₦airaland Forum

LG Electronics (LG) today announced its goal to use almost 600,000 tonnes of recycled plastic by 2030 in a concerted effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the value chain.

The goal is a part of LG’s larger initiative to create a take-back ecosystem for electronic waste and increase the use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) materials in its consumer electronics and home appliance products.

In 2020, LG utilized approximately 20,000 tonnes of recycled plastic in its products which it plans to increase more than tenfold by 2025. While recycled plastic is currently used inside LG TVs, PC monitors, speakers, washing machines, refrigerators and air conditioners, LG will expand the use of recycled plastic to the exterior of its products as well. In addition to utilizing more recycled plastic, LG is reducing the use of virgin plastic throughout its operations as well. This year, 18 OLED TV models will be produced using less virgin plastic, an increase from 14 models in 2020, for a reduction of up to 10,000 tonnes of plastic.

LG is also increasing the target amount of take-back electronic waste from its 2006 figure of 4.5 million tonnes to over 8 million tonnes by 2030 with 3.07 million tonnes having been collected by the end of 2020. Also, LG is implementing initiatives to take back and recycle electronic waste in 52 countries.

In South Korea, LG Chilseo Recycling Center, which opened in 2001, not only takes back electronic waste but also manufactures new components from recycled plastic and ships the parts to LG’s home appliance plant nearby for use in new products such as refrigerators.

LG is focusing its efforts on reducing greenhouse gas emissions throughout the entire product life cycle from production and transportation to use and disposal. As a key component of its sustainable management goals, LG’s parent company entered into an agreement with the Korean Ministry of Environment and local civic groups in June to implement plastic-free management at its main R& campus, LG Sciencepark.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/10/lg-sets-goal-to-utilize-over-a-half-million-tonnes-of-recycled-plastic/

In the beginning – before Naira Life, Man Like Sex Life, and all its famous content series – there was Zikoko the Buzzfeed clone, fueled by listicles and humour soaked in nostalgia and relatability.

Reading an early-day Zikoko listicle was like looking at your life’s story play out in a screen before you. Only, this story was meant to make you laugh.

In 2015, when I worked at Big Cabal Media, Zikoko’s parent company, I witnessed firsthand the gruelling foundational days of building the cultural powerhouse that Zikoko is today. I watched the then-Editor-in-Chief, Damilola Odufuwa, and her editorial team bat ideas for hours and churn out articles and listicles that people read, laughed at, shared on their social media, and moved on from within minutes to find the next interesting thing (as is typical of the modern-day audience).

What follows is the story of Zikoko, its evolution, its relationship with youth culture in Nigeria, and how it thinks about monetising that culture.

The beginning
Zikoko was founded in 2015 under the Big Cabal Media umbrella. It is the sister publication to one of Africa’s most prominent tech publications, TechCabal.

In its early days, Zikoko was patterned after Buzzfeed, which is to say that it churned out listicles and quizzes designed to be funny, engaging, and shareable. The humour was relatable and, unlike Buzzfeed’s, local.

It took shared Nigerian experiences and found creative ways to make fun of them. This is what endeared readers to the publication. People felt seen. They realised they were not alone. They saw how many other people experienced the same things they did growing up. And this fostered a sense of community in a way that no one had witnessed before.

Before most people understood the formula for virality, Zikoko had hacked it. Almost immediately after its birth, the publication became so popular that it inspired a short-lived rival, Party Jollof. But humour as a digital media strategy can only work for so long (ask Buzzfeed).

The demand to constantly create content that makes people laugh is excruciating. It takes a heavy toll on the editorial team as there’s pressure for everything to be funny, even if the author is not naturally funny.

Asking people to be consistently funny for five days a week and 52 weeks a year will definitely burn them out. Even comedians cannot keep up. Daniel Orubo (one of Zikoko’s earliest employees and a former Editor-in-Chief) talks about the resultant burnout in this interview (emphasis mine):

“AFTER A YEAR OF DOING LISTICLES AND QUIZZES, I KIND OF GOT BORED. MY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AT THE TIME WANTED US TO EXPAND AND DO MORE LONG-FORM ARTICLES, AND I AGREED, BUT I GUESS WHAT WE WERE DOING AT THE TIME WAS WORKING, AND PEOPLE DIDN’T WANT TO SWITCH IT UP TOO MUCH. I WAS LIKE, FAIR ENOUGH, BUT I DON’T THINK I CAN DO THIS. I DON’T THINK I CAN SIT DOWN EVERY SINGLE DAY AND BE FUNNY ON COMMAND. SO I DECIDED TO LEAVE [IN 2016] FOR A FRENCH COMPANY THAT HAD MOVED TO NIGERIA.”

Big Cabal Media also went through a rough patch in 2017 that saw poor management decisions and infighting lead to a loss of momentum and identity crisis. During this period, the company’s co-founders split. In 2018, the board brought in Tomiwa Aladekomo, the former MD of Ventra Media Group. Aladekomo had helped to digitally transform one of Nigeria’s legacy publishers, Guardian Nigeria. Now, his task was to steady the Big Cabal Media ship and set course for new territories.

The evolution of Zikoko
Aladekomo’s arrival came with a new management team and a series of editorial changes. Fu’ad Lawal joined the company from Ringier Africa and soon became Zikoko’s Editor-in-Chief, which he has since moved on from. The publication also gradually shifted from focusing primarily on humour and listicles to telling more culturally impactful stories.

“When I joined Zikoko, the [content] was relatable. It was mostly humour and funny content. But frankly, I don’t feel funny. At the time, I knew that I wanted Zikoko to explore beyond the short-form format and listicles. I wanted more. I wanted people to see themselves in the stories. I wanted stories that had more depth. In hindsight, it feels like strategy, but it was mostly slapping things on the wall until something stuck,” Lawal tells me.

Over the years, Zikoko went from subsisting on stories like ‘16 Signs You Are Just Like Your Nigerian Mother’ to stories like ‘5 Nigerian Widows Talk Life After Their Husbands’ Deaths’. Both are listicles, quite alright, and they both require varying levels of work. But they also typify the publication’s evolution. Humour remains elemental to Zikoko’s existence, but it is no longer the fence that encloses its identity.

“One of the things that we decided on during Zikoko’s design sprint and personality exploration is that it is limitless. And so, we don’t see any limits to the forms in which we explore [stories],” Aladekomo says.

He adds:

“ZIKOKO TODAY IS COMMITTED TO TELLING THE STORIES THAT MATTER, TO CAPTURING ALL THE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOUNG PEOPLE, TELLING STORIES ABOUT THEM AND EXAMINING THEM IN A RANGE OF DIFFERENT FORMATS. THAT’S EVERYTHING FROM WRITTEN ARTICLES TO LISTICLES, TO NEWSLETTERS, PODCASTS (WHICH ARE COMING), AND VIDEO CONTENT. WE WANT TO BE SITTING AT THE HEART OF THE MOST IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS THAT YOUNG PEOPLE ACROSS NIGERIA ARE HAVING. WE WANT TO BE INFLUENCING THOSE CONVERSATIONS. WE WANT TO BE THEIR VOICE AND REFLECTION. AND WE WANT TO BE SHAPING THE CULTURE.”

How Zikoko taps into youth culture
Integral to Zikoko’s new identity is that its content is now built around interests (which are then curated into ‘Stacks’). Think about it like this: Zikoko used to be known for listicles and memes (formats), now it is known for its series of stories covering topics that interest the average Nigerian youth: sex, relationships, money, emigration, feminism, masculinity, etc. Exploring the Stacks is almost akin to rummaging through Netflix’s content library.

In theory, each interest (or Stack) can be presented in multiple formats: long-form articles, listicles, videos, newsletters, podcasts, native social media formats, etc.

Beyond the format variety, each of these Stacks can one day be spun off into a standalone publication, developed into a community, packaged into a paid event, or maybe even reformatted into a video series. Naira Life can become Zikoko Money. Sex Life can become Zikoko Sex. Man Like can become Zikoko Men. Zikoko Her can become, well, Zikoko Her. All of these can become TV shows. The stacks present an opportunity for Zikoko to go as deep into any topic of interest as it wants and be as creative with its presentation as money and time allow, as long as it is important to young Nigerians.

Aladekomo says that part of Zikoko’s raison d’être is to touch the cultural nerve and speak about the things that are important to young people. “That can be their careers or money, but it can even be as simple as whether egusi soup is better than oha soup.”

One of the ways Zikoko builds its audience is by factoring habit-formation into its products. For example, each major Stack has a newsletter, and each newsletter runs on a strict schedule. Naira Life, for instance, arrives at 9 am every Monday, such that everyone subscribed knows to expect it at that time. The logic behind this is that schedules ensure consistency and create expectations around the content.

Building this engine of consistency and deliberation requires tremendous investments in talent training and development. It requires the editorial staff not just to be good with words but to deeply understand the content ecosystem they operate in. (It’s why Zikoko writers often go on to occupy prominent roles in the content industry.) But it also requires significant financial resources. It’s often difficult to retain this quality of talent once they reach a particular industry threshold, as I explain in this essay. (Don’t be surprised if Big Cabal Media raises capital in the near future.)

Monetizing culture: Ideas are great, execution is the devil
Saturday, August 28, 2021, answered a question I’d been pondering for some years: how will Zikoko expand its monetization potential?

In hindsight, the answer is obvious, but when you’re there in the beginning, in the publication’s early days, the answers are not exactly clear. Even when you are in the middle of the madness (as some of the people I talked to for this essay are or have been), the answers are difficult to come by. Ideas are great, but execution is the devil.

That day, I sat on the barstool, trying to savour the moment but mostly looking around at the hundreds of young people who had gathered for Zikoko Fest 2021 in Victoria Island, Lagos. Some were dancing, some were buried in conversations, some were lost in their food, some were taking pictures, some others were playing games, and some were purchasing Zikoko merch.

I thought about this: if 300 people had gathered at that venue to enjoy themselves, paying N5,000 (~$9) each to get in and possibly spending more on food and drinks, what would it be like when this movement grows bigger and events like this become more frequent?

Zikoko made money through native advertising (branded listicles and quizzes) in its early days, but the potential to diversify was always there. The question was how the company would pull it off. That evening, I realised how far along its efforts had come.

“One of our fundamental thesis [at Big Cabal Media] is that having a single revenue line is death for any media business. For any media business to thrive in the long term, they need to have multiple revenue streams that are working well at any given time,” Aladekomo tells me.

Native advertising remains important to Zikoko, but it has added to the mix newsletter sponsorships, sponsored social media posts, paid events like Zikoko Fest, merchandise sales, and sponsored editorial projects such as Jollof Road.

Perhaps the best way to distil Zikoko’s story is to say that its evolution mirrors that of youth and Internet pop culture in Nigeria. Lawal says, “I feel like Zikoko is holding a mirror [up to society]. That’s why people see stuff there and recognise themselves, even though it was mostly funny stuff. There were heavy cultural themes to it. I think that Zikoko is also working to be a magnifying glass for society. [It focuses] on stories that people would normally ignore and never stop to think about. I don’t think there is anybody in this country doing it the way Zikoko is doing it.”

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/10/how-zikoko-taps-into-youth-culture-to-build-a-media-business/

Plans are underway in Kano state, Nigeria to produce 150 MW of electricity from waste. This was announced by Capegate Investment Limited, a Nigerian-based company that specializes in Biotechnology and Waste management, approximately three months after it signed a 20-year public-private partnership with the Kano State Government and took over waste management in the state.

Speaking on the aforementioned plans, Bello Abba Yakasai, the company’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) said that next year, they will generate 10 megawatts of electricity and in the next five years, depending on how the typology of waste changes, will yield to 150 megawatts for Kano and Jigawa.

A part of a larger waste recycling plan
According to the Capegate Investment COO, the plan to produce 150 MW of electricity from waste in Kano is a part of a larger plan where the company intends to establish three major industries.

“One of the industries is what we call a transfer station. This is where all the wastes including plastic, metals, and aluminium among others, will be sorted. The sorted out waste will be recycled or transformed into other products. High-density plastic (HDP) and tires would be converted into burnable oil, while low-density plastic would be converted into shopping bags, water bottles, and other relevant products.”

“The next phase is the diversification industry. In here we will be converting biodegradable waste to produce gas and create steel, which in turn, would be processed into turbines to produce electricity. Under this phase/industry, we hope to facilitate the generation of at least 10 megawatts of electricity before the end of next year (2022),” explained Mr. Yakasai.

In the third industry food waste and bio-waste would be turned into organic fertilizer, which is safer health-wise on crops and human consumption.



SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/09/nigeria-produce-of-electricity-waste/

Mastercard acquires Aiia, a leading European open banking technology provider offering a direct connection to banks through a single API, allowing its customers to develop and launch new digital solutions that meet the needs of everyday life, work, and play.

Open banking is democratizing financial services by putting consumers at the center of where and how their data is used to provide the services they want and need. Fintechs and banks use this consumer permissioned data to provide easier and more inclusive access to credit, personal financial management, digital wallets and payments services. Mastercard plays a central role in this ecosystem as a trusted intermediary and secure data network.

“The value of open banking comes through empowering consumers and businesses to use their own data to obtain financial services solutions simply, securely and quickly. The addition of Aiia anchors

our European open banking efforts and allows us to continue to meet our customers where they are,” said Craig Vosburg, Chief Product Officer, Mastercard. “As open banking continues to ignite innovation, we’re committed to providing a unique set of technology platforms, data connectivity, and infrastructure combined with data privacy and security principles. This will help fintech and financial institutions innovate, gather feedback and scale faster and more effectively than ever to power smarter, more meaningful experiences.”

Today, Aiia’s open banking platform and expertise, including strong API connectivity and payment capabilities, have shown significant growth coupled with a relentless focus on quality. Aiia has brought to life a unique model for open banking in Europe, driven by data privacy, security, quality, and access. Its customer-centric approach and ambition to create open banking that simply works complement Mastercard’s existing distribution channels, technology and data practices.

“For the past decade, we have worked to build Aiia into a leading and quality-driven open banking platform, which has onboarded hundreds of banks and fintechs onto safe and secure open banking rails. We have worked closely alongside banks, customers and local authorities to ensure that our APIs show the true effect of open banking. We’re excited to become a part of Mastercard and progress our journey of empowering people to bring their financial data and accounts into play – safely and transparently,” said Rune Mai, CEO & Founder, Aiia.

Solidifying a Foundation for Innovation

Mastercard was an early advocate of open banking across the globe. The company has made bold moves to blend its proprietary technology and multi-rail payments expertise with strong partners offering complementary services. In 2019, Mastercard launched its first open banking connectivity offering in the UK and Poland through a partnership with Token.

With the acquisition of Finicity in 2020, Mastercard bolstered a strong commitment to its customers by bringing together top-tier technology platforms, dedicated resources and a global infrastructure to catalyze innovation and continue to deliver localized customer service. This commitment continued earlier in 2021 with Mastercard Payment Services, a broader set of account-to-account payment and open banking capabilities gained in the acquisition of the majority of Nets’ Corporate Services business.

Aiia’s expertise in providing safe and secure data access complements Mastercard’s data responsibility principles, continuing to put the individual at the center of the process. This relationship reinforces work led by Mastercard’s Finicity team to extend data-related best practices across multiple industries.

The connectivity of Aiia in Europe will enable Mastercard to deliver the credit decisioning and credit scoring applications of Finicity to European clients. Similarly, the connectivity of Finicity in the U.S. will help deliver the account information services and payment applications of Aiia to U.S. clients – giving customers globally easier, faster and safer access to open banking services.

“We have been very satisfied with our co-ownership and partnership with Aiia, which has helped to create user-friendly open banking solutions for the benefit of our customers. We are pleased that Mastercard sees the potential in Aiia and are convinced that they will be the right future owner to support the development of the company and Aiia’s ambitions for European expansion. We look forward to the continued collaboration with Mastercard/Aiia on solutions that support open banking and that provide real value for Danske Bank’s customers across the Nordic markets,” said Glenn Söderholm, Head of Personal & Business Customers, Danske Bank.

Benjamin K Golding, Group Executive Vice President, Payments & Innovation, DNB also added, “DNB Ventures aims to contribute growth and value in companies that with time can succeed within areas relevant to DNB. We have been investors in Aiia since 2018 and DNB is also an important customer of the company.

We are very pleased with Aiia’s development, while with the company entering a new phase it is natural for us as venture investors to exit, given our focus on early-stage investments and value creation through capital, knowledge and input to strategy and business development. With Mastercard as owners, Aiia will benefit from a strong global platform positioned for continued growth, and we are looking forward to continuing our business relationship with Mastercard/Aiia going forward.”

Aiia is a licensed Payment Initiation Service Provider (PISP) and Account Information Service Provider (AISP) and operates under the supervision of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA).

The transaction, which is anticipated to close by year’s end, is subject to customary closing conditions. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/09/mastercard-open-banking-reach-with-aiia/

The danger of writing a tribute to any high profile personality in Nigeria today is obvious: the writer runs the risk of being misrepresented as a political praise singer, or at times, time and tide can cast him as a bootlicker, especially, if the subject of his adulation suffers a reversal of fortune, materially or reputation-wise.

But with Brig. Gen. Mohamed Buba Marwa (Retd), OFR, you can safely write a eulogy because, you can be sure that ten years later, his stock will remain bullish. So, as he clocks 68 today, September 9, 2021, any piece of writing about him is no piece of sophistry because Marwa has been as constant as the Northern Star in the affairs of leadership, as he is presently exhibiting as the Chairman and Chief Executive of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, where his exploits are making leadership such a fine art that gladdens the hearts of many Nigerians and international partners in this unending season of anomie.

Indeed, to those who know him up close and personal, Marwa is an enigma: humble, self-effacing, industrious, practical, efficient by nature, diligent, always thinking about things he needs to accomplish or how to get ahead on his next assignment, a complete Virgo, if you care to assess him by his Zodiac sign. But in plain terms, he is a case of a man who set out to always make a difference wherever he found himself. Not the kind of difference other men pursue to grandstand, but the type that impacts humanity and makes life easier for people. And of this, his track record is unassailable.

A look back at his trajectory gives a chronicle of exemplary service to the country and a profile of pure patriotism from an individual. He could have chosen to live his life as an ordinary soldier, or at best be content with his name in the history book as one of the ‘boys’ of military maximum rulers.

But he chose a different road to travel. Borno State remembers him as the military governor who gave them peace and security at a perilous time when rebels from Chad were raiding Nigerian border communities, not unlike the ravage of Boko Haram and bandits across today’s Nigeria.

A practical Marwa had shown the necessity of firm action in such grave matters by birthing Operation Yaki, a combined Joint Task Force of military formation, and in few months reined in the Bandidos from across the border, making his territory safe and secure. Lagos State also remembers him as a hero, for bringing sanity, order, peace, progress to an otherwise, chaotic near-dystopic state, groping and groaning under the siege of local and transnational robbers. Col. Marwa solved the Gordian knot with Operation Sweep.

Now at the NDLEA, it is too early to talk about the Marwa Revolution, but he has orchestrated a turnaround that signals a rebirth of the anti-narcotic agency at a time when the country needs to escalate its fight against illicit drugs.

For Marwans, his exploit did not come as a surprise. Everywhere he has served, he has always left indelible marks and his first six months in the NDLEA has brought the agency from relegation and obscurity to the frontline position that has attracted both local and international partnerships. His leadership at the NDLEA is refreshing to the collective psyche of Nigerians and a loud rebuttal to the tribe of pessimists, locally and globally, who cling to the odious belief that Nigerians are incapable of effective leadership.

Thunder, it is said, doesn’t strike twice; well, in the case of Marwa, it strikes repeatedly. Nigerians used to think the height of his service was Lagos, with what is unreeling in the NDLEA, Marwa’s leadership magnum opus is perhaps yet to come.

The cynical assumption that his achievements in Lagos were due to the military ecosystem of the time has fallen flat like a pack of cards with the ongoing transformation of the NDLEA. Out of Khaki, garbed in Babanriga, Marwa has been able to transmit military’s discipline, purpose-driven action and go-getting attitude to the workforce of a paramilitary organisation operating in a laissez-faire society. How he did it, is, again, the stuff of leadership.

Yet, if Borno and Lagos seem a distant memory, here before us, is what is fast becoming a locus classicus of leadership, this rejuvenation of NDLEA, which stands in sharp relief against the backdrop of the insecurity in the country. He has been one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s best appointments thus far.

Without any doubt, there is a swell in the number of students of the Marwa School of Leadership. The younger generation, who only heard of his exploits of yesteryears are now seeing evidence of management skill, and are paying attention to the lessons therein.
Right before their eyes, Marwa is teaching the anatomy of how to make an organization relevant.

Previously, NDLEA was down in the sinkhole of obscurity, but Marwa engineered a resurgence that has seen the Agency basking in the limelight for its record-breaking achievement. 8,634 arrests. 1,630 convictions. Over two million kilograms of drugs were seized. Over N100 billion in cash and drugs seized.

And the officers and men of the NDLEA are still rearing to go. What magic? No, magic, but a prudent application of management principles from the master of the game.

Marwa is also teaching the mechanics of how to win support for a cause as he continues to crisscross the length and breadth of Nigeria talking to communities and their leaders, about the imperative of joining forces to defeat the twin evils of illicit drug abuse and trafficking. And he’s doing a good job at it.

Another lesson from him is that thorny problems should be approached with offensive campaigns (like he has done with the War Against Drug Abuse, WADA initiative and Operation Offensive Action), motivated workforces and strategic alliance with critical partners.

Today, he stands tall as a colossus, one of Nigeria’s emblems of capable leadership, an amalgam of the best of Harvard education, Nigeria’s military capabilities, and the virtues of a Nigerian. Far removed from the tribal sentiment that is fast gaining root in the country, his cosmopolitan outlook has won him friends from North, West, South and East of Nigeria, and a firm recognition as a one-of-a-kind pan-Nigerian leader.

As he clocks 68 today, Nigerians including myself have only prayers, plenty of prayers for him, wishing him many happy returns, and wishing to continue to see him in leadership positions where he can better improve the lot of the citizenry of this country.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/09/buba-marwa-birthday-tribute-an-enigma/

First City Monument Bank (FCMB), has emerged as the Best SME Bank in Africa and Best SME Bank in Nigeria.

FCMB bagged the award at the Asian Banker Middle East and Africa Regional Awards on the 27th of August 2021.

According to a statement from its corporate affairs office, the SME friendly bank beat all other Nigerian and African banks to win the national and continental honours.

“It emerged as Best SME Bank in Africa for the second time at the rigorous, prestigious, and transparent country-level honour programme for consumer financial services and technology in the Middle East and Africa.”

On the awards, the Managing Director of FCMB, Mrs Yemisi Edun, said, “We are excited to win two awards this year, especially the Best SME Bank in Africa, for the second year. This shows that we are meeting the specific needs of customers in this segment and are on a growth trajectory.

The awards will inspire us to further expand the frontiers of our innovation and go the extra mile to provide solutions that consistently enhance customer experience.”

Thanking the Asian Banker for the awards, Mrs Edun dedicated them to the Bank’s SME customers. She added that First City Monument Bank would continue to offer exceptional services, including funding and capacity building to small businesses.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/07/fcmb-wins-best-sme-bank-in-africa/

This flagship project is part of Senegal’s national electricity company Senelec’s transmission and distribution grid expansion, reinforcement and reliability enhancement program to be completed by VINCI Energies West Africa; Substations not only supply electricity to the homes but also manage the power flowing into the grid from various renewable energy sources; GE’s Grid Solutions’ digital substation’s advanced functionalities, with its footprint reduced by up to 50% as well as accelerated deployment, are a key enabler of the energy transition.

GE Renewable Energy’s Grid Solutions business (NYSE-GE) recently commissioned the first ever fully digital high voltage substation on the African continent in Thiès, 70 km from Dakar in Senegal. This key 225 kV substation project is part of Senegal’s national electricity company Senelec’s transmission and distribution grid expansion, reinforcement and reliability enhancement program to be completed by VINCI Energies West Africa.

“This flagship project was made possible due to the robust synergy among VINCI Energies West Africa teams, the technical support of our team Omexom and the digital expertise of GE’s Grid Solutions. This first ever digital substation on the continent is a great example of how to successfully combine the ongoing energy transition with a needed digital transformation to make the Senegalese electricity network more reliable and efficient,” said Wassel Bouaouda, VINCI Energies.

Grid’s digital substation brings the flexibility of software-based applications, resulting in more opportunities for remote maintenance and upgrades. It also opens the door to more secure and efficient exchange of data between multiple devices. The advantages are that real-time data can be analyzed to optimize asset use and maximize system reliability. Such advantages are crucial for substations – not only to supply electricity to the homes but also to manage the power flowing into the grid from various renewable energy sources.

Commenting on this significant milestone, Eric Amoussouga, Sales Director, GE’s Grid Solutions Business, Sub-Saharan Africa, said, “A digital substation’s advanced functionalities with its footprint reduced by up to 50% as well as accelerated deployment are a key enabler of the energy transition.

Moreover, by replacing the copper cables with fiber-optic cables – which do not conduct electricity, makes it safer for workers during maintenance activities. We are proud to have commissioned the first-ever fully digital substation in Africa, contributing to the increased reliability of Senegal’s electricity grid.”

The project contract signed between GE and VINCI Energies in 2018 included the delivery, commissioning, installation, and supervision of GE’s Grid Solutions digital substation, panels, digital control system, current transducer optic and voltage transducer optic.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/08/ge-energizes-africas-first-ever-fully-digital-high-voltage-substation/

The Poultry and Cocoa Value Chains in Cross River State have received a much-needed boost that is expected to generate significant gains for the local and national economies.

This follows the issuance of a 50 per cent Credit Risk Guarantee (CRG) and 20 per cent Interest Drawback (IDB) by the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL Plc) on the respective loans of Gbagolo Integrated Farms Limited – a livestock producer and TOAJ Nigeria Limited – a cocoa dealer.

Leveraging on its CRG – an instrument that NIRSAL Plc utilizes to share agribusiness risks with financiers – NIRSAL Plc facilitated the approval and disbursement of N81.8 million and N150 million from Union Bank Plc and Sterling Bank Plc respectively.

While Gbagolo Integrated Farms Limited will use its N81.8 million Term Loan to finance the purchase of 25,000 Point of lay birds, 25,000 capacity battery cages and feeding compliments, TOAJ Nigeria Limited will channel its N150 million Export/Trade Finance facility towards the sourcing and purchase of cocoa for export.

The injection of these finances into the poultry and cocoa value chains in Cross River State will create a positive knock-on effect for players along each segment of both value chains and the agribusinesses’ host communities at large.

Specifically, the purchase of 25,000 Point of Lay birds by Gbagolo Integrated Farms Limited will impact poultry feeds sellers & other inputs suppliers in the pre-upstream Value Chain segment; producers/sellers of Point of Lay birds in the upstream segment, and consumers of Eggs and Spent Layers in the downstream segment.

Meanwhile, TOAJ Nigeria Limited’s facility will support the thousands of farmers who supply its inventory by providing them with a secure, sustainable, and guaranteed offtake market. Furthermore, the export of cocoa will increase Nigeria’s stake in the global cocoa market and boost the country’s foreign exchange earnings.

Speaking during the official launch of the Gbagolo Integrated Farms Limited and TOAJ Nigeria Limited projects in Akpabuyo Local Government Area of Cross River State, NIRSAL Plc’s Managing Director/CEO, Aliyu Abdulhameed enthused that both projects are testaments to the fact that NIRSAL Plc in its bid to realize its vision of “transforming the economy, delivering inclusive growth and positively impacting the lives of Nigerians” supports all sizes of businesses, whether small, medium or large across the length and breadth of the country.

Abdulhameed added that, as a guarantor, NIRSAL Plc’s intervention positively impacts both the lender and the borrower, as well as the overall economy, implying that the lender invests safely and earns competitive returns; the borrower’s capacity utilization and productivity is increased, and the economy reaps the benefits of the backward integration occasioned by increased local production at the expense of importation of essential goods.

He concluded by urging all agricultural value chain stakeholders in the South-South region and the entire country to leverage NIRSAL’s CRG as the collateral required for getting commercial bank financing for their agribusinesses, no matter their size or location.

Union Bank Plc’s Area Business Executive, Mr. Peter Akpaudoh who was also present at the launch event, stressed the value in the suite of NIRSAL’s value offerings. Beyond the credit risk guarantee provided to Gbagolo Farms, NIRSAL PLC is also offering technical assistance and round-the-clock project monitoring, a package that really makes lending to agriculture and agribusiness easy, Mr. Akpaudoh acknowledged.

Indeed, NIRSAL’s value offerings cut across value chains and value chain segments. While credit guarantees, technical assistance, and project monitoring sweeten lending to businesses in the midstream segment of commodity value chains, the innovations and structuring introduced by NIRSAL in the upstream segment also impact the success of projects all through the value chain. Hence, for banks and other commercial lenders, the incentives are too good to resist.

Sterling Bank Plc, Business Executive, Commercial, South-East, Mr. Uchenna Agbowo, said that, at 10 per cent, Sterling Bank has the highest loan book for agriculture amongst commercial banks in Nigeria.

He stated that the bank has been enjoying NIRSAL’s support and will continue to count on NIRSAL for the safety of their agribusiness investments.

Speaking further, Mr. Agbowo affirmed that it is commendable that, “NIRSAL has provided a suitable environment for bank’s investment to be safe and sustainable. TOAJ Nigeria Limited who is into Cocoa aggregation and trading is one of such success stories. Sterling has been at the driving seat of agribusinesses financing and will continue to partner with NIRSAL in providing access to finance for farmers to increase their output.”

In his speech, the CEO of Gbagolo Integrated Farms Limited revealed that it would have been difficult to service the loan they received from Union Bank if not for NIRSAL’s Interest Drawback (IDB) scheme. The company’s poultry department, which received the credit support, has 60,000 birds and runs an on-farm feed mill with four tons capacity mixer per hour.

For TOAJ Nigeria Limited, the success stories are equally manifold. According to the Managing Director, Mr. Taiwo Sunday, NIRSAL’s support has helped the company to acquire a 5,000 MT-capacity warehouse in Osogbo, the Osun State capital. Mr. Taiwo said that the company had been expanding its frontiers to the South-West for the purpose of export and, with NIRSAL’s support, it can now engage more farmers, procure more cocoa, and employ more staff.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/07/nirsal-secures-financing-from-banks-to-boost-poultry-cocoa-export/

LOTUS Bank, a Non-Interest Bank (NIB) in the country has expanded its operations by opening 3 new branches in Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria.

The new locations are Idumagbo on Lagos Island, Allen Avenue, Ikeja and Oshodi Transport Interchange on Lagos Mainland, these locations are commercial nerve centers in Lagos and serves as a strong statement from Lotus Bank’s intention to throw its full weight in the financial services sector ring in Nigeria..

The bank said in a statement that these new branches will complement its digital capabilities and enable the offering of better services to its customer base. The Oshodi outlet is a purpose-built Digital Service Centre designed to offer customers an exciting banking experience.

Poised to have its customers experience banking with ease, LOTUS Bank launches with digital offerings, which enable customers to open accounts online on the its website and transact via USSD banking. This is in addition to the issuance of free debit cards to account holders and zero account maintenance charge.

The Managing Director, Mrs Kafilat Araoye stated that, “With evolving digital solutions and a millennial generation coming into centre stage, LOTUS Bank is bringing on board innovative and comprehensive non-interest-compliant financial solutions in investment banking, consumer banking, asset management, private banking, and wealth management.

“At LOTUS Bank, we believe in fairness to all parties in every business transaction. This is a requirement for building any strong economy. Everyone can thrive where fairness prevails. Non-Interest Banking stands for equity and ethics in business, as well as growth for the real sector” she added.

“Financial Inclusion is also a strong motive for setting up LOTUS Bank. The concept of financial inclusion targeting the unbanked and underbanked population cannot remain just a concept but must be seen as an actual necessity, for the nation’s economic growth” Araoye further noted.

With a growth strategy focused on continuously evolving by providing endearing financial products, innovative solutions, and expanding coverage across regions, LOTUS Bank aims to be of service to its current and future customers, who are looking for an alternative banking model in Non-Interest Banking.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/07/lotus-bank-opens-in-3-new-locations/

Guinness Ghana Breweries PLC has commissioned a state-of-the-art Brewhouse worth GHS 145 million (US$23.9m).

According to the subsidiary of the British multinational alcoholic beverages company, Diageo, the new facility will boost its current production capacity by more than 150% of the old Brewhouse.

With the beefed-up capacity, Ghana’s leading drink company will increase its local raw material sourcing, propelling it towards its ambitions goal of acquiring 70% of its raw material requirements from Ghanaian farmers by 2024.

Currently, the company sources 61% of local raw materials i.e., maize, sorghum and cassava used to produce its premium beverages, from 30,000 farmers in 11 of the 16 regions in Ghana.

“Since 2003, Guinness Ghana has been using sorghum as an ingredient for the brewing of some of our brands such as Guinness Foreign Extra Stout and Malta Guinness.

“We have year on year made significant investments in the cultivation of sorghum and re-engineering our brands to use more local materials.

“This new investment will allow us to source more than 40,000 tonnes of sorghum a year since the primary raw materials for production at the new facility would be soghurm,” Helene Weesie, Managing Director for Guinness Ghana, said.

Commissioning the new plant, the Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Honourable Herbert Krapa, noted that the facility was an example of what experience and innovation can help achieve.

“In a market that is highly competitive, Guinness Ghana has shown that paying attention to every little need of the consumer is a guaranteed prescription for success,” he said.

The GH¢ 145 million facilities will impact positively the government’s flagship Planting for Food and Jobs programme designed to enhance the capacity of farmers and to increase the production of food and other agricultural products in the short to medium term.

“Maize and sorghum is an integral part of this programme. I believe Guinness Ghana’s exemplary efforts form a strong case to pay more attention to the production of these grains, as government is committed to supporting the manufacturing sector in the area of value addition,” Mr Krapa said.

Other than Guinness Ghana being committed to the Local Raw Materials (LRM) initiative, the company has also turned its focus to help protect and preserve natural resources and to help local individuals, businesses and communities to thrive.

Reducing its environmental impact, the Stout maker has lowered its fuel consumption by 25% by improving the efficiency of its boilers.

Also, they have reduced total packaging by 15% while increasing recycled content to 45% and making 100% of its packaging recyclable.

The company sustainably sources all its paper and board packaging to ensure zero net deforestation.

On water usage, Guinness Ghana has cut it by 29.6% since 2015 with 100% of operational wastewater returned to the environment safely.

The brewer also recently commissioned a solar photovoltaic system on the roof of its plant in Accra, shifting to the use of clean energy in its operations.

The 1,095 kWp solar power plant will provide up to 19% of the electricity consumed by the company, supplying 1,500 MWh per year, while avoiding 10,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/06/guinness-ghana-launches-new-brewhouse/

Leading Pan-African professional real-estate services provider Broll Property Group anticipates the African real estate market to normalise and bounce back to pre-Covid-19 levels by Q1 2023.

This is the key message from Broll Group CEO Malcolm Horne, who will deliver a keynote address at the 12th Africa Property Investment (API) Summit 2021 from 6 to 10 September.

“Our success is built on our in-depth knowledge and expertise, based on our tangible understanding of local markets across Africa. This allows us to provide end-to-end real estate solutions based on strategic, fully integrated property services for both the occupier and investor segments. As a leading provider of end-to-end real estate solutions, an interesting correlation that we are monitoring is the potential relationship between the vaccination rollout in Africa and the associated economic recovery across the continent,” says Horne.

This is particularly important to Broll’s mission of leveraging its industry-leading, patented technology platforms to enhance asset values in a sustainable real estate market. “I do not necessarily think that we will trend the same as what you see in First World countries, which anticipate the bulk of the jobs shed due to Covid-19 to be largely regained by year-end. This will be an important driver of the global recovery.”

Many of the trends dominating the international real estate market at present were already prevalent or on an upward tick prior to Covid-19. “A lot of the trends we have seen, whether globally or in Africa, had their roots before the pandemic. It was not a case of Covid-19 suddenly leading to massive change. It did accelerate market trends, especially as the sectors benefiting now had already started to grow prior to Covid-19.”

Looking at the international real estate market, Horne says the obvious winners at present are industrial, data centres and lifestyle, the latter focused on well-being and healthy living, in addition to healthcare. “These have done very well. However, if you compare it to Africa, they have fared equally well.”

Thus, there seems to be a real correlation across the board between those resilient sectors that have stood out. In Africa, industry, data centres and hospitals have been at the forefront of much development. Secondary emerging investment sectors that are rapidly gaining traction include cold storage, self-storage facilities and affordable housing.

“The real challenges lie in offices, retail and hotels,” says Horne. In the case of retail, the sector continues to attract investment. “Yes, there have been major retailers exiting some African markets, but if you look at the international trend, a lot of landlords have actually invested in retailers in order to get them going again. We have observed a similar trend in Africa in terms of a resurgence of local investor interest in the retail sector.”

In terms of the office sector and the global ‘work from home’ phenomenon, while a general return to the office environment is predicted by Q3 this year, with a hybrid model most likely to be adopted, Africa is an interesting exception. “Due to the slow rollout of vaccines across the continent, a lot of companies are still working remotely as a result.”

However, Horne does not expect the office sector to necessarily shrink in size as companies downsize or consolidate. “Offices are going to have to be repurposed for increased spacing between workers, which will result in fewer employees per square metre and the adoption of more flexible workspace solutions. Hence there will be fewer people, but the space will remain the same.”

Horne is bullish about the impact of Covid-19 going forward, especially as Broll’s mission is to ‘strengthen the core’ of the business so it can remain resilient and flexible. The Group has a clearly-defined five-year strategy to take it ‘beyond 2021’, and to future-proof the business as it continues to explore opportunities for further growth and expansion in Africa.

As for the future trajectory of Covid-19, vaccines will likely have gained much momentum globally by Q4 this year. While the vaccination rate in Africa remains low, there is a lag period that has to be taken into account. “We therefore estimate now that the impact of Covid-19 will still be felt for another year at least,” predicts Horne.

“Hopefully by Q1 2023 the supply and demand issues related to the vaccines will largely have been resolved, with a sufficient supply to Africa so we can gain momentum across the continent in terms of the vaccination drive. That will be positive and see the start of a ramp-up in economic activity. In most countries people are back in the malls and spending. It is crucial that lockdowns are not instituted again, which is why the successful vaccine rollout is so critical.

“Hence by the start of 2023, African economies will start to normalise and head back to pre-Covid-19 levels of activity. We are already seeing this shift globally, where economies have plans in place for job creation, reshaping and expansion by as early as the end of the year. However, we do not anticipate any significant movement in the investment market until probably Q2 next year.”

Despite these challenges, Broll remains committed to future-focused thinking in order to unlock new solutions, opportunities and partnerships, especially across Africa. “The phrase to ‘strengthen our core’ is a perfect summation of this approach, as it reveals how we plant to leverage off our expertise in order to continue to promote innovation and growth in all that we do.”

Horne highlights that the API Summit is a platform that attracts investors and occupiers, service providers and financiers. “It is one of the few events on the continent that is actually an aggregator of whomever is interested in occupying or investing in real estate. It also cuts across all sectors, from residential to commercial.”

The high-level speakers showcased at the event also goes a long way for setting the tone and trends of the real estate market in Africa. “This not only talks to the importance of the event, but the important role that property plays in building economies and creating employment. It has been proven time and again that the property sector is one of the greatest job creators in developing economies. If countries can just get their property sectors formalised, developed and growing and rebuilding, it will not only generate employment and wealth, but can result in wholesale economic transformation.”

One of the emerging markets that Broll will showcase during a presentation at the API Summit 2021 is Mozambique. “We have all the major real estate sectors present in this market,” says Jose Castilho, Co-Founder Partner and CEO of Broll Mozambique (www.Broll.co.mz/), a joint venture with Broll Property Group. Being a developing country, the major focus at present is residential, retail and logistics, as well as office developments in the main areas of economic activity such as Maputo.

With a population of 30 million, Mozambique presents major opportunities for investors, especially in residential and retail, which are still largely undeveloped sectors with much potential. Castilho stresses the importance of having a resilient investment structure in place. The building cycle can easily last three years, while time to market is 1.5 to three years, which calls for longer-term financial strategies. “Success can definitely be achieved in the Mozambican market by developing quality real estate in selected locations. Remember, real estate is a long-term game.”

Another emerging market not necessarily equated with the real estate market in Africa is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Patrick Katabua, Account Director, Africa Desk at Cushman & Wakefield | BROLL, who hails from the DRC but is based in Johannesburg, will deliver a presentation outlining how the DRC real estate market is “progressively developing”, compared to what it was three to five years ago.

“From a growth and development perspective, that is readily visible. However, it is fairly complex to compare the DRC real estate market to that in say Nigeria or Kenya, for example, which have established stock exchanges and large property funds. That is not yet the case in the DRC. Thus, its real estate sector is not as formalised as the other economic powerhouses of the continent.”

Due to the fact that the DRC is growing from a fairly low base, it presents opportunities across the board, from affordable housing to industrial, healthcare and commercial. “It is about finding the right partner and packaging a solution that makes sense for that particular node. A lot of big brands have found that the ‘cut-and-paste’ model does not really work in the rest of Africa. You need to customise in accordance with the local context.”

Katabua says: “Our model at the moment is to provide best service to our clients, whether it be transactions, advisory services, valuations or production of bespoke market reports. We aim at representing our client’s interests from concept right through to completion, and team up with the best-in-class locally-based subject matter experts to ensure robust delivery on assignments.” Improvements in ‘ease of doing business’ parameters and an improved political and economic landscape have resulted in augmented investor appetite, which positively unlocks the real estate market.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/06/broll-anticipates-the-african-real-estate-market-to-bounce-back-by-q1-2023/

The U.S. economic calendar is light for what will be a holiday-shortened week with figures on producer price inflation getting top billing, while jobless claims numbers could command more attention than usual after the big miss in Friday’s jobs report.

Comments by Federal Reserve officials will also be in focus after the disappointing August employment report. Stock markets are likely to remain supported after the jobs data undermined the argument for near-term tapering.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank is expected to debate whether to scale back stimulus at this week’s meeting and China is to release data on trade and inflation which is expected to underline that the recovery in the world’s number two economy is losing momentum. Here’s what you need to know to start your week.

1. U.S. data

Friday’s producer price data for August will show how inflation pressures are shaping up after July data showed the largest annual increase in over a decade, as the swift economic recovery caused a mismatch between supply and demand.
While the Fed has indicated that higher prices will likely prove transitory some worry that persistent price pressures could prompt the Fed to roll back easy money faster than expected.
Weekly jobless claims data Thursday will also be closely watched after the Labor Department reported Friday that the economy added just 235,000 jobs in August, falling far short of economists’ estimate of 750,000.

Hiring in the leisure and hospitality sector stalled amid a resurgence in COVID-19 infections. But the unemployment rate fell to 5.2% from 5.4% in July and July job growth was revised sharply higher, pointing to underlying strength in the economy.


2. Fed speakers

Market participants will be watching out for any fresh clues on tapering from Fed officials in the wake of Friday’s disappointing jobs report.
The labor market remains the key touchstone for the Fed, with Chair Jerome Powell indicating last week that reaching full employment was a pre-requisite for the central bank to start paring back its asset purchases.

New York Fed President John Williams, who is viewed as close to Powell, is to speak about the economic outlook at an event on Wednesday. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan is also due to speak on Wednesday.
Kaplan is due to speak again on Thursday. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren and Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari are also all due to make appearances on Thursday.

3. Stock markets

U.S. markets will be closed for the Labor Day holiday on Monday and activity could remain subdued as traders return after the long weekend.
The Nasdaq ended Friday at a new peak, but the two other main indexes fell following the far weaker-than-expected jobs report which raised fears about the pace of economic recovery but weakened the argument for tapering this month.

Investors will also be watching out for quarterly results from video game retailer GameStop (NYSE:GME), whose wild ride this year put a spotlight on retail investors’ mania for so-called meme stocks that some say is one sign of irrational exuberance in markets.

4. ECB meeting
The ECB meets on Thursday against a background of calls from several hawkish policymakers to begin slowing its pandemic-era asset-purchase stimulus program given a recent spike in inflation.

Inflation in the euro area has surged to a 10-year high of 3%. The ECB has indicated that any increase in inflation is likely to be temporary, but some hawkish officials have recently diverged from this view.

Markets are starting to react to the potential for more sustained eurozone inflation and reduced stimulus from the ECB.

China data
On Monday China releases August trade data which will be followed on Wednesday by figures on both consumer and producer inflation, also for last month.

The reports come after a recent run of weak economic data which showed that the recovery in the world’s second-largest economy is running out of steam amid restrictions to curb the spread of the Delta variant.

Activity in China’s services sector slumped into sharp contraction in August, a private survey showed on Friday and a similar survey of the manufacturing sector showed that factory activity contracted for the first time in almost one-and-a-half years last month.

The slowdown has fueled expectations Beijing will roll out more support measures to revitalize growth.


SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/06/5-things-to-watch-in-markets-in-the-week-ahead/

The city of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital was agog with top dignitaries, sports lovers, indigenes, and football fans on Wednesday, September 1st 2021 as the remodeled Lekan Salami stadium at Adamasingba was commissioned by the Executive Governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde.

Rite Foods Limited, the producer of Bigi carbonated soft drinks, Bigi premium water, and Fearless Energy drink sponsored the event by providing maximum refreshment with its twelve variants of carbonated soft drinks and premium water to all sports lovers, spectators, indigenes, and guests who trooped in huge numbers to the stadium to witness the grand ceremony and novelty match played to commemorate the occasion.

Seyi Makinde, Executive Governor of Oyo State stated at the commissioning that the remodeled stadium will attract more sporting activities within the state as well as providing employment opportunities for the people of the state.

The Governor lauded Rite Foods Limited for spicing the occasion and providing maximum refreshment for all sportsmen as well as the fans, guests and indigenes that were present.

Boluwatife Adedugbe, Assistant Brand Manager, Beverage and Bakery, Rite Foods Limited, stated that sports create a unifying platform for consumers to connect with their various brands. Hence, the company’s operations are centered around creating consumer satisfaction, and sports create that avenue for the brands to engage the consumers.

“As a company, we ensure we throw our weight and support for such legacy sport projects like the iconic Lekan Salami sports complex because it helps us connect and get closer to our consumers. Throwing our weight behind the commissioning of the Adamasingba stadium is key to helping us create that unifying platform to connect our brands and the people of Ibadan for maximum refreshment,” she added.

Other notable Nigerians at the event are the former Military Administrator of Oyo State under whose regime the Lekan Salami Stadium was initiated, General David Jemibewon (retd.); a former governor of the state, Chief Rashidi Ladoja. ex-Super Eagles coach, Adegboye Onigbinde and traditional rulers.

The remodeled Lekan Salami sports complex is part of the efforts of Governor Seyi Makinde to make Oyo State a tourist destination.

The event also featured a novelty match between ex-3SC players from the 1994 to 1998 set and former Super Eagles players between 1994 and 1996, as well as a friendly match between 3SC and Tabor Sezana, a top Slovakian league side.

Music stars Teni, Taye Currency and QDot were also present with gripping performances that entertained the packed-filled stadium.

Rite Foods Limited has yet again restated its commitment to sports development in the country by providing adequate refreshment and energizing all the football players, dignitaries and fans that swarmed the stadium with excitement to witness the commissioning of the legacy project.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/06/rite-foods-promotes-sports-tourism-in-oyo-state/

WhatsApp is about to think of another new feature – this time, Facebook wants to give its messenger users a user experience closer to that available in Messenger, including, for the first time, the ability to reply to messages.

The reactions will work just like what we have in Messenger, which is what the screenshots show Released by WABetaInfo. The news portal also adds that users can interact with any emoji they want.

Something very important: Reactions are not anonymous, so if the user is in a group and reacts to a certain posted message, everyone can see who responded and use the corresponding emoji.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/05/whatsapp-feature-leak-in-screenshots-before-premiere/

Rising world food prices for producers are making headlines and causing concerns among the public. The most recent data show moderation in consumer food price inflation globally, but as we explain below, that could change in the coming months.

This would only add to the high prices that consumers in many countries already lived through last year.

If prices eventually rise again, there will likely be sizeable differences between countries. Due to various factors, it is probable that the effect would be felt most by consumers in emerging markets and developing economies still wrestling with the effects of the pandemic.

Emerging markets and low-income countries are more vulnerable to food price shocks.


Fact #1: Food price inflation started increasing before the pandemic.

The increase in consumer food price inflation predates the pandemic. In the summer of 2018, China was hit by an outbreak of African swine fever, wiping out much of China’s hog herd, which represents more than 50 percent of the world’s hogs. This sent pork prices in China to an all-time high by mid-2019 creating a ripple effect on the prices of pork and other animal proteins in many regions around the world. This was compounded by the introduction of Chinese import tariffs on US pork and soybeans during the US-China trade dispute.

Fact #2: Early lockdown measures and supply chain disruptions induced a spike in consumer food prices.

At the start of the pandemic, food supply chain disruptions, a shift from food services (such as dining out) towards retail grocery, and consumer stockpiling (coupled with a sharp appreciation of the US dollar) pushed up consumer food price indices in many countries—with consumer food inflation peaking in April 2020—even though producer prices of primary commodities, including food and energy, were declining sharply as demand for primary food commodities was disrupted. By early summer 2020, however, various consumer food prices had moderated, pushing down consumer food inflation in many countries.
So while food prices at your grocery store (i.e., consumer food prices) may have increased, it is an exaggeration to say that they are currently rising at their fastest pace in years. They are also not currently contributing to headline inflation, though they may do so later this year and in 2022 (see the outlook below). Producer prices, on the other hand, have recently soared (see fact #4). But it takes at least 6-12 months before consumer prices reflect changes in producer prices. Also, on average, the pass-through from producer to consumer prices is only about 20 percent. This is because consumer food prices include the shipping costs of primary food commodities, the processing, marketing and packaging of food, and final distribution costs such as transport costs.

The last two facts will help us understand what to expect for consumer food prices.


Fact #3: Soaring shipping and transport costs.

Ocean freight rates as measured by the Baltic Dry Index (a measure of shipping costs) have increased around 2-3 times in the last 12 months while higher gasoline prices and truck driver shortages in some regions are pushing up the cost of road transport services. Higher transport costs will eventually increase consumer food inflation.

Fact #4: Global food producer prices have rallied reaching multi-year highs.

From their trough in April 2020, international food (producer) prices have increased by 47.2 percent attaining their highest (real) levels on May 2021 since 2014 (highest level ever in current dollar terms). Between May 2020 and May 2021, soybean and corn prices increased by more than 86 and 111 percent, respectively.
There are three main factors behind the recent rally in producer prices: (1) Demand for staples for both human consumption and animal feed has remained high, especially from China, as countries have stockpiled food reserves due to pandemic-related worries about food security.

The recent 2020-2021 La Niña episode—a global weather event occurring every few years—has led to dry weather in key food-exporting countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States. This has caused, in some cases, harvests and harvest outlooks to fall short of expectations. As demand has outpaced supply, US and world stocks-to-use ratios—a measure of market tightness—reached multi-year lows for some staples. (3) Strong demand for biofuels increased speculative demand by non-commercial traders, and export restrictions are additional factors supporting world producer prices.

Outlook

Based on the four facts presented, it is plausible that consumer food price inflation will pick up again in the remainder of 2021 and 2022. Indeed, the recent sharp increase in international food prices has already slowly started to feed into domestic consumer prices in some regions as retailers, unable to absorb the rising costs, are passing on the increases to consumers. More is likely to come, however, since international food prices are expected to increase by about 25 percent in 2021 from 2020, stabilizing in 2021.

A pass-through of 20 percent (13 percent in the first year and 7 percent in the second) would, thus, imply an increase in consumer food price inflation of about 3.2 percentage points and 1.75 percentage points on average in 2021 and 2022, respectively. An additional 1 percentage point to the 2021 global consumer food inflation could be added by the higher freight rates.

The impact, however, will vary by country. Consumers in emerging markets could experience even higher increases due to the higher dependency on food imports (e.g. countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East and North Africa). The pass-through from producer prices to consumer prices also tends to be larger for emerging markets. For low-income countries struggling from the pandemic, the effects of further food inflation could be dire and risk a backslide in efforts to eliminate hunger.

Emerging markets and low-income countries are also more vulnerable to food price shocks because consumers in these countries typically spend a relatively large proportion of their income on food. Finally, for emerging markets and developing economies an additional risk factor is the currency depreciation against the US dollar—possibly due to falling export and tourism revenues and net capital outflows. Since most food commodities are traded in US dollars, countries with weaker currencies have seen their food import bill increase.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/03/four-facts-about-soaring-consumer-food-prices/

Annie Idibia has accused her husband, Tuface of infidelity.

In the now-deleted post, Annie claimed that Tuface’s family never found her worthy of him despite all her efforts.

She said, “I’m a patient woman, I am not a fool innocent! Your family never loved me from the beginning, no matter how hard I tried. I was never worthy to them. I have made so many sacrifices for you and all your children. God knows I have tried.”(sic).

Annie further claimed that the singer spent nights under the same roof with one of his baby mamas after taking his kids to Disney Land.

“What kind of man takes his kids to Disney and spends nights in the same apartment with his kids and their mother! How many times have you gone to see your kids with Pero and she stays with you and the kids under the same roof for nights?” she claimed.



In the post, Annie urged her husband to do better and also indicted the singer’s manager, Efe.

Annie further claimed that Tuface’s baby mamas use his children ‘as an excuse for all sorts of rubbish’.

She wrote, “Your baby mamas constantly use your children as an excuse for all sorts of rubbish! I try to stay gracious!! You’re not the first man on the planet to have kids by different women. You can do better. Everything I do is to show the good human that you are!!! But today, this move by you, Efe, Frankie, and your family is unacceptable.”

Tuface’s Brother And Annie’s Brother React
Responding, TuFace’s brother, Charles, slammed Annie for bringing her family issues to social media.

While stating that his brother is dying inside, he asked Annie to reveal what TuFace’s extended family did to her.

Also reacting in a video on his Instagram page, Annie’s brother asked the public to stop associating or messaging him about his sister.

His post read: “This is for mutual friends and family, I just want to announce the entity and actress known as ‘Annie Idibia has ceased to be my friend, family, sister “Don’t hit me up, don’t DM me about her I have nothing connected with Annie or that brand whatsoever.”

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/03/trending-tuface-marital-saga-with-annie/

The Director-General of Nigeria’s Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu has been appointed by the World Health Organisation as the new Assistant Director-General of Health Emergency Intelligence.

This was disclosed in a statement by WHO Chief, Tedros Ghebreyesus on Wednesday morning as Ihekweazu is expected to resume his role on the 1st of November.

“I am pleased to welcome Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu as an Assistant Director-General for Health Emergency Intelligence from November 1, 2021.

“He will lead the work on strengthening pandemic and epidemic intelligence globally, including heading the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin,” Ghebreyesus said.

WHO added that the Nigerian will be in charge of strengthening pandemic and epidemic intelligence globally, including heading the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin.

WHO also added that Ihekweazu is a trained infectious disease epidemiologist, and has over 20 years of experience working in senior public health and leadership positions in several National Public Health Institutes, including the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases, the United Kingdom’s Health Protection Agency, and Germany’s Robert Koch Institute.

The news of his appointment was met with praise on Social Media as former CBN assistant Governor and Presidential candidate, Kingsley Moghalu said “It’s a very well deserved appointment, proud of Chikwe, who handled Nigeria’s Covid response brilliantly.”

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/02/dr-ihekweazu-appointed-who-assistant-dg-of-health-emergency-intelligence/

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied allegation that it failed to remit 80 per cent of its operational surpluses into the Consolidated Revenue in the last five years.

Dr Kingsley Obiora, CBN Deputy Governor in charge of Economic Policy, said this at the senate public hearing on 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) in Abuja.

Obiora was reacting to an allegation by Sen. Solomon Adeola (APC-Lagos) that the CBN has not remitted its operational surpluses for five years.

He said 80 per cent of the apex bank’s operational surpluses had always been remitted to the CRF on yearly basis.

Obiora explained that the remittance was done in line with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) and not that of the CBN Act, which stipulated 75 per cent remittance.

“With due respect to the Senate and in particular to this committee, the CBN, as a law-abiding government agency, has not at any time defaulted in the remittance of its operational surpluses.

“We do this on a yearly basis as required by the Fiscal Responsibility Act, despite the fact that the CBN Act requires us to remit 75 per cent only, ” he said.

Responding, Adeola urged the CBN to produce documentary evidence to prove its remittances to the committee on Sept. 3.

He also urged the apex bank to produce its audited account for the last five years.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/02/cbn-denies-non-remittance-of-80-surpluses/

Leading global food and agri-business, Olam International Limited announced today that it has secured three committed loan facilities aggregating US$5.2 billion.

The three facilities comprise a US$1.2 billion 3-year term loan and two 18-month bridge loan facilities of US$2.0 billion each. The term loan facility will be used for general corporate purposes of the Olam Group while the bridge loan facilities will be used to facilitate Olam’s Re-organisation Plan.

The terms of the three facility agreements include provisions that allow Olam to allocate the facilities to Olam Food Ingredients (“OFI”), Olam Global Agri (“OGA”) and Olam International (“OIL”) operating groups post the carve-out, separation, demerger and IPO of OFI as per the Re-organisation Plan.

The term loan and one of the bridge loan facilities has entities from OFI as Co-Borrowers, while the second bridge loan has entities from OGA and OIL as additional Co-Borrowers. All facilities are guaranteed by Olam.

Citibank, JP Morgan Chase Bank, MUFG Bank Ltd. and The Hongkong And Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (“HSBC”) participated as Senior Mandated Lead Arrangers for the facilities. HSBC is the Facility Agent.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/01/olam-secures-landmark-us5-2-billion-financing/

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited has announced that an enhanced version of its mobile app, X-Mobile would be released on September 1.

The Chief Executive Officer, NGX, Mr. Temi Popoola, made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Lagos.

Popoola said the enhanced X-mobile would enable capital market players and potential investors to have the requisite resources to engage more with the market.

He said X-Mobile, which was first launched in 2019 in its Beta state, is a dynamic and user-friendly mobile app, designed to enhance investors’ participation in the Nigerian capital market.

The NGX boss also noted that the X-Mobile was now accessible in the Google Play Store and Apple iOS Store.

According to him, it will provide market participants, especially retail investors, with convenient, faster, and real-time access to information about NGX, its listed securities, and Trading License Holders.

“The delivery of X-Mobile is in line with NGX’s strategic intent to provide an exchange that is easily accessible to stakeholders leveraging digital technology.

“X-Mobile, therefore, provides a platform to engage with existing and potential investors who now have an increased appetite for data and detailed disclosure information to aid sound investment decisions.

X-Mobile: NGX Launches App To Improve Market Access
“We are confident that the app will complement the NGX website and other NGX portals currently being used to provide information to market stakeholders,” he said.

The Divisional Head, Trading Business, NGX, Mr. Jude Chiemeka, stated: “X-Mobile affirms our commitment to make financial services more inclusive and provide a superior customer experience in the access and use of capital.

“The app has, therefore, been enhanced to ensure that capital market players and potential investors have the requisite resources to make the most out of their engagement with the market.

“We believe that X-Mobile is on course to become the primary interface for local and international investors to stay abreast of market trends and domestic economic performance,” he said.

Existing users of the beta version of X-Mobile would be required to create new accounts as the app now requires password login.

Other features that users can look forward to including the market news feed and the trade engine simulator, where they can learn or improve on their trading proficiency.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/09/01/ngx-launches-app-to-improve-market-access/

Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, on Tuesday, declared that Nigeria’s economy was coming back strongly with foreign investors making a commitment to invest in the country.

Adebayo spoke at the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) Diplomatic Luncheon in Abuja.

According to a statement by his media aide, Ifedayo Sayo, Adebayo said Nigeria was open for business and that the country’s investment climate was continually improving.
The minister said although 2020 was challenging for all economies, Nigeria was coming back strong.

He noted that in the first half of the year investment announcements were at $10.1 billion, an increase of 100 per cent from 2020.

“Investors from Europe, China, Morocco, and the UK are making strong commitments and this administration is working tirelessly to ensure that these commitments turn into projects that positively affect our nation,” the minister said.

He said the Federal Government recognised the importance of attracting and retaining patient investment into the economy, adding that this accounted for the ministry’s commitment to the strategic relationship that existed with the chamber.

“I would like to reiterate my ministry’s commitment to the strategic relationship that exists with the chamber and to continue working with the leadership towards our collective objectives.

“This is even more germane with the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

“AfCFTA will enhance Africa’s capacity to unlock growth and create jobs by building our industrial capacity, enlarging our productivity and making us more competitive globally.

“NACCIMA is pivotal in ensuring Nigerian businesses remain competitive in this new environment,” he said.

The minister said the improved ranking of Nigeria on ease of doing business by the World Bank was a result of the efforts government was making to create an enabling environment for foreign direct investment.

He listed some of the efforts as Executive Order 001, a directive that promotes transparency and efficiency in business environment and Revised Nigeria’s Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) model to include specific provisions for investment facilitation and actualisation.

Adebayo noted that investors’ rights were now balanced with obligations to ensure that Nigeria attracted Responsible, Inclusive, Balanced and Sustainable (RIBS) investments.
He said an online investment guide called “iGuide Nigeria” was also launched to provide investors with real-time information on the processes and basic costs of setting up and doing business in Nigeria.

The minister said the government developed a compendium of the Investment Incentives in Nigeria, and also launched the Book of States, a document that showcases the comparative advantages and key investment opportunities in each of Nigeria’s states.

He commended NACCIMA for putting the event together even as he encouraged it to remain committed to building a sustainable trade infrastructure within and across Africa for the benefit of the Nigerian business community.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/08/31/nigerias-economy-getting-stronger/

Beneficiaries of the maiden Wema SME Business School by the leading innovative financial institution, Wema Bank, have commended the novel and impactful initiative, disclosing that they have gained immensely from it.

The Wema SME Business School, another first from the innovative bank, equipped Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises with the basic management knowledge required to effectively run their businesses and respond to challenges in an ever-demanding business environment.

The five-day free training program was held from August 16 to 20 at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja Lagos and featured 50 participants. They were trained using a robust curriculum spanning the broad areas of finance, marketing and sales, leadership, technology, branding, strategy, innova-tion and business transformation.

Nigerian and international consultants from the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management Germany, Ernst & Young, Matt Anthony Consulting, IBFC Alliance, and Kuhl-Cher were part of the facilitators at the Business School.

Two beneficiaries, Emmanuel Elo-Irawo and Adesuwa Oguocha commended Wema Bank for the initiative, expressing what they had gained immensely from the Business School.
Elo-Irawo who operates a frozen fish chain, said: “They blew my mind because I wasn’t expect-ing much. I thought it was a forum where they would gather us and give us one or two pieces of information.

“The sessions have been very revealing, and I now have more knowledge of how to run my business. There is no way Nigeria will develop without trainings like this, and I am very pleased to be part of it.”

Adesuwa Oguocha, Creative Director, Adesuwa Couture described the sessions as “awesome.” Her words: “I am at a stage where I need to scale, and I want to get things right. So far, it has been expository. It’s been explosive. Yesterday alone, the quality of what we learnt, I have already started taking mental and written decisions concerning my business. The good thing about this training is that it is practical. You have room to air your concerns and get clarifications. My advice to anyone who isn’t here is to try to apply for the next cohort. It’s worth your time.”

Commenting on the training, Head, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Wema Bank, Arthur Nkemeh, assured that the institution would not relent to help MSMEs scale and grow their businesses. He added that the Business School is not just for its customers but for all Nigerian SMEs.

“For us, it is not just about our customers. It is about our passion in supporting and developing SMEs, creating employment, and impacting the economy. SMEs consists of about 90 per cent of the businesses in the country and they are the highest employer of labour. If we continue to support MSMEs to grow their businesses and scale, they will create more employment and impact the entire ecosystem,” Nkemeh said.

He added that the training affirms the Bank’s commitment and passion for MSMEs that it has supported in its 76 years of its existence.

“We are an SME-centric bank. So, we are trying to help SMEs to scale and learn better ways of doing their business with top-notch consultants from within and outside Nigeria. Part of our cur-riculum speaks to leadership, finance, marketing, business management, innovation, business transformation, & strategy.

He disclosed that the class would have been larger, but the Bank needed to observe the COVID-19 protocol and that there would be virtual and physical classes in select cities.

“After this session, we will have online sessions to enable more MSMEs to participate in the Business School program. We will mix it with some physical sessions. Next time, we might move to Abuja or Port-Harcourt to have a regionalized program.”

He disclosed that beyond the Business School, Wema Bank has other capacity-building programs, including business clinics, workshops, seminars, webinars, and mentorship programs that will help SMEs survive and scale.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/08/30/beneficiaries-commend-wema-banks/

African Union Member States will receive an additional 10 million doses of Astra Zeneca and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines over the next three months through a new partnership between the French government and the African Union.

The vaccines will be allocated and distributed by the initiative known as the Africa Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT) and the COVAX global vaccine initiative.

The AVAT initiative was set up as a pooled procurement mechanism for the African Union Member States to be able to buy enough vaccines for at least 50% of their needs. The AVAT works closely with the COVAX initiative, which seeks to provide the other 50% through donations.

AVAT is managed on behalf of the African Union Member States by an alliance of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), as well as the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), which also provides the funding for the acquisition of vaccines. AVAT has already acquired enough vaccines for African countries to vaccinate 400 million people, or one-third of the African population, by September next year, at a cost of $3 billion, supported by an innovative partnership with the World Bank.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, President Macron of France has been a powerful advocate in support of Africa’s need to have equitable access to vaccines and was the first leader to welcome and acknowledge the efforts of the African Union Member States to build institutions like AVAT.

He has met several times with the African Union’s leadership and has also traveled to South Africa where the French development agency Proparco is helping to expand Africa’s largest vaccine manufacturing facility. France will also contribute to the WHO-supported Hub, which will enable mRNA vaccines technology transfer to the African continent.

The French government has also been a strong advocate of vaccine sharing in the fight against COVID-19 in order to accelerate global vaccination rates and ensure equitable access to safe and efficacious immunization against COVID-19. In April of this year, France became the first country to share doses with COVAX, a global vaccine initiative managed by CEPI, Gavi, WHO, and UNICEF. Through its new partnership with AVAT, the French government will add to these efforts and advance its commitment of sharing at least 60 million doses before the end of 2021.

His Excellency Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa and African Union COVID-19 Champion, said: “The donation by the French Republic of 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to the African continent is a clear and welcome demonstration of human solidarity and political cooperation at a time the world needs this most.

A safer and healthier Africa is a prerequisite for a safer and healthier world. I commend President Macron and the government and people of France for this important contribution to our continent’s fight against illness and against the unfortunate and avoidable reality of unequal access to vaccines in many regions of the world, including Africa.”

His Excellency Emmanual Macron, President of the French Republic, said: “The solution to the pandemic will only come from strong cooperation, between multilateral, regional and national actors. Based on our solid partnership with the African Union, I want us to build together on the expertise and the political legitimacy of African leaders.

Thus 10 million doses of Astra Zeneca and Pfizer vaccines will be donated by the French people to the African Union, who will decide on their allocation, in coordination with COVAX. This demonstrates my will, as President of France, to stand shoulder to shoulder with African people and face the pandemic together.”

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/08/31/france-to-deliver-vaccines-to-africa/

Co-producer of Gala sausage roll, Tiger Brands, has agreed to divest from UAC of Nigeria Plc (UACN).

The South African company decided to sell its 49 percent stake in UAC Foods Limited, one of the subsidiaries in UACN, 10 years after it first acquired the stake in the food and beverage business.

The 49 percent is a minority stake which gave Tiger Brands a license to produce and distribute selected products such as Gala sausage rolls, Supreme Ice Cream, and Swan water in Nigeria.

In a notice sent to the Nigerian Exchange Group on Saturday, Tiger Brands said the 49 percent stake would be sold to UACN in a buyback agreement expected to be sealed in September.

This is the second buyback deal involving Tiger Brands as the company had also sold its 67.5 percent in Dangote Flour Mills which was acquired in 2012.

Dangote Group acquired the majority stake just three years after Tiger Brands had invested $200 million in the company.

The $76 million loan the company gave to Dangote Flour Mills was also written down.

The firm also sold its Deli Foods division in 2020.

This came just 10 years after it acquired a 100 percent stake in the unit following a dispute with its distributor, Benny, and Jolly Jus products.

Tiger Brands still operates in Cameroun, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/08/30/uacn-to-acquiretiger-brands-stake-in-uac-foods/

In a clear demonstration of its resilience, Zenith Bank Plc has announced its audited results for the half-year ended 30 June 2021, recording positive growth across key financial metrics despite a challenging macroeconomic environment exacerbated by the COVID 19 pandemic.

According to the bank’s audited half-year financial results presented to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the Group recorded a growth in profit before tax of 3% from NGN114 billion reported in H1 2020 to NGN117 billion in H1 2021.

The Group also recorded a 9% growth in non-interest income from NGN116 billion in June 2020 to NGN127 billion in June 2021. Overall, the significant reduction in interest expense by 26% and growth in non-interest income by 9% culminated in improved profitability.

The Group’s retail journey continues to deliver positive results as retail deposits grew by NGN38.2 billion from NGN1.72 trillion to NGN1.76 trillion year-to-date (YTD). Savings balances grew marginally by 2% YTD to close at NGN1.18 trillion from NGN1.16 trillion as at December 2020.

The drive for increased retail deposits and a low-interest yield environment helped reduce the cost of funding from 2.2% to 1.3% in the current period. Operating expenses grew by 10% YoY, but growth remains below the inflation rate, while the Group improved its Earnings per Share (EPS) which grew 2% from NGN3.30 to NGN3.38 for the half-year ended June 2021.

The Group also increased total customer deposits by 8% to close the period at NGN5.77 trillion, demonstrating growth in the market share. Total assets grew marginally to NGN8.52 trillion as at 30 June 2021 from NGN8.48 trillion recorded as at 31 December 2020. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic-induced challenges and the challenging operating environment, the Group grew its risk assets as gross loans were up by 3% YTD, from NGN2.92 trillion to NGN2.99 trillion.

This was conservatively achieved at a low Non-Performance Loans (NPL) ratio of 4.51% (FYE 2020: 4.29%) and a reduced cost of risk of 1.3% (June 2020: 1.8%). Prudential ratios such as liquidity and capital adequacy also remained above regulatory thresholds at 69.9% and 22.0%, respectively.

Despite the continued prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is cautious optimism that the global economy will continue to recover as vaccination programmes are intensified. On the domestic economy, Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 5.01% in the second quarter of 2021, and the inflation rate, which peaked in March 2021 at 18.17%, is gradually trending down (currently at 17.38% as at July 2021).

The Group is well-positioned to maximize the opportunities that these recovering fundamentals present while leveraging technology to expand its retail footprints to deliver improved returns to all its stakeholders.

In recognition of its track record of excellent performance, Zenith Bank was voted as Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria in the World Finance Banking Awards 2021, Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards 2020, Best Bank in Nigeria in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards 2020 and 2021, and Best in Corporate Governance ‘Financial Services’ Africa 2020 and 2021 by the Ethical Boardroom.

Also, the bank emerged as the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria in the Banker Magazine Top 500 Banking Brands 2020 and 2021, and Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital in the “2021 Top 1000 World Banks” Ranking by The Banker Magazine. The bank was also recognised as Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) at the ThisDay Awards 2020, Retail Bank of the year at the 2020 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BOFI) Awards, and Best Company in Promotion of Good Health and Well-Being as well as Best Company in Promotion of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment at the Sustainability, Enterprise and Responsibility (SERAS) Awards 2020.

Zenith Bank has grown enormously in 30 years to become Nigeria’s largest and one of Africa’s largest financial institutions by tier-1 capital, with shareholders’ funds of NGN1.1 trillion ($2.64 billion) as at 31st December 2020. The Bank continues to distinguish itself in the Nigerian financial services industry through superior service offerings, unique customer experience and sound financial indices. Zenith Bank is the clear leader in the digital space with several firsts in the deployment of innovative products, solutions and an assortment of alternative channels that ensure convenience, speed and safety of transactions.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/08/30/zenith-bank-maintains-growth-momentum-in-h1-2021-despite-monumental-headwinds/

…Pays N918m For Trademark
Guinness Nigeria projects a five percent decline for the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2021.

The brewer stated that the recovery of the economy is still unclear as covid-19 infection rates and deaths continue to rise – currently, there are 190,983 plus reported cases and 2,361 deaths.

Guinness Nigeria’s economic projection comes amid a 5.01 percent growth in GDP of the country’s second-quarter 2021, and a drop in inflation rate to 17.38 percent in July.

As cited on Ripples Nigeria, its First-Half financials filed with the Nigerian Exchange Group on Friday, August 27, Guinness Nigeria reported the inflation rate at about 13 percent.

In its words, “The Company considered 3 scenarios; Optimistic, Base and Pessimistic. Each scenario looked at various levels of recoverability in the market as a result of COVID, forecasted inflation & GDP, and the possibility of price increase.

“Probability of the Optimistic happening is based on how quickly the economy picks up and recovers as a result of COVID-19. The recovery still remains unclear as infection rates and deaths continue to rise. We assumed GDP rate of about (-5%) and inflation at about 13%.”

Trademark and technology licenses
Meanwhile, during H1 2021, Guinness Nigeria paid trademark fee and technology licenses of N918 million to Diageo plc, which gave the local firm exclusive rights to the know-how, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of its international brands such as Guinness brands, Orijin, Smirnoff Snapp, amongst many others.

The payment represents a royalty of 0.5 percent of net sales value and a technical service fee of 2 percent of net sales value, and its higher than the N566 million paid in 2020.

Note that Diageo is the majority shareholder of Guinness Nigeria through its other subsidiaries, Guinness Overseas Limited and Atalantaf Limited.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/08/30/guinness-nigeria-projects-5-gdp-decline/

World’s premium beer brand, Heineken has won a Medal of Gold as Outstanding Premium Lager Brand of the Decade.

This decoration is courtesy respected Nigerian business magazine Marketing Edge. Heineken is the only Nigerian beer brand so honoured, during an elite event in Lagos on Friday, August 27, 2021.

Marketing Edge publisher John Ajayi says the award is ‘‘in recognition of the brand’s cumulative strategic initiatives over the years, alongside its unmatched consumer trend forecasting in the country.’’

The bulk of Heineken’s popularity stems from its unique blend of excellent ingredients that impart a distinct flavor, providing beer drinkers across the country with a premium experience. Beyond the sensory pleasure, it delivers; it extends its impact on consumers’ lives through its groundbreaking initiatives.

Heineken asserts a claim to superiority, as evidenced by its campaigns in the last decade, from dominating the lifestyle sector by rebranding the annual Lagos Fashion Week.

Heineken Named Beer Of The Decade
The fashion exhibition founded by Omoyemi Akerele showcases the best creatives in Nigeria’s fashion industry and has served as a conduit between local creators and international fashion brands, breathing life into their creative processes through mentoring and masterclasses. One of such initiatives has plunged Heineken into a household name in the fashion world.

The worldwide beer brand didn’t stop at the Lagos Fashion Week; it also signed a ten-year sponsorship deal with the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). As a matter of fact, the Heineken-UEFA relationship was birthed in 1994 and its presence in over 190 markets around the world, continues to imprint its impact on the football community.

Kindling the kindred spirit of football lovers in Nigeria, it launched the #NeverWatchingAlone campaign to encourage communal viewing of football matches. For the 2021 UEFA Champions League finals, it convened football lovers in Abuja, with special appearances from Nancy Isime, Uti Nwachukwu, and Samantha Walsh. Likewise, its UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour, helps fans experience the trophy; touring over 35 cities across the world, including a recent tour to Lagos, Nigeria in April 2019.

Heineken’s top-notch business practices are not left out of its merit for the Beer of the Decade Award as guided by the Heineken Code of Business Conduct (Heicode), positioning it as an unrivaled consumer-focused brand, which at its core is driven by innovation, creativity, and connectivity.

Seeing Heineken initiatives are uniquely tailored to enrich consumers’ lifestyles and uplift values, Heineken’s partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) is one of its sustainability initiatives focused on increased water conservation, clean energy production, and local material sourcing, to benefit the immediate community of its operations.

The campaign which commenced in 2015 in the Ibadan region of the Ogun-Oshun catchment area, has had a tremendous impact spanning thousands of homes, local businesses, and communities across the years.

The Heineken brand truly has a midas touch as it has become a symbol of excellence and community in all fields, including sports, fashion, entertainment, environmental sustainability and so much more.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/08/29/heineken-named-beer-of-the-decade/

Data usage in Nigeria surged by 202.08 per cent in three years, according to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

According to the subscriber/network data reports of 2018, 2019, and 2020, data usage rose from 68,154.12 terabytes in 2018 to 125,149.86TB in 2019 and 205,880.4TB in 2020.

The total national and local outgoing voice calls were 121,935,927,123.15 in 2018. The calls grew to 149,584,465,210 in 2019 to 150,825,830,687.40.

According to the NCC, in 2018, broadband penetration figures stood at 31.48 per cent. The total active 3G connections were 47,325,726 while 4G connections were 12,761,473 subscriptions.

In 2019, broadband penetration grew to 37.80 per cent, with the total active 3G connections growing to 50,441,608 while 4G grew to 21,712,216.

In 2020, broadband penetration stood at 45.02 per cent, with the total active 3G connection falling to 49,402,994, while 4G grew to 36,538,228.

In the period under review, GSM internet subscribers grew by 53,639,503 from 100,234,283 in January 2018 to 153,873,786 in December 2020.

MTN had the largest market share. In 2018, it had an internet subscriber base of 37,201,086, which grew to 59,594,891 in December 2020.

In 2018, MTN made N164.79bn from data, and N674.78bn from voice. Its data revenue rose from N218.69bn in 2019 to N332.37bn in 2020 while voice revenue increased from N723.92bn to N766.39bn.

The NCC attributed the increase in data usage in 2020 to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the pandemic disrupted normal activities and most functions had to pivot to virtual forms.

Former MTN Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Ferdi Moolman, had said, “The year 2020 was challenging for all. The unprecedented disruption that the COVID-19 pandemic caused the businesses and people we serve, challenged us in new and demanding ways.

“The impact continues to evolve. Adoption of our data and digital services accelerated as lockdowns and gathering restrictions were imposed, and work-from-home became the norm for many.”

Commenting on the increase in data traffic, Airtel had in a report said, “Our improved 4G network contributed to an increase in smartphone penetration, in data customers and in up-take of large data volumes, resulting in greater data consumption per customer.

“Smartphone penetration was up by one percentage point to 33 per cent and our data customer base grew by 14.5 per cent, now representing 34.3 per cent of our total customer base.

“Data usage per customer reached 2.6 GB per customer (from 1.8 GB per customer) led by an increase in smartphone penetration and expansion of our home broadband and enterprise customers.

“This helped us grow data revenue 31.2 per cent in constant currency. Growing penetration and usage of 3G and 4G data customers helped us grow data ARPU 8.2 per cent. Fourth Generation data usage more than doubled in the year, contributing 62.2 per cent of total data usage on the network in Q4’21.”

The uptake in data usage is being driven by mobile devices, with GSM having the large portion of the market. The mobile device market is dominated by smartphones. According to GSMA, Nigeria had 53 million smartphone connections in 2018. GSMA estimates that smartphone connections will rise to 154 million by 2025.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/08/27/nigerias-data-usage-rises-by-202/

It is not easy to start an online discussion with outsiders. First of all, you have no idea who you are talking to, and you have no idea. What to say or how to start a discussion on Omegle. Some groups are acceptable at the beginning of the discussion. But it is an annoying and overwhelming task for the vast majority.

Countless things affect us when we try to connect with strangers. It is difficult to start an argument and make a big difference. The best advice for starting and continuing a discussion is to be ordinary. It’s not that hard to start a discussion and make a difference just like Camsurf. Don’t push anything to the extreme, and you’ll be fine.

Here are some tips to help you start an online discussion and make a difference.

Give them something to work with Random chat
If you are in contact with someone and don’t give them something to work with, you don’t show any interest in the discussion. In case it’s just Hello to someone, and you’re not sending anything other than “Hi,” you need to take care of your passing skills at this point.

As the saying goes, “The initial feeling is the last impression,” and assuming that your initial line is acceptable and fascinating, the other person will also be willing to continue the conversation with you. At the same time, if your opening is simple Hey or goodbye, you should probably ignore anyone who reacts to you. You can also make a live video cam on Chatiw.

Actively participate and be present in the conversation
Moment you are discussing with someone, at this point, you are constantly making sure that you are effectively involved and present in the discussion. So, The moment you act dynamic and are watching the discussion, the other person will also try to do the same, which will be relevant to the discussion.

The moment you make the other person feel that you are interested in the discussion and what they have to say, they will also try to make a big difference. Anyway, assuming you show no interest, the discussion will end at some point.

Make them feel important

Asking questions is one of the most prominent approaches that have a significant influence on a discussion. When you ask the other person about them, you make them feel like you want to think about them. People love to talk about themselves, and when you ask them questions and get information about their character, what they like and what they don’t like, etc., you make them feel significant, which is likely to have a big impact on them—the discussion.

Remember that when talking to the most bizarre, never brag about yourself or have a whole discussion about yourself; give them a scene to argue about you.

Talk about yourself on Omegle
The moment you give the other person a discussion about yourself. At this point, feel free to argue about yourself on the basis that many people make the mistake of getting information about everything and having the whole discussion about it without revealing anything. The vast majority don’t care when you ask them everything and reveal nothing about yourself.

When researching a topic or asking a question. So, feel free to talk about yourself and educate the other person about yourself. Remember that balance is a form of discussion. In case you start to rule the discussion, the other person probably doesn’t like it.

Try not to force to make conversation

If you are chatting with someone online at different stages of the line. such as Omegle, CooMeet, Chatiw, etc., and you feel like you are not intrigued and not trying to drive. Then this is not the best thing to do. If you are trying to make the discussion fascinating. But the other person offers you a stalemate proclamation or one-word answer. The other person is not eager to talk to you. You are in an ideal position to talk to another person because you are making an honest effort to make a big difference in the discussion. Still, it seems like the other person is not intrigued, and then let us go instead of throwing out all your vibes or limiting you.

Act naturally and be original
The only thing nobody likes is a hotshot and a trap. If you are chatting with someone online and not behaving exceptionally, trying to be a hot shooter. And having fun, no one will love you. Act constantly naturally and be unique. Try not to try to be someone you are not. Keep showing your true self to others.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/08/27/how-to-talk-with-strangers-online-nicely/

Hot on the heels of oil majors either exiting or cutting back their activities in West Africa, comes news of other players moving to fill the gap – in the coastal countries of Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Ghana, for instance.
In other West African coastal countries – Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Liberia, and Togo – there are also hopes of finding oil fields containing economically viable quantities of oil and gas.
Nowhere are the activities of West African coastal countries more manifest than in the registrations for Africa Oil Week 2021 in November. The African continent’s premier oil and gas conference has moved temporarily to Dubai as a COVID-19 safety precaution but has committed to return “home” to Cape Town, South Africa from 2022.

Committed participants in AOW 2021 from West African coastal countries thus far include:
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Energy, Alhaji Kanja Sesay, Minister of Environment Prof. Dr Foday M. Jaward, Minister of Mineral Resources Timothy Kabba, Minister of State in the Office of the Vice President, Madam Frances Alghali, and Director General of the Petroleum Directorate, Foday Mansaray;

The Gambia’s Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Fafa Sanyang, Commissioner for Petroleum in the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Jerreh Barrow and the Chief Executive Officer of Gambia National Petroleum Company, Yaya Barrow; and
Ghana’s Minister of Energy, Matthew Opoku Prempeh.
AOW’s Vice President of Energy and Director of Government Relations, Paul Sinclair, said: “AOW in Dubai is going to be a blockbuster. With, the Minister of Energy for the United Arab Emirates, Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, confirming he will set out his commitments to West Africa and beyond, we can only see more success coming to the region, as a result of AOW 2021 in Dubai.”
In Sierra Leone, one company eyeing the prospects is Cluff Energy Africa. Since Algy Cluff created Cluff Oil in the ’70s, Cluff Energy Africa has operated sustainable and efficient natural resources projects in Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, and Ivory Coast.
Cluff’s new venture, Cluff Energy Africa, established two years ago, has already provisionally been awarded licenses covering 16,000km² in Sierra Leone with plans to expand across East and West Africa. He describes exits and divestments by the majors as an enormous opportunity to fill the gap.

Despite the volatility accompanying Covid-19, Cluff is confident that the rebound will see oil prices settle at a high watermark and, with the giants of the industry pulling out, a space has been left for smaller and nimbler companies to move in.
“We’re definitely seeing a fragmentation of the oil and gas market,” he explains. As well as smaller players, Russia and China are also looking to consolidate their position in the African commodities market.
He says these changes are part of an inevitable transition, and that alternative energy sources will be the answer for global energy production to meet the Paris Climate Accord targets.
Nonetheless “smaller countries need to survive in the interim,” he says, especially as national budgets to develop alternative energy on a large scale are limited.
For Africa, with an electrification rate of only 43 per cent compared to a global average of 87 per cent, the challenge of the energy transition comes as countries grapple with how to deliver energy on a scale to drive growth and development.
High hopes for Gambia
In The Gambia, Australian company FAR and joint venture partner Petronas have contracted a deep-water drillship for an oil exploration well later this year.

The drillship Stena IceMAX will spud the Bambo-1 exploration well in October and November. If successful, a discovery could result in a standalone development which would be The Gambia’s first oil production The well is expected to take 30 days to drill to a planned total depth of 3 266 metres in water depths of 993 metres, 500 metres south of the Senegal-Gambia border.
“We are pleased to be recommencing exploration drilling at FAR with this high impact well in The Gambia and with the same drill team that drilled efficiently and safely for the Samo-1 well in 2018,” FAR Managing Director Cath Norman says.
“The well will be the first well to be drilled in the Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry (MSGBC) basin since the collapse of the market in the wake of the oil price crash and the Covid-19 pandemic.
“A discovery of oil offshore Gambia would be extremely significant for FAR shareholders and the people of Gambia and help move Gambia out of ‘energy poverty’ and to transition from burning heavy fuel oil for power generation.”
Upstream boost for Ghana

The upstream oil and gas business in Ghana recently received a boost when Eni announced that it has made a significant oil find offshore Ghana, close to its existing Sankofa hub, which would allow it to fast-track production. The Eban-1X well is the second well drilled in CTP Block 4, following the Akoma discovery. Preliminary estimates place the potential of the Eban-Akoma complex between 500 and 700 Mboe in place.
Due to its proximity to existing infrastructure, the new discovery can be fast-tracked to production with a subsea tie-in to the John Agyekum Kufuor FPSO, with the aim to extend its production plateau and increase production.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2021/08/26/west-african-coastal-nations-to-join-regions-oil-big-time/