₦airaland Forum

Nice

Oando Gas & Power Limited (“OGP”), the erstwhile Midstream business subsidiary of Oando PLC (“Oando”), formally announces the change of its corporate identity and branding toAxxela Limited (“Axxela”).

The rebranding effort follows last year’s acquisition of a controlling equity stake in the business by Helios Investment Partners LLP (“Helios”), a premier Africa-focused private investment firm.

Speaking on the rebranding initiative, Bolaji Osunsanya, Axxela Chief Executive Officer said: “This is a reaffirmation of our operational independence as we become sub-Saharan Africa’s preferred and fastgrowing gas & power portfolio company. It enables us to leverage strategic partnerships to deliver valueadding energy solutions to our customers, whilst facilitating sustainable economic development in our
chosen markets.

The change in our corporate identity also gives us the opportunity to re-introduce our business to the market while demonstrating the far-reaching impact of our operations.” In a world of constant reinvention, Axxela, coined from ‘accelerate’ and ‘excellence’, focuses on developing innovative solutions to bridge sub-Saharan Africa’s energy gap. The company illustrates its determination to be an indispensable energy player via its insights-driven approach and inventive team
ethos.

About Axxela
Axxela pioneered the development of Nigeria’s foremost natural gas distribution network and has subsequently grown to become the largest private sector gas distributor in Nigeria, delivering 70 million standard cubic feet per day (“mmscf/d”) to over 175 industrial and commercial customers via a vast network of gas infrastructure. With over 260km in gas pipeline infrastructure built, Axxela provides unique energy solutions primarily through its subsidiaries: Gaslink Nigeria Limited (“Gaslink”), Gas Network Services Limited (“GNSL”), and Central Horizon Gas Company (“CHGC”).

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/axxela-expands-gas-supply-across-west-africa/

Good to know

Apex telecom regulator in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has denounced rumors that a preferred bidder has emerged to acquire 9Mobile, formerly Etisalat.

NCC, also announced a new deadline of January 16, 2018, for the acquisition to be concluded against the earlier date of December 31, 2017., Just as Barclays Africa remained in charge.

The Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, said the attention of the Commission has been drawn to newspaper publications alleging that a preferred bidder has been anointed to acquire 9Mobile.

He described the report as  “speculating on the outcome of the ownership transfer process.”

Ojobo said that for the avoidance of doubt, is following due process, providing six-point clarifications, namely:

Barclays Africa remains in full control of the process leading to the emergence of a new owner for the company. Barclays has not authorized any publication on the matter and is obliged to maintain full confidentiality thereon.An approval of the request for an extension of time by the 9Mobile Interim Board was given by the 2 regulators – NCC and CBN. This set the deadline for the receipt of binding offers from the prospective bidders till 16th January 2018.Contrary to speculations that a “winner” will be announced on the same day (i.e. 16th of January 2018) we wish to clarify that Barclays is expected to review the bids received by the deadline and to make recommendations to the 9Mobile Interim Board thereafter.The NCC and CBN will be duly notified once the 9Mobile Interim Board accepts Barclays’ recommendations and a winning bid is determined in accordance with the terms of the exercise.The winner will now apply to NCC in order to commence the processes for securing the regulatory approvals from the Board of the NCC necessary to give full effect to the transfer.We trust that the foregoing sufficiently clarifies the position of the transaction and that it lays to rest any apprehensions regarding the unfounded media publications on the sale” Ojobo submitted.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/9mobile-acquisition-ncc-sets-new-date/

A battery is a vital part of an inverter. The performance of an inverter largely depends on its battery. Regular care and maintenance of batteries keep them in good shape for a longer time period.

There are several reasons behind the failure of inverter batteries earlier than expected.

Excess usage

The lifespan of a battery is very much dependent upon how much it is used. Batteries wear out faster when used too much. Inverter utilizes the energy stored in batteries and supplies current to the electrical and electronic devices to keep them running during a power cut. The more load or devices you use during a power failure, more power will be sucked out of batteries and they will wear out faster.

Poor quality battery charger

An inverter unit has 3 components: a charger, a battery, and an inverter. The charger is connected to the power supply and it charges the battery when the electricity is coming from the utility. A poor quality charger can destroy the battery faster than anything else. Use good quality chargers to increase the life of the battery.

Overcharging battery

Overcharging leads to corrosion of battery plates which eventually results in premature battery failure. If your battery is getting too hot, it is an indication that it is getting overcharged. Overcharging a rechargeable battery leads to its early than expected failure.

Deep discharging the battery

Deep discharging is not good for the health of any rechargeable battery. For example, deep-cycle batteries like lead-acid batteries are designed to be regularly deeply discharged using most of its capacity. A battery loses its efficiency and capacity when it is subjected to deep discharge.

Lack of regular maintenance

Poor maintenance is a major reason behind battery damage. Rust, corrosion, and dryness are biggest enemies of your inverter battery. Rusting in terminals reduces the current flow to and from the battery. This restricted flow of current results in slow battery charging which ultimately reduces battery life. Batteries also require regular topping up with distilled water and cleaning. If top-up is not done than battery plates get dried. Dry batteries cannot be saved from failure.
Electrolyte leakage

It is very important to inspect inverter batteries regularly for any damage and fault. Sometimes the electrolyte leaks through cracks developed in the battery. Due to lack of electrolyte the batteries fail.

 

 SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/why-do-inverter-batteries-die-earlier-than-expected/

Inequality in Nigeria worsened between 2004 and 2013 but improved in 2016 using either the Gini coefficient or Theil. Inequality, as measured by the Gini, worsened from 0.356 in 2004 to 0.41 in 2013 but improves to 0.391 in 2016. Using Thiel, inequality worsened from 0.217 in 2003 to 0.395 in 2013 but improved to 0.31 in 2016.

SNAPSHOT OF INEQUALITY IN NIGERIA, 2004, 2013, 2016



With respect to consumption shares (and using consumption as a proxy for income), in 2004, the bottom 10% (poorest of the poor) of the population consumed 2.56% of goods and services, while the top 10% (super rich) consumed 26.59% of all goods and services. The richest 10% were responsible for 26.59% of national expenditure or income in 2016. This increased to 33.72% in 2013 but decreased to 31.09% in 2016.

The top 20% were responsible for 42.40% of national income/expenditure in 2004. This increased to 48.28% in 2013 but declined to 46.63% in 2016. While no agreed standard definition of the Nigerian Middle class exists, for the purpose of this report we have classified Decile 01-03 as the lower class, Decile 04-07 as the middle class and Decile 08-10 as the upper class.

Accordingly, the upper class was responsible for 58.39% of national income/expenditure down from 59.42% in 2013.

The share of the upper class in national income had been rising between 2004 and 2013 before reducing in 2016. The middle class, on the other hand, accounted for 30.26% of national income/expenditure in 2016, higher than 29.14% in 2013. The share of the middle class had been declining between 2004 and 2013 in favor of the higher class but that reversed in 2016.

Finally, the lower class accounted for 11.35% of national income/expenditure in 2016 lower than 11.43% in 2013.

The biggest gainers of income/expenditure shares between 2013 and 2016 have therefore been the middle class, while the lower-class share remained constant while the high-class shares reduced.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/inequality-snapshot-in-nigeria-inequality-in-nigeria-worsened-between-2004-2013-but-improved-in-2016-nbs/

Ok

Nigeria’s external reserves have risen to $40.4 billion, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revealed Monday, making it the first time in exactly four years since the country’s reserves hit the $40 billion mark.

This is just as the CBN injected $210 million into the interbank window of the foreign exchange market.

Figures obtained from the CBN indicated that external reserves reached the $40.4 billion last Friday, indicating an increase of $4.8 billion, compared with $35.6 billion as of December 5, 2017.

CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, towards the end of last month had put the value of the external reserves at $38.2 billion.

Confirming the latest reserves figure, the acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Isaac Okorafor, attributed the reserves accretion to the Bank’s strategy to effectively manage forex demand by various sectors of the economy.

Citing the CBN policy restricting access to forex from the official forex market by importers of 41 items as the major turning point, Okorafor said the policy had helped to stop the hemorrhaging of the country’s external reserves, which hitherto witnessed heavy depletion due to the huge import bill and other debt obligations.

According to him, the CBN policy had ensured a decline in Nigeria’s import bill from over $5 billion monthly in 2015 to about $1.5 billion in 2017.

He expressed optimism that with the determination of the Bank and the co-operation of the fiscal authorities, the external reserves will continue to grow in the course of 2018.
Emefiele had last November projected that the reserves would grow to $40 billion by the end of 2018. But the target was attained 12 months in advance.

According to Emefiele, the dogged implementation of the foreign exchange restriction on certain items led to a 65 percent drop in the country’s monthly import bill, from an average of $5.5 billion to $1.9 billion by the first half of 2017.

He also anticipated a return to a low double-digit or high single-digit inflation levels this year.

He, however, cautioned policymakers not to become complacent or over-confident, stressing the need for all hands to remain on deck to improve and sustain the pace of economic recovery.

“For one, our import bill may have fallen but our manufacturing and agriculture sectors still have a long way to go if we must attain self-sufficiency in those sectors.

“We must not be quick to discard the restrictive measures which aided our recovery simply because the metrics have improved,” he said.

He said the central bank would continue to fine-tune its policies and strategies based on its understanding of evolving developments and will be supported by in-house technical analyses and simulations.

Meanwhile, the CBN Monday injected a total of $210 million into the interbank window of the foreign exchange market for requests in the wholesale, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Invisibles segments of the market.

A breakdown of the figure indicated that the CBN offered $100 million to the wholesale sector while the small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and Invisibles windows each received $55 million.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/external-reserves-hit-four-year-high-of-40-billion/

Even experienced ones who missed driving classes

Interesting piece.

Lets sha have this fuel available and affordable.

Good move

Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. (Union Bank), one of Nigeria’s long-standing and most respected financial institutions announced that the Bank successfully raised N49.7 billion through a Rights Issue which closed on October 30, 2017, with subscriptions recorded at 120%.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) concluded the share allotment and capital clearance review in December 2017.

Emeka Emuwa, Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, said, “The support of our shareholders has been critical to the rebuilding and transformation of Union Bank over the past 5 years. With 20% oversubscription of the Bank’s Rights Issue, they have once again demonstrated a high level of confidence and support for the bank’s short to medium term strategic priorities.

Having successfully raised the required capital, we will accelerate the pace of doing business in 2018 as we begin to deploy this fresh capital across identified business areas which will increase our capacity to serve customers better while also delivering returns to our investors in the short to medium term.”

The new capital will also ensure the bank maintains a strong buffer above regulatory capital adequacy requirements as it drives towards its vision to be Nigeria’s most trusted and reliable banking partner.

Union Bank launched the N49.7 billion Rights Issue on September 20, 2017 , ith shares available to shareholders at the ratio of five new ordinary shares for every seven previously held as at August 21, 2017.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/union-banks-rights-issue-records-120-subscription/

A romantic comedy about the disasters and joys of a huge Nigerian wedding is breaking box-office records at home and abroad.

The Wedding Party: Destination Dubai, raked in 73.3 million naira (about $202,000) in its opening weekend on Dec. 15-17, a new record according to the film’s producers. (How much it cost to make the film was not readily available.) The sequel to the successful 2016 movie The Wedding Party beat out Star Wars: The Last Jedi in Nigerian cinemas, which also opened that weekend. By the first week of January, the film had grossed 300 million naira (roughly $826,000) and went on to open in 17 other African countries and the UK, where it had the biggest single day opening for a Nollywood film. Producers now plan to take it to the US, the Middle East, and the Caribbean.

These earnings may seem small compared to the global earning of blockbusters like The Last Jedi, but it’s significant for Nigeria and Nollywood. The country’s film industry is slowly becoming a global phenomenon, but even though Nollywood pushes out dozens of films a week, most go straight to DVD, with less than 30 cinemas serving a population of around 180 million.

The international success is a vindication of sorts. When the quality of early Nollywood films was derided, its advocates argued that its shaky cameras and popping mics were laying a foundation for a professional homegrown film industry. The box-office records broken by The Wedding Party‘s sequel, as well as the first film, justify that faith.

From marketing to the distribution, Nigerian media mogul Mo Abudu’s Ebony Life Films and the Elfike Film Collective have ensured that the film looks slick professional—nothing like the chaos of the wedding it portrays.

Released in December 2016, the original The Wedding Party was the first Nollywood film to pass the billion naira mark at home, becoming the highest grossing Nigerian film ever, at 3.5 billion naira (approximately $11.5 million). The film showed a local appetite for well-made rom-coms, fueled by a marketing campaign that borrowed from Hollywood. Last year, Netflix added The Wedding Party to its roster.

The film’s sequel was determined to be an international affair and exactly a year later, The Wedding Party: Destination Dubai was released. The film picks up at the end of the last one, where a kiss between a groomsman and a bridesmaid sets sparks flying all the way to a new wedding at the center of the film. The culture clash between a Yoruba and Igbo family is further complicated by the introduction of the bride’s British family to a destination wedding in Dubai.

The film borrows from the proven novelty of love across the color lines first seen in 1967 with Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. It also bets on the cinematic hilarity that ensues when people of diverse ethnicities walk down the aisle, as seen in break the US hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It taps into the frivolous joy the wedding film format brings to audiences not accustomed to seeing themselves celebrated in this way—as Jumping The Broom did for African-Americans in 2011.

Perhaps most importantly, it plays with all the characteristics and idiosyncrasies of a Nollywood film that audiences have come to expect, against a backdrop that anyone in the world who has ever been to a wedding recognizes.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/a-nollywood-wedding-rom-com-is-nigerias-first-international-box-office-hit/

When former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe, 93, was unceremoniously marched out of the office he held for 37 years, hope remained that the moment last month could be a turning point in Africa’s long history of “old men” running the continent.

Well, Mugabe was replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa, a 75-year-old onetime loyalist to the ex-president.

This month in Uganda, after weeks of political wrangling, threats, intimidation and embarrassing fisticuffs, the parliament finally pushed through a change to the constitution which removes age limits for holders of the highest office in the land. The age limit had been 75. President Yoweri Museveni is 73.

Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni, in office for five terms since 1986, seems likely to run for a term in 2021 when he’ll be 77. What originally started out to be a one-term presidency for the heroic guerrilla fighter soon turned into the same kind of “overstay in power” that Museveni himself once denounced as the reason for Africa’s slow progress. One of the many remarkable things about Uganda’s political environment is the fact that more than 75% of the country was born after Museveni came to power. Africa is the world’s youngest continent, with 60% of Africa’s population under 25.



In fact, the delta between the age of some of Africa’s long-serving presidents and the median age of their citizens is remarkable. In Uganda it’s a whopping 57.5 years, while in Zimbabwe it’s now 55 (down from 73). That’s the same gap in Equatorial Guinea, where president Teodoro Obiang, 75, is Africa’s longest-serving president. President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria turned 75 this month and the median age of Africa’s largest country by population is 18.4 years, meaning a gap of 56.6 years.

Some African countries have a reasonable age gap. Kenya’s is just 36.3 years while Ethiopia’s is 34.1, only slightly more than the US gap of 32.9 years.



Africa is a markedly young continent. Countries like Niger have a median age of 15 years while Uganda is 15.5. In contrast, the US has a median age of 38.1, the UK of 40.5 and Germany of 47.

As events in Kampala and Harare show, the tradition of older presidents leading young countries isn’t going to change anytime soon. You could make the argument that there shouldn’t be upper-age limits on leaders who are of sound mind and body. In truth, the problem is really about the lack of term limits. Having run the country for 31 years so far, some might feel Museveni has had a fair crack at pursuing his agenda. He may not agree: Museveni says he is also open to the idea of Uganda’s five-year terms being extended to seven years to allow a president to properly complete a development agenda.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/the-worlds-youngest-continent-will-keep-being-led-by-the-oldest-presidents/

FSDH Research expects business profit and consumer income to grow higher in 2018 than in the last three years. Our analysis of the recent data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the business and consumer expectations confirms this position.

The Surveys that the CBN conducted in December 2017 show that the expectations of firms and consumers about the next 12 months improved from previous months.



The improvement in the business expectations should drive business expansion and increase the employment of labor. This, in turn, will increase the consumers’ purchasing power. On the other hand, the increase in consumer expectations will increase spending which will have a positive impact on businesses. The interrelationship between the two economic agents (business and consumer) will drive business profit and consumer income.



The latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) report that the CBN published for the month of December 2017 shows improved business activities in both the manufacturing and nonmanufacturing sectors. At 59.3 and 62.1 points, the Composite Manufacturing PMI and Composite Non-Manufacturing PMI respectively attained the highest levels since January 2015.



The impact of the expected growth in the business profit and consumer income is positive to the financial market. We expect it to drive equity market investments and position corporates to access the long-term capital needed for expansion. Banks should also be more favorable to extend credit to both businesses and individuals, leading to a growth in the National Disposable Income.


SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/business-profit-and-consumer-income-to-increase-in-2018-fsdh/

Ok

interesting...

Useful piece.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recently identified CEO #ComicRepublic,  Jide Martin as one of Africa’s Change Makers!

According to UNICEF, Jide Martin creates African Superheroes to inspire children and pass on moral values.

Launched in 2013, Comic Republic is dedicated to driving the growth of the African comic market, and publishes various African-inspired comics available online for free. Since its inception, it has a stable of titles and characters that are being dubbed the “African Avengers” – among them Guardian Prime, an almost Messianic Superman-analogue; super-smart bookworm Nutech, gifted with “teletechnopathy and magnetism” abilities; fearsome warrior-woman Ireti; super-fast Maxspeed.

It is also home to Avonome, Aje, Hero Generation, Scion Immortal, Eru, Ireti, Visionary, Hero Kekere, Uhuru, Legend of the windriders and many more characters.

Jide Martin, the founder, and CEO of Comic Republic says he set the company up because “there was a moral vacuum in the present generation, a general lack of icons. People stopped believing in the institutions of old. To fill this gap, I went back to my childhood and I remembered that I used to reflect on what Superman or Batman would do when I wanted to make decisions; so I decided to use the same medium to give this and the next generation something to believe in.

Jide Martin expressed his delight at UNICEF’s recognition. He said, “We are honored to be recognized for the impact we are making through comic books.”

Comic Republic has published over 40 comic books and distributed them all free to grow the comic book culture in Africa.

The Company was named Best Comic Publishing Firm in Nigeria at the 2015 Lagos Comic Convention.

On the 23rd of November, 2016, Comic Republic was featured as an African Startup by the American news agency, CNN

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/unicef-identifies-ceo-comic-republic-as-one-of-africas-change-makers/

Lagos Water Corporation, LWC, has resumed Water production and supply across the State, following the recent temporary disruption of water supply due to the national power outage, reports Brand Spur Nigeria.

This was revealed in a statement by the LWC, Managing Director/CEO, Engr. Muminu Adekunle Badmus, today 6th January 2018 in Lagos.

LWC boss said the Corporation has fulfilled her promise to Lagosians by connecting to an alternative power supply to meet the expectations of Lagosians with the provision of uninterrupted potable Water supply.

The Corporation had earlier attributed the recent Water disruption in the State to the National power outage as a result of fire outbreak at a Gas Pipeline system which interrupted Gas supply and affected the National transmission grid, which adversely affected Water production at the LWC Major Waterworks.

Engr. Badmus, therefore, apologized to the public for any inconveniences caused during the Water disruption and reassured Lagosians of his commitment towards efficient and effective service delivery in the State.

While concluding his statement, he thanked the general public for their support and cooperation over the years and urged them to sustain the efforts of the Corporation by paying their bills as when due, Engr. Badmus concluded.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/lwc-resumes-water-production-apologises-to-customers/

Good one..

This sector has been continually ignored and its worrisome.
Brain drain and Lack of standard health care equipments.

Samyj247:
my boss is wicked. he pretends as if he likes u but will finish u at ur back....

Naso

I can’t stop my children from being invited to birthday parties. Especially when the invitations are from family members and close friends. But my concern in this post is for the kind of music the disk jockeys play at these children’s parties.

Imagine children dancing to ‘I want your body sleeping in my bed’, not to mention other unsavory lyrics by the other artistes that shouldn’t be on a children’s party playlist. The sad thing is some of these parties are hosted by Christian parents.



What happens to getting a gospel DJ?

And your event doesn’t have to be boring, not with the myriads of danceable, ‘happening’ Christian songs available.

Since we can’t refuse some of these invitations, my wife and I have attempted to have some very groovy Christian songs, alongside the traditional gospel songs, on our phones and laptops for our children’s listening pleasure.



They listen to them at home, even in the bathroom. After all, we have highly talented and anointed gospel hip hop and rap artistes too!

Dear Christian parents, let’s reflect Christ even in the choice of music at our children’s birthday parties.

That’s not too much of the Lord to ask of us.

Is it?

 

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/parents-beware-songs-and-their-effects-on-kids/

...

On Jan. 1, Nigeria welcomed 20,210 babies and accounted for the third highest number of newborns on the first day of the new year behind only India and China. That statistic has proven yet another reminder of the population boom in Africa’s most populous country.

Much of the current data suggests the population growth spurt isn’t slowing down anytime soon. A UN report last year projected that, by 2050, Nigeria will become the world’s third largest country by population and one of the six nations with a population of over 300 million. The country, which currently has a population of just under 200 million, will contribute a significant amount to the 1.3 billion people projected to be added to Africa’s current population in the same time frame.

Under some circumstances, a country’s population could be cited as a strength but when, like in Nigeria’s case, population growth outpaces public infrastructure and development by far, then it’s a huge red flag.



Policing the policy

So why is Nigeria’s population boom going unchecked? The short answer: a lack of political will and poor policy implementation.

Nigeria’s first population policy was put together in 1988 but it failed to deliver on its targets which included reducing the fertility rate, the rate of early marriages and the population growth rate. In 2005, the National Policy on Population for Sustainable Development (NPP), another population policy was launched, but like the one before it, NPP fell short of all its targets, according to a 2015 report.

Indeed, Nigeria’s population increased by nearly 50 million between 2005, when the policy was launched, and 2015, when the report was authored. Nigeria’s total fertility rate (average number of births per woman) dipped only slightly from 5.7 to 5.5 children per woman, notably higher than the target of 4.38 children per woman for 2015. Just as crucially, the modern contraceptive prevalence rate among married women increased to 9.8%—far less than the 30.2% policy target.



The report finds reasons for the policy’s failure included “limited political will” and “delayed or nonexistent release of funds.” But perhaps the most important reason was “a weak enabling environment, characterized by pervasive cultural/religious practices, gender norms, and poverty.” That reality is given further credence as the report says “large family sizes are the single most important driver of Nigeria’s population growth rate.” Gender norms such as preferences for male children and belief systems that mainly regard the number of children born in a family as a status symbol continue to hold sway and have rendered global family planning methods ineffective in parts of Nigeria. Low levels of literacy and education also mean that these beliefs and norms remain prevalent.

A ticking clock

Nigeria won’t have to wait till 2050 to grasp the pitfalls of its spiraling population and the lack of commensurate infrastructure and development as much as is already fairly obvious.

Nigeria’s university system is sorely lacking in capacity as between 2010 and 2015, of the 10 million applicants to Nigerian tertiary institutions, only 26% gained admission. Around 10. 5 million children are out-of-school—the largest number globally. For those fortunate enough to get through the educational system, unemployment remains a pressing concern. The latest data from Nigeria’s statistics bureau shows the unemployment rate has nearly doubled since the end of 2015.



Seeking proverbial greener pastures, desperate Nigerians are braving terrible odds and risking a life in slavery or being trapped in a sex trafficking ring to travel to Europe via the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean. In 2016, with 37,500 of the 180,000 total arrivals, Nigeria accounted for the most illegal migrant arrivals in Italy by the sea—but many also drown in transit. Between 2014 and 2016, the number of Nigerian women arrivals in Italy increased almost ten-fold. But many also die trying to cross by sea.

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/numbers-game-nigerias-population-problem-is-the-result-of-poor-policy-implementation-and-itll-only-get-worse/

For most, 2017 was a taxing year. Traditional companies experienced a great deal of strain on revenues, and many traditional clients in the CPG/FMCG space moved to zero-based budgeting with added pressure on how their money is spent. Here are my market research predictions for 2018.

The expansion in marketing budgets overall is the largest for just under a year, but market research budgets have fallen by 6.2%. — Research Live



I’m hoping 2018 is more positive. Generally, as we’re faced with this underlying trend of lower budgets (even in larger companies — Unilever and Diageo have both talked up the success of zero-based budgeting programs), there’s a renewed requirement for clients to start looking at new technologies and new techniques to obtain valid insights faster and cheaper than ever before.

As an avid research technologist, having worked as both a quantitative and qualitative researcher, and now as founder and CEO of Zappi, I’ve seen how the industry’s status quo can take time to shift.

1. One platform to rule them all

Marketing projects are happening quicker, there’s a disparity of media types, and we all know about the ‘agile’ trend (at least we’ve heard the buzzword). We’re seeing more and more companies take to working in agile, outside of development, where it originated.

Given this increase in requirements for speed, additional levels of data and data complexity at the same time as the natural human urge for simplicity, I predict a move towards clients wanting a single research platform.

In the same way that Salesforce is the key provider of sales materials, sales recording, and sales insights, we’ll see a dominant force emerge in the field. Of course, that’s where Zappi would like to be and where we’re working towards with our Pro platform, but multiple other companies are working on this too. We’re only at the very start of this movement right now — but it’s easy to imagine how transformative a single platform will be for the industry, where all of your analyzed data and reports are aggregated by machines.

We’re seeing clients beginning to think about this now, so it seems 2018 will be the year that more companies realize the benefits of having a single space for research and cross-analysis, with the ability to run different types of projects, cross-analyze findings, and have all key data in one location.

We’ll see the early stages of the trend very soon, without any major market shifts in my view until at least 2020.

2. More consulting

In 2018, we’ll come to see larger traditional research companies deciding to push a very specific consulting offer.

More clients will be in dire need of help as they manage fundamental changes when becoming more ‘agile’ and see ever increasing amounts of data crossing their desks. Seeing as research project execution itself has been largely automated, those larger research companies with great talent, thinkers, and storytellers will start to look at how they can provide deeper insights and skillful storytelling — whatever the project.

In the face of so much evolving technology, there’s still space for this kind of consultation-type approach to clients.

3. The implementation of Artificial Intelligence

In 2017, there’s been a lot of talk around Artificial Intelligence, being unkind you could suggest that much of it was “hot air”. But, if this year has been spent talking about AI— I’d like to think that in 2018, we will see more of it understood and implemented.

In the technology world, the focus is on machine learning which is a branch of AI. The research industry is doing a lot of thinking around this, there are many companies, including Zappi, who are experimenting with, and implementing, these solutions to solve real-world business needs. The industry needs this to make research better, faster, and most importantly — cleverer.

The trend will continue for years and we are all unsure of where or how it will end. We are focussed on improving the researcher, making them the hero through technology (the Iron Man or Woman of research!) but we will see multiple different approaches to the use of these technologies.

Let’s go!

2017 was tumultuous politically and for businesses everywhere. I’m pleased to say that despite this, it was a year worthy of celebration for Zappi:

We doubled our project salesWe built automated and sophisticated statistical analysis toolsAnd we soft launched our new insights management and execution platform.

Next year will be even bigger. We’ll be spending a lot of time at industry events, learning more about the industry’s breakthrough innovations, and we can’t wait to see which of the above predictions will come first.

SOURCE : https://brandspurng.com/three-key-market-research-predictions-for-2018/

increased by US$3.82bn in December to US$38.77bn. This rapid accumulation was largely the result of the FGN’s successful Eurobond roadshow in November, which raised US$3.0bn and is reflected in the reserves on a 30-day moving average basis.

Among additional factors, we highlight the improvement in oil revenues in recent months in terms of both output and export price. We should stress that the data are gross and mask the swap transactions the CBN has entered into with local banks.

The CBN’s unorthodox deployment of several fx windows since Q1 2017 had no impact on the roadshow. Indeed, several sovereigns with weaker credit stories than Nigeria’s managed to tap the international capital markets in 2017. The creation of the windows, including that for investors and exporters (NAFEX), has enabled the CBN to meet fx demand and has attracted the inflows that have also contributed to the accretion of reserves.

The CBN will be pleased with the encouraging signals from NAFEX. Turnover (ie both sides of trades) from its launch in late April through to 03 January totals US$26.3bn. It has averaged US$1.0bn on a weekly basis since mid-September.

Reserves at end-December covered 14.4 months’ merchandise imports, and 9.7 months when we add imports of services. The calculations are based on the balance of payments for the 12 months through to September 2017. The debate should move on from whether Nigeria has an adequate external buffer to whether it is maximizing the revenue accruing from its reserves.


The FGN will have to repay US$500m on the maturity of its July ’18 Eurobonds this year but we would be very surprised if it does not opt for refinancing in the same market.


SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/adequate-external-buffer-now-in-place/

FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange recorded a turnover of N130.17 trillion in the first 11 months of 2017, according to provisional data provided by the over-the-counter platform for debt securities.

The turnover included all products traded on the FMDQ secondary market including foreign exchange, treasury bills, sovereign bonds, other bonds issued by agency, sub-national, corporate and supranational institutions, Eurobonds and money market instruments such as reports and buy-backs and unsecured placements and takings. The turnover excluded primary market auctions in treasury bill and bonds.

The data, collated from the weekly trade data submissions by FMDQ dealing-member banks, represented trades executed amongst the dealing-member banks, dealing-member banks clients and dealing-member banks and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

With an average exchange rate of N317.24 per Dollar, the 11-month turnover stood at $410.32 billion. Average daily turnover stood at N565.96 billion or $1.78 billion during the 230-day trading session.

A breakdown of the turnover showed that treasury bills accounted for the largest turnover of N56.14 trillion. Repurchase agreements and buy-backs followed with the second largest turnover with N29.16 trillion.

Others included foreign exchange N18.70 trillion, foreign exchange derivatives, N15.51 trillion; sovereign bonds, N9.04 trillion; other bonds N27.85 billion; Eurobonds N82.14 billion; unsecured placements and takings N1.49 trillion and money market derivatives, which recorded a turnover of N22.9 billion.

Also, 2017 saw a steady flow of transactions and activities in the Naira-settled OTC foreign exchange (FX) futures market. The market, which was borne out of the desire to address the need for risk management in the Nigerian FX market has continued to show appreciable potential as an effective hedging product for investors, businesses and government institutions alike.

By December 7, 2017, $10.38 billion worth of OTC FX Futures contracts has traded so far with the CBN remaining steadfast in its commitment to ensuring the success of the market. As it has been the norm for 17 maturities on FMDQ, the 18th OTC FX Futures contract matured and settled successfully on December 27, 2017.

Having ceased trading on December 20, 2017, in line with the OTC FX Futures market operational standards, the 18th OTC FX Futures contract, NGUS DEC 27 2017, with notional amount $499.20 million, matured and settled on FMDQ. This brings the total value of contracts so far matured on FMDQ to $7.35 billion.
A new contract, NGUS DEC 26 2018, for $1.00 billion at $/N362.84 has been introduced by the CBN to replace the matured contract.

 

SOURCE: https://brandspurng.com/turnover-fmdq-records-n130-17t-in-11-months/

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