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 Politics › AFAWA Hits $1 Billion Investment Milestone In Lending To Women Entrepreneurs by postbox(op): 9:55pm On Jan 31, 2023 |
The African Development Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative has reached a landmark $1 billion in approved funding designated for lending to African women entrepreneurs. This is yet another milestone for the bank following an historic summit last week to tackle the escalating challenges of food security in Africa. The Dakar 2 Africa Food Summit, co-hosted by the Bank and the Government of Senegal, was attended by 34 heads of state and government, more than 70 ministers, farmers’ representatives from the private sector and development partners. AFAWA was launched in 2015 in Dakar during the first Feed Africa conference (Dakar 1 Africa Food Summit). Dr. Beth Dunford, the Bank’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development said: “I am incredibly proud of AFAWA’s financing achievement. AFAWA’s benchmark reminds us that when we invest to grow Africa’s food systems, we must also invest in Africa’s women agripreneurs.” Women run the majority of Africa’s agricultural sector small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), yet they face significant barriers to accessing finance. Across the continent, African women entrepreneurs face an estimated $42 billion gender financing gap compared to men. In the last two years, the Bank, through AFAWA, has multiplied the volume of investments toward women-owned small and medium enterprises sevenfold. “By the end of December 2022, AFAWA-approved lending to women-led small and medium sized enterprises reached $1.051 billion. Of that, $135 million targets women in the agriculture sector,” said Malado Kaba, Director of the Bank’s Gender, Women and Civil Society Department. “AFAWA’s approved lending reaches across 27 countries, and through 56 financial institutions. Already 4,115 women business owners have benefited from AFAWA financing instruments. This is just the beginning,” she added. Already, financial barriers to African women ‘agripreneurs’ growing their businesses, are being addressed through AFAWA investment. AFAWA is working to boost the professional and financial capacities of over 200 women cooperatives in the staple crop food sector in Cote d’Ivoire. This includes training and access to a digital platform connecting women producers to buyers of agricultural products like wholesalers, retailers and consumers across Cote d’Ivoire. Furthermore, AFAWA is working with Ecobank on the “Financing Climate Resilient Agricultural Practices in Ghana” project. The project mobilized $20 million from the Green Climate Fund, and $5 million from Ecobank Ghana as co-financing, to fill the gap for working capital to farmers. The AFAWA project aims to provide financing and technical support to 400 women-led, farmer-based associations and women-owned small and medium enterprises, to foster their agriculture productivity and strengthen their climate resilience practices. To accelerate progress toward unlocking $5 billion in lending for women by 2026, AFAWA has established a Guarantee Mechanism (http:///3DtOnuS) which de-risks the women’s market and increases the ability of financial institutions to lend to women business owners. AFAWA also launched the Women Entrepreneurship Enablers program, which provides up to $250,000 for women’s business associations, incubators, accelerators, women-led cooperatives, and civil society organizations. The program increases women SMEs readiness to access credit and scale their businesses. The program inducted its first cohort of 10 Enablers (http:///3wFoVi8) in July 2022, who are expected to apply skills acquired in the Enablers program to reach more than 15,000 women-led micro and small enterprises. The second call for proposals to the program drew more than 1,200 applicants. The second cohort will be announced later this year. “In 2023, we will continue to work closely with our partners to accelerate their ability to lend to women-led micro and small enterprises. Ensuring that the enabling environment is inclusive to enhance women’s ability to access financing will be critical. Thus, we will work closely with policymakers to ensure that the right reforms are in place to accelerate women-led small and medium enterprises’ financial access,” said Kaba. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/31/african-development-banks-afawa-hits-1-billion-investment-milestone-in-lending-to-women-entrepreneurs-in-africa/
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| Celebrities › Venita Gets Signed Into Hollywood Based Pan-african Company by postbox(op): 7:12pm On Jan 30, 2023 |
A Nigerian actor and influencer, Venita Oghenekevwe Akpofure, has been announced by the management and staff of BSK STUDIOS, the mother company of BSK STREAMS, as the first brand ambassador of the company. BSK STREAMS is a multi-functional streaming platform where you can enjoy multiple services including: MOVIES, 24 HOUR NON-STOP RADIO BROADCASTING, LIVE STREAMING OF YOUR FAVOURITE CONCERTS/EVENTS and much more. With its headquarters based in Maryland USA, BSK STREAMS is set to project PAN-AFRICAN content globally. Set to launch summer 2023, subscribers will have access to content such as movies, tv shows, podcasts, and documentaries. Subscribers also can switch to the live radio station where you can listen to non-stop music and radio shows from top radio DJs who bring the best of afrobeat sounds. BSK’s live streaming of events will be a dream come through for our subscribers. Any afrobeat event, anywhere in the world, you’re unable to attend will be streamed live to you on our platform. Making you feel like you are right there at the venue! “Our goal is to take pan-African culture and entertainment to the world with our newly signed brand ambassador and others that will be joining us soon”. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/27/venita-gets-signed-into-hollywood-based-pan-african-company/
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| Career › DLM Capital Group Sponsors Employee’s Philanthropic Projects by postbox(op): 9:49pm On Jan 27, 2023 |
DLM Capital Group, a development investment bank, partnered with the Shile Akinjo Charity Foundation (SACF) on two of its charity initiatives: “Love Feast on the Street” and “Back-to-School Project.” Shile Akinjo, a corporate finance associate at DLM, started SACF in 2022 to support low-income families and the less privileged to fight poverty, receive decent health care, and achieve a basic education. The “Love Feast on the Street” was held on the 17th of December 2022 to celebrate Christmas with over 400 kids at Makoko Slum, Yaba, Lagos. The day’s highlights include face painting, a dance competition, popcorn, food, drinks, and the gifting of party packs to the kids. The “Back-to-School Project” was held on the 20th of January 2023, at The Light School and Boanerges School at Akesan, Alimosho, local government. All the pupils in basic 1–5 were given school supplies such as school bags, socks, notebooks, pencils, biros, erasers, rulers, crayons, water bottles, and snacks. Shile Akinjo commented on the initiative, stating, “Happiness is as essential as food if a child is to develop into normal manhood or womanhood.” Being able to put smiles on these kids’ faces is fulfilling, and we will continue to carry out initiatives that support these goals. I am grateful to Mr. Sonnie Ayere and DLM Capital Group for their full commitment to these projects. I feel lucky to work for a company that supports and encourages its employees to do good things for the community. In a statement highlighting DLM’s sponsorship of the projects, Chinwendu Ohakpougwu, Head of Corporate Communications, said: “At DLM, we are committed to impacting human lives. The management of DLM will continue to support good causes that promote the welfare of others.” SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/27/dlm-capital-group-sponsors-employees-philanthropic-projects/
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| Business › Bolt, Uber Drivers Form Trade Union As FG Approves AUATWON by postbox(op): 10:31pm On Jan 26, 2023 |
The drivers of e-hailing services in Nigeria have officially unionised as the Nigerian Government presented a letter of approval of registration to the Amalgamated Union of App-Based Transport Workers of Nigeria (AUATWON) Brand Spur Nigeria reports that the letter presentation was made on Tuesday by Chris Ngige, Nigeria’s Labour Minister after FG approved the union. The union members comprise app-based transport workers, online transport services, and e-hailing drivers and operators in Nigeria. Speaking on the achievement, the Minister said it was a milestone achievement for Nigeria’s Labour scene, stating that it is a major step to formalise Nigeria’s informal sector. “Hitherto, we gave recognition and certification to workers in the formal sector, including the private sector, such as banks, oil and gas, and insurance, among other technical areas. “Recently, the two newly registered university-based unions, the Congress for University Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) were also given. “Today, we are breaking new ground with those in the informal sector who are employing themselves and from there, employing others.” Ngige further disclosed that the promoters of AUATWON applied for registration as a trade union on April 27, 2021, to cater for self-employed persons in the field of IT-based transportation services, adding: “We considered necessary factors and perimeters, especially the global movement, which is sponsored mostly by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to formalise the informal sector. “In our case today, we have a hybrid of the forgone in the informal economy that owned and operate economic units which may also further include employers and members of cooperatives of social and solidarity economy units.” SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/25/bolt-uber-drivers-form-trade-union-as-fg-approves-auatwon/
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| Phones › Airtel Nigeria Introduces eSIM For Subscribers by postbox(op): 10:21pm On Jan 26, 2023 |
Airtel Nigeria, a subsidiary of Airtel Africa Plc, has introduced its embedded subscriber identity modules (eSIM) services on its network. The initiative comes two years after MTN Nigeria began the use of eSIM, the first in West Africa. An eSIM (embedded SIM) is a programmable SIM card that is embedded directly into a smartphone or wearable device. The new technology is useful for frequent travellers and tourists, making it easy for them to opt for and keep a local subscription when visiting Nigeria. In a statement on Tuesday, Airtel said customers who wish to switch their current physical SIM cards for eSIM can now do so as the service is now immediately available on its network. It also said for successful usage, customers must ensure the availability of a compatible device, obtain the required QR code by dialling *#06#, and be guided through a SIM Swap process by Airtel service personnel. Airtel’s management said it believes that the digital SIM will significantly improve the productivity of Nigerians, helping its stakeholders to achieve personal and professional goals. Speaking on the development, Femi Oshinlaja, assistant chief commercial officer, Airtel Nigeria, said Airtel Nigeria was always at the forefront in championing technological advancement and creating innovative platforms and opportunities that will make life better, more exciting, and more enjoyable “for all those in our stakeholder value chain”. “With eSIM, we are not only bringing the latest technology to the fingertips of our customers, but we are also focusing on our sustainability goals of digital inclusion and environmental best practices as no plastic is involved with eSIM,” Oshinlaja said. “It is therefore our commitment to continue to create offerings that will expand and deepen our digital footprints in line with our positioning as the network of first choice in Nigeria for everything mobile internet, digital and home broadband.” SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/26/airtel-nigeria-introduces-esim-for-subscribers/
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| Politics › Dr. Olubunmi Ademosu Conferred Life Matron Of NANS Southwest by postbox(op): 9:48pm On Jan 26, 2023 |
The Leadership of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Southwest Zone has confered Dr (Mrs) Olubunmi Ademosu as the associaion’s matron. The Deputy Coordinator of NANS Southwest, Comrade Alao John alongside the Public Relations Officer of the zone Comrade Awoyinfa Opeoluwa via s statement made available to Brand Spur Nigeria praised Dr. Olubunmi, SA Public Affairs and Inter-Governmental Relations to the Ondo State Government for her selfless contribution to humanity and the students constituency. “Nigeria students are very happy to associate with such a dignity personified. We salute your brave and fearless Leadership at all time” NANS said. The statement further reads that, “Dr. Ademosu is a figure of inspiration to Nigerian Women, Youth and Students. She’s a fantastic role model for all those seeking to understand how to make an impact with their life, she has proven herself to be a leader of ethics and morality. She’s the voice for the voiceless”. “Whenever we see her, we see a Jane Austen of U.K, we see a Florence Nightingale,Coco Chanel, Mother Theresa, Oprah Winfrey, J.K Rowlings or Sarafina of South Africa, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti of Nigeria. Sarafina of South Africa Ma, she’s one like Mary Slessor who stopped the killings of twin. “The leadership of NANS Southwest hereby say thank you for your service to Humanity, thank you for your brave and fearless leadership. “She’s a figure of inspiration to Nigerian Women, Youth and Students. She’s a fantastic role model for all those seeking to understand how to make an impact with their life, you have proven yourself to be a leader of ethics and morality. “She has exhibited uncommon wisdom, remarkable vision, and exemplary leadership, she has been a role model and an example of selfless giving to this generation and We’re proud to hold her as someone worthy of emulation. “She has been an inspiration to youth and students. In accordance to a biblical assertion which state that “Many women do noble things but you surpass them all”. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/26/dr-olubunmi-ademosu-conferred-life-matron-of-nans-southwest/
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| Politics › Naira Redesign Policy: CBN Launches Cash Swap Programme In Rural by postbox(op): 6:01pm On Jan 24, 2023 |
In furtherance of its Naira Redesign policy and in recognition of the need to maximise the channels through which underserved and rural communities can exchange their Naira, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) today launched a Cash Swap programme in partnership with Super Agents and Deposit Money Banks, DMBs.https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/24/naira-redesign-policy-cbn-launches-cash-swap-programme-in-rural/ 2 Likes
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| Politics › LIRS Reaffirms January 31 Deadline For Filing Of Annual Tax Returns by postbox(op): 9:05pm On Jan 23, 2023 |
The Lagos State Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) has announced that January 31, 2023, remains the deadline for filing the annual tax returns by employers of labour. The LIRS Executive Chairman, Mr Ayodele Subair made this known in a statement signed by the Head, Corporate Communications of LIRS, Monsurat Amasa on Sunday. According to the LIRS Executive Chairman, all businesses and employers of labour residents within Lagos State must file their annual income tax returns on or before January 31, 2023, as failure to comply with the directive would attract penalties as well as other statutory sanctions as stipulated in section 81 (2) of the Personal Income Tax Act (PITA) Cap P8 LFN 2004 (as amended). The Act stipulates January 31st as the deadline for filing of annual income tax returns, failing which a penalty accrues. “For filing the annual income tax returns in Lagos State, the only available platform is the LIRS e-Tax portal: https://etax.lirs.net. The e-Tax portal is built for the convenience of taxpayers and is easy, convenient and safe. All businesses and employers of labour are advised to use the e-Tax portal to file their returns. “With the eTax system, corporate bodies are expected to find it more convenient to carry out tax transactions in the comfort of their homes and offices, Subair noted. To be on the eTax platform, corporate bodies can follow these steps: Visit https://etax.lirs.net, input your company payer ID, password and click login; Step two: Generate your bill and Step three: Make your payment. ‘’Taxpayer ID of all employees is compulsory for the annual income tax returns to be successfully filed on the e-Tax portal. Therefore, all employees and taxable persons within the State are advised to generate a taxpayer ID (where applicable) and file their individual annual income tax returns on the e-Tax portal.’’ SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/23/lirs-reaffirms-january-31-deadline-for-filing-of-annual-tax-returns/
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| Business › CBN Launches Its Own Debit Card by postbox(op): 8:14pm On Jan 19, 2023 |
The apex bank of Nigeria, CBN has introduced a national domestic card scheme to facilitate financial inclusion and grow Nigeria’s payment system which would take effect from January 16, 2023.SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/18/cbn-launches-its-own-debit-card/ 6 Likes
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| Phones › Apple Launches 14; 16 Inches Macbook Pro by postbox(op): 7:55pm On Jan 19, 2023 |
In the world of technology where we have super devices and super technology that keeps making it easier to do everyday activities. Apple is stepping it up a notch with its newest addition to the MacBook Pro collection and this is not just any MacBook. This MacBook is coming with an M2 chip and according to Apple this is definitely life-changing and sets a new standard in the department of super-fast and battery-conserving devices. The technology company had earlier teased an M1 model in June 2022, which features in MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, and Mac mini models, and it has got great reviews from users due to its incredible performance and efficiency since this marked Apple’s first step towards transitioning from Intel chips to its System on a Chip (SOC). This was a welcoming boost for Apple. What made the M1 chip so good and faster than Intel chips was that the unified memory architecture that Apple included, made it easy for all of the technologies in the M1 to access the same data, without having to swap between multiple pools of memory. So what is so special about Apple’s latest addition to its MacBook series? The 14 and 16 inches MacBook Pro which was launched on 16 January 2023 are the best range of MacBook that Apple sells. This new series comes with the new improved M2 System on a Chip (SOC) which integrates several different components which includes CPU, GPU, unified memory architecture (RAM), Neural Engine, Secure Enclave, SSD controller, image signal processor, encode/decode engines, Thunderbolt controller with USB 4 support and many more. All this feature gives Apple MacBook Pro 3.9x faster video processing and 7.1x faster image processing. This is a whole new world of fast and with the help of the unified memory architecture on the M2 chip just like the M1 chip, the CPU, GPU, and other processor components do not need to copy data between one another for processing since they access the same pool of data. However, this means the RAM is not user upgradeable anymore and this isn’t much of a surprise as the latest Macs do not have user-accessible RAM, only a few, but the M2 Macs are fitted with 24GB RAM which is more than enough for everyday tasks. Apple also disclosed that M2 chips are next-generation processors built with 5-nanometer technology, with better performance per watt. The M2 chip, which is 1.4x faster than the M1 chip, has an 18% faster CPU and a 35% more powerful GPU, running at 3.49GHz compared to 3.2GHz for the M1 chip. The M2 chip impacts more on an Apple MacBook Pro more than just faster processing and memory, it is also battery efficient. The M2 chip on a MacBook Air affords it 18hrs of battery life while on a 13-inch MacBook Pro, battery life is up to 20hrs. Battery life in an M2 Mac lasts 2x longer than the prior version of Mac that came with Intel chips and the 13-inch MacBook Pro has the longest battery life, which is 20hrs due to the M2 chip SOC on it. Currently, Macs that run on an M2 chip include the 2022 MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro and also the recently launched 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pro. In the security department, Intel Macs were fitted with T2 chips which handled security and other features but with M1 and M2 chips, no need for a separate chip, M1 and M2 took care of everything. With its inbuilt Secure Enclave that handles Touch ID and a storage controller with AES encryption hardware for better and secure SSD performance. Apple is also pushing back on the software department with the development of the Rosetta 2 transition layer. This layer, which is added due to the unique style of the M2 chip architecture, allows developers to create universal app binaries that run flawlessly on both Apple silicon chips and Intel chips. It also developed the Rosetta 2 translation layer to allow it to run x86 apps on the m1 chip. This means Rosetta 2 can allow Apple users to run apps designed for Intel machines on both M1/M2 chips, however with some limited performance compromises, most apps will run smoothly on both Intel and M1/M2 Macs due to performance improvement. Here are also some features for the 14-inch MacBook Pro as well as their prices. 14-inch MacBook Pro WAS: M1 Pro, 8-Core CPU, 14-Core GPU, 16GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD: $1,999/£1,899 NOW: M2 Pro, 10-Core CPU, 16-Core GPU, 16GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD: $1,999/£2,149 WAS: M1 Pro, 10-Core CPU, 16-Core GPU, 16GB Unified Memory, 1TB SSD: $2,499/£2,399 NOW: M2 Pro, 12-Core CPU, 19-Core GPU, 16GB Unified Memory, 1TB SSD: $2,499/£2,699 while NEW: M2 Max, 12-Core CPU, 30-Core GPU, 32GB Unified Memory, 1TB SSD: $3,099/£3,499 16-inch MacBook Pro WAS: M1 Pro, 10-Core CPU, 16-Core GPU, 16GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD: $2,499/£2,399 NOW: M2 Pro, 12-Core CPU, 19-Core GPU, 16GB Unified Memory, 512GB SSD: $2,499/£2,699 WAS: M1 Pro, 10-Core CPU, 16-Core GPU, 16GB Unified Memory, 1TB SSD: $2,699/£2,599 NOW: M2 Pro, 12-Core CPU, 19-Core GPU, 16GB Unified Memory, 1TB SSD: $2,699/£2,899 WAS: M1 Max, 10-Core CPU, 32-Core GPU, 32GB Unified Memory, 1TB SSD: $3,499/£3,299 NOW: M2 Max, 12-Core CPU, 38-Core GPU, 32GB Unified Memory, 1TB SSD: $3,499/£3,749 Apple which continues to make hitting new milestones in the smartphone and laptops division has proven to the world once again and according to Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing “MacBook Pro with Apple silicon has been a game changer, empowering pros to push the limits of their workflows while on the go and do things they never thought possible on a laptop”. What feature excites you the most about the latest Apple MacBook Pro 2023 SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/19/apple-launches-14-16-inches-macbook-pro/
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| Politics › Nigeria’s Inflation Drops First Time In 11 Months: From 21.47% To 21.34% by postbox(op): 10:13pm On Jan 16, 2023 |
Nigeria’s inflation rate eased for the first time in 11 months to 21.34 percent.https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/16/nigerias-inflation-drops-first-time-in-11-months/ 5 Likes
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| TV/Movies › Creativity: Films Now Have Sub-brands And Franchises by postbox(op): 7:40pm On Jan 12, 2023 |
I’m not sure if you saw Glass Onion over the holidays, but it’s fantastic. Rian Johnson’s modern whodunit stars Daniel Craig’s detective Benoit Blanc, as well as a slew of other actors led by Edward Norton. The film follows a group of unlikely characters who are invited to a surprise event in which someone kills someone else somewhere with something. I don’t want to ruin it for you. But then something unexpected happens. The film was a critical success, with most critics naming it one of the year’s best. However, Johnson, who wrote and directed the film, had one major complaint about its release. To his chagrin, the title of his new film was changed at the last minute. The film, originally titled Glass Onion, was retitled Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery just days before its November premiere. “I tried really hard to make it self-contained,” the 49-year-old writer-director explained in an interview with The Atlantic magazine at the film’s premiere. “To be honest, I’m irritated that we have ‘A Knives Out Mystery’ in the title. I had hoped to simply call it Glass Onion. I understand, and I want everyone who enjoyed the first film to know that this is the next installment in the series, but the whole appeal to me is that it’s a new novel off the shelf every time. But there’s a thousand suns’ gravitational pull toward serialized storytelling.” In terms of modern branding architecture, the film went from a shadow-endorser approach all the way across the Brand Relationship Spectrum to a sub-brand strategy, and the director was clearly unhappy with the outcome. One of the simplest and most logical ways to demonstrate Aaker and Joachimsthaler’s famous continuum of how brands relate to each other within a company’s portfolio is to use movie sequels. It’s a deceptively simple model, but it’s at the heart of one of the most important branding decisions any organization can make. On one extreme, the ‘house of brands,’ the company chooses to make no connection between its various brands and allows each to exist in the consumer’s mind independently of the other brands in the portfolio. Our film example is Road Warrior (1981), the sequel to Mad Max (1979). Because the original film had a very limited release in the United States, the decision was made to market the sequel as a completely new, standalone film with no reference to the original film. On the other end of the Spectrum is the ‘branded house,’ where every product is branded with the same name. Our film example is 2018’s Halloween, which has the same title as the original film on which it is based. One that was created exactly 40 years ago. Between these two extremes, the Brand Relationship Spectrum transitions us from a situation in which each brand in the portfolio is presented to consumers independently to one in which everything is branded the same. There are numerous gradations along the way. The Artist Formerly Known as Prince once sang that a one-night stand had 23 positions. I’ve been married for 20 years, so I’ll believe him. But I can confirm that the Brand Relationship Spectrum has nine positions, and if you work in marketing, each one is as exciting as anything the Purple One did at Paisley Park. Sub-branding synergies Rian Johnson’s original plan was to mimic the style of Agatha Christie novels while keeping his protagonist, Benoit Blanc, in an entirely new mystery and thus a completely new brand. The goal was not to conceal but also not to reveal the connection to the original film. This type of relationship is known as a shadow endorsement because it is never explicitly stated but also never hidden. Consider Jetstar’s relationship with Qantas or Mini’s relationship with BMW. Just as Ridley Scott’s Prometheus was clearly a prequel to the Aliens films but made no direct mention of that series in its plot or marketing, Johnson wanted to trust his audience’s intelligence while also freeing up his new film to allow for future sequels. However, Netflix, the creators of Glass Onion, upended this plan. They did not want the independence that a shadow endorsement provided, and instead desired a more solid connection to the original film. As a result, the studio decided to make Glass Onion a sub-brand of the Knives Out masterbrand and ensure that the new film’s marketing positioned it clearly as such. Although there were no “a thousand suns” driving the name change, there were certainly several very large planetary objects pulling the film away from the independence of shadow endorsement and toward the inherent synergies of sub-branding. First, this is a general trend in modern branding. During the 2000s, many multinational corporations took pride in creating and acquiring an increasing number of brands. After a decade, the costs of maintaining and growing such a large, diverse portfolio became increasingly obvious, and every wise company did two things. They reduced the quantitative size of their portfolio of brands. Everyone from P&G to FedEx demolished some of their properties in order to lower their marketing land tax and boost their renovation budgets by focusing on only the largest and best remaining properties. The surviving portfolio was then aligned under as few brands as possible by moving as many of the surviving brands as possible from left to right on the Brand Relationship Spectrum. Zero became a product variant of Coke rather than a separate brand. Picasa was renamed Google Photos. More was reduced to less. Less began to yield more. Netflix is simply following a well-established trend in modern brand management: attracting as many customers as possible with as few brands as possible. The last 30 years have seen an incredible revolution in product development. There were a few famous sequels when I was a kid – The Godfather, Star Wars – but for the most part, you went to the movies to see a completely new story with characters who would not appear again once the credits rolled. The concept of prequels was novel. As was a film in its sixth or seventh incarnation. Or one that, like Marvel, spawns a whole new series of films that are interconnected to the original. Hollywood produced a film. They promoted the film. You watched the movie. The conclusion. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/11/creativity-films-now-have-sub-brands-and-franchises/
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| Phones › Airtel Nigeria Acquires $317 Million Spectrum Ahead Of Its 5G Launch by postbox(op): 7:03pm On Jan 12, 2023 |
Ahead of its 5G launch, Airtel Nigeria has acquired $317 million 5G spectrum for its 4G network, this was disclosed in a statement by the local unit of the telecom giant saying “The acquisition of 5G spectrum will underpin our growth strategy by enabling the launch of higher speed connectivity to enhance customer service and accelerate digitalization for consumers, enterprises and the public sector,” Airtel Nigeria disclosed in its statement, that it purchased 100 MHz of spectrum in the 3500MHz band and 2x5MHz of 2600MHz from the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) for a gross consideration of $316.7m, as a strategic part of its broader plan to boost Airtel Nigeria’s mobile data network and the power of its fixed wireless home broadband. The company hopes to gain the needed momentum to steady its feet in the 5G technology development in Africa’s telecom market. This recent development has already begun to attract attention as shares in Airtel Africa rose to 5.2 per cent to N1,630 per unit on Lagos’ Customs Street at 13:28 WAT after the news hit the market, pushing its market value above N6.1 trillion, which is the highest value ever traded by a public company in Nigeria. The company is capitalizing on “the (shallow) penetration of data customers in Nigeria” where fewer than 44 per cent of people have access to smartphones according to a survey by the Alliance for Affordable Internet. Airtel Nigeria has also assured its customers that this purchase will increase the ease of connectivity at a much faster rate to enhance access to the digital world for its consumers. Segun Ogunsanya, CEO of Airtel Africa disclosed that Nigeria is a market with enormous potential for future growth in mobile services,” while adding that “Investment in new technologies and local infrastructure to enable this growth is a strategic priority for the group and will ensure we are able to provide reliable and affordable services to local communities across the country,” Airtel Nigeria had lost an earlier chance to run 5G technology when it couldn’t secure one of the two available licenses auctioned by the Nigeria Communication Commission in December 2021, which was secured by MTN and Mafab, and although the MTN has already begun operating its 5G technology in August 2022, Mafab chose to extend its launch to January 2022 due to its Mafab’s regulations. Airtel Nigeria hopes to establish itself in the conversation quickly while delivering value to its customers in Nigeria, which is the biggest market for both Airtel and MTN. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/10/airtel-nigeria-acquires-317-million-spectrum-ahead-of-its-5g-launch/
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| Politics › Two Nigerians Elected President And Member Of FIA Ethics Committee by postbox(op): 4:36pm On Jan 09, 2023 |
In a historic move for Nigeria and the global motorsport community, two Nigerians, Michael Ango and Denen Ikya were recently elected as President and member respectively of the Ethics Committee of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). Their elections, which were announced by the FIA President, Dr. Mohammed Ben Sulayem at the recently concluded Annual General Assembly in Bologna Italy, are in line with the vision of the FIA President to promote equality, diversity and inclusion within the Federation. With these elections, Nigeria has made history as the first African country to get the Presidency of the Ethics Committee of the FIA along with an additional membership seat. In a press release issued by the President of the FIA, Michael Ango, a lawyer and Partner and Head of Tax Advisory and Regulatory Services at Andersen Nigeria was announced as the new President of the FIA Ethics Committee for a four year tenue commencing 1st January, 2023. Additionally, Denen Ikya, an Abuja based legal practitioner and Partner at Crest Hill Law Office, Abuja was elected as a member of the Committee alongside three other members, from Brazil and USA/Canada. With this election, Michael Ango becomes the first African President of the Ethics Committee since its creation as an organ of the FIA. Mr. Ishaku Bamaiyi, the President of the Automobile and Touring Club of Nigeria (ATCN), the Nigerian affiliate of the FIA through which Mr. Ango and Mr. Ikya were nominated for the posts stated that the election of the two Nigerians into what he referred to as an important standing Committee of the FIA, is a major milestone for the Club, Nigeria and Africa. He said this was a culmination of the efforts of the ATCN to put Nigeria on the global map of Automobile Mobility and Tourism, and World Motor Sport. He noted that Mr. Ango and Mr. Ikya were elected on merit and in order to deepen the knowledge and resource base of the FIA, in line with the vision of the President of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem to make the FIA, a knowledge-led federation with world-class governance and which continues to empower Clubs, Members, and the World Councils. Michael Ango and Denen Ikya, who are both legal practitioners and 2003 graduates of the Nigerian Law School, have resumed their positions with effect from 1st January, 2023 and will superintend the functions of the Committee for the next four years. With their election, Nigeria is expected to benefit by having a stronger voice in the global motorsport regulation and governance and in encouraging investments and tourism opportunities in Motorsport and Mobility. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/07/https-brandspurng-com-2023-01-07-two-nigerians-elected-president-and/
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| Agriculture › FG Distributes Refrigerated Meat Vans To Enhance Modern Meat Haulage System by postbox(op): 4:26pm On Jan 09, 2023 |
Federal Government has demonstrated its unwavering commitment to resuscitating meat haulage system in Nigeria by flagging-off the distribution of refrigerated Meat Vans to Butchers and Meat Seller’s Association to commence the process of modernizing meat haulage system in their respective States. Speaking during the National Stakeholders Workshop on Meat Hygiene /Distribution of Refrigerated Meat Vans to Butchers and Meat Seller’s Association in Abuja recently, the Hon. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar said that the quest to address the issues concerning meat haulage was as a result of concerns expressed for not ensuring safety of our foods which has caused huge amount of money in foreign exchange and has continued to limit Nigeria’s full participation in trade of most agricultural commodities outside the shores of the country. He revealed that meat haulage was the act of transporting meat from one location to another, either within the abattoir premises or between the abattoirs in Nigeria today do not conform to global best practices that guarantees safety for transporters, the carcass and the consumers. Abubakar pointed out that “the practice was undesired especially where carcasses had to be transported on wheel barrows, open vans, pick up vans, among others thereby exposing the meat to high level contamination and quality compromised’’. Speaking further, the Minister stated that the ministry in collaboration with financial institutions and private investors expected that each state of the Federation would start with at least Five (5) refrigerated meat vans including the one that was donated free from the Federal Government through the Ministry. Dr. Abubakar, therefore, noted that come May 29th, 2023, anyone caught transporting meat in contravention of the modern meat haulage protocols, would be left with no option than to have his/her carcasses. Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe represented by the Director, Veterinary & Pest Control Services, Dr. Maimuna Habib said meat hygiene was an important aspect of food safety that should not be handled with kid gloves, nothing that it was in recognition of the perishable nature of meat and meat offal that necessitated the need to improve on the operation of meat processing. He pointed out that apart from the need to sanitize and bring meat haulage system in international standard, the operation had the potential to create sustainable jobs to youths in Nigeria, adding that it was worthy of note that, few states and investors had already keyed into the roadmap that guaranteed delivery of safe and qualitative meat to consumers. Umakhihe, however, noted that Ministry had contributed to the drafting of the National Food Safety and Quality Bill that had passed third reading at the National Assembly. In his remarks, the National President of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, Alhaji Baba Ngelzarma commended the Hon. Minister for the laudable initiative and called for an urgent need to train butchers and Meat sellers Association. Highlight of the event was the unveiling of 11 Refrigerated Meat Vans by the Hon. Minister. In attendance were the representatives of Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Corporation, NAIC, Bank of Agriculture, BOA, Agriculture Research Council of Nigeria, ARCN, Directors of Veterinary Services, President, National Butchers Union of Nigeria, FAO Nigeria, CEO ABIS Farms, CEO Blue Blood Veterinary Services amongst others. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/09/fg-distributes-refrigerated-meat-vans-to-enhance-modern-meat-haulage-system/ 1 Like
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| Investment › Stanbic IBTC Capital Named Best Investment Bank In Nigeria by postbox(op): 3:37pm On Jan 06, 2023 |
Stanbic IBTC Capital, the investment banking subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, won four awards at the recently concluded EMEA Finance African Banking Awards 2022. For the 8th consecutive year, Stanbic IBTC Capital was named Best Investment Bank in Nigeria. Stanbic IBTC Capital also won awards for Best Debt House, Best Loan House and Best M&A House in Nigeria. Stanbic IBTC Capital’s Chief Executive, Funso Akere, thanked EMEA Finance for the recognition which he attributed to the unwavering commitment of the Stanbic IBTC Capital team to provide clients with innovative investment solutions and best-in-class service delivery. According to Funso, “Our dedicated team of investment banking specialists leverage sector insights and product expertise to offer our clients innovative advisory, capital markets and financing solutions. We thank our clients for trusting Stanbic IBTC Capital to handle their important investment banking transactions. These awards reinforce our position as the leading investment banking franchise in Nigeria.” EMEA Finance is a leading global industry publication focused on the finance industry in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This is the 15th edition of its African Banking Awards and the awards highlights the best investment banks, commercial banks, brokers and assets managers across Africa. Stanbic IBTC Capital is the leading investment banking franchise in Nigeria and provides a complete suite of advisory, capital markets and financing solutions to clients operating in Nigeria. Stanbic IBTC Capital is a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, a leading end-to-end financial solutions provider in Nigeria which is listed on Nigerian Exchange Limited. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/05/stanbic-ibtc-capital-named-best-investment-bank-in-nigeria/
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| Investment › Stock Investors Gain N33bn In Bullish Trading by postbox(op): 4:42pm On Jan 05, 2023 |
Investors in the Nigerian stock market on Wednesday recorded a gain of N33bn as the market continued its bullish run for the second day in a row in the 2023 trading year. The All Share Index rose by 61.90 absolute points, representing a gain of 0.12 per cent to close at 51,657.56 points. Accordingly, investors gained N33bn in value as market capitalisation went up to N28.136tn. The bullish run was impacted by gains recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, among which are Nigerian Breweries, Flour Mills of Nigeria, BUA Foods, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, and Fidelity Bank. Market breadth closed positive as 21 stocks posted gains while 12 stocks posted declines. NAHCO, Nigerian Breweries, and Living Trust Mortgage Bank recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at N7.70, N45.10, and N1.76 respectively, per share. FCMB Group followed with a gain of 9.97 per cent to close at N3.86, while Fidelity Bank went up by 9.86 per cent to close at N4.79, per share. Japaul Gold & Ventures went up by 7.41 per cent to close at 29 kobo, while Royal Exchange appreciated by 7.41 per cent to close at 29 kobo, per share. On the other hand, Champion Breweries led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N4.95, per share. Unity Bank followed with a decline of 6.78 per cent to close at 55 kobo, while Unity Bank for Africa went down by 3.61 to close at N8.00, per share. Jaiz Bank lost 3.33 per cent to close at 87 kobo, while Consolidated Hallmark Insurance shed 2.99 per cent to close at 65 kobo, per share. The total volume traded fell by 17.4 per cent to 265.726 million shares, worth N13.529bn, and traded in 4,156 deals. Transactions in the shares of BUA Cement topped the activity chart with 101.654 million shares valued at N9.851bn. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria followed with 32.770 million shares worth N37.144m, while Access Holdings traded 22.956 million shares valued at N199.941m. Guaranty Trust Holding Company traded 12.227 million shares valued at N284.428m, while UBA transacted 12.214 million shares worth N99.413m. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/05/stock-investors-gain-n33bn-in-bullish-trading/
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| Business › Nigeria’s Electronic Transactions Hits 3.5bn by postbox(op): 4:25pm On Jan 05, 2023 |
Analyst has reported that the electronic transaction in Nigeria peaked at 3.5 billion in the year 2022 amidst the introduction of several policies to boost cashless economy in Nigeria by the Central Bank of Nigeria, therefore ranking Nigeria 6th in the world. This has given rise to interest of many into trends which are to be expected in the year 2023. The election season has seen a lot of anxiety over the economy ecosystem of Nigeria due to the change in political power as well as global and various economic indices. According to the reports by THISDAY, who spoke with Ken Ife, a renowned economist, London Enterprise Ambassador and Chief Economic Strategist, ECOWAS Commission on his forecast on how the banking sector will shape the electronic transactions in 2023. It is predicted that banks would try reduce operating expenses and make more profit from the non-interest income. The renowned economist said: “Banks have been doing extremely well. If you look at the GDP figures of the third quarter, the banks were returning 18.3 per cent growth rate. That is phenomenal. Remember that throughout 2020 and 2021, the banks were running at 15 per cent growth rate, which is five times more growth than the rest of the economy. And they were running pari passu with the ICT. Now what has happened is that all of the banking sector and the financial sector have benefited from Central Bank’s massive investment in payment infrastructure because they invested heavily in permanent infrastructure. “So when there was the COVID disruption, and there was a shutdown, people were comfortable trading and doing transactions at home because they had their mobile money, POS, and agency banking to the point that Nigeria in 2021 is number six in the world in electronic transactions. We are even ahead of America, which was 1.2 billion while Nigeria was 1.8 billion transactions a year; while those ahead of us are India, China and South Korea, but Nigeria was doing really well. And then in 2022, Nigeria’s transactions doubled and went to 3.5 billion transactions, which was equivalent to $200 billion turnover. So, Nigeria has gone nuclear in that respect with 100 per cent increase. I just laugh when people complain about the transaction, we are ready for electronic transactions and the evidence shows that we are.” The head of Financial Institutions Ratings at Agusto & Co, Mr. Ayokunle Olubunmi also predicted a downturn on the economy saying “Its an election year as well as an import of global inflation and external economic factors.'” While he also added that “Economically it is not going to be a very rosy year because when we check through the years where we’ve had a change in government you notice that the economy struggles because it takes a while for the new government to settle in. And especially with this election that there seems to be very likely that we might have a rerun because the candidates do not have the level of political acceptance that we have had in all other elections. So, it would be a tough year both politically and economically.” “Also, Nigeria is not isolated from what’s happening in the global economy. The global economy is actually struggling and also if you look at the budget just passed the debt we are planning and other various elements would impact the economy generally. Speaking about the banking sector, Mr. Bunmi predicts that banks would focus on fee-based income and strategies around cost saving on operation to which he said ““looking at the banking industry, banks need to also be strategic because the interest expense as inflation is going up and as the MPR is going up so also is the cost of funds also going up. So the net interest margin can actually thin out. For most banks, you will realise that there is a limit to how far you can actually raise your interest rate on your loans because you don’t want to push your customers into default or discourage them.” “Of course the inflation will also increase the operating expenses but we also expect some more cost-saving initiatives from banks. I’m sure a lot of banks would start trying to scale down their unprofitable branches.” “And we’ll see more banks focusing more on non-interest income. Because remember when I mentioned we expect the net interest income to actually reduce so most of them will be focusing on fee-based income and transactions that are based or fees to get more income,” SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/05/nigerias-electronic-transactions-hits-3-5bn/
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| Phones › Global Telcos Announce Plans To Shut Down 3G Services by postbox(op): 10:03am On Jan 04, 2023 |
With the announcement of 5G in most parts of the world and a test run of 6G in China which is a super upgrade to the previous generation of smartphone network, we can say it is truly the end of the 3G era. 3G which is the third generation of wireless mobile telecommunications technology which was first rolled out commercially in mid-2001 and saw the upgrade from 2G, 2.5G, GPRS, and 2.75G networks, ushered in the smartphone era is no longer sustainable as announced by global telcos. Global internet service providers like AT&T and T-Mobile had shut down the service earlier in 2022 and most recently, Verizon and Vodafone have notified customers that they intend to cut off 3G-enabled devices from their networks from December 2022 and December 2023 respectively. Also, according to the October report of the Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) has confirmed that 142 companies in 56 countries have either completed, planned, or are in the process of shutting down 2G and 3G networks. The decision to shut down these networks according to experts is being accelerated to make way for a stronger 5G technology and other networks. While network operators shut down 2G networks, the spectrums can be recycled for 4G and 5G networks to offer faster and better connectivity for their consumers. However, in Africa, no announcement has been made by network providers concerning 3G services and devices. South Africa which issued a statement about the future of 2G and 3G in the country announced that by June 2023, it will completely stop the licensing of 2G devices and the country also plans to carry out a similar process for 3G in the second half of 2024 which will end in March 2025. Experts however believe that Nigeria will have little complications joining this movement because the 5G license currently being auctioned by the Nigerian Communications Commission can be deployed on the infrastructure of older networks. These older networks, however, have a deadline date set by the original equipment manufacturers indicating when they will stop producing equipment for 3G and 2G and when the time comes, TELCOS using these equipment models may have difficulty operating. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/04/global-telcos-announce-plans-to-shut-down-3g-services/ 1 Like
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| Business › Rite Foods Rewards Consumers With Free Shopping In New Year Shoppers’ Engagement by postbox(op): 3:22pm On Jan 03, 2023 |
Rite Foods, Nigeria’s market leader in the food and beverage industry has on New Year’s Day, 1 January, 2023, rewarded consumers of its award-winning brands with free shopping opportunities at the Ikeja City Mall, in Lagos. The brand activation at the Rite Foods Wonder House at the Ikeja City Mall, was the centre of activities for its teeming consumers during the yuletide period, attracting thousands of shoppers who were treated to exciting moments. The afternoon engagement saw consumers of the various Rite Foods brands, comprising the 13 variants of its Bigi carbonated soft drink, the premium Bigi Table Water, Fearless energy drinks, the Sosa fruit drink, and Rite Sausages, being refreshed, with those who bought any of the products worth N1,000 being randomly selected for the free shopping of items within a timeline of 30 seconds. Four of the consumers were selected for the free shopping spree at the popular Shoprite store at the mall, and one of them, Lawani Uyi, who made the first attempt in 30 seconds, picked items such as toys, while another, Sam Ademuyiwa shopped two packets of 16 pieces of dinner sets based on how fast he could. A regular consumer of the popular Bigi brand, Igbinosa Clara Adebayo, within 30 seconds, shopped for a bicycle for her daughter as well as other food items, while the last participant, Tochukwu Anyim, who was energetic with his shopping, picked a 43-inch Nexus TV set, and applauded Rite Foods for being selected for the exercise. The event was fun-filled and action-packed, with other shoppers being entertained by the speed and performances of the beneficiaries who commended Rite Foods for the reward initiative aimed at connecting its various products with their consumers, especially the Bigi brand. Overwhelmed with the euphoria of the New Year celebration package, the consumers affirmed that they will continue to make the Bigi carbonated soft drinks, the Sosa fruit drink, as well as other products their favourites and go to brands. It was all an electrifying moment for Rite Foods consumers, who were also treated to a Bigi lucky dip engagement where eight people won freebies comprising a Panasonic Oven, HP Deskjet printer, Panasonic electric kettle, Master Chef electric blender, hampers, among others. One of the winners of the lucky dip winners, Adekilekun Funmilayo, won a Master Chef electric blender and was over-the-moon, lauded the Rite Foods company for embarking on worthy schemes that are beneficial to its consumers. Earlier at the event, Rite Foods Assistant Brand Manager, Boluwatfe Adedugbe, avowed that the company takes the well-being of its consumers at the core of its mission, aligning with them at various touchpoints to ensure optimum satisfaction. She added that the shoppers reward engagement was intended at making the New Year celebration memorable by giving them the free opportunity of shopping for items they so much desire. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/01/02/rite-foods-rewards-consumers-with-free-shopping-in-new-year-shoppers-engagement/
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| Phones › 5 Common Android Problems And How To Fix Them by postbox(op): 7:12am On Dec 30, 2022 |
Android phones are great, but like any other gadgets, they have their fair share of problems. There are some problems that most Android users will encounter at one time or another. We’ll show you some fixes for these common issues, whether you’re using a Samsung Galaxy device, a Google Pixel, or anything else. Unusual Battery Drain Battery life is something you probably keep a close eye on, so it’s very noticeable when your Android phone is draining faster than usual. There are a number of things that can cause this, but it usually has to do with apps. The easiest solution for battery drain—and most problems—is rebooting your phone. Sometimes, things just get wonky, and they need to be restarted. It’s easier to reboot your phone than try to hunt down the exact culprit. The next thing to try is updating your apps. There could be a problem with an app that the developer has already issued a fix for. Head to the Play Store and make sure all your apps are up to date. This is a good practice in general. Lastly, if you’re phone is old, the battery may just be degrading faster. You can check the battery health to see where it stands. Wi-Fi Disconnecting There’s nothing more annoying than trying to use your phone and Wi-Fi won’t stay connected. There are three possible culprits in this situation: your phone, router, or the internet connection itself. We’ve highlighted a number of things you can try to stop your phone from disconnecting from Wi-Fi. If none of those things work, the last resort is resetting the network settings on your phone. Google Pixel: Settings > System > Advanced > Reset Options > Reset Wi-Fi, Mobile & Bluetooth. Samsung Galaxy: Settings > General Management > Reset > Reset Network Settings. Phone Freezing Up If you’ve used a smartphone for any length of time—iPhone or Android—it’s probably frozen up or become extremely laggy for some unknown reason. It happens. Usually, a simple reboot will solve the problem. However, it’s not as easy if your phone is unresponsive. The good news is it’s usually easy to force a reboot with a button combination. For most Android devices, that means holding the Power and Volume Down keys until the phone restarts. This will not wipe anything off the phone. App Keeps Crashing What if the problem is with a specific app? It’s very common for apps to occasionally crash or become unresponsive. Just like you can force reboot your phone, you can also force restart an app. There are two ways to do this. The easiest method is to open the Recent Apps menu and swipe the misbehaving app off the screen. If that doesn’t fix the issue, you can go into the system settings and “Force Close” the app. Force closing an app almost always fixes little problems. Charger Not Working A pretty big problem that can occasionally occur is when your Android phone seems to refuse to charge. Typically, if this happens, it’s related to the charging port or cable, not wireless charging. First, make sure it’s not just the cable but checking with other cables and chargers. If it’s still not working, examine the charging port for any debris that could be interfering with the connection. Still not charging? It could be water damage or simply a faulty charging port. In the case of a faulty charging port, you should reach out to the manufacturer for a replacement. Occasionally, this happens with devices as they get older. However, if the problem is water-related, they may not honor the warranty. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2022/12/29/5-common-android-problems-and-how-to-fix-them/ 21 Likes 1 Share
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| Sports › Gotv Boxing Night 27: Esepo Wins WBF Ritle, N1.5m by postbox(op): 1:57am On Dec 30, 2022 |
Reigning West African Boxing Union (WABU) featherweight champion, Taiwo “Esepor” Agbaje, on Monday, won the World Boxing Federation (WBF) Intercontinental featherweight title at GOtv Boxing Night 27. Agbaje defeated his Filipino opponent, Richard Taruc Pumicpic by a technical knockout in the 7th round to emerge champion. His fine displays also earned him his fourth Mojisola Ogunsanya Memorial Trophy for the best boxer along with the cash prize of N1.5 million attached to it. The Boxing Day show held at the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos also featured five explosive bouts across weight categories. National super lightweight champion, Adeyemi “Spirit” Adekanla defeated the bullish Bartholomew Abuchi by unanimous decision to retain his belt and extend his unbeaten streak to 10 bouts, while Sikiru “Omo Iya Eleja” Shogbesan ended Sodiq Oyakojo reign as the national super featherweight champion by unanimous decision. The bantamweight duel between Opeyemi “Golden Boy” Ibrahim and Sodiq “Happy Boy” Adeleke ended in Adeleke’s favour via unanimous decision, while Michael Adesodun knocked out Idris Aloma in the fourth round of their national super featherweight bout. In the national middleweight female match, Abosede Akinsanya gave debutant Sofiat Lateef a night to forget by ending her debut with a second round technical knockout. The event sponsored by GOtv and refreshed by Supa Komando also saw thrilling musical performances from international Afrobeat superstars such as Ruger, 9ice, DJ Exclusive and Chinko Ekun. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2022/12/29/gotv-boxing-night-27-esepo-wins-wbf-ritle-n1-5m/
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| Investment › IMF Calls For Stiffer Crypto Regulations by postbox(op): 2:28pm On Dec 27, 2022 |
Following the recent collapse of FTX and the subsequent ongoing prosecution of its former Chief Executive Officer, Sam Bankman-Fried, the International Monetary Fund has called for increased regulation of crypto markets in Africa. IMF made this call on Thursday in its “October 2022 Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa”. According to IMF, countries in the region should embrace regulation while citing the collapse of FTX and its ripple effect in cryptocurrency prices, which is “prompting renewed calls for greater consumer protection and regulation of the crypto industry”. Moreover, the fund argued that “risks from crypto assets are evident” and “it’s time to regulate” to find a balance between minimising risk and maximising innovation. The piece stated that “risks are much greater if crypto is adopted as legal tender,” posing a threat to public finances if governments accept crypto as payment. “The collapse of the world’s third largest crypto exchange FTX, and subsequent plunge in the prices of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other major crypto assets, is prompting renewed calls for more excellent consumer protection and regulation of the crypto industry. “Regulating a highly volatile and decentralized system remains challenging for most governments, requiring a balance between minimising risk and maximising innovation. Only one-quarter of countries in sub-Saharan Africa formally regulate crypto,” the monetary fund stated. According to IMF’s data, 25 per cent of countries in sub-Saharan Africa have formally regulated crypto, while two-thirds have implemented some restrictions. It also explained that Cameroon, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and the Republic of Congo have placed the crypto market under a ban, representing 20 per cent of the sub-Saharan African countries. Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa have the highest number of users in the region. Between July 2020 and June 2021, Africa’s crypto market increased in value by more than 1,200 per cent, according to data from analytics firm Chainalysis, with high adoption in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Tanzania. Meanwhile, investors in the crypto industry have lost $116 billion to the bear market and the wave of bankruptcies that have engulfed the market in 2022, Forbes stated in its recent report. Its report titled “These Crypto Founders And Bitcoin Moguls Lost $116 Billion In 2022”, which was released on Saturday, showed a combined personal equity of 17 people in the space, with over 15 losing more than half of their fortunes since March. Consequently, industry observers believed the market bearish would last until the end of 2023. According to Forbes, one of the major losses was attributed to Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao. In March, Zhao 70 per cent stake in the crypto exchange was valued at $65 billion, but it is now worth $4.5 billion. Zhao was closely followed by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong whose net worth was estimated at $1.5 billion from $6 billion in March. The fortune of Ripple’s co-founder, Chris Larsen, downed from $4.3 billion to $2.1 billion while Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss of Gemini were valued at $4 billion in March but were now worth $1.1 billion each, Forbes revealed. Among those who lost the billionaire status are FTX co-founders Sam Bankman-Fried and Gary Wang, whose fortunes in March were valued at $24 billion and $5.9 billion, respectively, and at $0 in December. The $3.2 billion fortune of Barry Silbert, founder, and CEO of Digital Currency Group, was also lost as a result of the contagious wave caused by the collapse of FTX, according to Forbes. Among the former billionaires were also Nickel Viswanathan and Joseph Lay from crypto software firm Alchemy, Devin Finzer and Alex Atallah of OpenSea, Fred Ehrsam of Coinbase, MicroStrategy founder Michael Saylor and venture capitalist Tim Draper. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2022/12/27/imf-calls-for-stiffer-crypto-regulations/
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| Phones › How To Unlock The Power Of Digital Payments Through Security by postbox(op): 2:12pm On Dec 27, 2022 |
The payments’ function, along with its operations and technology capabilities, is at the heart of any financial system supporting transactions processing payments for individuals, businesses, and governments. The growth of digital payments in India has piggybacked upon demonetization and the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last decade, the Indian payments environment has become much more dynamic, creating even greater challenges for financial institutions. Complex regulatory requirements, outdated and poorly integrated legacy systems, pandemic-induced urgency and an increasingly competitive marketplace have all pushed traditional financial institutions to evaluate innovative opportunities for payments transformation. Phenomenal growth in the consumer, SME digital credit access and mounting participation of the retail investors in the stock market are testimonials to it being one of the best digital payments ecosystems of the world in terms of value and volume. However, the rising trend of digital adoption is being surmounted by the mounting charts of payment frauds such as multiple phishing, malware, fake UPI links and OTP linked frauds is making it a situation of flux. Rise in cybercrime is a menace to the global economy, leading to pernicious effects on businesses and communities. Disruptions in the processing of payment flows is additional threat to the payment systems. As organizations innovate and undergo digital transformation, it is imperative for them to have a robust and scalable payment infrastructure. The pressure on payments players is real, but the times are exciting. The introduction of newer and quirkier payment methods, industry collaborations, tech advancements and regulatory support are making space for a lot of innovation and best practices in two important customer agendas – security and convenience. Winners shall be the ones who are quicker in finding the delicate balance between the two. With a strong regulatory focus and multiple governmental headways into it, payment players have tides flowing in their favor. Some of these critical drivers include: Adoption of PCI DSS 4.0: Developed with a zero-trust philosophy, allowing firms to create their own distinctive, pluggable authentication systems to satisfy the legal requirements for data protection. Introduction of RBI’s digital lending guidelines: Leading to an increase in adoption by Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Online lending platforms have gained massive popularity among MSMEs post the pandemic as they could not secure finance through traditional lending institutions and thus had to switch to digital loans. Security layer of tokenization: Credit and debit card tokenization is the procedure of substituting sensitive data with a token, which is randomly generated, one-of-a-kind placeholder, known as a ‘token’. Proposed use of data localization: Data localization may improve India’s governance of payment-related data significantly and is focused on protecting the customer’s interests and data. Government of India on the personal data protection bill The Government of India has released a draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill for public consultation in November 2022. This bill is applicable to processing of digital personal data within the territory of India collected online or collected offline and later digitized. Indian payment security’s growth is driven by a bunch of nurturing initiatives undertaken by the government and regulators for a buoyed funding environment. These aim to offer an ecosystem that is geared up for strengthening the security and compliance design, enhance enterprise security, and proactively monitor and predict fraud monitoring. Organizations, on the other hand, need to play their role as well and invest in effective security measures to enhance growth and underpin their trust in the system. Key recommendations for the industry to up their game in maintaining security and driving customer confidence: Move security beyond the server room and into the boardroom: With the growing number of channels for digital payments and the anticipated exponential rise in customer adoption of these products, the challenge of securing them will only continue to get more complex. The diversity in security maturity across the ecosystem participants only compounds the issue. Real-time payments need real-time security and enhanced fraud detection abilities for organizations. Following are some key areas that organizations across the board must prioritize as a part of their business strategies. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2022/12/24/how-to-unlock-the-power-of-digital-payments-through-security/
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| Business › Shell To Pay 15 Million Euros In Settlement Over Nigerian Oil Spills by postbox(op): 8:34am On Dec 27, 2022 |
Shell (SHEL.L) will pay 15 million euros ($15.9 million) to communities in Nigeria that were affected by multiple oil pipeline leaks in the Niger Delta, the oil company on Friday said in a joint statement with the Dutch division of Friends of the Earth.SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2022/12/24/shell-to-pay-15-mln-euros-in-settlement-over-nigerian-oil-spills/ 7 Likes
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| Politics › European Union Deploys Election Observation Mission To Nigeria by postbox(op): 1:36pm On Dec 22, 2022 |
In response to the invitation by the Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria, the European Union has decided to deploy an EU Election Observation Mission (EOM) to observe the general elections scheduled for 25 February and 11 March 2023. High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, has appointed Barry Andrews, Member of the European Parliament, as Chief Observer for the EOM to Nigeria. The EU previously deployed Election Observation Missions to Nigeria for the 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019 elections. High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell said: “These elections will be crucial for the consolidation of democracy in Nigeria, and for the stability of the region. This is the sixth time that the EU deploys an election observation mission to Nigeria, reflecting our commitment to work together to consolidate democracy in the country. The elections are set to be competitive and will take place in a challenging security context. It is our hope that Nigerians will be able to cast their vote in a peaceful environment and that any challenges or disputes will be solved through dialogue or through available legal remedies.” The Chief Observer Barry Andrews said: “I am very pleased to have been entrusted with the responsibility for leading this EU Election Observation Mission. The mission is taking place during a period of time when democracy around the globe is in decline. The forthcoming General Elections are therefore not only a key moment in Nigeria’s democratic development but also important to the future of democracy in West Africa and the continent at large. I am looking forward to meeting with electoral stakeholders that are playing important roles in the ongoing electoral process.” Background The EU EOM will provide a comprehensive, independent and impartial assessment of the electoral process based on international and regional standards for democratic elections. The Core Team of the EU EOM consists of 11 election experts who will arrive in Abuja during the first half of January. Towards the end of January, 40 long-term observers will join the mission to be deployed across the country and follow the electoral campaign. Thereafter, short-term observers from the EU diplomatic community as well as Canada, Norway and Switzerland will reinforce the mission during election day. The EU EOM will remain in the country until the completion of the electoral process. In line with the EU election observation methodology, the mission will issue a preliminary statement and hold a press conference in Abuja after the election day. The final report, which will include a set of recommendations for future electoral processes, will be presented after the finalisation of the entire electoral process. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2022/12/22/2023-european-union-deploys-election-observation-mission-to-nigeria/
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| Jobs/Vacancies › Xiaomi Fires 900 Employees, To Slash 15% Of Jobs Globally by postbox(op): 8:36pm On Dec 21, 2022 |
Xiaomi Corp has started laying off workers in several units of its smartphone and internet services business, reducing its workforce by about 15%, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday. The Hong Kong newspaper cited social media posts by affected employees and local Chinese media, saying China’s social media platforms, including Weibo, Xiaohongshu and Maimai, have been flooded with posts about the job cuts. Xiaomi had 35,314 staff as of Sept. 30, the paper reported, with over 32,000 in mainland China, and the latest move could affect thousands of workers, many of whom have just joined the company during a hiring spree that began in December last year. However, the company on Tuesday has said that it is implementing organisational restructuring and personnel optimisation that will affect less than 10 per cent of its total workforce. Those affected have been “compensated in compliance with local regulations,” the spokesperson was quoted saying by IANS. Xiaomi in November reported a 9.7% fall in third-quarter revenue, hit by China’s COVID-19 restrictions and softening consumer demand. Revenue from smartphones, which make up roughly 60% of its total sales, fell 11% year-on-year, Xiaomi said. Xiaomi is preparing for its first big launch of 2023 in India, with the new Redmi Note 12 lineup launching on January 5 in the country. The company has been sharing teasers of the phone’s features, and many expect the new devices to be focused on mid-range buyers. SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2022/12/21/xiaomi-fires-900-employees-to-slash-15-of-jobs-globally/ 4 Likes 1 Share
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