₦airaland Forum

The GMD, Adron Homes and Properties Aare Adetola Emmanuel King, who represented His Excellency, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State as Chairman of the annual Ojude-Oba Epe cultural festival held on Friday 30th of June 2023 admonished Epe indigenes on the prospects of Epe becoming a Metropolitan city years to come.

On Friday the 30th of June 2023, at the Ogunmodede High School, Papa Epe,

The Prince of Epe who hails from the Oba Atoyegbe ruling house made this revelation while speaking on behalf of Governor Sanwo-Olu at the event where he laid more emphasis on the need for more development and investment opportunities within Epe Town which will make it a more viable investment hub for investors which would transit the town from a rural area to an urbanized metropolis in a decade time.

Aare Adetola, who is also the Onile Aje of Epe while addressing indigenes on behalf of Governor Sanwoolu disclosed the need for more people to leverage on the current economic boom and massive infrastructural development ongoing in Epe town projecting the town will witness more unprecedented development owing to its proximity and closeness to Ibeju-Lekki and the newly opened Dangote Petrochemicals and Refinery, Lekki Free Trade Zone, 4th Mainland bridge and the projected Airport.

The Real Estate magnate also said anyone who secures investment in that axis would get a massive Return on Investment in no time as Epe will soon transform into a full metropolitan city with numerous amenities. “Epe will be a metropolis in less than Ten years.

Our people should begin to see themselves at an advantage because of the strategic investment sited within our domain and the recent boom in real estate investment as many people are relocating to Epe because of its proximity to other states. We should also begin to open our arms and be accommodating to more investors, investments, and foreign nationals from all over the world because we have vast virgin land and we are also surrounded by water. We should all come together to ensure our town transforms in no time to a cosmopolitan metropolis that will be an investment hub to prospective investors and also put our town on the map.”

The Adron home boss who is also a prominent investor in the real estate sector highlighted the need for Epe indigents to embrace peace and unity to ensure they maximize all benefits. After admonishing the giant strides of Epe indigenes for coming home to celebrate with their monarch by paying homage and displaying the rich culture and traditions of the Epe people via a grand display of regal outfits and other ornamental paraphernalia he also advised the host of the event; His Royal Majesty, Oba Kamorudeen Ishola Animashaun, the Oloja of Epe to try and unite all Epe indigenes because the success of any community is the strength in unity.

“The growth of Epe is in the hands of our father, the Oloja of Epe and the responsibility is on him to ensure all hands are on deck to open Epe to more investment opportunities and also using his native intelligence to promote the ease of doing business. When investors are comfortable in their host domains and their investment guaranteed with internal security by the indigenes they will bring more investment that will benefit all sundry and there would be jobs created and more opportunity for Epe to grow beyond imagination.”

Aare Adetola also concurrently visited the Awujale of Ijebu land in celebration of the Ojude-Oba Ijebu-ode and Orimolusi of Ijebu-Igbo on the commemoration of the Ojude-Oba Ijebu-Igbo.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/2023/07/03/open-your-arms-for-more-investors-to-make-epe-a-metropolis-aare-adetola-emmanuel-king-to-epe-indigenes/

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has said it’s looking at the possibility of allowing candidates use personal devices, particularly mobile phones, during its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME.

Speaking in Abuja over the weekend, JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede said the policy which falls under the “Bring Your Own Device” was being considered given the increasing cost of logistics in taking the UTME nationwide.

According to him, it cost the Board over N1.2 billion to equip a CBT center in Kaduna state, particularly in procuring computers that candidates use to take the examination.

He said the policy may require candidates wishing to take UTME in the future to bring their own devices to the examination hall.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/06/26/jamb-proposes-use-of-mobile-phone-for-utme/

A new partnership between Google Cloud and Moniepoint, an African-focused business banking platform that offers financial services to Nigeria’s underbanked businesses residing in outlying communities, was announced today. By bridging the banking gap in suburban areas, the collaboration makes financial services scalable and accessible to millions of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

In Nigeria, there are more than 41 million microbusinesses, according to Statista. To succeed, these companies must be able to accept payments online. Moniepoint turned to Google Cloud’s scalable cloud infrastructure as it transitioned into consumer-facing products intended to digitise these businesses and equip them for success.

Moniepoint benefits from low-latency internet access from Google Cloud’s scalable infrastructure, which enables the company to offer effective banking services to its clients without causing any lag when they use the platform. As a result, Moniepoint is able to successfully make its banking services available in Nigeria’s remote towns and communities where businesses operating outside the country’s commercial hubs—where mainstream banking is more accessible—have trouble getting access to the internet.

Additionally, Moniepoint was able to double its customer base and increase it from 300,000 small and medium-sized businesses at the beginning of 2022 to 1.3 million businesses today as a result of the simplicity of using Google Cloud. To process financial transactions and accept payments for their services, these businesses now rely on Moniepoint’s payments application.

Moniepoint established a portion of its payments application on Cloud Spanner, which depends on the scalable infrastructure of Google Cloud, as part of a hybrid cloud strategy, and now manages an average of 200,000 financial requests per minute. The application, which is designed to handle planet-size volumes of transactions, keeps track of all the requests and financial transactions that Moniepoint processes. With Moniepoint poised for greater growth, the application is ready to scale to handle 300 million transactions each month as the company anticipates supporting more than 500% of its current workload.

Felix Ike, Chief Technology Officer, Moniepoint, said:

“GOOGLE CLOUD HAS BEEN A KEY ENABLER IN FUELING MONIEPOINT’S GROWTH JOURNEY FROM DAY ONE, AS WE EXPANDED FROM A SMALL BUSINESS TO BECOME A LICENSED BUSINESS BANK THAT CATERS TO 1.3 MILLION BUSINESSES ACROSS NIGERIA TODAY. OUR DEVELOPMENT TEAM IS EMPOWERED WITH THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY TO PROCESS FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS QUICKLY AND MOVE FAST WITH REQUESTS AS GOOGLE CLOUD TECHNOLOGIES ARE EASY TO DEPLOY. WITH GOOGLE CLOUD’S SCALABLE INFRASTRUCTURE, WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT WE CAN GROW OUR CUSTOMER BASE EXPONENTIALLY TO CATER TO THREE MILLION CUSTOMERS IN THE COMING 18 MONTHS AS WE EXPAND OUR FOOTPRINT ACROSS AFRICA.”

In order to scale the volume of transactional requests, such as payment transactions and accounting ledgers, the company also uses Google Kubernetes Engine. Moniepoint increased the workload processing capacity from 1,000 to 4,000 requests per minute, allowing the company to respond to customer requests swiftly and seamlessly.

Niral Patel, Director, Google Cloud Africa, added:

“NIGERIA’S INTER-BANK SETTLEMENT SYSTEM (NIBSS) REVEALED THAT 50 PER CENT OF NIGERIA’S 207 MILLION ADULT POPULATION IS CURRENTLY UNDERBANKED. MONIEPOINT IS A UNIQUE BUSINESS MODEL ESTABLISHED TO POSITIVELY IMPACT THE LIVELIHOOD OF PEOPLE BY PROVIDING SMES WITH ACCESS TO BANKING SERVICES. THE COMPANY HAS SUCCESSFULLY GROWN FROM A SMALL TO A LARGE-SCALE BUSINESS BY CAPITALIZING ON GOOGLE CLOUD’S COST-EFFECTIVE CLOUD SOLUTIONS THAT HAVE ENABLED THE AUTOMATION OF ITS MANUAL PROCESSES. BANKING AND FINANCIAL SERVICES CAN BE A PROCESS-HEAVY DOMAIN, BUT WITH GOOGLE CLOUD’S INFRASTRUCTURE, THE TEAM AT MONIEPOINT HAS AUTOMATED TRANSACTIONAL PROCESSES THAT WOULD TAKE UP TO EIGHT HOURS INTO 10 MINUTES. THIS HAS TRANSLATED INTO GROWING THE VOLUME OF CUSTOMERS RELYING ON MONIEPOINT, AS MORE BUSINESSES BECOME CONFIDENT IN ITS SEAMLESS AND SECURE SERVICES.”

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/06/21/moniepoint-empowers-nigerias-under-banked-businesses/

A submersible watercraft with five people on board has been missing since shortly after it set out early Sunday to explore the site of the Titanic shipwreck in the North Atlantic.

On Wednesday, U.S. Coast Guard officials said that airplanes participating in the search had detected underwater noises in the North Atlantic on both Tuesday and Wednesday, leading authorities to focus their mission on the area the sounds are coming from.

On Tuesday, Capt. Jamie Frederick of the U.S. Coast Guard said during a news conference that the vessel had about 40 hours of breathable air left.

Here are nine questions about the Titan and the effort to find it. We’ll be updating this post as the story develops.
1. When and where did the Titanic submersible disappear?
After departing from St. John’s on the eastern edge of Newfoundland on June 16, the Polar Prince dropped anchor roughly 900 miles east of Cape Cod and was scheduled to deploy the Titan at 3 am ET the morning of June 18, although the Coast Guard said it didn’t begin its descent until around 7 am ET. The sub was supposed to send out a ping every 15 minutes during its descent down to the Titanic shipwreck, nearly 13,000 feet below the ocean’s surface. The entire voyage was supposed to take just two and a half hours, but the Polar Prince lost contact with the Titan approximately an hour and 45 minutes into the trip, triggering a desperate search for the now-missing sub. —Adam Clark Estes

2. Who is on board?
There are five people aboard the Titan submersible, including Stockton Rush, the 61-year-old pilot. He’s the founder and CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, which organized the expedition that the submersible embarked on to see the wreckage of the Titanic. Rush is an aerospace engineer with a well-documented love of deep-sea exploration and designing experimental aircraft and modded submersibles (there’s been a lot of talk of how the Titan is maneuvered by a jury-rigged video game controller). Though OceanGate was founded in 2009, tours to the Titanic weren’t available to paying customers until 2021. As of April 2020, the company had raised almost $37 million in total funding, according to data from PitchBook, including a new $18 million investment that year to help fund the nascent Titanic expeditions.

Also on board is Hamish Harding, a 58-year-old British billionaire with a penchant for adventuring to the extremes of the Earth. In 2016, he visited the South Pole with astronaut Buzz Aldrin; he holds three Guinness world records, including one for a more than 4-hour dive in the deepest part of the Mariana Trench. Last summer, he joined the six-person crew of a suborbital flight with Blue Origin, the space exploration company started by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. He also flies planes and skydives; in 2022, he was inducted into the Living Legends of Aviation, an award recognizing people who have made significant contributions to aviation — other honorees include space billionaires Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and actors Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford.

Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a 77-year-old former commander of the French Navy, is a deep-sea search expert who has completed at least 35 dives to the wreck of the Titanic. An authority on the famous shipwreck, Nargeolet is also the director of underwater research at RMS Titanic Inc, which has exclusive rights to salvage artifacts from the wreck. Nargeolet was part of the Air France Flight 447 search efforts, helping to find the plane that had disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean.

Shahzada Dawood, a 48-year-old Pakistani-British businessman and philanthropist, joined the Titan crew with his 19-year-old son Suleman. He heads the Engro Corporation, one of the largest conglomerates in Pakistan, which operates in the food and agriculture, energy, and telecommunications sectors. He sits on the board of trustees of his family foundation, which focuses on education in the sciences and technology. Dawood is also on the board of the SETI Institute, a renowned scientific research organization that, in part, searches for extraterrestrial life.

The five passengers aboard the submersible are connected by an interest — and some experience and bona fides — in exploring air, space, and sea, as well as the financial means to pursue these passions. Again, OceanGate’s Titanic expeditions to the wreckage site cost as much as $250,000 per passenger. The company has claimed that its aim is to increase access to the deep sea for tourists and to contribute research on the wreck and its surrounding debris. —Whizy Kim

3. How exactly does the sub work and why does it need help?
The Titan is not a big submersible, nor is it designed for extended periods of time underwater, or capable to travel to a port without help from another vessel, as naval submarines are. The teardrop-shaped vessel is 22 feet long, can carry five people, and is equipped with one, small porthole window on the front of the vessel, where there is also a small toilet. The cylindrical, all-metal interior otherwise lacks seats and is approximately the size of a minivan, according to David Pogue, a CBS reporter and former passenger. Mike Reiss, a producer and writer for The Simpsons, traveled on the Titan in 2022 and said passengers were given sandwiches and water on board his voyage, which lasted 10 hours, during which the vessel’s compass was “acting very weird” and the passengers only had about 20 minutes to view the Titanic wreckage.

Because it travels so deep in the ocean, the submersible cannot use GPS and communicates with the Polar Prince through a text messaging system. It’s piloted with a video game controller, which is not as weird as it sounds. Even the US Navy uses Xbox controllers to operate the photonic scopes that replaced periscopes on submarines.

Critically, the Titan submersible only has 96 hours of oxygen reserves on board. That means that as soon as the vessel went missing, the clock started ticking on remaining life support. Even if the sub were able to resurface on its own, the passengers would be stuck inside until help arrived, since the hatch is closed from the outside and sealed shut with 17 bolts. —ACE

4. Who owns and operates the Titan sub?
The Titan is operated by OceanGate Expeditions, a Washington-based private company that offers chartered deep-sea exploration for commercial and scientific purposes. The company has also become known for leading deep-sea tourism trips. Its first trips to the Titanic were in 2021 and 2022, and OceanGate has said it would return to the shipwreck annually to survey its decay.

OceanGate has led more than a dozen underwater trips, including to shipwrecks like the Andrea Doria, which lies up to 240 feet underwater near Nantucket. It has three five-person submersibles in its fleet: Antipodes, Cyclops 1, and Titan. While Antipodes and Cyclops 1 can travel just 1,000 and 1,640 feet below the surface, respectively, OceanGate says the Titan is designed to go 4,000 meters, or 13,123 feet deep — just enough to reach the Titanic wreckage, which lies about 12,500 feet down. That seems uncomfortably close to the vessel’s maximum depth.

OceanGate has for years faced criticism from experts about Titan’s safety. David Lochridge, who was an OceanGate employee from 2016 to 2018, warned about the thickness of the Titan’s hull and “the potential dangers to passengers of the Titan as the submersible reached extreme depths” in a 2018 report. Lochridge later said in a court filing that he was wrongly terminated after raising these concerns. More than three dozen experts subsequently sent a letter to OceanGate’s CEO Rush saying that the “‘experimental’ approach adopted by [the company] could result in negative outcomes (from minor to catastrophic).”

OceanGate offered a response of sorts in a 2019 blog post that explained why the company had decided not to class the Titan — that is, get an independent group to evaluate whether a series of standards, including on safety, have been met, which is the industry norm. OceanGate argued that “innovation often falls outside of the existing industry paradigm” and that “by itself, classing is not sufficient to ensure safety.”

Rush seems quite cavalier in his own right. “I mean, if you just want to be safe, don’t get out of bed, don’t get in your car, don’t do anything,” Rush told CBS’s Pogue in 2022. “At some point, you’re going to take some risk, and it really is a risk-reward question.” He added that safety is a “pure waste.” —ACE

5. What do we know about the search and rescue process?
OceanGate contacted the Coast Guard after it lost touch with the Titan on Sunday afternoon. This kicked off what has become an international rescue effort on the water and in the air. The search yielded few updates until early Wednesday, when several maritime surveillance planes detected underwater noises, described as “banging noises,” in the area where the Titan went missing.

That effort included two American C-130 aircraft and two Canadian P-3 aircraft that can deploy sonar probes into the water. On the surface, the Polar Prince and Deep Energy, a Bahamas-flagged pipe-laying ship with two remotely operated vehicles that can dive nearly 10,000 feet, are assisting with the search. A French research vessel, the Atalante, which is equipped with an underwater exploration robot called the Victor 6000, is expected to arrive on Wednesday. The Victor 6000 is capable of descending nearly 20,000 feet, which is more than deep enough to reach the Titanic shipwreck. Even more ships are on their way to help.

In a press briefing on Wednesday afternoon, Capt. Frederick would not offer a timeline for the search. He said that the search area was now two times the size of Connecticut, or more than 10,000 square miles, and that the number of planes and ships assisting in the search would double from five to 10 in the next 24 hours. Frederick also emphasized that the amount of oxygen believed to be left in the Titan was just one data point for rescuers. If the 96 hours of reserve oxygen figure is correct, that would leave rescuers working under the assumption that the supply would run out some time on Thursday. —ACE

6. Why is it so difficult to explore the deepest parts of the ocean?
You’re probably familiar with how 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is ocean, but its depths are a much bigger mystery. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, less than 10 percent of the world’s ocean depths are mapped with sonar.

Think of the ocean floor not as flat and even, but with geological features just like land on the surface. There are canyons, plateaus, mountains, and submarine volcanoes, among other types of formations. Crucially, the technology we have to map above ground doesn’t work as well underwater. Water is a very good shield. It’s excellent at attenuating light, radiation, electromagnetism — all of our conventional tools for studying stuff. Terrain mapping can include satellite imagery and GPS, both of which can’t operate beyond rather shallow depths. So beyond 50 meters of depth, you really can’t know what’s going on unless you’re physically there.

To identify objects in the very deep parts of the ocean, researchers are left to use sound waves, which can travel through water much more accurately, via sonar. We can use echo sounding to map the ocean floor in a practice called bathymetry. There’s also geodesy, a satellite technology that’s increasingly being used to map by measuring tiny changes in gravity, which in turn illustrate the bottom of the ocean.
A part of the struggle comes through relying on sound waves, which physically have to be deployed. It’s expensive to make vessels that can withstand the pressures of the depths, and even more expensive to get people in said vessels. The farther down you go, the higher and more deadly the pressure is. In 2016, scientists estimated it would cost more than $3 billion to map the ocean floor. OceanGate claims to provide submersibles for scientific projects as well.

“In some ways, it’s a lot easier to send people into space than it is to send people to the bottom of the ocean,” oceanographer Gene Carl Feldman told Oceana, an ocean conservation group. “The intense pressures in the deep ocean make it an extremely difficult environment to explore.”


So while we know where the oceans are, and their surface is mapped with satellites, the depths are still just roughly estimated. We have a better understanding of Mars’s geography than we do of the ocean’s.

As for the rescue, the OceanGate submersible only has sonar to rely on — and that’s if their technology is working. (The New York Times reported that it’s unclear whether the Titan even has an acoustic homing beacon.) —Izzie Ramirez

7. How dangerous is deep sea tourism?
In most cases, folks who aren’t experts in deep-sea exploration aren’t ending up down near the sea floor. And if they are, usually they’re accompanied or trained by people who know how to operate deep-sea machinery and what to do in emergency situations. That’s what makes this particular incident with OceanGate precarious — generally, deep sea equipment has several, redundant failsafes to protect the people inside.

Because deep sea exploration trips are so expensive, there are limited ways to get on one. You can be conducting government-funded research, have extremely wealthy benefactors (or are wealthy yourself), or be contracted as an employee of an industry that’s operating in the depths. In the research arena, that’s improved loads. Just earlier this month, a Florida scientist — nicknamed “Dr. Deep Sea” — broke the world record for living underwater the longest. He stayed in a subaquatic compound for 100 days.

But it hasn’t always been so safe. And safety, of course, is dependent on the infrastructure and systems around an individual. In 1983, a team of saturation divers for Byford Dolphin, a semi-submersible oil rig in the North Sea, experienced a terrible accident. The diving bell, or the structure that maintains pressure to keep divers safe, released before a connecting chamber’s doors were entirely closed, instantaneously decompressing the area. Three of the divers died instantly, with the nitrogen in their bodies erupting, “boiling” into gas. Another was sucked through an opening — his internal organs scattered onto the deck after being torn from his body.

The danger of pressure underwater will likely never go away, but we’ve gotten better at building vessels and ships that have backup plans for their backup plans. That, and we don’t send as many crewed vessels into the deep. —IR

8. How does deep-sea tourism compare to space tourism?
Rush, in an interview with the New York Times last year, argued that OceanGate’s private explorations served a public good. “No public entity is going to fund going back to the Titanic,” he said. It’s an argument not dissimilar to the one spacefaring billionaires make about the societal value their multibillion-dollar ventures provide. They too point to a diminishment of interest and funding for space exploration — so thank the heavens they’re magnanimously picking up the slack. In a 2017 interview with Fast Company, Rush noted that as a teenager he dreamed of being the first person on Mars, only later turning his eye to the ocean.

He also said that the cost of OceanGate’s expeditions were a “fraction” of going to space. That’s true more broadly — setting up an aerospace company and building reusable rockets probably requires a lot more capital than sending submersibles into the depths of the ocean. But a ticket on a Virgin Galactic spaceflight also cost around $250,000 in 2021, though it has since upped the price to a cool $450,000. In February of this year, Rush was sued for fraud by a Florida couple alleging that the Titanic voyage they paid a hefty sum for had never happened.

In recent years, space exploration — often with dreams of colonizing Mars — has become the billionaire pet project du jour. But there have been plenty of other trendy, expensive fascinations too. In fact, the elite fascination with the deep sea appeared to be having a moment in the early 2010s. Richard Branson spent an estimated $17 million on a submarine in 2011, and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen also revealed in 2011 that he had a megayacht big enough to house a personal submarine. Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt founded the Schmidt Ocean Institute in 2009, which aims to advance oceanographic research. To date, Schmidt and his wife Wendy have contributed over $360 million to the institute.

While the degree of danger associated with the hobbies of the ultra-rich varies greatly, there’s a surfeit of adventurous pastimes enjoyed by the wealthy, whether it’s yacht racing — enjoyed by the likes of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Wendy Schmidt — or flying private planes, an infamously perilous activity that nonetheless remains a favorite hobby of rich people. —WK

9. Why does the media care so much about this story?
The quick answer to that question is that it’s pretty hard to imagine people spending $250,000 to voluntarily go to an extremely dangerous place in a claustrophobic tube with no additional safety. Rich people doing something astonishingly baffling and risky is always a point of curiosity. It’s a story, in the classic sense of the word.

The more complex — and arguably interesting — answer is that such a search endeavor reveals how little we know about the ocean. The hurdles with sonar, the physical challenges, the fact there’s so much science and guessing involved (Are they still alive and running out of oxygen? Were they instantly crushed?) can lead to a lot of important development in the future. This might be the impetus for governments to invest more in ocean exploration.

And yes, migrants unfortunately do go missing in oceans regularly in arduous, treacherous journeys for a better life. At least 78 migrants died and hundreds of others are missing after a boat capsized in the Mediterranean earlier this week, for instance. Outlets could do more to cover this painful issue with justice and accountability. As local and national outlets continue to cover immigration, human rights, and poverty, it’s a dual responsibility from news organizations and readers alike to decide what really matters.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/06/22/nine-things-to-know-about-the-missing-titanic-submersible/

In collaboration with the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the MTN Foundation has kick-started the second edition of its Anti Substance Abuse Programme (ASAP) quiz competition for secondary school students in Nigeria.

Following the elimination stage, which was held virtually between June 6, and 7, 2023, six finalists emerged and will be competing for the grand prize on June 23, 2023 in Abuja. The finalists include; PTA/NADP International College, Lafia, Nasarawa State; Girls’ Secondary School, Abakpa-Nike, Enugu, Enugu State; Girls Secondary School, Yola, Adamawa State; Katsina College, Katsina State;, Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo State and Anglican Girls Grammar School, Benin-City.

The quiz competition is part of the MTN Foundation’s efforts to raise awareness about substance abuse and addiction among Nigerian youths. Its purpose is to reduce first-time substance use and casual substance use among secondary school students across the country.

The three-hour quiz competition was moderated by the Director, Drug Demand Reduction, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Dr Ngozi Maduibuike; Team Leader, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Abimbola Adewumi and Assistant Director, Drug Demand Reduction Directorate NDLEA, Chigbu Odoemelam.

According to the NDLEA director, the uptake in the use of substances by young Nigerians has led to the agency’s partnership with MTN Foundation. She said, “More young people between the ages of 15 and 35 are more involved in drug abuse. Studies have shown that 14.3 million Nigerians are using psychoactive substances with 1 in 5 persons who use drugs in Nigeria suffering from drug use disorders. This has become worrisome hence the need to raise awareness through the inter-school quiz competition.”

Encouraging students during the online competition, Dr Ngozi Maduibuike urged them to arm themselves with the knowledge gained during the competition and act as ambassadors in the fight against substance abuse.

“We need to raise more students who will act as champions in the fight against drug abuse. We hope to provide students with coping skills to help them deal with peer pressure to take drugs. We know that many people who first start using drugs have done so through the pressure of their friends. Through the ASAP quiz competition, we hope to provide you with the necessary knowledge needed to have a healthier life as you become ambassadors against substance abuse. We expect you to take the ASAP message back to your classrooms, homes and communities.”

Speaking on the MTN Foundation’s partnership with NDLEA and UNODC on the ASAP quiz competition, the Executive Secretary of the Foundation, Odunayo Sanya said, “The reality of substance abuse in our community is one we must no longer ignore. In 2019, MTN through its Foundation initiated the Anti Substance Abuse Programme (ASAP) in partnership with NDLEA and UNODC. We remain committed to driving the ASAP message through multi-sectoral partnerships because we believe that the fight against substance abuse is everyone’s fight.”

In total, 18 schools across the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria with a prevalence of high rate of substance abuse were selected for the quiz competition by the NDLEA and the UNODC.

The MTN Foundation launched ASAP in 2019 as a platform to promote awareness about the dangers of substance abuse and addiction and to reduce first-time substance use and casual substance among young Nigerians.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/06/16/mtn-foundation-ndlea-unodc-kick-start-second-edition-of-quiz-competition-on-substance-abuse/

It was all glitz and glamour at the cocktail event to kick off the sixth edition of the Lagos Leather Fair, the event had in attendance key stakeholders, influencers, and the media. An amazing live band was in place to fill the room with beautiful sounds and masterful musical expressions.

The event also featured a beautiful spoken word rendition by Ms. Kemi Adedipe who kept the audience spell bound in a heartfelt poetry redition. The cocktail event also provided attendees the opportunity to connect with industry leaders, fashion enthusiasts, and other players in the leather industry. This was a great opportunity to build relationships, exchange ideas, and explore potential collaborations.

The cocktail event was more than just a social gathering. It also functioned as a private tour of the event, as the convener, Mrs. Femi Olayebi facilitated a tour of the exhibition area for a first-time view. This gave attendees an opportunity to have a sneak peek of what to expect at the fair and first purchase of any of the amazing wears from exhibitor stands.

At the cocktail event which was anchored by the spectacular on-air personality and broadcaster, Ms. Ronke Giwa, had in attendance representatives of the sponsors such as the MD CEO Remita, Mr Deremi Atanda and the Group Chief Marketing Officer Leadway Holdings, Mr. Labeodan who both gave remarks as to their excellence of the fair, their unwavering support of the leather sector and the made in Nigeria brand.

On the 17th and 18th of June 2023 at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Victoria Island, the fair will be featuring other exciting activities such as conversations, social media and marketing presentations using a case study review of different brands as well as workshops for upcoming designers. The fair will also feature established leather brands that will showcase their latest collections through unique presentations.

In conclusion, the Lagos Leather Fair 2023 kicked off on a high note with a leather cocktail event that was both entertaining and informative. The event provided a platform for attendees to have a first-hand experience of what to expect at the fair, connect with industry leaders, and explore potential collaborations. We can’t wait to see what the Lagos Leather Fair 2023 has in store for us. Taking hints from the cocktail event it is sure to be something special!

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/06/17/lagos-leather-fair-2023-kicks-off-in-style-with-a-leather-cocktail-event/

BrandSpur Nigeria reports that Musa Jimoh, Director payments system management Department, said, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is in the process of finalizing the guideline to govern and promote the use of contactless payment in Nigeria.

Musa stated this at the just concluded Digital PayExpo 2023 held in Lagos, Nigeria.

The CBN’s proposed guideline for contactless payments in Nigeria is designed to foster the adoption and secure implementation of this payment method. Mr. Musa Jimoh said the introduction of contactless payment is another tool the apex bank will introduce before the end of 2023, to mitigate any inconvenience that may arise when the old notes make way for the new ones.

Musa said the guidelines would cover the technical and operational requirements for implementing contactless payment systems and the security measures needed to protect customers’ information.

An interesting feature of contactless payment is the introduction of Free on board (FOB). In this case the risk of loss shifts from the buyer to seller”, he said.

Identifying some of the benefits of contactless payment which include ease of payments, speed and convenience to consumers’ in-person transactions using their phone, Adefuye noted that this would enhance customer experience.

According to Musa, “the contactless payment system is more secure than traditional payment methods thus giving customers peace of mind; it will reduce printing of currency thus save the regulator cost of printing and managing currency in circulation; and it reduces the spread of contagious diseases during payment due to the lack of contact”.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/06/13/digital-payexpo-2023-cbn-to-release-guidelines-on-contactless-payment-in-nigeria/

Game changers in the Real Estate industry, Zealand Properties has announced the latest Guinness Book of world records holder, Hilda Baci, as the latest Landlady at one of its estates, Yomade Heritage in Epe.
Hilda Baci was at Zealand’s Headquarters in Ikeja earlier today to sign and receive her land document, an event that made her an official Landlady at Yomade Heritage.

Recall that Zealand properties had earlier promised to gift Hilda Baci with a plot of land worth N5.7m at Yomade Heritage Estate when she attempted to break the erstwhile Guinness world record in a cooking marathon.

After receiving her land document and discovering the investment potential in Yomade Heritage, Baci said she’d cash in on the current price and buy one more plot of land for herself

“I’m super excited because they were so kind to gift me a plot of land in one of their prime locations in Epe, and trust me, at the price that they are currently selling, I’d probably buy one for myself because it honestly feels like a steal”.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of Zealand Properties, Mr. Adedeji Agarawu while addressing Hilda Baci stated that her drive and hard work was worthy of emulation by other youths and she deserves to be rewarded.

“I appreciate hard work, and what you pulled out there was incredible hard work. You must have gone the extra mile and conquered a lot of fear to have achieved your feat”.

Hilda Baci’s confirmed new record of 100 hours 40 minutes in a cook-a-thon has officially surpassed India’s Lata Tondon who set the record in 87 hours 45 minutes in 2019.



SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/06/14/double-celebrations-for-hilda-baci-latest-landlady-at-yomade-heritage/

The SnackFix small-scale cereal bar production system from Swiss technology group Bühler is the ideal solution for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to add value to locally produced grains in Nigeria and assist the country to address food security, says Manuel Murrenhoff, Managing Director, Bühler Nigeria.

On-the-go snacking consumption in Nigeria is rising steadily, presenting opportunities for SMEs to enter the market. “In terms of bars, fruit, and sweet snacks alone, this market segment is expected to exceed half a million tonnes by 2025,” says Murrenhoff. The main driver is the burgeoning population, estimated at 223.8 million in 2023, a 2.41% increase over 2022, and expected to grow to 377 million by 2050.

“The economically active part of the Nigerian population is quite sizeable and very mobile, which is boosting on-the-go snacking consumption,” says Murrenhoff. In addition, with half of the population living below the poverty line, there is more than ever the need to drive consumption of the full range of locally grown grains to keep final product prices in check.

“With the price of wheat projected to rise to record heights, Nigeria cannot possibly feed the growing population by importing wheat and other products. On the one hand, there is a shortage of forex and on the other hand, prices are escalating globally. That is where innovation, using local grains, plays an important role in food security, especially as these can be successfully incorporated into ready-to-eat foods,” says Murrenhoff.

Iyore Amadasun, Sales and Channel Business Manager at Bühler Nigeria, says that Bühler’s Snackfix, designed for food producers seeking a share from the on-the-go snack segment, promotes the processing of locally sourced grains for snacks while maintaining the highest food safety standards.

SnackFix is a multi-grain solution that allows SMEs to innovate across the spectrum of locally produced grains in Nigeria. The technology presents an entry-level, plug-and-play solution that is compact, cost-effective, and easy to commission and operate.

SnackFix includes a continuous mixer, a cooling tunnel, and a cutting system, all in one – everything needed for quality production. The combination allows SMEs to manufacture a huge variety of cereal bars at a volume of up to 130 kg per hour.

Customers benefit from Bühler’s experience in product development using a wide range of locally produced grains including, for example, sesame seeds, cashews, and peanuts. “We can help newcomers in the market achieve the best recipe to satisfy functional and indulgence consumer requirements in this segment and then supply them with a customised solution,” says Amadasun. In addition, Bühler has an innovation centre and laboratory in Switzerland to assist with different formulations and product development.

“The ready-to-eat market is of strategic importance to Nigeria, as it can adapt local grains for snacking consumption, promote healthy eating habits, and at the same time assist with Food Security,” says Amadasun.

With offices in Lagos and Kano, Bühler Nigeria is a leader in grain and food processing and offers solutions for grain drying and storage, flour milling, rice milling, cacao and chocolate processing, wafer and biscuit, pasta and noodles, feed, and aqua feed milling. Bühler Nigeria also provides support in the form of solutions for ink and coating applications and flexible packaging systems.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/06/08/snackfix-from-buhler-adds-value-to-local-grains-in-nigeria-and-boosts-food-security/

Nigeria’s mobile subscriptions shrank by 3.49 million mobile subscriptions in the last three months, leaving a dent in the country’s march toward mobile inclusion for all.

Since mobile subscriptions hit an all-time high of 226.84 million in February of this year, it has been on a steady decline.

It first fell to 225.82 million in March, before slumping further to 223.34 million, according to new industry data from the Nigerian Communications Commission. This is also the first time since June 2021 that mobile subscriptions have fallen consistently.

In 2020 and 2021, a Federal Government policy to link SIMs to National Identification Numbers affected the mobile industry and caused a steep decline in mobile subscriptions. Since then, subscriptions have improved, and risen to record highs.

MTN Nigeria is the only telecommunication firm to have lost mobile subscriptions in the period under review, losing 4.03 million (from 92.71 million to 88.68 million), while retaining its spot as the largest mobile network operator in the country.

Other telcos had better fortunes, with Globacom marginally growing by 172,867 from 60.76 million to 60.93 million; Airtel added 31,705 new subscriptions and grew from 60.30 million to 60.33 million; and 9mobile witnessed the largest growth, adding 330,003 new subscriptions to hit 13.40 million from 13.07 million in the period under review.

Within the three months, teledensity (the number of active telephone connections per one hundred (100) inhabitants living within an area) fell to 117.17 per cent in April from 119.01 per cent in February.

In MTN’s first quarter report, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, noted that global macroeconomic factors, inflation, and cash shortages, among others, were affecting its consumers.

He said, “We continued to experience headwinds in our operating environment in the first quarter of 2023. The impacts of the ongoing global macroeconomic and geopolitical developments on energy, food, and general inflation were exacerbated locally by petrol and cash shortages experienced during the period. This placed additional pressure on economic activity, consumers, and businesses.”

Nigeria’s mobile population is the largest in Africa and the prior steady growth in the number of mobile subscriptions had been attributed to increased productivity and efficiency in other sectors.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/06/06/mobile-subscriptions-shrink-by-three-million/

TECNO has announced the introduction of the first “Magic Skin” in Africa, an innovative material aimed at enhancing smartphone design across the industry.

According to the global innovative technology brand, the brand-new material technology will create phone backs that are skin-friendly, stylish, and easy to clean.

The tech brand, in a statement, explained that the introduction of the new materials, which will be integrated into the body of TECNO’s phones and applied to CAMON, SPARK, and POP series, is to ensure that African consumers stay abreast of global trends on smartphone design innovations.

It described the design as the outcome of extensive user research, involving thousands of African consumers to understand their aesthetic preferences and functional demands.

“The team then refined every aspect of the process, from perfecting the color implementation to scrutinizing the quality of the patterns,” it stated.

The Magic Skin, it further explained, has been engineered to reduce the weight and thickness of the back cover while maintaining durability and practicality.

Besides, the advanced manufacturing process put into the production, the company stated, the material will also ensure that the phone can withstand extreme conditions.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/06/06/tecno-introduces-magic-skin-aimed-at-enhancing-smartphone-design/

The 2nd edition of Cycling Lagos, one of the biggest cycling competitions in Africa has been scheduled to hold between October 21 and 28, 2023.

The event which is expected to further promote cycling as a major sporting activity in the country was designed to encourage Nigerians to embrace the culture of riding bicycle in their various communities for its health benefits.

The 2nd Cycling Lagos event with the theme, Greener Ride is designed to promote a lifestyle that is environmentally friendly.

The competition is also aimed at championing healthy competition among corporate organisations as a way of promoting healthy lifestyle among corporate executives and Nigerians.

In a statement by Mr Bamidele Adeleye, Chief Executive Officer, BrandEscort Communications, organizer of the Cycling Lagos 2023 said the event will include; the Celebrity Race, Professional Challenge, Amateur Race, Corporate Contest and the children/ youth race.

“The children edition slated for October 21 at the Teslim Balogun Stadium will hold simultaneously with the Mini Tour Lagos, a promotional race designed to demonstrate readiness for the final race. The grand finale will hold on October 28. The event will end with a corporate Lagos dinner and awards in the evening of that same October 28, 2023,” he said.

According to him, “Corporate organisations through their participations are to encourage the general public to engage in cycling in their various communities for healthy living. Corporate representatives will compete for medals, it will provide a platform for talent discovery and grooming (Children and Youth Participation), and professionals will compete for various category of prizes.”

Adeleye noted that his organization is working with key stakeholders in the sector to stage a cycling competition that will meet international standard and further enhance its development in the country.

Chairman Cycling Lagos 2023, Mr Goddie Ofose urged corporate organizations to participate in the corporate race category of the competition to promote a lifestyle that is environmentally friendly.

“The theme for this year’s edition is Greener Ride. This is very important for us to drive conversations on the need to embrace a lifestyle that is environmentally friendly to save the planet earth,” Ofose said.

The grand finale of the maiden edition was held in Lagos on October 27, 2018 before the global pandemic (COVID-19), that led to a massive shutdown of businesses across the global. The 2018 event was supported by the Lagos State Government, DSTV, Leadway Assurance, Elizade Autoland, Seven Up Bottling Company, Eko Hotels and Suites, Access Bank, Simba Group and Cool FM.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/06/03/2nd-cycling-lagos-holds-in-october/

The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, has been named ‘Best Banking CEO of the Year in Africa’ in the International Banker 2023 Banking Awards. The award, published in the Spring 2023 Issue of the International Banker Magazine, sees Dr Onyeagwu honoured alongside other individuals and banks from the Middle East and Africa.

Expressing gratitude for the recognition, Dr. Onyeagwu commended the Publishers of the International Banker for considering him a fitting recipient of the ‘Best Banking CEO of the Year in Africa’ award. He stated, “This award reflects the bank’s position as a leading financial institution in Nigeria and the African continent. It also attests to our commitment to principles of sustainability and high ethical standards, which have become integral to our overall strategy as an institution”.

He dedicated the award to the Founder and Chairman, Jim Ovia, CFR, for his guidance and mentorship; the bank’s management team and staff, for being the shoulder upon which his achievements and success as CEO rests; and the bank’s customers for making Zenith Bank their bank of choice.

Dr Onyeagwu’s outstanding career has led to him receiving multiple awards, including Bank CEO of the Year (2019) by Champion Newspaper, Bank CEO of the Year (2020, 2021 & 2022) by BusinessDay Newspaper, CEO of the Year (2020 and 2021) – SERAS Awards, and CEO of the Year (2022) – Leadership Newspaper.

As Group Managing Director/CEO, Dr Onyeagwu has led Zenith Bank to achieve tremendous feats and milestones in financial performance (including 47 per cent growth in the bank’s market capitalisation in four years), financial inclusion, corporate governance and sustainability. These efforts have culminated in several local and international awards and recognitions including being recognised as Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital, for the 13th consecutive year, in the 2022 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking published by The Banker Magazine; Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards 2020 and 2022; Best Bank in Nigeria, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria 2021 and 2022 in the World Finance Banking Awards; Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards 2022; ‘Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa, for four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023, by the Ethical Boardroom; and the Most Responsible Organisation in Africa 2021 by SERAS Awards.

On March 25, 2023, he was conferred with a Doctorate Degree in Business Administration by the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria’s first indigenous University, in recognition of his immense achievements as Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank as well as his contributions to the growth of the financial services sector in Nigeria and across the African continent. The award was given during the 50th convocation ceremony of the University.

Published by Finance Publishing Limited, the International Banker is a leading global source of authoritative analysis and opinion on banking, finance and world affairs. Its influence, integrity, accuracy and objective opinion have earned it global recognition. The International Banker Awards strive to recognise the most worthy financial institutions around the world – those not just doing their jobs well but exceptionally well – those operating at the industry’s cutting edge and setting new performance levels to which others will aspire. The 2023 Banking Awards focused on various criteria, including the provision of much-needed capital for economic growth, cutting-edge innovation to enhance security and efficiency, commitment to sustainability and ESG principles, as well as intelligent investing to maximise profits and shareholder value.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/06/05/ebenezer-onyeagwu-named-best-banking-ceo-of-the-year-in-africa-in-the-international-banker-awards-2023/

The premium non-alcoholic sparkling wine brand, St. Lauren, has taken the new look bottle wine to Port Harcourt in River State and Abuja, where its promised trade partners unprecedented profitable partnership in wine sales for 2023.

St. Lauren, which recently launched its new packaging and two variants- Red and White in Lagos treated customers and partners in Port Harcourt and Abuja to an exquisite wine-tasting event attended by existing and potential trade partners, wine lovers, customers, and influencers.

During his remark, Stanley Obi, Director, Grand Oak Limited, Prime Business Unit, reiterated the unique value that St. Lauren offers its Abuja and Port Harcourt customers. He said, “Just like we did in Lagos, we are thrilled to present the new look of St. Lauren to our esteemed customers in Abuja and Port Harcourt. This relaunch represents our commitment to providing a luxurious and exceptional experience to our consumers and event planners. With the quality of the St. Lauren wine and its exceptional taste, our customers can rest assured that they will always win!

The unveiling of St. Lauren’s new elegant look in Abuja and Port Harcourt gives wine and food lovers an opportunity to enjoy celebratory moments, special occasions and even meals in great style, while creating opportunities for trade partners in both markets to earn exceptional profits across all St. Lauren’s SKUs and variants.

Sharing more insight into how trade partners can earn more with St. Lauren, Brand Business Manager, St. Lauren Non-alcoholic Sparkling Wine, Oluseun Mudashiru said that trade partners can now realise the best profit value that any non-alcoholic wine brand has to offer upon partnership with St. Lauren.

“Thanks to our pricing strategy that accommodates your profit advantage, you are able to buy the St. Lauren wine at considerably affordable prices and retail at set consumer-friendly prices that promise good profit.” While urging trade partners looking to expand their businesses to capitalise on the growing demand for premium non-alcoholic wines by choosing St. Lauren.

Seun also reeled out the various occasions for St. Lauren wine, urging wine lovers and partners to adopt the brand as their celebratory drink for all special moments.

“Crafted with the finest ingredients, St. Lauren ensures a refreshing and satisfying taste as the perfect accompaniment to any event. From hosts to event planners and food curators, you are guaranteed exquisite taste and experiences with St. Lauren at your events” She said.

Commenting on the wine’s taste and flavours, a guest at the event, Uche Opene said, “As a lover of premium non-alcoholic wines, St. Lauren has been exceptional in offering the premium taste that I crave. The wine is simply amazing for the price and the new look is truly elegant. I will encourage lovers of premium non- alcoholic wine to try St. Lauren wine and include it in all their celebratory occasions”.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/31/st-lauren-pledges-support-for-trade-partners-in-ph-abuja/

Telecommunication firms have begun to phase out old Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) shortcodes for new harmonized ones as directed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

With this move, famous USSD codes such as *556# are now outdated. Customers of MTN Nigeria told The PUNCH that old USSD prompts now redirect them to a message that reads, “Y’ello Our codes have changed.

While MTN seems to have phased out its old USSD shortcodes, other telcos are yet to do so. Checks on Airtel showed that old USSD codes are working simultaneously with the new ones.

In March, the NCC approved and released harmonised shortcodes for certain mobile operations in the country. The commission stated that this was aimed at achieving uniformity in common short codes across networks, allowing the code for checking airtime balance, for instance, to become the same across all mobile networks.

It gave the mobile network providers a deadline of May 17, 2023, to fully migrate to the harmonised codes. It explained that while the old and new harmonised shortcodes would run concurrently up until May 17, 2023, all networks are expected to have fully migrated to the new codes by its deadline.

Commenting on the codes, the commission said, “Consequently, under the new harmonised shortcodes regime, 13 common short codes have been approved by the Commission.

“They include the following codes: 300 to be used as the harmonised code for Call Centre/Help Desk on all mobile networks; 301 for voice Mail Deposit; 302 for Voice Mail Retrieval; 303 for Borrow Services; 305 for STOP Service; 310 for Check Balance, and 311 for Credit Recharge.

“Also, the common code for Data Plan across networks is now 312. In line with the new direction, 321 is for Share Services, while 323 is for Data Plan Balance. The code, 996, is now for Verification of Subscriber Identity Module Registration/NIN-SIM Linkage.

“The code, 2442, is retained for Do-Not-Disturb unsolicited messaging complaint management, while the common code, 3232, is also retained for porting services, otherwise called Mobile Number Portability.”

The NCC added that the initiative will make life much easier for telecom consumers since it will now become easier for consumers to memorize single codes for various services across all mobile networks they may be using.

Commenting on the harmonized shortcodes with The PUNCH, a telecommunications expert, Ajibola Olude, said, “The whole essence is just to have it unified. The short code for each service you want is now the same, there is no need to say because I am on MTN I must use this number, if I am using Airtel, I must use another number. The era of that has passed.”

SOURCE;https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/31/telcos-phase-out-old-ussd-codes/

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar has revealed that the Federal Government had provided N5Billion Loan Facility to Bank of Agriculture, (BoA), for livestock farmers across the country.

The Loan Facility would ensure more access at reasonable interest rates for farmers to expand their business and attract potential Investors into the Livestock Value Chain.

Speaking during a media briefing at the Ministry’s Conference Room in Abuja, recently, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar said that the Present Administration was committed to reforming the livestock Sector with notable programmes like the National Livestock Transformation Plan, (NLTP) and Livestock Productivity Resilience and Support Plan, (LPRESP), among others.

The Minister pointed out that the “crop sub-sector has always gotten more attention because it comes with food security but nutrition security is the other nutrient that would complement the grains otherwise you will have a different kind of growth’’.

Abubakar revealed that ‘’the N5 billion in the Bank of Agriculture was part of recapitalization that would be given out to livestock herders. The bank is being recapitalized and so more money will be coming to the bank.”

He noted that the scheme would bring more stability to develop the livestock sector, improve security and harmonious existence between farmers and herders.

In his remarks, the Managing Director, Bank of Agriculture, BoA, Alwan Ali Hassan, explained that, “The Federal Government has recapitalized the Bank of Agriculture, we have received some funds and one of the mandates of the bank is financing the agric value chain completely’’.

Alhaji Hassan pointed out ‘’ “The modality in giving out the loan is going to be exactly as enshrined in loan conditions. We have set rules for giving out loans which is governed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, regulations and also regulated by the bank and financial institutions body’’.

He added that “For interest rate, depending on which value chain you are taking. Our rates start from nine per cent up to 15 per cent depending on which value chain you are taking. That means it depends on the risk factor of the business you are going into’’.

On whether individuals farmers, who are not registered members of associations could apply for the loan, the Managing Director answered in the affirmative stating:
“In fact, we do not intend to give loan to the association, we are giving their members. All that the association has to do is to introduce their members’’

Reacting to this development, the National President, Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association, MACBAN, Baba Usman Ngelzarma lauded Federal Government for the loan facility as an important intervention for the livestock Value Chain.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/25/fg-unveils-n5billion-loan-facility-for-livestock-farmers/

Mouka, Nigeria’s leading brand of mattresses, pillows, and other sleep products, has bolstered its trade relations by taking 50 Business Partners on an exotic trip to Morocco in May 2023.

At the recent trade conference hosted by the company at the Lagos Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island, Mouka’s Chief Commercial Officer, Dimeji Osingunwa, unveiled the ‘World of Comfort Trip Promotion’ to its Business Partners.

The promotion ran for four months, with 50 partners emerging as winners. 40 (forty) qualified for a trip to Morocco, while 10(ten) achieved the threshold for a trip to Brazil.

Speaking on the reward scheme, Mr Osinguwa had this to say. “At Mouka, we see our trade partners as a part of the Mouka family. We have and continue to invest significantly in ensuring the relationship remains mutually beneficial for both parties. We have previously rewarded our partners with scholarships for their children, health packages, logistics trucks, tricycles, high-end electronics and many more benefits. This time we thought to ourselves, our partners need a break away from the hustle and bustle of Nigeria. They need to unwind and re-energise themselves in preparation for the work to come. As you know, good rest is required to safeguard one’s wellbeing”.

When asked about the choice of locations, Mouka’s CCO shared the rationale. According to him, Morocco was picked for two reasons. First, Marrakesh is one of the most recommended tourist destinations, famous for its palaces, 5-star restaurants, luxury spas, charming riads (traditional houses) and enchanting gardens. Secondly, Morocco is the headquarters for the Dolidol International group, Mouka’s parent company.

Miss Memuna Idegwu, Mouka’s Trade Marketing Manager, also shed more light on this. “In Casablanca, we have Dolidol’s magnificent factory. We thought it would be great for our partners to see the facilities and meet with some key Dolidol group management team members. Our partners were warmly received, taken on a factory tour, and the visit ended with a grand traditional Moroccan meal spread courtesy of our amiable hosts. The technological prowess of the group indeed wowed them, evident in the product innovations responsible for Dolidol’s position as the No 1 sleep solution provider in Africa.”

When asked about the impact of the promotion on the business, Mouka’s CCO said the objectives were fully met as the Trade Partners demonstrated a renewed commitment to the company’s growth trajectory. He also called for more business partners to join the winning team Mouka to experience this remarkable relationship.

Extolling Mouka for the immense benefits of the trips, a business partner, Starbiz, stated “The fraternity was fun, the bonding was great, and we were honoured with the presence of the Mouka team during our stay in Morocco. I believe this experience would have a multiplier effect on our performances and create a positive zeal to make us move the company to greater heights”.

Roladap, another beneficiary, affirmed, “My heartfelt appreciation goes to Mouka Management for the unique and memorable vacation”.

The representative of Abisoye Stores praised the company, saying, “Having the opportunity to travel to Morocco is an honour, and Mouka has done well to broaden our business skills and the fun associated with the journey.”

Godcell International Limited thanked Mouka for the benefits derived from the tour and the good treatment and experience.

Buzned Nigeria Limited, Ayo Ibidapo Investment, and Tolutobi Stores, among others, also lauded Mouka for the amazing opportunity to travel and explore Morocco. “We are indeed grateful, and together we will continually make giant strides”, they declared.

Mouka has been providing top-quality sleep solutions since 1959, with a wide range of products for every consumer based on age, bodybuild, lifestyle and budget. These include the Wellbeing range of orthopaedic mattresses, Royal Luxury Pillow Top Mattress, Mondeo Spring Mattresses, Royal Memory Foam Pillows and Mouka Bio Crystal Pillows.


SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/25/mouka-fulfils-its-promise-flies-50-business-partners-to-morocco-to-strengthen-trade-relationships/

Promoters of the Lagos Free Zone (LFZ), Tolaram have stated that the LFZ would contribute over $12 billion to Nigeria’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 2032.

According to the Business Development and Marketing Manager, LFZ, Chinju Nwankwo-Udora, the zone currently contributes about 1 per cent to the GDP with projections to hit 2-3 per cent by 2032.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, LFZ, Dinesh Rathi, at a media tour of the LFZ, said the whole free zone along with the Lekki port would be a game changer for the Nigerian economy in the years to come.

He pointed out that developed economies like China and Dubai have both recorded significant economic growth with the help of free zones and deep sea ports.

He added that so far, the impact of the zone since inception has generated Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) worth over $2.5 billion currently committed investment into the zone with more than $5 billion FDIs expected over the next 10 years.

He added that the zone has also keyed into the federal government’s ease of doing business mandate by simplifying the entry and operations for foreign investors and by extension, improving the ease of doing business in the country.

He noted that over 15,000 jobs have been created in the zone with over 32,000 more jobs to created in the next ten years within the industrial and services sector.

The Managing Director added that a highly efficient port like Lekki is expected to reduce ocean and cost efficiency and landside congestion, thereby reducing total cost of logistics for companies by up to 40 per cent.

He ala stated that LFZ is on track to commission a dedicated skills developmwnt center at the zone by 2024 to further enable absorption of local youth into its employment pool.

Nwankwo-Udora said LFZ has signed a 20 year Gas Infrastructure Development Agreement (GIDA) to connect LFZ with the national gas transportation grid, saying that Optimera Energy LFZE a consortium of Falcon, FHN and ND Western will implement the GIDA and deliver piped natural gas to all LFZ tenants, adding that plans are ongoing to develop 300 hectares of the zone is to be developed by end of 2024.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/23/lagos-free-zone-targets-12bn-contribution-to-nigerias-annual-gdp/

Oando Clean Energy Limited, a subsidiary of Oando, in collaboration with Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), has announced the commencement of operations of Oando’s electric mass transit buses at the Lagos Bus Services Limited Head Office, Ilupeju, Lagos.

According to a statement made by the energy company, the initiative is aimed at transitioning the Lagos State Public transport system by providing a solution to a carbon-free mobility ecosystem within Lagos.

Oando stated that the buses would provide a viable, competitive, and environmentally friendly alternative to the current carbon-emitting engine mass transit buses.

Abinbola Akinajo, Managing Director, LAMATA emphasized the importance of public-private partnerships, adding that “this initiative is a major aspect of our vision for transportation in Lagos State, we are desirous of having a clean and efficient transportation system.

“Today’s event is proof of our desire to involve the private sector in our activities to give the average Lagosian the ability to meet their mobility needs. LAMATA is a multi-fuel transport regulatory agency for Lagos, hence the partnership with OCEL for the use of EV buses in passenger operations.

“From LAMATA’s perspective, we are open to do business with the private sector while ensuring that these partners are aligned with the vision of Lagos state. I am elated that in just over a year since Oando Clean Energy came to us to discuss the possibility of working with us in the deployment of electric buses we have signed an MoU with a key deliverable being the implementation of a PoC that would allow us finally include electric buses in our ecosystem.”

Lagos being the most populous city in sub-Saharan Africa, has a population of over 20 million people, with the last decade, seeing the population of vehicles on Lagos roads increase exponentially, with also, over 3,000 mass transit buses operating in the state.

A recent study has shown that Lagos contributes 44,000kg of carbon dioxide equivalent per day, which has led the state to keep introducing several efficient means to combat transportation issues with sustainable technologies.

Speaking on the urgent need for electric vehicles to address transportation’s 62% contribution to Nigeria’s Green House Gas emissions, Dr. Ainojie Irune, President, OCEL added that “This is an opportunity for us to revolutionize mobility in our country as well as build local capacity for the renewable and clean energy ecosystem.

“While today these buses have come from across the world, in the very near future they will be produced here in Nigeria. In the very near future, we will have a multitude of locally trained engineers who are capable of operating, maintaining, and servicing these buses and other renewable energy assets. We see these buses as a first step.

“This PoC facilitates the collection of the first sets of data points to support the development and deployment of EV for municipal and public transport on the continent. Our ambition together with Lagos state, is to set our sights on the future and chart a path for others to follow.”

He also expressed the commitment of the partners to achieve this current result, which he said “We are confident that the steps we are taking, which I must reiterate would not have been possible without the support of Lagos state, LAMATA,”.

While Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, Commissioner of Transport, Lagos State, representing Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State, said “We are here today to write the script for a new future. Today, there is abundant evidence that shows that human activities have been the main drivers of climate change primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas.

“This situation has given rise to affirmative actions by world leaders and environmentalists to act fast to save our world. Lagos is the only state in Nigeria that has prepared and initiated the execution of a climate action plan. The plan outlines 26 efforts covering adaptation and mitigation actions to build a sustainable low carbon economy in the pursuit of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.”

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/24/lamata-upgrades-transportation-in-lagos-with-electric-bus-inauguration-with-oando/

As a boy growing up in an average African home, Daniel Oseni was exposed to various African dishes prepared with tomatoes. In his words, “Purchasing these tomatoes was a nightmare because they easily got spoilt because the sellers didn’t have a proper preservation and storage system.”
Interestingly, Nigeria is the 14th largest tomato producer in the world, and the 2nd in Africa; producing more than 2.3 million tonnes every year. Unfortunately, the country spends more than $9.8 billion on importing tomatoes because it doesn’t meet the demand for fresh produce. In previous years, Nigeria has experienced more than 56 percent of waste due to a lack of proper storage and preservation facilities.


To solve this problem, Daniel founded PeriPES, a natural cooling system that preserves and stores tomatoes for up to 3 to 4 months without getting spoilt. PeriPES is made out of clay bricks, sand water, and air. It works by reducing the room temperature of the tomatoes to less than 15°C at 90 percent humidity, in order to stop the production of ethylene, which is the major chemical component that causes ripening and spoilage in all agricultural products. In his words, “Our technological input is harnessing the power of nature to preserve. This science is known as evaporative cooling. It is a circular movement of moist air from a cooler region to a hotter region, by passing through a damp sand medium. It is a very viable and stable means of preservation because it creates a conducive humidity for the tomatoes, which helps to retain the nutritional value.”

Daniel believes that tomato farmers, wholesalers, and retailers in Nigeria will benefit from his solution. His primary target is those in the “Shasha” market located in the Ondo state of Western Nigeria. This market is one of the biggest markets for tomatoes in the Southwestern region of the country. Daniel believes that if he is successful, the world will be better off because “PeriPES will reduce the carbon footprint being released into the atmosphere every day. It will reduce post-harvest loss by over 50 percent, and reduce the scarcity of tomatoes, which usually leads to the inflation of the tomato prices.” He believes that PeriPES will ensure the availability of tomatoes all year round, and will subsequently increase the GDP of the Nigerian economy.

Recently, Daniel emerged as the grand prize winner of the 2023 Savvy Prize for Impact-Driven Entrepreneurs. When asked how the Savvy Prize will help his project become successful, he said, “With our passion and resilience, we will replicate our solution to 8 other Nigerian states that are major producers of tomatoes. We will ensure that PeriPES will reach other crop farmers that are vegetable and fruit farming, such as pepper, onion, okra, carrot, cucumber, and cabbage. In the long run, we will save the agricultural sector of the Nigerian economy by reducing the waste coming out by over 50 percent.” Daniel and his team will also focus on increasing their visibility by 45 to 80 percent, for more productivity and profitability. After receiving the Savvy Prize, he is looking for more investment opportunities in order to expand.

Daniel’s vision is a Nigeria where “the prize of tomatoes is normalized, and when PeriPES reaches the hands of over 75 percent of tomato farmers in the country.” He envisioned a country where tomatoes are available all year round without abnormal increase in prices, and when the tomato market becomes well saturated.” Daniel’s team is made up of Robinson Osas, Ogunlade Busayo, and Omoniyi Joshua. Osas is an agriculturist with a specialization in crop, soil, and pest management. Busayo is a bio-medical scientist with experience in crop health services and waste management, while Joshua is an Architect with experience in social media management. Daniel believes his team is the right fit to solve this problem because they’re innovative and creative individuals with experience and knowledge in preservation, storage, and food handling.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/24/daniel-invents-a-cooling-system-for-tomato-farmers-in-rural-nigeria/

It is a dream come true for coach Emmanuel Biodun Tanko, head coach of Father O’Connell Science College, Minna, Niger State, as his team defeated their counterparts from Government Secondary School, Karu, FCT in the final of the boys’ category in the just concluded Central Conference of the MILO Basketball Championship.

According to Coach Tanko, his team lost to the same opponents last year in the same championship. On the team’s preparation on the road to victory this year, Coach Tanko said, “We had a 70-day period of training. During Ramadan, we were there. It is a testimony that hard work pays. Also, without God we would not have been able to achieve this feat.”

Captain of the winning team from Father O’Connell Science College, Minna, Niger State, Mahmood Mustapha Mohammed, thanked Nestlé MILO for supporting and sponsoring them. The young man who says his dream is to play with globally recognised stars in the National Basketball Association (NBA) one day, also said, “I want to give a big shout out to our parents and coaches for always being there for us and believing in us, trusting that we will come back with the trophy.”

The boys from Father O’Connell Science College, Minna, Niger State fought hard in a keenly contested encounter to defeat the boys from Government Secondary School,

Karu, FCT with 53 points to 49. They were therefore crowned champions in the boys’ category at the Central Conference of the 23rd MILO Secondary Schools Basketball Championship held in Abuja from the 12th to the 19th of May 2023.

Karu, FCT with 53 points to 49. They were therefore crowned champions in the boys’ category at the Central Conference of the 23rd MILO Secondary Schools Basketball Championship held in Abuja from the 12th to the 19th of May 2023.

In the final game of the girls’ category of the championship, Government Secondary School, Karu, FCT defeated their counterparts from Queen Amina College, Kakuri, Kadun State by 35 points to 24 points.

Both Father O’Connell Science College, Minna, Niger State and Government Secondary School, Karu, FCT will represent the Central Conference at the national finals of the 23rd MILO Basketball Championship in Lagos in July.

Other teams who will be in Lagos for the national finals are winners from the already concluded Savannah Conference which held in Kano from the 3rd to the 10th of May and winners from the two upcoming conferences – Atlantic Conference in Asaba from 20th to 27th of May and Western Conference in Ibadan from May 30th to June 6th, 2023.

Funmilola Oyewole – Category Development Manager Beverages at Nestlé Nigeria PLC delivering the welcome address during the finale of the Central Conference of the 23rd MILO Basketball Championship at the Indoor Sports Hall, Package ‘B’ of the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja.

Category Manager for Beverages, Nestlé Nigeria, Mr. Olutayo Olatunji, reiterated Nestle’s commitment to developing talents, promoting healthier lifestyles, and instilling values for success in life through sports. “MILO, firmly believes that through participation in sports, children learn enduring values to help them achieve success in life,” he said.

“We are therefore, pleased to have this opportunity to provide a platform where young talents find expression through MILO Secondary School Basketball Championship. On the field of play, the teams depend on the discipline, perseverance, courage, self-belief, and respect that they imbibe during practice and through their interactions with each other. These life skills are not only for basketball; they equip the players to navigate their careers and to be productive in society. In a nutshell, ‘the GRIT’ you learn in sport, you keep for life.”

Nestlé Nigeria’s MILO Secondary School Basketball Championship has been promoting the value of grit for over 23 years, helping schoolchildren learn essential life skills such as resilience, persistence, stamina, cooperation, and self-belief. These values enable them to overcome challenges and achieve their goals in life.

Nestlé continues to lead grassroot sports development in Nigeria through its MILO Basketball Championship, contributing to the growth of many players in the Nigerian national teams, and notable clubs across the world today.

States who competed in the Central Conference of the MILO Basketball Championship at the Indoor Sports Hall, Package ‘B’ of the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja from the 12th to 19th of May, 2023 are Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, and host FCT.

Others are Kaduna, Niger, Plateau, Benue and Sokoto states.

The MILO Basketball Championship has grown tremendously from about 500 schools at its commencement in 1999. It now reaches over 150,000 individual players from over 10,000 schools across Nigeria every year.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/22/nestle-milo-basketball-championship-2023-fct-niger-shine-in-central-conference/

Nigeria’s senior men national rugby team, The Black Stallions will kick-off their campaign for Paris 2024 Olympics qualifiers with the first match against Ghana in Mauritius.

The Black Stallions’ target is to finish in the top three and move on to the next phase of qualifiers at the Africa Cup Sevens in Zimbabwe.

The team will then take on Burundi which would be crucial before tackling Democratic Republic of Congo in their last pool A match

Nigeria began their preparation for the Olympics qualifiers in early May with the convergence of players based in the United Kingdom under the watchful eyes of Temitope Okenla while newly appointed Black Stallions coach Steve Lewis has been supervising other players based in Europe, United States of America and Nigeria

The bulk of the selected players are expected to go into a closed camp before travelling to Mauritius for the first phase of the qualifiers.

Twelve Countries will converge in Mauritius on June 24-25 to compete for the available four slots in the Africa Cup Sevens slated for Zimbabwe in September.

Participating countries includes; Mauritius, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Botswana, Cameroun, Algeria and Nigeria.

Others include; Burundi, Congo, Lesotho, Sénégal and Egypt

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/19/nigeria-battles-ghana-in-olympic-qualifiers-as-rugby-africa-release-fixtures/

Nigeria’s Simi Nwogugu, CEO of JA Africa, has been named as a Top 10 finalist for the Africa Education Medal 2023. Founded last year by T4 Education and HP in collaboration with Microsoft, the Africa Education Medal is Africa’s most prestigious education accolade.

The Africa Education Medal was established to recognise the tireless work of those who are transforming education across the continent – to celebrate the stories of those who have lit the spark of change so others will be inspired to take up the torch. It is given to an outstanding individual who has demonstrated impact, leadership, and advocacy in the field of education.

Simi Nwogugu is CEO of JA Africa, part of the Nobel Peace Prize-nominated JA Worldwide, one of the world’s largest youth-serving NGOs that prepares young people for the future of work. She was first introduced to JA while working at Goldman Sachs in New York City. Impressed by the organisation, she quit her lucrative job at the age of 24 to bring JA to Nigeria, where it now reaches more than 1 million people, before going on to head up JA’s operations across the continent.

The vital importance of Nwogugu’s work is highlighted by the fact that 60% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa and about 37% of its workforce are under the age of 25. By 2025, Africa will be home to 25% of the world’s youth population. Through the delivery of hands-on, blended learning in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship, her organisation empowers young people to grow their entrepreneurial ideas, hone their work skills, manage their earnings and secure better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities.

For 25 years, Nwogugu has been leading JA’s efforts in various capacities as it embarked on a mission to help young people to generate and effectively manage wealth and create jobs for their communities. Her passion for strategy and innovation led to the development of many impactful programmes that are ensuring young Nigerians have the skillsets and mindset to succeed.

She is a passionate advocate for girls’ education and one of her unique initiatives includes the Leadership, Empowerment Achievement & Development (LEAD) Camp for Girls, which has impacted 1,000 young girls and inspires and empowers them to become high-achieving women leaders in society. Another initiative she has championed is the Venture in Management Programme (ViMP), which is designed to empower young people in the different facets of managing a business, making crucial business decisions and developing skills for general management. She also built digital and out-of-school youth programmes that enabled her organisation to reach underserved populations in the North of Nigeria, even during the Boko Haram crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to becoming JA Africa CEO in 2020, she led JA Nigeria to impact the lives of over 1 million Nigerians in 5,000 schools. Among the many JA alumni who have gone on to become job creators and social entrepreneurs is Iyin Aboyeji, the founder of two unicorns: Andela and Flutterwave.



Nwogugu also serves as president of the governing board of the Harvard Business School Association of Nigeria (HBSAN). She is a member of the Advisory Council of the African Capital Alliance Foundation, and of the Global Advisory Committee for Teach For All.

Mayank Dhingra, Senior Education Business Leader, Southern Europe, Middle East and Africa, at HP said:



“My warmest congratulations to Simi Nwogugu on being named a Top 10 finalist for the Africa Education Medal 2023. Her tireless work to improve education stands as an inspiration to us all and I hope many others will follow in her footsteps to become leaders in the field.

“HP has a bold goal to accelerate digital equity for 150 million people globally by 2030. Only by joining forces and aligning with NGOs, government, educators and businesses can we truly improve the education environment. The Africa Education Medal brings together all those who are changing the face of African education, whose vital work deserves to be celebrated.”

Vikas Pota, Founder and CEO of T4 Education, said:



“Africa’s teachers and school leaders, and its leaders of governments, NGOs and businesses, all play a crucial part in unlocking the continent’s potential through quality education. African education stands at a crossroads in the wake of the pandemic, but if leaders from across the continent in every field can work together then they can build the lasting change needed.



“I congratulate Simi Nwogugu on her achievements in skilling up Africa’s young people and I hope her success serves as a rallying cry for changemakers to come forward and make a difference.”

The Top 10 finalists for the Africa Education Medal are:



Mary Ashun, Principal of Ghana International School, Ghana

Mohammed Elmeski, Senior Education Adviser, Office of the Head of the Government, Morocco
Laura Kakon, Chief Growth & Strategy Officer of Honoris, South Africa


Grace Malthape, CEO of SmartStart Early Learning, South Africa


Mary Metcalfe, former policymaker and CEO of Programme to Improve Learning Outcomes (PILO), South Africa

Martha Muhrezi, Executive Director of FAWE, Uganda
Sarah Ruto, Former Chief Administrative Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Education and CEO of PAL Networks, Kenya


Jean Claude Nkulikiyimfura, Executive Director of Agahozo Shalom Youth Village, Rwanda

Simi Nwogugu, CEO of JA Africa, Nigeria

Snehar Shah, CEO of Moringa School, Kenya


Nominations for the Africa Education Medal opened in February 2023 for individuals working to improve pre-kindergarten, K-12, vocational and university education who are either educators, school administrators, civil society leaders, public servants, government officials, political leaders, technologists, or innovators.

The winner of the Africa Education Medal will be announced in July. Finalists will be assessed by a Jury comprising prominent individuals based on rigorous criteria.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/18/nigerias-simi-nwogugu-named-top-10-finalist-for-africa-education-medal-2023/

Not a stranger to cooking competitions, “Nigerian Jollof Queen”, Hilda Effiong-Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci, smashed the Guinness World Record for longest marathon cooking by an individual two years after emerging as the winner of the 2021 regional cooking competition “Jollof face-off”, DEBORAH TOLU-KOLAWOLE writes

At exactly 4p.m on May 11, 2023, as the clock ticked “tick-tock, tick-tock”, Baci turned on her kitchen cooker and the timer began to count, indicating the beginning of an attempt to make history.

On April 19, 2023, Nigerian chef, Hilda Effiong-Bassey, popularly known as Hilda Baci announced her desire to compete in an arena that no Nigerian had ever competed; thereby making her the second African woman to compete and attempt to surpass a previous holder in “The Guinness World Record title for the longest cooking marathon by a single individual.”

Backed by her team, Bassey in an earlier press briefing noted that she would cook tons of Nigerian dishes for 96 hours non-stop.

Beating a previous record of 87 hours, 45 minutes of non-stop cooking by the current world record holder (as certified by GWR), Chef Lata Tondon from the small town of Rewa, in Madhya Pradesh, India in 2019 however, was not going to be an easy feat.

Tondon, popularly regarded as the “Iron Lady” broke the 2018 record of 68 hours 30 minutes 01 seconds set by Rickey Lumpkin of the United States of America.

Tondon who is the first woman to hold the global title in 2019 was said to have cooked 1,600kg of food grains, 400 vada-pavs, 250 sandwiches and other food items for four marathon days. Over 20,000 visitors, including orphanage children, persons with disabilities and aged persons who attended the event, ate the food, according to a report by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism.

The chef proved to be an environmental activist when she encouraged her supporters to purchase over 17,000 young trees and planted them to conserve nature.

Before Bassey, a Chef from Kenya, Maliha Mohammed emerged as the first African woman to make an attempt to break the GWR records for a cooking marathon.

Mohammed who was 36 as of 2019 worked with a team of 40 to break the 2018 record of 68 hours 30 minutes 01 seconds set by Rickey Lumpkin of the USA.

Online publication, Standard Media noted Mohammed prepared tons of local and international cuisines.

However, she failed to set a new record.

Bassey, 27-year-old graduate of Psychology began her quest to break the world record five years ago.

For the well-known content creator and cooking instructor, the desire to break the world record started initially as a “claim to fame”. The daughter of a chef, Hilda during a press briefing organised in Lagos before the start of the competition noted that she had been obsessed with the book of the Guinness World Records from a younger age and had grown up with a strong desire to have her name in it.

The cook-a-thon which was held at Amore Gardens, Lagos saw Bassey showcasing her culinary skills.

The cook-a-thon attempt was broadcast live on Youtube, and Instagram live.

According to Bellanaija, Hilda who cooked in a cooking set shielded with a glass frame wasted no time in impressing the audience as she kicked off the Cookathon on its first day. Showcasing her versatility in the kitchen, she expertly prepared a delightful selection of local delicacies, Hilda prepared various local recipes including Party Jollof, Coconut rice, Native Rice, Peppered Fish, Turkey Stew, and more.

She was allowed one assistant at a time and can take a five-minute break each hour, or the equivalent over several hours.

Friends and celebrities such as Big Brother Naija stars, Seyi Awolowo, Elozonam were among the stars who turned up to support her on the first day of the cook-a-thon.

Other well-meaning Nigerians were also at the venue to support Baci.

According to Pulse.ng, Some of the highlights from the cook-a-thon was the yoga class on the morning of the third day which was facilitated by Tobe Ifeanyi, and a speech from Baci’s mum at 47 hours when Baci needed motivation. Her mom, a top chef herself, is the owner of Calabar Pot, Abuja.

Fifty-eight hours into the cook-a-thon, a group of traditional Efik dancers came to support Hilda dressed in traditional dancing gear. Sixty-four hours into her attempt, Baci had cooked over 110 meals with over 2,795 persons served. Pulse.ng noted that despite the “obvious exhaustion” following the 64 hours of cooking, she did not compromise on the meal standard and has maintained excellence which her brand is synonymous with.

At 7:45am on Monday morning, Baci surpassed the record held by Tondon.

After hitting the initial 96-hour target, Hilda on Monday afternoon was headed to achieving a 100-hour record time.

The Guinness World Records, while fielding responses to Nigerians on Twitter about Baci’s feat, noted that it would review her attempt before recognising her officially.

Baci’s move witnessed an influx of Nigerians to the venue of the cook-a-thon to see her break this record and thousands more, following live events closely via social media.

Notable celebrities and politicians such as the governor of Lagos state, Babajide Sanwoolu; a former governor of Akwa-Ibom state, Godswill Akpabio, popular musician, Tiwa Savage, Spyro, Big Brother Titans ex-housemates, Thabang Mazibuko and Tsatsii Madiba, were also present showing their support and admiration for Baci’s attempt.

Food bloggers and influencers such as “Diary of a kitchen lover”, Gina Ojo were also present to support Baci.

She also received congratulatory messages from the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari(retd). Buhari hailed Baci for putting Nigeria on the map.

“President Buhari lauds the young culinary expert for turning her talent and passion into a career, with a rippling effect on the economy as she runs a restaurant in Lagos, trains other talents on entrepreneurship, and now leads the world in resilience, perseverance, and consistency in cooking,” a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, read on Monday.

Similarly, the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, presidential candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party and the Labour Party, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, the governor of Akwa-Ibom state, Udom Emmanuel have also issued congratulatory messages to her

So far, food and beverages brands have continued to reach out to her. After all, who doesn’t like a winner?

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/16/hilda-bacis-world-record-cooking-marathon-grabs-global-attention/

AXA Mansard Health, Nigeria’s biggest Health Management Organization (HMO) has announced a one year free Gold Health Insurance for Hilda Baci, the 27 year old Nigerian chef on her way to breaking the Guinness world record for the longest cooking time.

The company on its social media page explained that its gesture is to boost the morale of the 27 year old and give her the confidence to progress to the end, despite the exhaustion that might have come with 70 hours of cooking she has already put in.

The statement reads; “Dear Hilda, you’re doing amazing! We see your determination and we Know You Can.

AXA Mansard Health solidly supports you. We know that when you feel secure, you can progress. So we are supporting you with a one year Gold Health Insurance. We trust this can strengthen you more in the pursuit of this world record for yourself, millions of women you inspire everyday and our dear country.

We hope this support will inspire you and serve an additional elixir to the millions of support that you already enjoy across the world today and always. Wishing her all the best”, the statement says.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/14/axa-mansard-health-supports-hilda-baci-with-one-year-free-heath-insurance/

All is now set for the inaugural edition of the Ikeja Golf Club Stableford Cup competition, which will be hosted by Ikeja Golf Club on Saturday, 13 May.

A statement issued by the clubs’ Competition Secretary, Jenkins Alumona, disclosed that the one-day tournament will feature 120 golfers from across the country, including representatives of Ikoyi Golf Club.

Alumona said modalities have been put in place to ensure a befitting tournament.

“This is the first Stableford Cup competition at the Ikeja Golf Club and the Competition Committee has worked hard to ensure we have an excellent tournament under the Stableford rules. We also assure all golfers of a great time on our golf course,” he said.

Ikeja Golf Club Captain, Shina Akinyemi says the Stableford Cup is part of the initiatives designed to strengthen the bond among golf buffs across the country and sufficiently animate the atmosphere for members as well as sponsors.

“The current leadership of Ikeja Golf Club came up with the idea of making the club more interesting for members and our sponsors, and this competition is one of such initiatives. This is a big competition involving golfers from other clubs. We look forward to a fun-filled day with our guests, members, and sponsors on the course,” Akinyemi said.

The Ikeja Golf Club Stableford Cup competition is sponsored by Qshop the online sulerstore, Saros Life Care, makers of Gossy Water and Purrit Antiseptic Liquid and Overland Properties Limited with refreshment support from Rockstar Energy Drink.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/11/ikeja-golf-club-hosts-maiden-stableford-cup/

Residents and marketers on Sunday in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, were shocked by a sudden increase in the price of tomato.

A basket of tomatoes in the aforementioned region has increased to N58,000. This was made known by marketers and residents of the state.

Abdullahi Latifat, while speaking with Daily Trust at Mandate Market, said the situation was beyond what the family could bear.
“Last week, the smallest bowl of tomatoes was sold for around N300 but now it’s N1,000.

“A big basket that used to sell for around N20,000 has shot to between N57,000 and N58,000.

Arinola, another resident said she had to reprioritise her budget when she came to the market because of the ‘skyrocketing’ price of the commodity.

A seller, Malam Hanas, said the price hike was because the season is gradually going, adding that it might get worse from Monday (today).

On his part, another seller, Mallam Surajdeen, said a small basketball that used to sell for around N1,000 is now N4,000 and more.

He said the situation, which they are helpless about, has affected sales.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/09/market-analysis-basket-of-tomato-now-costs-n58000/

The Lagos State Government (LASG) has organized an orientation programme for school owners and proprietors through the Office of Education Quality Assurance.

The Director-General, OEQA, Mrs Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, in a statement, said the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu placed a “high premium on the quality and standard of learning in schools across the state, hence the office is constantly evolving to ensure the highest standard is attained.”

She stated, “Lagos State is committed to ensuring that your school is successful, committed to ensuring accountability and that there are minimum standard processes. Are we going to fold on our minimum standards? Absolutely not.

The children and residents of Lagos deserve an educational system that has high standards. Our future depends on it and what we do now is important as it is crucial to the development of our state and nation.”


Also, the Director, of Private Education Special Programmes, Mrs Fabambi Falayi, explained that the responsibility of the OEQA was to strengthen control, regulations, standardization, monitoring and evaluation of public and private schools below tertiary education, as she enlightened participants on the approval processes, provisional approval as well as post-approval processes.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/07/lasg-moves-to-improve-education-standard-in-schools/

Thirty-two women from Ikorodu have joined the 250 beneficiaries of Nestlé Nigeria’s Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project through which Nestlé is helping rural women in Nigeria build financial security to improve their standard of living.

This is achieved through training, mentorship, and grants in form of Nestlé products. Beneficiaries of the program are female retailers in Nestlé Nigeria’s value chain.

Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria aims to help beneficiaries scale up their businesses and sustain the new level of up to three times the size of their existing businesses. Each beneficiary receives grants valued at 300% of their monthly sales in form of Nestlé products, business training and a 3-month mentorship program. Each beneficiary is linked to a mentor for one-on-one coaching over the three months, to ensure their success.

At the induction of the thirty-two new beneficiaries in Ikorodu recently, Nestlé Nigeria’s Commercial Manager, Mr. Khaled Ramadan said, “We are pleased with the success of the 250 beneficiaries of Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria and are delighted by the opportunity to include 32 more today. With this addition, 282 women across five geopolitical zones of Nigeria now have a unique opportunity to scale up their businesses by 300%.


We are confident that the new beneficiaries will also transform their businesses, making the best use of the support Nestlé is providing through training, mentorship and grants in form of Nestlé products.”

Mr. Phranklin Audu, Head, Partnerships & Training at FDConsults, implementation partner of Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project said, “As an NGO focused on empowering people to improve their livelihoods, we are thrilled by the impact of this project on rural communities. Over 80% of the beneficiaries have seen their incomes grow and can support their families better.

One of them is Blessing Abayi, a single mother from Bauchi. Blessing used to struggle with paying her children’s school fees, but after three months in the program, she told us that for the first time, she paid the fees in full and on time, thanks to her growing business. We are inspired by her story and others like it.”

FDConsults is an NGO with a record of equipping businesspeople in rural areas with the information and skills they need to increase their household income and
improve their standards of living.

The inclusion in Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria was well received by the beneficiaries in Ikorodu. One of them, Mrs. Olubunmi Adeoye, expressed her gratitude to Nestlé for the opportunity to be part of the project. “I am so happy that Nestlé chose me to benefit from this program. It is a wonderful opportunity,” she said.

Another beneficiary, Mrs. Bukola Ajala, praised Nestlé for the empowerment and the free goods they provided, saying, “I have not seen any like this before. I know I am going to the next level.”

Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project began in August 2021, with 50 female retailers from the suburbs of Abuja. The program has expanded to include more women from the South-East, North-East, South-South, and South-West, including Lagos. Over 80% of beneficiaries have reported an increase of 100% to 200% in their business growth within three months of joining the program.

The best-performing beneficiary, Mrs. Oghenetega Delight Jombo, of Jombo Stores, Port Harcourt, reached a business growth of 675% within 6 months of joining the program, and has sustained a monthly turnover of over N547,623.67 since.

Nestlé’s Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Manager, Victoria Uwadoka, reiterates the company’s commitment to building thriving communities by improving household incomes. Nestlé Empowering Rural Women in Nigeria Project is one of the ways through which Nestlé Nigeria is Creating Shared Value along her value chain.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/08/nestle-making-more-nigerian-women-financially-secure/

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) is set to conduct its 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

The Head of WAEC National Office, Patrick Areghan addressed the media on Thursday in Lagos and confirmed the examination has been scheduled for Monday, May 8 to Friday, June 23, a period of seven weeks.

He said the level of insecurity in the country was a concern, adding that some areas require extra security arrangements.

“We are liaising with the Inspector General of Police, Brigade Commanders, other security agencies and state governments.

“This is to ensure the examination is conducted under a safe environment. We’ve also sought the intervention of the Minister of Education,” he said.

WAEC zonal and branch offices have likewise reached out to security outfits in their locations for assistance, Areghan hinted.

A total of 1,621,853 candidates from 20,851 secondary schools across Nigeria registered for the examination.

The breakdown shows 798,810 are male, representing 49.25 per cent, while 823,043 are female, representing 50.75 per cent.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/05/waec-announces-date-for-2023-wassce/

Waving your hand to pay after shopping at a store, or simply placing your mobile phone on the checkout counter could seem strange – at least to a number of people in Nigeria. But it is possible and in fact, already standard practice in some countries.

This, and other cashless methods can also be possible in Nigeria if the right technologies are adopted. After all, some people already use tollgates where courtesy of something called e-tag, they are let through without waiting to pay every time. It is a form of cashless technology too.

Global cashless payment volumes are set to increase by more than 80% from 2020 to 2025, from about 1tn transactions to almost 1.9tn, and to almost triple by 2030, according to analysis by PwC. Asia-Pacific will grow fastest, with cashless transaction volume increasing by 109% from 2020 to 2025 and then by 76% from 2025 to 2030, followed by Africa (78%, 64%) and Europe (64%, 39%). Latin America comes next (52%, 48%), and the US and Canada will have the least rapid growth (43%, 35%).

Here are some technologies Nigeria should be looking into so as to strengthen the move towards being cashless.

Have you ever come across a sign that says ‘scan to pay’ (with a pattern of black squares) after shopping at a store? Any business or individual that receives payment can provide this option, which is derived from Quick Response codes, which are machine-readable barcodes that store information.

In 2020, Ghana became the first African country to introduce a universal QR code. In South Africa, the Payments Association of South Africa (PASA) has identified a need to streamline the experience of both payer and payee and is in the process of standardising QR codes across the sector.

In 2021, the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS) launched the New Quick Response (NQR) payment solution code, which it describes as “an innovative payment platform implemented on behalf of all financial service providers.” The New Quick Response code solution offers a robust platform that delivers instant value for P2B and P2P transactions by simply scanning to pay.

Generally, making QR codes more widely used will create another easier way for people to transact without cash, and cheaper for merchants to receive their money.

Mobile money

Nigeria still hasn’t fully hacked Mobile Money, despite the successes recorded in other countries across Africa. In 2021, CBN data shows Nigeria recorded 1.2 billion mobile money transactions with a value of N15 trillion (about $34 billion using official rates).

However, in Ghana, with a fraction of Nigeria’s population, the volume of transactions was 4.25 billion in 2021, with a value of GH¢ 978.32 billion (about $75 billion).

Let’s not even compare with Kenya or other African countries blazing the trail in mobile money. It is clear that this technology remains largely underexplored in Nigeria. With the country’s large rural population and low internet penetration, mobile money offers those who would otherwise be disadvantaged a way to send and receive money electronically and with less sophistication required.

Digital wallets

iPhone users should be familiar with Apple Pay and their android contemporaries, Google Pay. But, whenever you are sceptical of inputting your card details on a website, has it occurred to you to use that Apple or Google pay function (which you already trust) on your device?

There are other options which PwC described in a report as ‘super-apps’ such as WeChat Pay and Alipay in China, and in different countries, local options abound with different names. While many people already use these platforms it is still not a widespread means of payment in Nigeria.

These digital wallets allow consumers to load and store payment methods and access funding sources, such as cards or accounts, on their mobile devices. The use of digital wallet–based transactions grew globally by 7% in 2020, according to a report by FIS, a financial services technology group, which predicts that digital wallets will account for more than half of all e-commerce payments worldwide by 2024, as consumers shift from card-based to account- and QR code–based transactions.

Nothing stops the growing fintech industry in Nigeria from introducing similar platforms to take advantage of the immense opportunities.


Contactless payments

This has been referenced a few times earlier and it is one innovative way to not only get more people to go cashless, but also in a way that would excite them.

Imagine that you have finished shopping at a supermarket and the cashier tells you to simply hold your phone near theirs and with the tap of a button, payment is done.

This movement of money from you as a customer to the merchant happens through near-field communication (NFC) technology, a function you may have seen on your phone, never utilised and probably been curious as to what it does.

A Tappit article further explains that instead of swiping or inserting your bank card into a reader and typing a PIN, you simply ‘tap-and-go’ or ‘wave and pay’. To make a payment, you place your bank card or contactless-enabled mobile phone near the reader.

These technologies, in addition to other existing cashless payment methods like the regular bank transfers, card payments, can help drive Nigeria’s cashless economy further.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/03/four-technologies-that-can-drive-nigerias-cashless-economy/

Building a strong brand for your hotel is similar to developing deep customer relationships. If you bore your pals, you will lose them rapidly. Naturally, it becomes much more complicated than that. However, hotel branding can develop a great and long-lasting reputation by being intriguing, trustworthy, sincere, and original.

Hotel branding involves sharing values with your customers and emphasizing the intangible aspects of your company. Below are seven ways to create a memorable brand experience in the hospitality sector:

Consistency Is Important
The first stage in your hotel branding strategy is recognizing and adhering to your core values. Consistency is important in gaining the trust of customers. Everything about your brand must reflect the “image” of your business. Although it is generally assumed that this includes your name and logo, style, stationery, and food, go above that.

It also includes advertising efforts, social media posts, or emails you send to attract repeat clients. For instance, American Airlines began its first branding campaign by introducing a video titled “You Are Why We Fly.”

Stay True to Your Hotel’s Character
Everyone naturally desires to associate with and be a part of a group. Hotels often ignore that their customers are people first and paying customers second. The most effective hotels may demonstrate a relevant, conscious branding strategy that touches clients on an emotional level.

Discover Your Niche
You can more effectively target potential customers by carving out a niche in the market while concentrating on the goals and positioning of your brand. You can accomplish this by considering your interests, researching your audience and what appeals to them, and identifying market gaps.

You can maximize your hotel branding by identifying your specialization and ensuring it corresponds with your vision.

Narrate Brand Stories
A successful brand requires more than just an appealing label or logo. It necessitates creating a compelling narrative that inspires and resonates with current and potential customers. Make a story and an image that appeals to your clientele. Tell stories that link your brand’s identity to the issues that matter most to your audience.

Suppose you have determined that the purpose of your hotel is to offer wealthy guests a guilt-free, environmentally responsible stay. In that case, you must develop a story that explains why your brand feels passionate about this and how the experience is delivered.

Sell an Exciting Experience
The greatest hotels should expand their brand to encompass the spirit of hospitality and the essential features, including the state of the accommodation, facilities, or services provided by skilled staff.

Hotels are in the business of caring for people; thus, staff members should try to give visitors a cutting-edge experience. Hotel branding should provide a consistent guest experience from pre-booking through post-stay marketing and follow-up.

Use Technology and Experiential Components
Through marketing initiatives that give clients a special chance to interact with your hotel before their visit, you may enhance the perception of your brand. For instance, Marriott has shifted from traditional to digital marketing.

In your hotel brand marketing, emphasize 3D virtual site tours or collaborative event space layouts. These interactive features enable potential guests to experience your property fully. Future visitors can explore the property virtually and engage with your brand completely new.

Offer Specialised Offerings
A business, service, or product’s distinctive advantage that enables it to stand out from the competitors is referred to as its unique offering.

Your unique selling proposition explains your service’s superiority over rivals. Additionally, a unique service offers a distinct difference, more income, devoted clients, and simpler selling in hotel branding.

SOURCE:https://brandspurng.com/2023/05/02/7-ways-to-create-a-memorable-brand-experience-in-hospitality-sector/