 million standard cubic feet of gas per day at its peak. And with the $10 billion development of the Bonga Southwest field, production output is expected to grow.

Why Total is selling: The decision to sell its stake in the OML 118, which is located some 120 kilometres (75 miles) off Niger Delta, is coming amidst Total’s... https://nairametrics.com/2019/11/07/heres-why-total-is-selling-its-12-5-stake-in-nigerian-oil-block/

Etop Ikpe is the Chief Executive Officer of Cars45, one of Africa’s largest digital automotive trading platform. Cars45 is a technology platform that drives the automobile industry across Africa. Before Ikpe founded it in 2016, he served as CEO at Dealdey.com and as Commercial Director at Konga.com, one of Nigeria’s largest e-commerce platforms. In this interview with Nairametrics, Ikpe shares the growth story of Cars45, the industry’s black market, the challenges faced when operating in Nigeria, and discussed the issue with ‘Made-in-Nigeria campaign’, amongst many more issues.

What have been the challenges of operating in Nigeria?

"Our values of providing solution to customers’ problems will never go out of fashion. As a market maker, it takes time for people to understand what your value propositions are. So, there might be initial scepticism and resistance from the market because people fear what they don’t know. We have done a lot of engagement with the authorities and one consistent thing is that as we unravel and move forward, the goal becomes clearer. The biggest challenge has always been... https://nairametrics.com/2019/11/07/lack-of-structure-bane-to-start-ups-growth-cars45-ceo-etop-ikpe/

What needs to be done to improve demand for Made-in-Nigeria brand cars?

I don’t think it is right that we have a mentality that people should buy Made-in-Nigeria products just because we are Nigerians. We should strive to make products that are globally standardized and recognizable; products that can stand side by side with others in that category. Nigerian music, literature, fashion and food have shown us that we can create products on that level and will have mass appeal globally. We see what Nigerian banks are... https://nairametrics.com/2019/11/07/lack-of-structure-bane-to-start-ups-growth-cars45-ceo-etop-ikpe/

Nigerian singer, Sidney Esiri, better known by his stage name, Dr. Sid, is wrapping up work on the establishment of his business venture, E-Sport and Game, that will reduce his dependence on revenue from music and replace his fading interest in music.

The venture was inspired by his love for games, as he’s a self-acclaimed gamer. This is part of his 5 years plan, Nairametrics learnt. The Mavin Records artist admitted that he used to think music was a necessity and his only source of income. According to Dr. Sid, he once felt there was a... https://nairametrics.com/2019/11/06/dr-sid-no-longer-interested-in-music-establishes-sport-business-e-sport-and-game/

In line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) financial inclusion programme, Stanbic IBTC Bank has floated @ease wallet to achieve the agenda of the apex bank, the Executive Director, Personal and Business Banking for Stanbic IBTC, Wole Adeniyi said.

Stanbic IBTC, a member of the Standard Bank Group, set up the @ease wallet to deepen its penetration among the underserved community in Nigeria, whom CBN’s financial inclusion programme was established to cater for.

Nairametrics had reported CBN’s effort to expand financial opportunities to this population, especially at a period the government is campaigning for cashless policy. Apart from banks, telecommunication companies and fintechs have also been given approval to participate in the mobile banking operation that also drives the financial inclusion programme.

For users of other banks, the @ease wallet brings no uniqueness to the table. It’s just same old digital innovation that saturates the banking industry and scatters across other banks in Nigeria. However, for... https://nairametrics.com/2019/11/06/stanbic-ibtc-joins-bandwagon-floats-new-digital-initiative-amidst-plethora-of-innovation/

Amidst the debates surrounding the effect of the new PoS charges by businesses across Nigeria on the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Globus Bank Limited, Elias Igbinakenzua, said the charges on PoS transactions are cheaper and it’s a way to motivate Nigerians to embrace the cashless policy.

Igbinakenzua said the inconvenience experienced while carrying cash makes the charges worth the cost. He stated that the CBN policy on PoS transactions is not demanding... https://nairametrics.com/2019/11/06/pos-transaction-is-cheaper-cbn-not-asking-for-much-globus-bank-md-elias-igbinakenzua/

Some iPhone and iPad users will lose their internet this weekend if a certain change is not made on their devices. The manufacturer of the smartphone, Apple, which disclosed this earlier today, also mentioned the models of iPhones and iPads that need to make the change in order not to lose connection to the internet.

According to Apple, users of iPhone and iPad need to update their devices by Sunday, November 3, 2019. Apple disclosed that if the users of its products don’t update to the latest iOS software, it would be difficult for them to connect to the internet.

Affected iPhone and iPad products: The users of iPhone and iPad products produced from 2012 and... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/31/apple-warns-iphone-ipad-will-lose-internet-this-weekend-if-users-dont-make-certain-change/

Dangote has announced that the Dangote Refinery would not begin operation by 2020 as initially planned. The Group Executive Director, Dangote Group, Devakumar Edwin, ruled out the 2020 date while announcing a new date for the completion and operation of the refinery which he said would meet 100% need of the country as well as Europe and American markets.

When production starts, the refinery will be able to process 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day into refined petroleum products. This will help Nigeria become an oil refining country and oil exporter as the country’s refineries are in dilapidated state. The capacity of the Dangote Refinery would eliminate fuel import from other regions into Nigeria.

Edwin said the refinery will be completed in the next... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/31/dangote-refinery-rules-out-2020-as-refinery-gets-new-date/

Nigeria and Vietnam have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on waiver of visa requirements to encourage business trade. The agreement on visa waiver comes amidst Vietnam’s plea that Nigeria should open its borders for Vietnamese rice, leather shoes, textiles, and other products.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, Vuong Hue had met with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo during his recent visit to Nigeria. The meeting led to both countries strengthening their diplomatic relations and business ties by agreeing to a visa waiver for holders of... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/31/nigeria-and-vietnam-approve-visa-waiver-amidst-trade-talk-uncertainty/

Tension between the road transport workers’ union and ride-hailing startups was further heightened in Lagos on Tuesday, when riders attached to ORide took to the road to protest “multiple ticketing,” which is described as extortion, by the union members.

There has been no love lost between the road transport workers union and riders of ride-hailing companies in Lagos for over four months due to the ticketing system, which many riders are against. The ticketing, Nairametrics heard, is frustrating the business of the riders, as they must pay for every new location (LG) they ply within a day.

This led to the riders to take... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/31/opay-management-denies-payment-issue-as-oride-riders-protest-against-road-nurtw/

Dangote Group has stated that contrary to expectation, Dangote Refinery won’t transport its refined petroleum products via pipeline to consumers. There were expectations that congested ports and dilapidated roads in Lagos would compel the company to build a pipeline network, but the company has disclosed that it would deliver its products through other alternative channels.

According to the Dangote Group Executive Director, Devakumar Edwin, the plan is to transport the refined petroleum products by road and through the seaports when it begins operation. Although the timeline for the completion of the Dangote refinery is not clear, Edwin’s statement has ruled out any pipeline route.

Nairametrics had previously reported that the refinery was expected to be completed by 2020 but challenges surrounding the refinery had seen the completion date postponed to 2022. When production starts, the refinery will be able to process 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day into refined petroleum products.

Edwin was said to have stated that the fuel produced by Dangote Refinery would also be delivered by shuttle... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/30/dangote-discloses-fuel-delivery-channels-refinery-to-explore-european-and-american-markets/

Have you ever had to repay a debt that you didn’t owe? Well, Sim Shagaya, the founder and former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of e-commerce company, Konga, had to do so – and in the process, faked a heart attack – when a Nigerian bank thought his company was owned by a landlord who had defaulted on the loan he collected from the bank.

The debt issue occurred in 2014 after a misunderstanding involving a Nigerian bank, which he called ‘Starling’ (not real name). The bank had sent the police to shut down one of Konga’s distribution centres, thinking the landlord owned the online marketplace. According to Shagaya, Konga had some small short-term trading liabilities to suppliers but certainly didn’t owe any bank.

The landlord owned the property where the distribution centre was situated but not the online retail business. However, the bank was not convinced that Konga wasn’t the landlord’s. The bank moved to take over the property, causing over... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/28/kongas-founder-discloses-how-he-paid-n60-million-debt-that-wasnt-his-to-save-kongas-operation/

For more than 15 years, X-Pression enjoyed huge demand in Europe and America. X-Pression’s growth was driven by its market positioning, suited to all classes regardless of pocket size. But this one-time ‘goldmine’ is now struggling to stand on its feet.

Manufactured by Solpia Nigeria Limited and sister-company, Linda Manufacturing Company Limited, X-Pression is the most popular hair extension brand in Nigeria with attachment and weave-on types. It is the revenue driver for Solpia and Linda despite the array of other products produced by them.

X-Pression was a source of pride to Nigeria and Africa at large, as though rooted in Africa, its branches spread across Europe and America, as demand surged. Despite being an African company, its revenue is driven by demand in Europe and America.

Nigeria is the problem of X-Pression

The beginning of a decline-: The companies began to hit financial difficulties about two years ago when export to its major markets, Europe and America, began to drop due to... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/29/the-dwindling-fortunes-of-hair-brand-x-pression-how-nigeria-is-singlehandedly-killing-it/

It is no longer news that consumers usually take to social media, especially Twitter, whenever they are not satisfied with a brand, product or services and all the producer do is to apologise or provide details needed.

But itel Nigeria broke the jinx as it took to Twitter to hit back at one of the social media users that had ‘unfairly’ criticized one of its mobile devices.

A twitter user, Mr. Trash tweeted with the handle, @assertive_boy, mocked Tecno and itel phones while describing a fictional robbery scene. He tweeted, “When a thief sees you holding a Techno or Itel phone” using a picture portraying rejection or unpleasant look.

Despite the fact that the tweet was 9-days old, and other phone maker, Tecno didn't respond, the statement didn’t go down well with itel Nigeria, as the phone maker didn’t... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/25/nigerians-react-as-itel-hit-twitter-user-for-mocking-its-phones/

Contrary to investors’ projection concerning Nigeria’s debt profile for 2019, it has been disclosed that the Federal Government would put a stop to borrowing from the international debt market as the government has opted for domestic debt market.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) said the government would no longer seek funds in the international debt markets for the remaining months in this year. This is contrary to investors’ projection on the country’s debt financing for 2019.

In 2018, Nigeria issued a record of $10.7 billion of international bonds, and investors predicted that more would be offered in 2019 to cover the shortfall, which according to Bloomberg, is projected at N2.5 trillion ($6.9 billion). In September 2019, a strategist at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Rukayat Yusuf, had said the government was... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/26/nigeria-makes-sudden-u-turn-suspends-external-borrowing-from-international-market/

Seven months after Access Bank and Diamond bank merged to form the largest bank in Africa by customer-size, Access Bank is set to acquire another bank, but this time, in Kenya. This move will expand the Nigerian lender’s footprint across Africa.

Access Bank received the go-ahead to acquire Transnational Bank Limited after confirmation from Competition Authority of Kenya. The acquisition will see Access Bank takeover 93.57% of Transnational Bank Limited.

Earlier this year, Access Bank and Diamond Bank merged to form a leading Tier 1 Nigerian bank, spanning three continents, 12 countries and 29 million customers. Kenya’s Central Bank has been pushing for a merger between... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/26/access-bank-to-acquire-kenyan-bank-seven-months-after-merger-with-diamond-bank/

Nigerians now have more options to buy shares in Netflix, Amazon, Google, and Alibaba, as investment trading platform, Chaka launches in Nigeria. The Nigerian-based tech company operates an international and local trade platform that enables Nigerians and foreigners buy shares from US, China and 40 other countries, including Nigeria.

According to Chaka, its trading platform reduces the barriers in purchasing stocks globally, as the company provides access to over 90 international and local companies without the need to... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/24/chaka-launches-investment-platform-to-buy-amazon-google-other-shares-locally/

The founder of Innoson Vehicles, Innocent Chukwuma, has reacted to the purported presidential order which directed him to relocate his Vehicle manufacturing plant to the Southwest or Northern part of Nigeria if he doesn’t want to lose his operating license.

It was alleged that the Federal Government instructed Innoson to relocate the company’s plant to Lagos or Kaduna to keep his license. A statement by Innoson through its Head Corporate Communications, Cornel Osigwe, disclosed that the founder isn’t... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/23/innoson-reacts-to-fg-order-to-relocate-manufacturing-plant-to-lagos-kaduna-in-order-not-to-lose-license/

Customers of telecommunication company, Airtel Africa, will soon be able to request for loan from Ecobank after the network provider and the lender reached an agreement. Such partnership is not the first of its kind as Diamond Bank (now Access Bank) and MTN Nigeria also have a partnership.

The partnership between Airtel Africa and Ecobank Transnational Incorporation (ETI) is for the network provider’s Airtel Money service which the company is also planning to offer in Nigeria after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) approved the operation of the telecoms firm as a mobile money operator. MTN Nigeria has already started its Mobile Money service in Nigeria, called MoMo.

According to a statement on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which was seen by Nairametrics, the... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/21/airtel-partners-with-ecobank-to-offer-loan-and-other-services-to-airtel-users/

Over 29 million Glo users in Nigeria will no longer be able to contact Airtel Nigeria lines following a ban from the Nigerian Communications Commission. The ban came almost three months after MTN Nigeria banned incoming calls from Glo.

The subscribers of the indigenous network provider will be banned from making calls to Airtel numbers due to its failure to settle the interconnected charges owed to Airtel. The decision by NCC was taken in accordance with Section 100 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 and guidelines on procedure for granting approval to disconnect telecommunications operators.

Nairametrics had reported in August that MTN Nigeria banned incoming calls from Glo users for at least five days over the latter’s failure to pay its interconnection debts. According to reports, the debt burden and the accrued interest had risen to N4.4 billion, out of which Globacom paid the sum of N500 million as at the time of the ban. Glo however made a payment of N2.6 billion in the same month.

Glo was caught in the web again: The company is said to be owing Airtel interconnected charges. Glo was allowed to... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/21/heres-why-glo-users-will-no-longer-be-able-to-call-airtel-lines-again/

An agreement has been reached between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) over the new minimum wage adjustment.

The agreement was reached after about four days of the meeting. According to the Minister of State for Labour & Employment, Festus Keyamo, both the government and the organized labour signed Terms of Settlement on different percentages of adjustments.

Nairametrics reported that the Federal Government and the National Assembly had approved the minimum wage of N30,000. The implementation has, however, been delayed since the approval.

In August, the President of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba, said the union was not prepared for any strike but a memo posted by Keyamo disclosed that the recent conciliation meeting was organized when the labour union threatened... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/18/fg-nlc-agree-on-new-minimum-wage-percentage/

As the “Buy Made-in-Nigeria products” campaign is gradually gathering momentum due to the support of the Federal Government, some engineers and technicians are getting closer to manufacturing made-in-Nigeria transformers. This, the Nigerian government believes, will solve the electricity supply problem in Nigeria.

The engineers and technicians, who are about 60, were sent to China to undergo training on how to produce transformers. The training duration for the 60 engineers and technicians varies. The production of Nigerian-made transformers is expected to begin by... https://nairametrics.com/2019/10/18/china-to-pay-261-4-million-for-production-of-made-in-nigeria-transformers/