Jamā’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da’wah wa’l-Jihād popularly known as Boko Haram needs no introduction following the persistent dastardly acts of terrorism perpetrated by the religious sect, since 2009.
The terrorist group has gotten stronger since then and have also shown no signs of slowing down. Several questions have been asked by Nigerians and the international communities on what this group aims to achieve, what it really wants and how it operates. Prominent among these questions is how the militant group is raising funds to procure sophisticated weapons which they use to carry out their heinous attacks across Nigeria.

According to a survey of academic, governmental and journalistic accounts, Boko Haram funds its escalating acts of terror through black market dealings, local and international benefactors, and links to al-Qa’ida and other well-funded groups in the Middle East such as ISIS, the latest and most dangerous fundamental group in the world today.

1) Donations (Al-Qai’ida Affiliation)
The story of Boko Haram’s fundraising began after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. The group’s original leader, a charismatic cleric named Mohammed Yusuf, who was later killed, founded the group in 2002 pushing an alternative to Western education, which he claimed undermined Nigeria’s development. (The group’s Hausa name translates as “Western education is sin”.) Around that time, Osama bin Laden sent an aide to Nigeria with about £1.8m in local currency to dispense among groups that shared al-Qa’ida’s mission to impose Islamic rule. One of the “major beneficiaries”, the International Crisis Group said, was Boko Haram.
EJ Hogendoorn, the International Crisis Group’s deputy programme director for Africa and an author of (the report), told The Daily Beast

“What I can tell you from talking to lots of conservative Muslims in Nigeria are that there was a lot of money coming into northern Nigeria. There are many sources of that money. One of those sources was from al-Qa’ida. Boko Haram leaders have later said that much of their funding comes from al-Qa’ida. A Boko Haram spokesman said in 2011: “Al-Qaida is our elder brothers. We enjoy financial and technical support from them. Anything we want from them we ask them.” The group has also reportedly gotten money from Algerian al Qaeda offshoot al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and Somali group al-Shabab. One motive those groups have is setting up friendly safe havens in the region. “I think there must be some funding coming from some extremist groups who want perhaps to create a base in northern Nigeria,” Nwankwo told VOA News.

2) (2) Defrauding Banks:
Another way Boko Haram can get funds is by scamming banks.
A report on UK’s national risk assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing outlines the threats of terrorist organizations in the banking sector:
Use of fraudulent identities and supporting documentation to open and run bank accounts.
Complicit employees facilitating fraud and terrorist financing.
Fraudulent bank loan applications.

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has also stated that activities of the Boko Haram sect operating in Nigeria and some neighbouring counties festered due to ease of financing, according to Thisday.

The Director of Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Francis Usani, also accused commercial banks and other financial institutions in Nigeria of complicity in financial risk assessment support.

Inability of the banks and financial institutions to key in to the exercise (National risk assessment) is creating a docile financial environment which is disposed to money laundering and financing of terrorism activities.

3) Robbery and Raids:
Along with ransom money, “Boko Haram has partly financed its militant operations by attacking and robbing banks,” says David Doukhan at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. The group has robbed hundreds of banks in its home province of Borno and two other northern regions of Nigeria, and nabbed convoys and successful businesses. If that sounds not particularly pious for a fundamentalist religious group, “the robbery is justified by Koranic interpretation that bank robbery is permitted, since the money from the banks is considered ‘spoils of war,'” Doukhan adds. Some estimates put Boko Haram’s thievery spoils at about $6 million.
Boko Haram also raids rural towns and villages; by terrorizing civilians, they can implement random taxes at any time to quickly fill depleted coffers. During 2014 Boko Haram raided over 40 villages with an estimated 2,000 casualties; many of the villages were burned to the ground. These diverse sources have reportedly secured an income for Boko Haram of approximately $70million (N11 billion) between 2006 and 2011.

4) (4)Human Trafficking:
There’s the black market money. Beyond a hatred of Western education, economic motives may have also driven Boko Haram’s recent abduction of the Chibok school girls. A robust and terrifying slave market exists in Nigeria and neighbouring countries. The US military academy, said: “Kidnapping has become one of [Boko Haram’s] primary funding sources, a way to extract concessions from the Nigerian state and other governments, and a threat to foreigners and Nigerian government officials.” Experts now estimate that kidnapping is worth “millions of dollars in ransom money” to the militants.

5) (5)Crude Oil Money
Nigerian terror group Boko Haram may be funded with money originating from crude oil thefts. This has prompted President Muhammadu Buhari to launch an investigation with the help of the international community. The comment was made by US congressman Darrell Issa during a meeting in the capital Abuja with the Bring Back Our Girls group, which advocates for the release of some 219 Nigerian girls kidnapped by the terrorists in the restive Borno state as far back as April 2014. A few days after a meeting between Buhari and US President Barack Obama, in a bid to reinforce relations that had deteriorated during Nigeria’s previous administration, the US provided the African country with a list of names of alleged oil thieves.
As part of an anti-corruption campaign Buhari undertook after gaining office in May, he banned 113 vessels from lifting crude oil from some 27 Nigerian ports amid suspicions the vessels had been implicated in illicit activities. He also replaced the whole board of state-run oil company Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Conclusion
Boko Haram has a wide variety of outlets for its fundraising activity. Its success in sustaining attacks depends on a well-oiled financial pipeline. Like many other AQ franchises, Boko Haram collaborates with organized crime syndicates for its operations in drug trafficking, kidnappings, bank robbery, and cyber scams, not to mention continuous theft from Nigeria’s security establishment.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/this-is-how-boko-haram-gets-funded/

The Former Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating minister of the economy has been defending herself against allegations of corruption levelled against her by this present administration.

Months back she was accused by some governors of spending $2.1 billion out of the Excess Crude Account “without authorization”. She denied the allegation stating it was false.

Okinjo Iweala has also recently been accused of illegally diverting the recovered Abacha loot, which she says are baseless.

A letter has however resurfaced attempting to show her innocence in the accusations. In the letter the Former Minister sought approval from the Former President Goodluck Jonathan to disburse the funds to the National Security Adviser.

more on...http://nairametrics.com/revealed-letter-sent-by-noi-to-release-abacha-loot-to-dasuki/

Fish is a delicious and nutritious protein source that is also rich in nutrients like omega-3 Fatty acids that improves our heart health and lowers our blood cholesterol level. Farmed fish has been playing an important role in meeting global protein demands.

Rising fish at home could open up many profitable opportunities today. Home raised fish could easily be sold for profit around the neighborhood or restaurants. There are people who want locally raised fish from organic farms. It could also supply you and your family with delicious fresh seafood. So, why not start your own home based fish farm?

How to start home based fish farming business

First thing you will need to start a home based fish farming business is some basic knowledge about raising fish. You will also need to learn about the business side of farming. To raise fish you will need some space in your backyard for digging a fish pond or space in your basement or anywhere else if you want to raise fish in containers. Fish can be raised in any kind of fish tanks, containers, and tubs. You could even raise fish in barrels.

You will need some basic knowledge about fish, so I would suggest that you get as much knowledge as you possibly can about fish farming. Below is a list of links that you may want to visit and learn about aquaculture. There is also a webinar video posted below, where you can learn about aquaculture.

Whether you decide to start a backyard fish farm or indoor container based aquaculture, the more knowledge you have the better chances you will have to succeed in your home based fish farming business.

What equipment do I need?

To start a simple home based fish farm you will need to dig a fishpond or gather some fish tanks or containers for indoor fish farming. Choose water from a reliable source. Your municipal supply water would be fine. Once you have your pond or container setup, get your juvenile fish and some fish feed to start.

For large scale pond based fish farms, you would need some additional equipment. A list of equipment is given below.

You will need the following for a commercial fish farm:

Aquarium or fish tank
Pumps
Aeration Devices
Net or Seine Reels
Handling and Grading Equipment
Water testing equipment
What should you consider before starting a fish farm?

It’s possible that after you have raised fish at home, you find aquaculture a profitable business for you and decide to buy more property and start to expand your farming program. You will need starting capital, commercial equipment, and more people to start a large scale farm.

There are many ways you could gather the necessary funding and help from others to get started. Make a business plan and prepare a feasibility report that calculates all your expenses and profits. This would help you to get bank loans and also to attract partners or investors.

If you are really enthusiastic about fish farming, you should try to get as much help as possible. Try to get a partner or work with another fish farm to gather experience at first. So, before you enter the aquaculture industry and start your own fish farming business, consider all possible factors and decide if fish farming is the best business for you.

I hope this article was helpful for you, in guiding you to the world of aquaculture business. Try to gather as much knowledge and resources as possible and get started with your own home based fish farming business.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/start-your-own-home-based-fish-farming-business-for-profit/

The world Bank has said that Nigeria spent a total of N6 trillion in the last 5 years to subsidize petroleum products.

In its latest 2015 ”Nigeria Economic Report No. 3”, the bank said fuel subsidy incapacitated the country’s ability to save for the rainy day occasioned by falling crude oil prices in the international market.

On gas, the report stated that despite serious disruptions in supply in the first half of the year, the country flared more gas than the one used in generating electricity, adding that much more gas was sold to foreign consumers despite the huge demand and inadequate supply at home.

The report presented by the World Bank Lead Economist in Nigeria, Mr. John Litwack, stated;

The fiscal cost of the fuel subsidy is very high, reaching an estimated $35bn during 2010–2014. Moreover, annual costs are increasing over time due to rising fuel demand and the depreciation of the naira.

“In recent years, numerous audits and reports have identified widespread corruption and fraud in the administration of the fuel subsidy, and official petrol imports have substantially exceeded actual consumption. Attempts by the government to crack down on fraud and delay payment of the subsidy have commonly met with severe fuel shortages in the country that also impose high economic and welfare costs on Nigerians.

“The $35bn cost of the fuel subsidy during 2010–2014 was a primary reason why Nigeria was unable to accumulate a fiscal reserve in the Excess Crude Account that could have protected the country from the recent oil price shock. Fuel subsidy obligations are expected to reach 18 per cent of all government oil revenues in 2015, and, if the current regulated prices are maintained, this is projected to increase to more than 30 per cent by 2018.”

The report added that the recent sharp decline in oil prices and revenues had motivated the country to reconsider its commitment to the fuel subsidy regime that compensates importers and traders of petrol and kerosene.

According to the report, annual spending on fuel subsidy accounts for roughly one-fourth of all federal budgetary spending, adding that the spending was significantly greater than the entire executed federal capital budget as well as the combined spending on education and public health.

The report also stated;

”The weak enforcement of administrative prices further reduces the benefits of fuel subsidies to Nigerian households. There are other important costs as well. Uncertainty about the fuel subsidy has strongly discouraged investment in domestic refining.

“Moreover, artificially low fuel prices distort incentives and encourage excessive consumption of energy. Allegations of corruption and fraud surrounding the implementation of the fuel subsidy are costly to the reputation of government.

“Finally, subsidy-related fuel shortages have repeatedly disrupted economic activity and imposed serious welfare costs on Nigerian households. In addition, every time the naira depreciates, the cost of subsidizing a nominal fixed price increases.”

It added, “Part of the reason that the burden of the fuel subsidy did not decline in 2015, despite much lower oil prices, was the decision in January to decrease the administered naira price of petrol from N97 to N87 per litre.

“The logic given for this was that at the time, the world price of petrol had declined to the point where the size of the fuel subsidy would become negligible, and some of these benefits could therefore be passed on to petrol consumers in Nigeria.

“But the naira was under downward pressure at the time as well as partial strengthening of oil and petrol prices, the expected burden of the fuel subsidy once again rose to a level comparable to that of 2014.”

Noting that the country had the 9th largest gas deposit in the world, the World Bank said before the country could attract the huge investment required to develop the gas sector, it needed a well-designed institutional and policy framework.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/nigeria-spent-n6-9tn-on-subsidy-from-2010-to-2014-world-bank-report/

Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM): The Capital asset pricing model is a model that provides a framework to determine the required rate of return on an asset and also indicates the relationship between return and risk of the asset.

Arbitrage Pricing Theory (APT): The act of taking advantage of a price differential between two (2) or more markets is referred to as arbitrage. Arbitrage pricing theory describes the method of bringing a mispriced asset in line with its expected price.

Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH): The efficient market hypothesis is defined as a situation whereby all information affecting a stock is immediately and automatically reflected in the price of the stock including the risks involved. No one can successfully beat the market with superior information. why? This is because the market is perfect, with no taxes, transaction costs and where investors react the same way.

Random Walk Theory: This theory states that the price of a security at any point does not give an idea of what it would be in the future. There is no serial correlation between security prices over time, either in terms of size or period. The theory basically states that the market has no memory.

Fundamental Analysis: Fundamental analysis is a security analysis technique that attempts to determine the intrinsic value of a stock by analysing the economy, industry and the company.

For the Economy; the GDP, inflation, Foreign Direct investment, Government policies, interest rate, and alot of other factors are all analysed. For the Industry; The companies in the industry, the market leader and how tough the competition is. For the Company; Management, Revenues, Profits and Cashflows, Company product amongst other things.

Technical Analysis: Technical Analysis is a security analysis technique used for forecasting the direction of prices through the study of past market data, primarily price and volume. While fundamental analysts examine earnings, dividends, new products, research and the like, technical analysts examine what investors fear or think about those developments and whether or not investors have the wherewithal to back up their opinions.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs): Exchange Traded Funds are new securities that track indices or an index, they track commodity prices or a basket of assets but they trade as stocks.

Bell Weather Stocks: Bell weather stocks serve as a gauge of general market performance or general economic performance.

Price Discovery: Price discovery is the process of determining the price of an asset in the market place through the interactions of buyers and sellers. Price discovery is different from valuation, it is the process which involves buyers and sellers arriving at a transaction price for a specific item at a given time.

Market Maker: A market maker is a firm/broker or dealer that stands ready to buy and sell a particular stock on a continuous basis at a publicly quoted price. The market maker must also quote bid and ask prices for the stocks on which it makes market, and makes a profit on bid-ask spread on such stocks. The market maker makes profit on the price differential between bid and offer prices.

White Anting: This is a situation whereby companies in the stock market report unsustainable high profits usually in a regime of high interest rates. It is also known as Paper Profit.

Capital Trade Points: Capital trade points are monstering (where people gather) points for people in rural and not so monetized environments to have the opportunity to participate in the business of securities trading.

A Scrip: A scrip is a dividend in kind in the form of extra issues given to existing shareholders in lieu of cash dividends or sometimes in addition to cash dividends.

Frontier Markets: Frontier markets are mrkets with a low level of liquidity, turnover, transparency and few institutional controls. They are also characterized by high volatility. examples of such markets include; Nigeria, Ghana, Cape Verde, Botswana,and Cambodia.

Santa Claus Rally: Santa Claus rally is a situation that occurs when prices rise in January after stock prices have fallen in December to finance consumption for celebrations.

Monday Effect: This is a theory that propounds that the market on mondays would tend to follow prevailing trends of the previous Friday.

Cockroach Theory: This theory states that once there is a bad piece of information coming to the stock market, chances are that it would be followed by alot more.

Contango: A contango is a settlement that involves a buyer of a security delaying payment for that security until the next settlement date. He must pay a contango interest for delaying. The buyer usually delays expecting the stock to go higher so he can make profit. For someone to do this he must be a good forecaster. This usually occurs in a bull run.

Backwardation and Short Selling: Backwardation is a situation whereby a seller delays delivery until such a time or date of the next settlement date usually 7 days, this usually occurs in a bear market where the seller expects prices to drop further. For example if the price is N10, he hopes it falls to N8 so he can buy at N8 and deliver to you at N10.

Short Selling: Short selling is a situation where the seller doesn’t own the stock, but he borrows or intends to buy later. He anticipates that the price would drop further and delivers at a price less than what was agreed.

Margin Trading: Margin Trading is a situation where an investor buys a particular security through his broker but only puts down about 10-20% of the value of the stock while the remaining is borrowed on behalf of the investor, in the hope that money will be made if price rises.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/20-financial-terms-you-need-to-know-in-the-stock-market/

A British couple have been jailed for six years each for keeping a Nigerian immigrant as a slave for more than two decades, a London court clerk said.

Emmanuel Edet, 61, and Antan Edet, 58, were sentenced at Harrow Crown Court in northwest London late on Monday after being found guilty last month of child cruelty, slavery and assisting in illegal immigration.

The couple brought the man to Britain in 1989 when he was 14 years old, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

They told the teenager they would educate and pay him, but they forced him to work long hours for no pay and threatened him with deportation if he tried to escape, prosecutors said.

He received no education and had only very limited contact with his family and the outside world. The couple took his passport, and he had no identity documents, prosecutors said.

The victim, now 40, was forced to cook, clean, garden and care for the couple’s children without any pay for up to 17 hours a day, they said. He had to eat alone and typically slept on the floor of the hall, they said.

Prosecutor Damaris Lakin said the Edets told their captive he would be arrested as an illegal immigrant and deported if he left the house and contacted police.



“He believed this and felt trapped and completely dependent on the Edets,” Lakin said in a statement. “Emanuel and Antan Edet have cruelly robbed this victim of 24 years of his life. They have treated him with complete contempt.”

“This was a shocking case of modern day slavery,” he said.

Prosecutors said the Edets had changed the victim’s name and added him to their family passport as their son when they brought him into Britain.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/british-couple-jailed-for-keeping-nigerian-as-slave-for-24-years/

Nigeria is said to have imported 159 million toothbrushes worth about $9,372,920 from China according to a BBC Report that looked at Chinese exports to Africa in 2014. The report further claims that Nigeria spent a whopping $450,012,993 on the importation of motorbikes from China. That’ s not all!

Nigeria is said to have spent about N1.6 trillion on Chinese Imports in 2014 and another N723.9 billion in the first two quarters of 2015 according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics. Data from China indicates Nigeria has this year (January to October) imported goods valued at about $11.3 billion from China and exported goods and services worth $1 billion. Nigeria is only second to South Africa ($13.6 billion) in imports from China from Africa. Africa’s total imports from China was about $89 billion.

Nigeria is not left out in the thirst for Chinese products in Africa. According to the BBC report

Benin


In 2014, tiny Benin was the continent’s biggest importer of wigs and false beards from China. It purchased Chinese hair pieces worth $411m.

A hefty three million kg (472,400 stone) were taken to Benin, with many of those wigs then whisking their way to neighbouring Nigeria.

South Africa


South Africa was the continent’s biggest importer of Chinese-made male underpants.

Of the 18,747,003 pants imported by South Africa in 2014, 16,612,590 were Chinese – that’s a whopping 88% of South Africa’s imported pants.


Kenya


Kenya was Africa’s biggest importer of plastic Chinese toilet seats in 2014, spending $8,197,499 on the lavatorial thrones.

Togo


China has also been keeping Africa moving. In 2014, Togolese traders spent $193,818,756 on Chinese motorcycles.



Nigeria China trade has been on a steady rise in recent times with loans from Chine fast dominating the share of Nigeria’s debt portfolio for any single country. Nigeria’s debt to China is put at about $1.3 billion. China has also increased its trading activity with Nigeria with coverage extending to manufacturing, road construction, telecoms, power etc. The Chinese Leader, Xi Jinping told African presidents on Friday at a summit in South Africa, that his country would provide $60 billion over three years to fund development on the continent.

The level of imports from China and indeed other countries drives into the very heart of the CBN policies currently in place. Ironically those for devaluation of the naira and those against it agree on one thing; Nigeria’s thirst for imported products needs to be quenched if it is to compete in the global economy and to a larger extent keep the value of its currency in tact. It’s either you devalue to quench that thirst or you tighten controls to kill that thirst. Either way, the consequences are severe.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/nigeria-imports-159-million-toothbrushes-from-china/

MTN Group has announced a new operating structure and senior management changes. The changes are Effective from Dec. 1 2015.

Jyoti Desai assumed new position of group chief operating officer while the company appointed Karl Toriola as the new Vice President for WECA, while Ismail Jaroudi is the Vice President for MENA.

MTN Nigeria’s ceo Michael Ikpoki and head of regulatory and Corporate Affairs Akinwale Goodluck resigned with immediate effect.

more on...http://nairametrics.com/mtn-group-nigeria-ceo-michael-ikpoki-resigns/

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have reduced the $5.2 billion fine MTN Group were to pay to $3.4 billion after the South African mobile phone company lobbied for a lower penalty, MTN said on Thursday.

“Shareholders are advised that, after further engagements with the Nigerian Authorities, the NCC has reduced the imposed fine,” MTN said.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/nigeria-reduces-mtn-fine-to-3-4-billion-mtn-group/

It’s not the U.S.

Where should you travel if you want the best Internet connection in the world? A new report says you should book a ticket straight to South Korea.

The East Asian nation topped a ranking of countries by their communications infrastructure released Monday. The ranking, which comes by way of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), tracks a variety of metrics to come up with a benchmark for measuring telecom developments across countries.

South Korea, which also led the ITU’s list back in 2010, is considered by many to be home to the fastest Internet connections in the world.

Coming in second and third place are Denmark and Iceland, respectively. The United States, meanwhile, is sitting in fifteenth place, a one-place improvement from five years ago.

more on..http://nairametrics.com/these-countries-have-the-fastest-internet-in-the-world/

Friday the 27th of November was a day like no other in Nigeria as the frenzy of Black Friday caught up with shoppers all over the country. Online retail malls are expected to have recorded a massive surge in visits and page-views as millions of Nigerians logged onto their websites in search for bargain deals.

Black Friday originated from the US and is the Friday after Thanksgiving (4th Friday of the month). Black Friday is officially the beginning of Xmas shopping and Retailers use it as an opportunity to offer huge price discounts to customers. With the world more and more turning into a global village, Black Friday has moved from being a US only event to one that occurs in most cities around America and Europe.

The economic impact of black Friday sales cannot be over emphasized as it is arguably the single largest one day retail sales at any time in the year. Black Friday sales in the United States last year topped $50.9 billion 11% lower than the $57.4 billion posted in 2013. The UK projects that it could record as much as £2billion pounds in sale for 2015. Nigeria can’t be any different with billions of naira is sales expected to be recorded. Online retail malls across the web as well as brick and mortar stores located within major malls in the country have all spent millions on advertising in anticipation of bargain hunting Lagosians. This is potential huge for Nigeria and one projects the country could be in line to record over N5billion in sales.

Online Retailers

Online retailers have blocked the entire airwaves and online space advertising black Friday in Nigeria. The impact of their advertising has surely paid off as shoppers who are accustomed to spending in December at an even more expensive price see this as a huge bargaining opportunity. Shoppers are expected to spend billions of naira buying the array of goods lined up for sale. For online malls, this is a major step towards exerting their dominance in the Nigerian retail market. Days like this are not only expected to draw Nigerians towards their platforms today alone it is also hoped that it will convert more Nigerians into dumping brick and mortar sales for online sales.

Banks and other Financial Institutions (OFI)

The preferred method of payments for online transactions are via debit cards. They are used for payment before delivery transactions and also attract fees in favour of the bank of OFI. Banks who recorded frequent down times on Black Friday would have lost tens of millions in potential one day revenue.

Advertising Agencies

Agencies and channels involved with putting Black Friday ad deals together have also benefited immensely. Commissions and fees have been earned by the lucky ones and most will earn in one day what they probably could have earned in a week.

Radio, TV and Electronic Media

Radio stations who got a huge slice of ad revenue were also significant beneficiaries from Black Friday deals. In the days running to Friday the 27th, newspapers, radio airwaves and TV stations bombarded readers, listeners and viewers respectively with ads 24/7. No matter where you turn to there were ads waiting to be served to you reminding you of Black Friday. The lucky medial outlets who earned paid adverts should be smiling to the bank. As one would expect not all media outlets enjoyed some of the massive advertising revenue that was shared.

Shoppers

Bargain hunting shoppers from all over the country who were lucky to purchase items at a discount were also winners. Cellphones, TV Sets, Laptops & Computers all had discount prices attached at rates that were enough to attract willing shoppers. Some shoppers however complained of not been able to consummate purchases. They claim websites were down for much of the time leading to frequent termination of transactions at the final stages.

Government

The Government is also on the list of those who benefited from Black Friday. Online deals typically attract Value Added Tax of 5% on every item being sold. The Government collects this money when the goods are paid. Considering that most online deals are payment on delivery or payment in advance of delivery, the Government doesn’t need to wait too long to get its tax revenue. Lagos State Government with their Consumption tax should also benefit even more especially for deals such as room nights, restaurants etc. Lagos State Signage Agency is also expected to see their fee income from November positively impacted from outdoor advertising revenue for Black Friday.

States without Consumption Tax or any form of taxes that ensures some of the revenue that would have accrued from Black Friday are sure to lose.

Merchants

Most Online Retail Malls like Jumia and Konga do not necessarily stock goods on their own. Most of what was sold belong to third-party merchants who rely on the Retail Giants large web presence to sell their products. In exchange for using the Online Retail Mall’s website to display and advertise their products, they pay a percentage of their revenue to the retail giants. While some merchants claimed to have cleared their stock, there were some who weren’t so lucky and are set to record huge cases of returned goods.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/winners-losers-of-nigerias-black-friday/

Friday the 27th of November was a day like no other in Nigeria as the frenzy of Black Friday caught up with shoppers all over the country. Online retail malls are expected to have recorded a massive surge in visits and page-views as millions of Nigerians logged onto their websites in search for bargain deals.

Black Friday originated from the US and is the Friday after Thanksgiving (4th Friday of the month). Black Friday is officially the beginning of Xmas shopping and Retailers use it as an opportunity to offer huge price discounts to customers. With the world more and more turning into a global village, Black Friday has moved from being a US only event to one that occurs in most cities around America and Europe.

The economic impact of black Friday sales cannot be over emphasized as it is arguably the single largest one day retail sales at any time in the year. Black Friday sales in the United States last year topped $50.9 billion 11% lower than the $57.4 billion posted in 2013. The UK projects that it could record as much as £2billion pounds in sale for 2015. Nigeria can’t be any different with billions of naira is sales expected to be recorded. Online retail malls across the web as well as brick and mortar stores located within major malls in the country have all spent millions on advertising in anticipation of bargain hunting Lagosians. This is potential huge for Nigeria and one projects the country could be in line to record over N5billion in sales.

Online Retailers

Online retailers have blocked the entire airwaves and online space advertising black Friday in Nigeria. The impact of their advertising has surely paid off as shoppers who are accustomed to spending in December at an even more expensive price see this as a huge bargaining opportunity. Shoppers are expected to spend billions of naira buying the array of goods lined up for sale. For online malls, this is a major step towards exerting their dominance in the Nigerian retail market. Days like this are not only expected to draw Nigerians towards their platforms today alone it is also hoped that it will convert more Nigerians into dumping brick and mortar sales for online sales.

Banks and other Financial Institutions (OFI)

The preferred method of payments for online transactions are via debit cards. They are used for payment before delivery transactions and also attract fees in favour of the bank of OFI. Banks who recorded frequent down times on Black Friday would have lost tens of millions in potential one day revenue.

Advertising Agencies

Agencies and channels involved with putting Black Friday ad deals together have also benefited immensely. Commissions and fees have been earned by the lucky ones and most will earn in one day what they probably could have earned in a week.

Radio, TV and Electronic Media

Radio stations who got a huge slice of ad revenue were also significant beneficiaries from Black Friday deals. In the days running to Friday the 27th, newspapers, radio airwaves and TV stations bombarded readers, listeners and viewers respectively with ads 24/7. No matter where you turn to there were ads waiting to be served to you reminding you of Black Friday. The lucky medial outlets who earned paid adverts should be smiling to the bank. As one would expect not all media outlets enjoyed some of the massive advertising revenue that was shared.

Shoppers

Bargain hunting shoppers from all over the country who were lucky to purchase items at a discount were also winners. Cellphones, TV Sets, Laptops & Computers all had discount prices attached at rates that were enough to attract willing shoppers. Some shoppers however complained of not been able to consummate purchases. They claim websites were down for much of the time leading to frequent termination of transactions at the final stages.

Government

The Government is also on the list of those who benefited from Black Friday. Online deals typically attract Value Added Tax of 5% on every item being sold. The Government collects this money when the goods are paid. Considering that most online deals are payment on delivery or payment in advance of delivery, the Government doesn’t need to wait too long to get its tax revenue. Lagos State Government with their Consumption tax should also benefit even more especially for deals such as room nights, restaurants etc. Lagos State Signage Agency is also expected to see their fee income from November positively impacted from outdoor advertising revenue for Black Friday.

States without Consumption Tax or any form of taxes that ensures some of the revenue that would have accrued from Black Friday are sure to lose.

Merchants

Most Online Retail Malls like Jumia and Konga do not necessarily stock goods on their own. Most of what was sold belong to third-party merchants who rely on the Retail Giants large web presence to sell their products. In exchange for using the Online Retail Mall’s website to display and advertise their products, they pay a percentage of their revenue to the retail giants. While some merchants claimed to have cleared their stock, there were some who weren’t so lucky and are set to record huge cases of returned goods.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/winners-losers-of-nigerias-black-friday/

According to a recent study,recruiters spend an average of 6.2 seconds looking at an individual resume. Working with that kind of attention span and operating with limited space, resume writers need to make every word count. With this in mind, it might be time to a take a critical look at your resume or CV (or even your LinkedIn profile) and root out terms that aren’t doing you any favors. And you can start with these 12 vague, cliche, inappropriate, or downright meaningless words.

“I”

Your resume is a chance to showcase how your skills, experience, and knowledge have produced quantitative results for previous employers. Avoid overusing “I” and focus instead on what you can bring to company and role you’re interest in. Remember, it’s less about you and more about them. A resume peppered with “I”s and “my”s sends the message that you’re focused in the wrong direction.

“Microsoft Office”

Amber Carucci of PR Daily says that most employers assume that candidates have basic computer skills, so applicants shouldn’t take up valuable resume real estate to point out the obvious. Instead, focus on specific areas of expertise such as HTML coding, SEO/SEM, or project management software programs.

“Love”

Used in business communication of any sort, love (e.g., “Accounting is my first love” or “I’d love to work for your company”) is a word that sticks out like a sore thumb. Let’s reserve this quite powerful descriptor for our families, our pets, and our smartphones.

“Impactful”

Sure, impactful is a word, but it’s not necessarily a good one. It’s clunky, awkward, and prompts the question: Was the impact good or bad? Crack open a thesaurus and pick a better adjective (not a tall order since most are better).

“Utilize” and Other “izes”

The “ize” don’t have it. Words like utilize, maximize, and optimize not only fail to impress would-be employers, they detract from the flow and clarity of your resume. Skip the business-speak and err on the side of simple, direct communication that quantifies your achievements.

“Passionate” or “Driven”

Employers have fetishized passion so much that applicants feel compelled to litter their resumes with this absurd descriptor. Instead of using terms like passionate and driven, or feeling obligated to perform an interpretive dance showing how aroused you are by actuarial science or call center customer service, demonstrate it through educational achievement, specific career accomplishments, licensures, and participation in professional associations.

“Experienced”

Experienced is so vague and overused that’s been rendered nearly meaningless. So, just skip it and get specific. What have you done? What projects have you managed? What results have you produced? Dazzle them with facts; don’t bore them with generalities.

“Responsible”

Responsible, as in responsible for, is the cousin of experienced. Instead of writing a long grocery list of what you’ve been responsible for in previous positions, get to the point. Use quantitative data to explain what you did, who you did it with, how long you did it, and how good you were at it.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/8-words-you-need-to-delete-from-your-resume/

The National Bureau of Statistics released its latest unemployment and underemployment numbers revealing that about 7.5 million Nigerians who are eligible to work cannot get a job. 3.5 million or about half of this number are young people who fall within the age bracket of 25 to 44 years. The Bureau further explains that the this number of unemployed Nigerians make up about 4% of the world’s unemployed population.


The International Labour Organisation (ILO) on whose recommendation most countries in the world unemployment methodology is based including Nigeria, states that 201 million people globally are unemployed and this may rise to 219 million by 2019. With 7.5 million Nigerians technically unemployed, this means 4% of the worlds unemployed are Nigerians.

Nigerians unemployment problem is probably much worse than the data currently suggest as it assumptions for who is employed considers millions of people who will rather work menial jobs to just to survive. It calls this metric underemployment and puts it at 17%.4. The figure puts those who are underemployed to 13.2 million.

The report further revealed that Nigeria’s unemployment rate is worse than about 22 African countries.



Nigeria with an unemployment rate of 9.9% in Q3 2015 has a better unemployment rate than reported in 67 countries but worse than 113 countries, including 21 African countries with unemployment rates lower than 9.9%.

The ILO has previously forecast a global unemployment rate of 5.9% this year and next, compared with 5.5% before the global financial crisis in 2007, implying that Nigeria’s Q3 unemployment rate of 9.9% (minus an additional 17.4% underemployment) is higher than the global average. The highest unemployment rate in the world is recorded in Djibouti (54%), Congo(46%), Bosnia and Herzegovinian(43%), Haiti (40%), Kosovo(35%), while the lowest are found in Qatar (0.2%), Cambodia (0.3%), Belarus(0.5%), Thailand(0.8%), Benin (1.0%), Laos (1.40%) and Guinea Bissau(1.80%).
more on...http://nairametrics.com/4-of-the-worlds-unemployed-are-nigerians/

The Chairman, Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), Chief Victor Murako, has warned of a possible shutdown by some states of the federation in the next six months unless they find creative ways of handling their dwindling allocations from the Federation Account.

Murako, who spoke at the opening of a two-day study tour of the FRC by officials of the Ebonyi Fiscal Responsibility Commission in Abuja on Monday, expressed shock that the Nigerian Governors’ Forum had declared that the states could no longer meet the payment of the minimum wage of N18,000 per month.

The FRC boss said many states were dishonest about their level of indebtedness, adding they were much more indebted than the governors were willing to admit in public.

He said, “The truth is that if the situation we are in persists for the next six months; I said six months, not one year or two years; we will be on the floor. If the revenue continues to dwindle for the next six months and the allocations continue being low, some state governments that refuse to look for alternative revenue sources will definitely crash and there will be a labour crisis.

“Debts and borrowing have become the biggest problem of subnational governments. If most state governments will be honest and tell you their accurate debt profile, you will marvel. A lot of them try to hide by different strategies. They take short term loans; some, long-term ones that will go beyond their tenure, which ordinarily, they should not do.”

He added, “You must find ways and means to trigger state companies and parastatals that over the years have been collecting money rather than remitting money to the government coffers. If you investigate some of them, you will find that they are making so much money.

“We cannot continue to shy away from the current realities. The Fiscal Responsibility Commissions are agencies of the government that have been used all over the world to transform nations such as India, Brazil, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, and several other countries.”

He said it was regrettable that the nation was no longer discussing how to meet the infrastructure gap, but how to finance recurrent expenditure.

The FRC boss also chided the state governments for lack of creativity, saying that if they were private concerns; they would be generating profits from the huge endowments found in the different states of the federation.

The Chairman of the Ebonyi State Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Mr. Vincent Mbam, said the team was in Abuja to build their capacity in order to help achieve the change mantra in the country.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/states-may-go-bankrupt-if-oil-revenues-keep-falling/

The Nigerian music industry has come a long way, Artistes can afford to take risks to venture into the industry knowing they can make money once they hit, Parents are no longer ashamed to know their kids want to end up like Wizkid, Olamide and Don Jazzy.

The music industry in Nigeria has been one of the fastest growing in Nigeria over the past 10 years; listenership, revenue from sales of albums, Export of our music, quality of videos are just a few of the factors attributing to the growth of the industry.

Here are the Ways through which Nigerian Artistes make money;

Album Sales: In theory, this is the major way through which Artistes make money. Although in Nigeria this isn’t straightforward and it’s very complicated. Millions of Albums are sold through marketers in Alaba Market, but the Artistes only get a slice of the sales. The ‘Alaba Boys’ control the Nigerian music industry and are also responsible for the success or failure of Artistes. The marketers have wide distribution networks which makes it easy for them to distribute the albums of the artistes nationwide. P square reportedly collected about N50 million for the marketing, duplication and distribution of their ‘Danger’ Album. Their ‘Game Over’ album was also sold to TJoe Enterprise (a major marketer) for N10 million. Other Artistes who have made money from their Albums by signing deals with the marketers include Burna Boy; who sold his LIFE Album for N10 million, M.I sold the distribution right to Mr Ahbu for N20 million. TIMAYA was paid some thousands for his first album, but he now earns millions from selling the marketing rights for his recent albums.
The truth is that it is extremely difficult for artistes to make money in Nigeria except the A-Listers like P square, Wizkid, Tiwa savage. The upcoming artistes usually have to even give marketers money to help them promote their albums so they can be a hit nationwide. Once you reach that elite stage the money comes in droves.

Endorsements: Endorsements is the real cake in the music industry. It is another means through which the artistes make tons of money.
Wizkid signed a multi-million naira endorsement deal worth about $350,000 US dollars. He was first signed by Telecom Giants MTN and was paid N45 million, but he has since been snapped up by Globacom and was even offered almost double the amount MTN paid him. Wizkid reportedly got N120 million from GLO for a 2 year deal.

D Banj: Signed a deal with Globacom worth around N100 million. He also has a lucrative deal with Apple/Beats by Dre which he signed in October 2014. Dbanj also became an ambassador for Ciroc drink in Nigeria.

dbanj_eja_nla

Don Jazzy; The CEO of Mavin Records isn’t only making money from his star-studded record label, he also has very lucrative endorsement deals including one with Loya Milk where he got nothing less than N50 million. His N25 million deal with MTN, and his mouth-watering endorsement with Samsung Africa raked in millions of naira.

P square’s deal with Globacom is reported to be in hundreds of millions of naira.

Flavour also has multimillion naira endorsements with well-known brands such as Globacom, Harp and Onga seasoning.

Banky W: His first major deal was the much talked about $1 million Etisalat money. He also has a N100 million endorsement deal with Samsung Mobile.

Shows: Shows is a major way through which Nigerian artistes make money. Although the amount earned can vary from artistes, the good thing about shows is that as long as you have a buzz and have the right connections you can earn something from shows. Nigerian Artistes also perform at Political events, private parties of politicians and businessmen, concerts, birthday parties, and at universities.
Flavour for example charges between 3 -5 million naira for shows in Nigeria, while to perform on the international stage he charges as much as 8 million naira.

D Banj charges between 6-8 million naira per show.

Yemi Alade charges betwwen 2 – 2.5 million naira per show.

P Square charge between 9-10 million per show.

Olamide earns around 3 million naira per show.

Tiwa savage earns bettwen 2 – 3 million naira per show

Wizkid earns between 4-5 million naira per show.

Davido earns around 3 – 5 million naira per show.

Business & Investments:
Nigerian artistes are smart and know that their buzz can’t last forever. They also diversify their revenue streams by investing in various businesses to keep the money flowing.

P Square reportedly own Rayfield Hotel in Jos, and two multi-million naira factories in the same city, where they built a multimillion naira bakery and sachet water companies for their dad and mum, among other investments. They have also ventured into Oil business which they confirmed on their Instagram page in 2013.

D Banj has always had a knack for business, traits which he claimed he got from his mother.

D Banj organized a Koko Mansion reality TV show some years back and earned some millions after striking a deal with a satellite TV station to air the programme. He has also ventured into agriculture by starting his Koko Garri brand and also Koko Mobile telephone.

YouTube: Although only a few Artistes make money from Youtube, it is fast becoming one of the means through which Nigerian Artistes generate income. On YouTube, whenever your music is used in videos that are running ads, YouTube pays a portion of that advertising money to the rights holders of the song. Youtube usually pays $2 for every 1000 views. Another major advantage of Youtube is that it helps new fans around the world discover your music and increase your popularity.
P Square’s ‘’personally’’ is the most viewed Nigerian video on Youtube with over 46 million views. Doing the calculation, the duo wouldn’t make less than $100,000 from the video. P Square have a total of four (4) videos in the list of the ten (10) most viewed videos on Youtube. Dbanj’s Oliver Twist video is 2nd on the list of the most viewed videos in Nigeria, with over 34 million views. Other Artistes on the list of the most viewed videos on Youtube include Iyanya, Timaya, Yemi Alade, and Flavour.

Licensing: Nigerian Artistes make money if their song placed in a film, commercial, or TV show, chances are they’re going to pay you a licensing fee. These fees vary greatly, depending on the budget for the project, and how badly they want your particular song. 2face song African queen was used on Fat Girls. This isn’t a very developed means of making money yet in Nigeria.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/how-nigerian-artistes-make-money-2/

The Nigerian music industry has come a long way, Artistes can afford to take risks to venture into the industry knowing they can make money once they hit, Parents are no longer ashamed to know their kids want to end up like Wizkid, Olamide and Don Jazzy.

The music industry in Nigeria has been one of the fastest growing in Nigeria over the past 10 years; listenership, revenue from sales of albums, Export of our music, quality of videos are just a few of the factors attributing to the growth of the industry.

Here are the Ways through which Nigerian Artistes make money;

Album Sales: In theory, this is the major way through which Artistes make money. Although in Nigeria this isn’t straightforward and it’s very complicated. Millions of Albums are sold through marketers in Alaba Market, but the Artistes only get a slice of the sales. The ‘Alaba Boys’ control the Nigerian music industry and are also responsible for the success or failure of Artistes. The marketers have wide distribution networks which makes it easy for them to distribute the albums of the artistes nationwide. P square reportedly collected about N50 million for the marketing, duplication and distribution of their ‘Danger’ Album. Their ‘Game Over’ album was also sold to TJoe Enterprise (a major marketer) for N10 million. Other Artistes who have made money from their Albums by signing deals with the marketers include Burna Boy; who sold his LIFE Album for N10 million, M.I sold the distribution right to Mr Ahbu for N20 million. TIMAYA was paid some thousands for his first album, but he now earns millions from selling the marketing rights for his recent albums.
The truth is that it is extremely difficult for artistes to make money in Nigeria except the A-Listers like P square, Wizkid, Tiwa savage. The upcoming artistes usually have to even give marketers money to help them promote their albums so they can be a hit nationwide. Once you reach that elite stage the money comes in droves.

Endorsements: Endorsements is the real cake in the music industry. It is another means through which the artistes make tons of money.
Wizkid signed a multi-million naira endorsement deal worth about $350,000 US dollars. He was first signed by Telecom Giants MTN and was paid N45 million, but he has since been snapped up by Globacom and was even offered almost double the amount MTN paid him. Wizkid reportedly got N120 million from GLO for a 2 year deal.

D Banj: Signed a deal with Globacom worth around N100 million. He also has a lucrative deal with Apple/Beats by Dre which he signed in October 2014. Dbanj also became an ambassador for Ciroc drink in Nigeria.

dbanj_eja_nla

Don Jazzy; The CEO of Mavin Records isn’t only making money from his star-studded record label, he also has very lucrative endorsement deals including one with Loya Milk where he got nothing less than N50 million. His N25 million deal with MTN, and his mouth-watering endorsement with Samsung Africa raked in millions of naira.

P square’s deal with Globacom is reported to be in hundreds of millions of naira.

Flavour also has multimillion naira endorsements with well-known brands such as Globacom, Harp and Onga seasoning.

Banky W: His first major deal was the much talked about $1 million Etisalat money. He also has a N100 million endorsement deal with Samsung Mobile.

Shows: Shows is a major way through which Nigerian artistes make money. Although the amount earned can vary from artistes, the good thing about shows is that as long as you have a buzz and have the right connections you can earn something from shows. Nigerian Artistes also perform at Political events, private parties of politicians and businessmen, concerts, birthday parties, and at universities.
Flavour for example charges between 3 -5 million naira for shows in Nigeria, while to perform on the international stage he charges as much as 8 million naira.

D Banj charges between 6-8 million naira per show.

Yemi Alade charges betwwen 2 – 2.5 million naira per show.

P Square charge between 9-10 million per show.

Olamide earns around 3 million naira per show.

Tiwa savage earns bettwen 2 – 3 million naira per show

Wizkid earns between 4-5 million naira per show.

Davido earns around 3 – 5 million naira per show.

Business & Investments:
Nigerian artistes are smart and know that their buzz can’t last forever. They also diversify their revenue streams by investing in various businesses to keep the money flowing.

P Square reportedly own Rayfield Hotel in Jos, and two multi-million naira factories in the same city, where they built a multimillion naira bakery and sachet water companies for their dad and mum, among other investments. They have also ventured into Oil business which they confirmed on their Instagram page in 2013.

D Banj has always had a knack for business, traits which he claimed he got from his mother.

D Banj organized a Koko Mansion reality TV show some years back and earned some millions after striking a deal with a satellite TV station to air the programme. He has also ventured into agriculture by starting his Koko Garri brand and also Koko Mobile telephone.

YouTube: Although only a few Artistes make money from Youtube, it is fast becoming one of the means through which Nigerian Artistes generate income. On YouTube, whenever your music is used in videos that are running ads, YouTube pays a portion of that advertising money to the rights holders of the song. Youtube usually pays $2 for every 1000 views. Another major advantage of Youtube is that it helps new fans around the world discover your music and increase your popularity.
P Square’s ‘’personally’’ is the most viewed Nigerian video on Youtube with over 46 million views. Doing the calculation, the duo wouldn’t make less than $100,000 from the video. P Square have a total of four (4) videos in the list of the ten (10) most viewed videos on Youtube. Dbanj’s Oliver Twist video is 2nd on the list of the most viewed videos in Nigeria, with over 34 million views. Other Artistes on the list of the most viewed videos on Youtube include Iyanya, Timaya, Yemi Alade, and Flavour.

Licensing: Nigerian Artistes make money if their song placed in a film, commercial, or TV show, chances are they’re going to pay you a licensing fee. These fees vary greatly, depending on the budget for the project, and how badly they want your particular song. 2face song African queen was used on Fat Girls. This isn’t a very developed means of making money yet in Nigeria.
more on..http://nairametrics.com/how-nigerian-artistes-make-money-2/

The Nigerian music industry has come a long way, Artistes can afford to take risks to venture into the industry knowing they can make money once they hit, Parents are no longer ashamed to know their kids want to end up like Wizkid, Olamide and Don Jazzy.

The music industry in Nigeria has been one of the fastest growing in Nigeria over the past 10 years; listenership, revenue from sales of albums, Export of our music, quality of videos are just a few of the factors attributing to the growth of the industry.

Here are the Ways through which Nigerian Artistes make money;

Album Sales: In theory, this is the major way through which Artistes make money. Although in Nigeria this isn’t straightforward and it’s very complicated. Millions of Albums are sold through marketers in Alaba Market, but the Artistes only get a slice of the sales. The ‘Alaba Boys’ control the Nigerian music industry and are also responsible for the success or failure of Artistes. The marketers have wide distribution networks which makes it easy for them to distribute the albums of the artistes nationwide. P square reportedly collected about N50 million for the marketing, duplication and distribution of their ‘Danger’ Album. Their ‘Game Over’ album was also sold to TJoe Enterprise (a major marketer) for N10 million. Other Artistes who have made money from their Albums by signing deals with the marketers include Burna Boy; who sold his LIFE Album for N10 million, M.I sold the distribution right to Mr Ahbu for N20 million. TIMAYA was paid some thousands for his first album, but he now earns millions from selling the marketing rights for his recent albums.
The truth is that it is extremely difficult for artistes to make money in Nigeria except the A-Listers like P square, Wizkid, Tiwa savage. The upcoming artistes usually have to even give marketers money to help them promote their albums so they can be a hit nationwide. Once you reach that elite stage the money comes in droves.

Endorsements: Endorsements is the real cake in the music industry. It is another means through which the artistes make tons of money.
Wizkid signed a multi-million naira endorsement deal worth about $350,000 US dollars. He was first signed by Telecom Giants MTN and was paid N45 million, but he has since been snapped up by Globacom and was even offered almost double the amount MTN paid him. Wizkid reportedly got N120 million from GLO for a 2 year deal.

D Banj: Signed a deal with Globacom worth around N100 million. He also has a lucrative deal with Apple/Beats by Dre which he signed in October 2014. Dbanj also became an ambassador for Ciroc drink in Nigeria.

dbanj_eja_nla

Don Jazzy; The CEO of Mavin Records isn’t only making money from his star-studded record label, he also has very lucrative endorsement deals including one with Loya Milk where he got nothing less than N50 million. His N25 million deal with MTN, and his mouth-watering endorsement with Samsung Africa raked in millions of naira.

P square’s deal with Globacom is reported to be in hundreds of millions of naira.

Flavour also has multimillion naira endorsements with well-known brands such as Globacom, Harp and Onga seasoning.

Banky W: His first major deal was the much talked about $1 million Etisalat money. He also has a N100 million endorsement deal with Samsung Mobile.

Shows: Shows is a major way through which Nigerian artistes make money. Although the amount earned can vary from artistes, the good thing about shows is that as long as you have a buzz and have the right connections you can earn something from shows. Nigerian Artistes also perform at Political events, private parties of politicians and businessmen, concerts, birthday parties, and at universities.
Flavour for example charges between 3 -5 million naira for shows in Nigeria, while to perform on the international stage he charges as much as 8 million naira.

D Banj charges between 6-8 million naira per show.

Yemi Alade charges betwwen 2 – 2.5 million naira per show.

P Square charge between 9-10 million per show.

Olamide earns around 3 million naira per show.

Tiwa savage earns bettwen 2 – 3 million naira per show

Wizkid earns between 4-5 million naira per show.

Davido earns around 3 – 5 million naira per show.

Business & Investments:
Nigerian artistes are smart and know that their buzz can’t last forever. They also diversify their revenue streams by investing in various businesses to keep the money flowing.

P Square reportedly own Rayfield Hotel in Jos, and two multi-million naira factories in the same city, where they built a multimillion naira bakery and sachet water companies for their dad and mum, among other investments. They have also ventured into Oil business which they confirmed on their Instagram page in 2013.

D Banj has always had a knack for business, traits which he claimed he got from his mother.

D Banj organized a Koko Mansion reality TV show some years back and earned some millions after striking a deal with a satellite TV station to air the programme. He has also ventured into agriculture by starting his Koko Garri brand and also Koko Mobile telephone.

YouTube: Although only a few Artistes make money from Youtube, it is fast becoming one of the means through which Nigerian Artistes generate income. On YouTube, whenever your music is used in videos that are running ads, YouTube pays a portion of that advertising money to the rights holders of the song. Youtube usually pays $2 for every 1000 views. Another major advantage of Youtube is that it helps new fans around the world discover your music and increase your popularity.
P Square’s ‘’personally’’ is the most viewed Nigerian video on Youtube with over 46 million views. Doing the calculation, the duo wouldn’t make less than $100,000 from the video. P Square have a total of four (4) videos in the list of the ten (10) most viewed videos on Youtube. Dbanj’s Oliver Twist video is 2nd on the list of the most viewed videos in Nigeria, with over 34 million views. Other Artistes on the list of the most viewed videos on Youtube include Iyanya, Timaya, Yemi Alade, and Flavour.

Licensing: Nigerian Artistes make money if their song placed in a film, commercial, or TV show, chances are they’re going to pay you a licensing fee. These fees vary greatly, depending on the budget for the project, and how badly they want your particular song. 2face song African queen was used on Fat Girls. This isn’t a very developed means of making money yet in Nigeria.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/how-nigerian-artistes-make-money-2/

Yes You Do To Be On The Safe Side

Maximus85:


Best post ever.

But do you really need a lawyer to Register the company?

The Nigerian music industry has come a long way, Artistes can afford to take risks to venture into the industry knowing they can make money once they hit, Parents are no longer ashamed to know their kids want to end up like Wizkid, Olamide and Don Jazzy.

The music industry in Nigeria has been one of the fastest growing in Nigeria over the past 10 years; listenership, revenue from sales of albums, Export of our music, quality of videos are just a few of the factors attributing to the growth of the industry.

Here are the Ways through which Nigerian Artistes make money;
◾Album Sales: In theory, this is the major way through which Artistes make money. Although in Nigeria this isn’t straightforward and it’s very complicated. Millions of Albums are sold through marketers in Alaba Market, but the Artistes only get a slice of the sales. The ‘Alaba Boys’ control the Nigerian music industry and are also responsible for the success or failure of Artistes. The marketers have wide distribution networks which makes it easy for them to distribute the albums of the artistes nationwide. P square reportedly collected about N50 million for the marketing, duplication and distribution of their ‘Danger’ Album. Their ‘Game Over’ album was also sold to TJoe Enterprise (a major marketer) for N10 million. Other Artistes who have made money from their Albums by signing deals with the marketers include Burna Boy; who sold his LIFE Album for N10 million, M.I sold the distribution right to Mr Ahbu for N20 million. TIMAYA was paid some thousands for his first album, but he now earns millions from selling the marketing rights for his recent albums.

The truth is that it is extremely difficult for artistes to make money in Nigeria except the A-Listers like P square, Wizkid, Tiwa savage. The upcoming artistes usually have to even give marketers money to help them promote their albums so they can be a hit nationwide. Once you reach that elite stage the money comes in droves.
◾Endorsements: Endorsements is the real cake in the music industry. It is another means through which the artistes make tons of money.

Wizkid signed a multi-million naira endorsement deal worth about $350,000 US dollars. He was first signed by Telecom Giants MTN and was paid N45 million, but he has since been snapped up by Globacom and was even offered almost double the amount MTN paid him. Wizkid reportedly got N120 million from GLO for a 2 year deal.

D Banj: Signed a deal with Globacom worth around N100 million. He also has a lucrative deal with Apple/Beats by Dre which he signed in October 2014. Dbanj also became an ambassador for Ciroc drink in Nigeria.

dbanj_eja_nla

Don Jazzy; The CEO of Mavin Records isn’t only making money from his star-studded record label, he also has very lucrative endorsement deals including one with Loya Milk where he got nothing less than N50 million. His N25 million deal with MTN, and his mouth-watering endorsement with Samsung Africa raked in millions of naira.

P square’s deal with Globacom is reported to be in hundreds of millions of naira.

Flavour also has multimillion naira endorsements with well-known brands such as Globacom, Harp and Onga seasoning.

Banky W: His first major deal was the much talked about $1 million Etisalat money. He also has a N100 million endorsement deal with Samsung Mobile.
◾Shows: Shows is a major way through which Nigerian artistes make money. Although the amount earned can vary from artistes, the good thing about shows is that as long as you have a buzz and have the right connections you can earn something from shows. Nigerian Artistes also perform at Political events, private parties of politicians and businessmen, concerts, birthday parties, and at universities.

Flavour for example charges between 3 -5 million naira for shows in Nigeria, while to perform on the international stage he charges as much as 8 million naira.

D Banj charges between 6-8 million naira per show.


Yemi Alade charges betwwen 2 – 2.5 million naira per show.

P Square charge between 9-10 million per show.

Olamide earns around 3 million naira per show.

Tiwa savage earns bettwen 2 – 3 million naira per show

Wizkid earns between 4-5 million naira per show.

Davido earns around 3 – 5 million naira per show.
◾Business & Investments:

Nigerian artistes are smart and know that their buzz can’t last forever. They also diversify their revenue streams by investing in various businesses to keep the money flowing.

P Square reportedly own Rayfield Hotel in Jos, and two multi-million naira factories in the same city, where they built a multimillion naira bakery and sachet water companies for their dad and mum, among other investments. They have also ventured into Oil business which they confirmed on their Instagram page in 2013.

D Banj has always had a knack for business, traits which he claimed he got from his mother.

D Banj organized a Koko Mansion reality TV show some years back and earned some millions after striking a deal with a satellite TV station to air the programme. He has also ventured into agriculture by starting his Koko Garri brand and also Koko Mobile telephone.
◾YouTube: Although only a few Artistes make money from Youtube, it is fast becoming one of the means through which Nigerian Artistes generate income. On YouTube, whenever your music is used in videos that are running ads, YouTube pays a portion of that advertising money to the rights holders of the song. Youtube usually pays $2 for every 1000 views. Another major advantage of Youtube is that it helps new fans around the world discover your music and increase your popularity.

P Square’s ‘’personally’’ is the most viewed Nigerian video on Youtube with over 46 million views. Doing the calculation, the duo wouldn’t make less than $100,000 from the video. P Square have a total of four (4) videos in the list of the ten (10) most viewed videos on Youtube. Dbanj’s Oliver Twist video is 2nd on the list of the most viewed videos in Nigeria, with over 34 million views. Other Artistes on the list of the most viewed videos on Youtube include Iyanya, Timaya, Yemi Alade, and Flavour.
◾ Licensing: Nigerian Artistes make money if their song placed in a film, commercial, or TV show, chances are they’re going to pay you a licensing fee. These fees vary greatly, depending on the budget for the project, and how badly they want your particular song. 2face song African queen was used on Fat Girls. This isn’t a very developed means of making money yet in Nigeria.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/how-nigerian-artistes-make-money-2/

Federal Government has banned the importation of the most commonly used type of generating set in Nigeria popularly known as “I better pass my neighbour”

This information came from the Comptroller, Federation Operations Unit Zone A, Lagos of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Madugu Sanni Jubrin who gave health reasons concerning the ban. “the smaller generators have been banned by the Federal Government because it is causing air pollution and destruction of our lungs and breathing system.


“That is why they have banned it but people are still interested in smuggling them in, that is why we intercepted them. If you go to the market, you still see them because people have imported them before the ban. So it is the leftover they had before the ban that they are selling because the law did not backdate the ban and it is not an absolute prohibition. It is prohibition by trade which means you cannot bring it in large quantity and sell to the public. That is the type of prohibition we have on this but if you buy one piece, Customs will not seize it”.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/fg-bans-large-importation-of-i-better-pass-my-neighbour-generator-sets/

The Ministry of Solid Mineral Development said 44 different types of minerals had been discovered in 500 locations across the country.

Sanusi Jubril, Head of Mineral and Metal Promotion Centre of the ministry, announced this in an interview with newsmen.

Jubril said the minerals could be used for industrial and domestic purposes, adding that more would soon be discovered as research continued.

According to him, Nigeria is blessed with coppers that can be used for electrical appliances.


“We have the rare minerals mainly used for high-tech and they are available in abundance in Nasarawa, Zamfara, among others.

We have kaolin deposit across the country in abundance for industrial use; it is used for the production of papers, paints, rubbers, drugs, tyres and pen, among others.

Gypsum is also a mineral meant for industrial use such as building plaster, prefabricated wallboard, cement manufacture and for agriculture.

We have limestone, coal, lithium, platinum, granite and gold, among others, he said.

He said that coal could be converted to coal-briquette to warm the rooms during harmattan and could also be used for cooking, adding that it could generate heat higher than charcoal.

Coal briquette is environmental friendly; it does not suffocate, smoke and it generates heat higher than charcoal.’’


He said all the minerals could boost the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria since President Muhammadu Buhari had planned to diversify Nigeria from crude oil to solid mineral.

On Ajaokuta steel industry, he said it was the largest in Africa and could be revived because the size, population of Nigeria and its developmental stage needed huge consumption of steel.

With the size and population of Nigeria and being the largest economy in Africa, we have no choice but to revive all our steel industries.

We have a comparative advantage within the West Africa sub region, if Ajaokuta steel company comes on board it will meet domestic needs and will exploit Africa sub regional market.’’

He, however, said the measure of industrial and developmental progress of any country depended on its level of steel industry.

He assured Nigerians that the two ministers deployed to the Ministry of Solid Mineral Development came with wealth of experience and would move the nation forward through the sector.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/44-different-minerals-discovered-in-various-locations-across-nigeria/

The Nigerian Stock Exchange frequent publishes a list of active and inactive stockbrokers that you can rely on to trade shares. It is important to check this list occasionally as the exchange frequently amend it to capture active and inactive stockbrokers. Here is a cross section of the list;
Dealing Member Status
AAA Stockbrokers Limited InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Adamawa Securities Limited Active
Adonai Stockbrokers Limited Active
African Alliance Stockbrokers Limited Active
Afrinvest Securities Limited Active
Afro-Arab Investment Limited Unactivated
Aims Asset Management Limited Inactive
Alangrange Securities Ltd Active
Allbond Investment Limited Active
Alliance Capital Management Co. Ltd InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Al-Pina Investment & Trust Co. Limited Unactivated
Altrade Securities Limited Active
Amyn Investment Limited Active
Anchorage Securities & Finance Limited Active
Anchoria Investment & Securities Ltd Active
Apel Asset Limited (Formerly Apel Asset & Trust Limited) Active
APT Securities & Funds Limited Active
Arian Capital Management Limited Inactive
ARM Securities Limited Active
Arthur Stevens Asset Mgt Ltd Active
Associated Asset Managers Limited Active
Atlass Portfolio Limited Active
Barakat Investment Limited Unactivated
Bauchi Investment Corporation Securities Limited inactive
BBL Asset Management Limited Unactivated
Belfry Investment & Securities Limited Active
Bestlink Investment Limited Active
Bestworth Assets & Trust Limited Active
BFCL Asset & Securities Limited InActive – Deactivated by SEC
BGL Securities Limited Active
BIC Securities Limited InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Bosson Capital Assets Limited Unactivated
Bytofel Trust & Securities Limited Active
Cadington Securities Limited Active
Calyx Securities Limited Active
Camry Securities Limited Active
Capital Assets Limited Active
Capital Bancorp Plc Active
Capital Express securities Limited Active
Capital Trust Brokers Limited Active
Cardinal Stone Securities Ltd (Formerly Plural Securities Limited) Active
Cashcraft Asset Management Limited Active
Cashville Investments & Securities Ltd Active
CDL Capital Markets Limited Active
CEB Securities Limited Inactive
Centre Point Investment Limited Active
Century Securities Limited Active
Chapel Hill Denham Securities Limited Active
Chartwell Securities Limited Active
Citi Investment Capital Limited Active
City Code Trust & Invest Company Ltd Active
Clearview Investment & Securities Ltd Active
Colvia Securities Limited InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Compass Investments & Sec. Ltd Active
Consolidated Investments Limited Inactive
Cordros Capital Limited Active
Core Trust & Investment Limited Active
Covenant Securities & Asset Management Limited Active
CowrySecurities Ltd Active
Cradle Trust Finance & Securities Ltd Active
Crane Securities Limited Active
Crossworld Securities Limited Active
Crown Capital Limited Active
CSL Stockbrokers Limited Active
Dakal Services Limited Inactive
Davandy Finance Limited Inactive
DBSL Securities Limited Active
Dealers Assets Management Limited Unactivated
Decanon Investment Limited Inactive
Deep Trust & Investment Limited Active
De-Lords Securities Limited Active
Dependable Securities Limited Active
Diamond Securities Limited Active
Dominion Trust Limited Active
DSU Brokerage Services Limited Active
Dunbell Securities Limited Active
Dunn Loren Merrifield Securities Limited( formerly ESS Investment & Trust Limited) Active
Dynamic Portfolio Limited Active
ECL Asset Management Limited Active
EDC Securities Limited Active
Edgefield Capital Management Limited Active
Elixir Securities Limited (Formerly known as Merit Securities Limited) Active
Emerging Capital Limited Active
Emi Capital Resources Limited Active
Empire Securities Limited Inactive
Enabell Capital & Investments Limited Unactivated
Enterprise Stockbrokers Limited Active
Epic Investment Trust Limited InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Equator Stockbrokers Limited InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Equity Capital Solutions Limited Active
Eurocomm Securities Limited Active
Excel Securities Limited Active
Express Discount Asset Mgt Ltd active
Express Portfolio Services Limited Active
Falcon Securities Limited Inactive
FBC Trust & Securities Limited Active
FBN Securities Limited Active
FCSL Asset Management Company Limited Active
Fidelity Finance Company Limited Active
Fidelity Securities Limited Active
Financial Trust Company Nigeria Limited Active
Finbank Securities & Assets Management Limited Active
Finmal Securities Limited Active
First & Foremost Investment Limited unactivated
First Alstate Securities Limited inactive
First Atlantic Securities Limited InActive – Deactivated by SEC
First Equity Securities Limited Inactive
First Express Limited Unactivated
First Integrated Capital Mgt Ltd Active
First Stockbrokers Limited Active
FIS Securities Limited Active
Fittco Securities Limited Inactive
Folu Securities Limited InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Foresight Securities Limited Active
Forte Financial Limited Active
Forthright Securities & Investments Limited Active
Fortress Capital Limited Active
FSDH Securities Limited Active
Funds Matrix & Asset Management Limited Active
Futureview Securities Limited Active
Gem Assets Management Ltd Active
Genesis Sec & Invest Ltd InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Gidauniya Invest & Sec Ltd Active
GilJohn Capital Limited Unactivated
Global Asset Management (Nig) Ltd Active
Global View Consult & Investment Limited Active
GMT Securities & Asset Mgt Limited Active
Golden Securities Limited Active
Gombe Securities Limited Active
Gosord Securities Limited Inactive – Deactivated by SEC
Greenwich Securities Limited Active
GTI Capital Limited Active
Harmony Investment & Securities Ltd Active
Heartbeat Investments Limited Active
Hedge Securities & Investment Ltd Active
Heritage Capital Markets Limited Active
Horizon Stockbrokers Limited Active
ICMG Securities Limited Active
Icon Stockbrokers Limited Active
Ideal Securities Limited InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Imperial Assets Managers Limited Active
IMTL Securities Ltd Active
Indemnity Finance Limited InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Independent Securities Limited Active
Integrated & Allied Securities Limited Unactivated
Integrated Trust & Investments Limited Active
International Standard Securities Limited Active
Interstate Securities Limited Active
Investment Centre Limited Active
Investment One Stockbrokers Int’l Ltd (formerly GTB Securities Limited) Active
Investment Shark & Asset Management Limited Active
Investors & Trust Company Limited Active
ITIS Securities Limited Inactive
Kakawa Asset Management Limited Inactive
Kapital Care Trust & Securities Limited Active
Kedari Securities Ltd Active
KFF Worldwide Solutions Limited Unactivated
Kingdom Securities Limited Unactivated
Kinley Securities Limited Active
Kofana Securities & Invest Ltd Active
Kundila Finance Services Limited Active
Lakesworth Investment & Sec Limited inactive
Lambeth Trust & Investment Co. Ltd Active
LB Securities Limited Inactive
Lead Securities & Invests Ltd Active
Lighthouse Asset Management Limited Active
Lion Stockbrokers Limited Inactive
LMB Stockbrokers Limited Inactive
LongTerm Global Capital Limited Active
MACT Securities Limited Inactive
Magnartis Finance & Investment Limited Active
Mainland Trust Limited Active
Mainstreet Bank Securities Limited Inactive
Maninvest Securities Limited Inactive
Marimpex Finance & Invest Co. Limited Active
Marina Securities Stockbroking Services Limited Active
Marriot Securities & Investment Co. Ltd Active
Maven Asset Management Limited Active
Maxifund Investment & Securities Plc Active
Mayfield Investment Limited Inactive
MBC Securities Limited Active
MBL Financial Services Limited Active
Mc-Finerco Investment Limited Active
Mega Equities Limited Active
Mercov Securities Limited Active
Meristem Securities Ltd Active
Metropolitan Trust Nigeria Limited Inactive
Midas Stockbrokers Limited Active
Midland Capital Markets Limited InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Midlands Investment & Trust Limited InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Midpoint Capital Limited Inactive
Milestone Capital Management Limited (Formerlly Ocean Securities & Stockbrokers Ltd) Active
Mission Securities Limited Active
ML Securities Ltd Inactive
Molten Trust Limited Active
Monument Sec. & Finance Ltd Inactive
Morgan Capital Securities Limited Active
Mountain Investment & Securities Ltd Active
Multitrust Securities Limited Unactivated
Mutual Alliance Invest & Securities Ltd Active
Network Capital Limited (Formerly Crescent Capital Limited) Active
Networth Securities & Finance Ltd Active
Newdevco Invests & Sec. Co. Ltd Active
Nigerian International Securities Ltd Active
Nigerian Stockbrokers Limited Active
Northbridge Invest & Stockbrokers Ltd inactive
Nova Finance & Securities Limited Active
Omas Investment & Trust Co.Ltd Inactive
Options Securities Limited Inactive
PAC Securities Limited Active
Partnership securities ltd. Active
Peace Capital Markets Limited Active
Peninsula Asset Mgt & Invest Co. Ltd Inactive
Perfecta Investment Trust Limited Active
Phronesis Securities Limited Active
Pilot Securities Limited Active
Pinefields Investment Services Limited Active
PIPC Securities Limited Active
Pivot Trust & Investment Co. Limited Active
Platinum Capital Limited Inactive
PML Securities Company Ltd Active
Portfolio Advisers Limited Active
Primera Africa Securities Limited Active
Primewealth Capital Limited Active
Professional Stockbrokers Ltd inactive
Profund Securities Limited Inactive
Prominent Securities Limited Active
Prudential Securities Limited Inactive
PSI Securities Limited Active
Pyramid Securities Limited Active
Quantum Securities Limited Active
Rainbow Securities Limited Active
Readings Investment Limited Active
Redasel Investment Limited Active
Regency Assets Management Ltd Active
Regency Finance Company Ltd Inactive
Rencap Securities (Nig) Limited Active
Resano Securities Limited Active
Resort Securities Limited Active
Reward Investment & Service Ltd Active
Riverside Trust Limited InActive – Deactivated by SEC
RIVTrust Securities Limited InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Rostrum Investment & Sec. Ltd Active
Rowet Capital Mgt Limited Active
Royal Crest Finance Limited Active
Royal Guaranty & Trust Ltd active
Royal Trust Securities Limited active
Santrust Securities Limited Active
Securities & Capital Management Company Limited (formerly Fountain Securities Limited) Active
SECURITIES AFRICA FINANCIAL LIMITED (Formerly Skye Stockbrokers Limited) Active
Securities Solutions Limited Inactive
Securities Trading & Invest Co. Ltd Inactive
Security Swaps Limited Active
SFC Securities Limited (FormerlySummit Finance Company Limited) active
Shalom Investment & Securities Limited Active
Shelong Investment Limited Active
Sigma Securities Limited Active
Signet Investment & Securities Ltd Active
Sikon Securities and Investment Trust Ltd InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Silver & Gold Securities Limited Unactivated
Skyview Capital Limited Active
Smadac Securities Limited Active
Solid Rock Securities & Investment Plc Active
Spring Board Trust & Investment Limited Active
Spring Trust & Securities Limited Active
Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited Active
Standard Alliance Capital & Asset Limited Active
Standard Chartered Securities Ltd unactivated
Standard Union Securities Ltd Active
Stanwal Securities Limited Active
Strategy And Arbitrage Limited Active
Summa Guaranty & Trust Company Ltd Inactive
Supra Commercial Trust Co. Ltd Active
Surport Services Limited Active
TFS Securities & Investment Co. Ltd Active
The Bridge Securities Limited Active
Tiddo Securities Limited Active
Tomil TrustLimited Active
Topmost Sec Ltd Active
Tower Asset Management Limited Active
Tower Securities & Invest Co. Ltd Active
Trade link Securities Limited Active
Traders Trust & Investment Co. Limited Active
Trans Lux Services Limited unactivated
Transafrica Financial Services Limited Active
Transglobe Invest & Finance Co. Ltd InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Transworld Investment & Securities Limited Active
Tropics Securities Limited InActive – Deactivated by SEC
Trust Yields Securities Limited Active
Trusthouse Investment Limited Active
TRW Stockbrokers Limited Active
Tyndale Securities Limited (formerlly Truebond Capital & Asset Mgt Ltd) Unactivated
UBA Securities Limited ( formerly UBA Stockbrokers Limited) Active
UIDC Securities Limited Active
UNEX Capital Limited Active
Union Capital Markets Limited Active
Valmon Securities Limited Active
Valueline Securities & Investments Limited Active
Vetiva Securities Limited Active
Vision Trust & Investment Limited Active
Waila Securities and Funds Limited Active
Wema Asset Management Limited Inactive
Wizetrade Capital & Assets Mgt Ltd Inactive
Woodland Capital Markets Plc Active
WSTC Financial Services Limited Active
WT Securities Limited Inactive
Yobe Investment Company Ltd (Yobe) Active
Yuderb Investment & Securities Ltd Active
Zenith Securities Limited Active
Zuma Securities Limited Inactive
more on...http://nairametrics.com/list-stockbrokers-nigeria/

Popular Nigerian mall and destination, Ikeja City Mall has been sold to South African Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Hyprop Investments Limited (Hyprop) and Attacq Limited. In a press release announced by Hyprop it acquired a 75% interest in Ikeja City Mall whilst Attacq acquired the remaining 25%.

Actis and local partner Paragon Holdings sourced the development site in 2008. RMB Westport, initially appointed by Actis as the development manager in 2008, invested as an equity partner in 2010. Actis has now sold its 60% majority stake, while Paragon Holdings and RMB Westport have both sold their 20% stakes in the mall.

Hyprop, Africa’s leading specialist shopping centre Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), operates an internally managed portfolio of shopping centres in major metropolitan areas across South Africa. Ikeja City Mall (ICM) will be its first investment in Nigeria.

Ikeja City Mall (ICM) is currently the largest mall in Lagos and is located in the capital city of Lagos, Ikeja-Alausa where you have the offices of the Lagos State Government and its Parastatals. ICM Comprising 23,000m2 of A-grade retail space in Ikeja.

The total 23,000m2 area of ICM guarantees ample parking space for shoppers. The Shopping Centre comprises of a 100 stores with a desirable mix of retailers trading renowned quality brands. Shoppers are not only spoilt for choice within any shopping category but will enjoy a diverse, comfortable, clean, safe and convenient experience including shopping, entertainment and leisure all under one roof.

See full press release below;


London, South Africa (17 November 2015): Actis, a leading emerging markets investor, RMB Westport, a notable sub-Saharan Africa real estate investment management and development group and Paragon Holdings, a leading Nigerian investor group today confirm the sale of Ikeja City Mall to South African Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), Hyprop Investments Limited (Hyprop) and Attacq Limited (Attacq), a JSE-listed real estate capital growth fund.

Hyprop acquired a 75% interest in Ikeja City Mall and Attacq has acquired the remaining 25%. Actis and local partner Paragon Holdings sourced the development site in 2008. RMB Westport, initially appointed by Actis as the development manager in 2008, invested as an equity partner in 2010. Actis has now sold its 60% majority stake, while Paragon Holdings and RMB Westport have both sold their 20% stakes in the mall.

Ikeja City Mall, Lagos’ largest mall, is a world-class retail and leisure development in Ikeja, a densely populated suburb of Lagos, with a population of 4.5 million people. As the largest mall in Lagos it comprises over 22,000m² and has a tenant mix anchored by Shoprite, offering South African brands including Mr Price, Spur, MTN and Markham and international brands including Nike, Lacoste, Tommy Hilfiger, TM Lewin, Mango, i-Store, KFC, and Max Fashion.

Actis and RMB Westport managed the development process from concept to completion: investing the initial equity; raising development finance; managing the construction; securing the tenants; operating the mall and bringing it to market at the right time, working in partnership with Paragon Holdings. The mall opened its doors in December 2011 fully let, and today attracts up to 800,000 shoppers per month.


Ikeja City Mall is Hyprop’s first investment in Nigeria. This acquisition is an attractive investment and complements Hyprop’s strategy of investing in high quality, income-producing shopping centres, in key cities across sub-Saharan Africa. Pieter Prinsloo, CEO of Hyprop, commented: “Hyprop is well‐placed to capitalise on opportunities across sub-Saharan Africa, due to its partnership with the Atterbury Group and Attacq, whose combined expertise facilitates exploiting opportunities as they arise.”

David Morley, Head of Real Estate at Actis, commented: “This sale reflects the strong retail opportunity in West Africa and the interest of quality institutional investors in sub-Saharan real estate assets. This is the sixth exit from the first Actis real estate fund. It is a continuation of Actis’ proven cash to cash track record of delivering A-grade real estate assets in sub-Saharan Africa, positioned to be attractive to both international and local institutional buyers. Over two funds, Actis has committed to 17 institutional quality developments in seven countries totalling a gross asset value of $1.3bn.”

“RMB Westport has earmarked a number of sub-Saharan Africa territories as key jurisdictions in which to develop retail and commercial property. Private consumption is increasingly emerging as one of the key drivers of growth in African economies, and foreign direct investment remains strong. RMB Westport’s current portfolio of 11 investment-grade developments with a gross asset value of $1bn is perfectly placed to unlock investor value. Reliable project delivery, which has been central to Ikeja City Mall’s success, is our core focus,” says Michael O’Malley, Director of RMB Westport who has spent the past 20 years working on retail and mixed-use projects in 12 African countries.

Morné Wilken, CEO of Attacq, said: “Our strategic investment in Ikeja City Mall forms part of Attacq’s larger African investment strategy and was executed with the assistance of the experienced AttAfrica team. It is our first investment in Nigeria, an African market with fantastic growth prospects. It adds to our investment in the growing portfolio of dominant, quality retail malls in sub-Saharan Africa.”

Frank Obi, Group Executive Director of Paragon Holdings commented “We are pleased to have been a part of this landmark project from its inception to the present. It is a testament to the foresight and resolve of our leadership, and to the position of Lagos State and its government as leading hosts to serious investors in Africa. We look forward to working with quality foreign investors to develop outstanding real estate projects in the years ahead.”
more on...http://nairametrics.com/deal-south-african-firms-acquire-100-of-ikeja-city-mall/

Femi was the first to resume at work on Monday as he has always done for over a year now. From 7am till 7pm he worked like a robot non stop. It is a torrid job but one that he has now gotten used to. Several staff of the month awards had also followed, providing him with the right cushion to bear the stress. And so when he turned on his computer that faithful Monday morning and couldn’t log on to his profile, it never occurred to him that he has just been rendered jobless.

A lot of Nigerians have fallen victim of corporate downsizing and mass sackings in large corporations and financial institutions across the country. Many who have fallen victim often do not understand the criteria used, as employees who have had unblemished records often fall victim also. We spoke to HR practitioners who have at one time or the other been involved in corporate downsizing. They inform us of a series of criteria that companies use to determine who stays or who goes.

LIFO – LIFO is an acronym for Last In First Out and is a frequently used mode of sacking. Here the most recent employee in a unit, department or office will be fired should there be a need to put names forward. It doesn’t actually matter if the employee was a performer or was just recently hired for a recent job position. Joan, an employee of a popular Car Sales Shop in Lagos, inform Nairametrics that she got fired three months after being employed. She was told that the company was going through some financial stress and was purely a victim of LIFO.

FIFO – This is an acronym for First In First Out and is the opposite of LIFO. Here employees who are already close to retiring are put forward for corporate downsizing. For example, employees with months or a few years to retire are fast tracked and asked to leave. The FIFO approach is not as common as LIFO but is used by some organisations as well.

Disciplinary Issues – Here employees who have been queried or found wanting in the past are put forward for consideration in the event of a mass sack. Managers who have been mandated to use this criteria call for the files of employees in their Units and then start to look for who has had the most disciplinary issues. For example, staff on single or final warnings will most likely be asked to leave compared to those who have only been queried. An employee of a commercial bank who wished to remain anonymous informed us that she was served a warning letter because she will not sleep with her boss. Eventually when the company was downsizing she got affected.

Appraisal – Companies also rely on results of periodic appraisals in deciding whether an employee or employees should be recommended for a sack. Appraisals involve reviewing an employee’s performance against key performance indicators during a review period. Those who perform below their peers are often singled out for sack. Eddie (not real name) informed Nairametrics that he was told to leave after he came last during a general appraisal conducted in his unit. Prior to that he had met his KPI’s only to be asked to leave after he supposedly came last in a new round of appraisals specifically conducted for the purpose of looking for who to go.

Redundancy – Organisations also decide who gets sacked or not by weeding our redundant roles or departments. For organisations that are not just looking to downsize but are also restructuring, redundancy methods are a common feature. For example, multiple roles and job functions can be collapsed thus churning out redundant positions making it easier to sack. This method is often easier for organisations as it doesn’t target specific individuals but roles. Another victim interviewed by Nairametrics said he was told that his role in a leading foreign airline was made redundant after the company closed and outsourced its call center.

Set criteria – There are also instances where certain criteria such as age, qualification and experience are used as a basis for mass sack. Department heads can make decisions on who to sack if victimes fall short against their peers in terms of qualifications and experience. HR practitioners inform Nairametrics that this criteria was perhaps a major factor in the increase of spate of Nigerians going abroad for higher degrees.


Random selection – This is perhaps the worst method and is used mostly in cases where a large percentage of employees are required to leave. Here employees scheduled for sack are hand-picked regardless of their commitment, work ethics or value. Department heads are simply instructed to recommend a number of people for sack regardless of their performance. It typically happens in organisations that are facing major financial difficulties. A lot of oil servicing companies were said to have used random selection in sacking thousands of employees this year as price of oil crashed and oil majors cut down budgets.

Femi got to know later that he was a victim of Random Selection. His boss had a choice to make between him and another staff who was married and had a family to feed. Being single meant Femi was an easier target.

Source: .http://nairametrics.com/how-nigerian-companies-choose-who-to-fire-when-they-downsize/

Femi was the first to resume at work on Monday as he has always done for over a year now. From 7am till 7pm he worked like a robot non stop. It is a torrid job but one that he has now gotten used to. Several staff of the month awards had also followed, providing him with the right cushion to bear the stress. And so when he turned on his computer that faithful Monday morning and couldn’t log on to his profile, it never occurred to him that he has just been rendered jobless.

A lot of Nigerians have fallen victim of corporate downsizing and mass sackings in large corporations and financial institutions across the country. Many who have fallen victim often do not understand the criteria used, as employees who have had unblemished records often fall victim also. We spoke to HR practitioners who have at one time or the other been involved in corporate downsizing. They inform us of a series of criteria that companies use to determine who stays or who goes.

LIFO – LIFO is an acronym for Last In First Out and is a frequently used mode of sacking. Here the most recent employee in a unit, department or office will be fired should there be a need to put names forward. It doesn’t actually matter if the employee was a performer or was just recently hired for a recent job position. Joan, an employee of a popular Car Sales Shop in Lagos, inform Nairametrics that she got fired three months after being employed. She was told that the company was going through some financial stress and was purely a victim of LIFO.

FIFO – This is an acronym for First In First Out and is the opposite of LIFO. Here employees who are already close to retiring are put forward for corporate downsizing. For example, employees with months or a few years to retire are fast tracked and asked to leave. The FIFO approach is not as common as LIFO but is used by some organisations as well.

Disciplinary Issues – Here employees who have been queried or found wanting in the past are put forward for consideration in the event of a mass sack. Managers who have been mandated to use this criteria call for the files of employees in their Units and then start to look for who has had the most disciplinary issues. For example, staff on single or final warnings will most likely be asked to leave compared to those who have only been queried. An employee of a commercial bank who wished to remain anonymous informed us that she was served a warning letter because she will not sleep with her boss. Eventually when the company was downsizing she got affected.

Appraisal – Companies also rely on results of periodic appraisals in deciding whether an employee or employees should be recommended for a sack. Appraisals involve reviewing an employee’s performance against key performance indicators during a review period. Those who perform below their peers are often singled out for sack. Eddie (not real name) informed Nairametrics that he was told to leave after he came last during a general appraisal conducted in his unit. Prior to that he had met his KPI’s only to be asked to leave after he supposedly came last in a new round of appraisals specifically conducted for the purpose of looking for who to go.

Redundancy – Organisations also decide who gets sacked or not by weeding our redundant roles or departments. For organisations that are not just looking to downsize but are also restructuring, redundancy methods are a common feature. For example, multiple roles and job functions can be collapsed thus churning out redundant positions making it easier to sack. This method is often easier for organisations as it doesn’t target specific individuals but roles. Another victim interviewed by Nairametrics said he was told that his role in a leading foreign airline was made redundant after the company closed and outsourced its call center.

Set criteria – There are also instances where certain criteria such as age, qualification and experience are used as a basis for mass sack. Department heads can make decisions on who to sack if victimes fall short against their peers in terms of qualifications and experience. HR practitioners inform Nairametrics that this criteria was perhaps a major factor in the increase of spate of Nigerians going abroad for higher degrees.


Random selection – This is perhaps the worst method and is used mostly in cases where a large percentage of employees are required to leave. Here employees scheduled for sack are hand-picked regardless of their commitment, work ethics or value. Department heads are simply instructed to recommend a number of people for sack regardless of their performance. It typically happens in organisations that are facing major financial difficulties. A lot of oil servicing companies were said to have used random selection in sacking thousands of employees this year as price of oil crashed and oil majors cut down budgets.

Femi got to know later that he was a victim of Random Selection. His boss had a choice to make between him and another staff who was married and had a family to feed. Being single meant Femi was an easier target.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/how-nigerian-companies-choose-who-to-fire-when-they-downsize/

abdulrazat:
Thanks for this. I needed this right now. Just when i was giving up.

Never ever give up

There are thousands of Businesses being set up every day in Nigeria by individuals, companies and associations. Setting up a business is the first step towards being an entrepreneur and owning a highly successful venture. Setting up a business requires that you follow these steps.

What type of Business

Deciding what type of business you wish to go into is the first tough decision you have to make. A lot of people often find it difficult to settle into a particular type of business as they often find themselves clogged by multiple ideas. If you however, wish to start a business then it is important that you quickly decide on the type of business you want to do. It is also important to decide early as several businesses operate under a legal and regulatory frameworks that may require further stringent rules before registering.

Do you need partners or wish to start solo?

The next decision you should be making is whether you want to fly solo with your business or if you need a partner. Whilst most entrepreneurs do not require any partners or shareholders to start their businesses, there are some businesses that may require unique expertise that you may not have. Even if you decide to start solo nothing stops you from adding new partners or shareholders in future.

What is the legal form of the business?

A business can take so many legal forms. It can either be a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a limited liability company. It can also be a company Limited by Guarantee (NGO) or a non for profit business. Each form operates under a unique legal framework and tax jurisdictions. For example, if you want to start a business and do not want any shareholder or partner then a Sole Proprietorship may just be the right way to go. With a Sole Proprietorship you do not need a shareholder and your tax jurisdiction will be with the state government where you reside. Sole proprietorship also do not have the acronym “Ltd” after their business names.

How much capital do you have?

Starting a business also requires some form of capital. If your business is one that you want registered then you will have to set aside some cash for the incorporation of your company. Unofficial price for this can range between N40,000 to N100,000 depending on how you are getting it done. You can also register online from what we understand. Company Registration fees can be found here.

Do you have a business name?

The next thing on the plate will be a business name. A business name is important for any form of business that you want to venture into. For your business name to be registered it will have to be unique to you at least within the same industry. As such before you get a business name you will have to run a search in the website of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) or go through your lawyer. Once the name is approved you can pay to reserve it.

What is your registered address?

Part of the requirements to fill during your application to the CAC will be the registered address of the company. The registered address is the official address of your company and will also likely be the basis for deciding your place of residence by the tax authorities.

Get a lawyer & Register your company

With all of the above in place already, you can get ready to meet your lawyer. Hand the documents over the lawyer along with the fees. Your company should be registered within days if it is not for a company limited by guarantee.


Get a logo

Once your company in registered you should start thinking about branding and publicity. Get a catchy logo for your company and make sure it is in every material or thing that represents your business. With a good logo your brand can be immensely boosted.

Get a stamp and a seal

Every business MUST have a legal stamp and seal which is unique to it. Seals in particular will come in handy when the filling application forms or signing important contractual documents for your business

Get a letter head

A letter head is the official piece of paper used by the company to communicate official messages or information to third parties. Your letter head will include logo, company address and name as well as the board of directors.

Open a Bank account

Once your company is registered, you should take the incorporation documents to a commercial bank and have them open a corporate account for you. Corporate accounts can sometimes take time to be open, however banks are more efficient at opening one and should not take more than 48 hours.

Get a TIN Number

A TIN is a Tax Identity Number for individuals and corporate organisations. New businesses can easily obtain a Tin from the local branch of the tax office where the registered business is located. Without a TIN it can be difficult to get contracts or get deals from the private or public sector. It can also mean that the company is not tax compliance resulting in potential tax liabilities.

Get a website & social media account

Now that your business has been registered, the next thing to do is to have a website for it. Your website and social media handles help give your businesses the much needed visibility it requires to flourish. Your web accounts will also help you set up your official email and those of your staff.
cc @ lalasticlala
more on...http://nairametrics.com/how-to-register-a-business-in-nigeria/

Kemi Adeosun who was appointed as finance minister by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari failed to diversify in the subnational state of Ogun in her earlier stint as finance commissioner there.

Adeosun was most recently finance commissioner of Ogun state in southwestern Nigeria for the past four years, succeeding Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a former World Bank managing director.

Adeosun faces an oil-dependent country that is suffering from a fall in crude prices in the past year, an economy growing at its slowest pace this decade, and increasing unease among business-people and investors that currency restrictions imposed by the central bank are choking activity.

However her State Ogun is the 3rd to last among Nigerian states when measuring their capacity to meet monthly recurrent expenditure commitments, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), see chart below.


more on...http://nairametrics.com/nigerias-new-finance-minister-failed-to-diversify-ogun-state/

There are thousands of Businesses being set up every day in Nigeria by individuals, companies and associations. Setting up a business is the first step towards being an entrepreneur and owning a highly successful venture. Setting up a business requires that you follow these steps.

What type of Business

Deciding what type of business you wish to go into is the first tough decision you have to make. A lot of people often find it difficult to settle into a particular type of business as they often find themselves clogged by multiple ideas. If you however, wish to start a business then it is important that you quickly decide on the type of business you want to do. It is also important to decide early as several businesses operate under a legal and regulatory frameworks that may require further stringent rules before registering.

Do you need partners or wish to start solo?

The next decision you should be making is whether you want to fly solo with your business or if you need a partner. Whilst most entrepreneurs do not require any partners or shareholders to start their businesses, there are some businesses that may require unique expertise that you may not have. Even if you decide to start solo nothing stops you from adding new partners or shareholders in future.

What is the legal form of the business?

A business can take so many legal forms. It can either be a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a limited liability company. It can also be a company Limited by Guarantee (NGO) or a non for profit business. Each form operates under a unique legal framework and tax jurisdictions. For example, if you want to start a business and do not want any shareholder or partner then a Sole Proprietorship may just be the right way to go. With a Sole Proprietorship you do not need a shareholder and your tax jurisdiction will be with the state government where you reside. Sole proprietorship also do not have the acronym “Ltd” after their business names.

How much capital do you have?

Starting a business also requires some form of capital. If your business is one that you want registered then you will have to set aside some cash for the incorporation of your company. Unofficial price for this can range between N40,000 to N100,000 depending on how you are getting it done. You can also register online from what we understand. Company Registration fees can be found here.

Do you have a business name?

The next thing on the plate will be a business name. A business name is important for any form of business that you want to venture into. For your business name to be registered it will have to be unique to you at least within the same industry. As such before you get a business name you will have to run a search in the website of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) or go through your lawyer. Once the name is approved you can pay to reserve it.

What is your registered address?

Part of the requirements to fill during your application to the CAC will be the registered address of the company. The registered address is the official address of your company and will also likely be the basis for deciding your place of residence by the tax authorities.

Get a lawyer & Register your company

With all of the above in place already, you can get ready to meet your lawyer. Hand the documents over the lawyer along with the fees. Your company should be registered within days if it is not for a company limited by guarantee.


Get a logo

Once your company in registered you should start thinking about branding and publicity. Get a catchy logo for your company and make sure it is in every material or thing that represents your business. With a good logo your brand can be immensely boosted.

Get a stamp and a seal

Every business MUST have a legal stamp and seal which is unique to it. Seals in particular will come in handy when the filling application forms or signing important contractual documents for your business

Get a letter head

A letter head is the official piece of paper used by the company to communicate official messages or information to third parties. Your letter head will include logo, company address and name as well as the board of directors.

Open a Bank account

Once your company is registered, you should take the incorporation documents to a commercial bank and have them open a corporate account for you. Corporate accounts can sometimes take time to be open, however banks are more efficient at opening one and should not take more than 48 hours.

Get a TIN Number

A TIN is a Tax Identity Number for individuals and corporate organisations. New businesses can easily obtain a Tin from the local branch of the tax office where the registered business is located. Without a TIN it can be difficult to get contracts or get deals from the private or public sector. It can also mean that the company is not tax compliance resulting in potential tax liabilities.

Get a website & social media account

Now that your business has been registered, the next thing to do is to have a website for it. Your website and social media handles help give your businesses the much needed visibility it requires to flourish. Your web accounts will also help you set up your official email and those of your staff.
cc @ lalasticlala
more on...http://nairametrics.com/how-to-register-a-business-in-nigeria/

The Federal Government has approved the construction of the $2.4 billion Lagos red line rail project.

Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dayo Mobereola said the approval the right-of-way for the project had been an issue for years.

According to him, it took Lagos four and half years to get approval for the project and another four years for discussion on the technicality of the project.


“It took us four and half years to get approval for the project. It took us another four years to get them to discuss the technicality of the project with us. The right-of-way has been approved and we are in full discussion with the bidders,” he said.

On the Blue Line Light Rail project, the commissioner said the government would complete it by the end of 2016.


He said Lagos was the only state in the world to have embarked on such project without support from the Federal Government, adding that such projects normally take around seven years to complete.

The commissioner said it took Dubai, with all its resources, seven years to complete its rail project and in some places, 22 years.


“We are mindful of the problem of transportation in Lagos State. Towards the end of next year, something will happen. Our rail project is 27 km and we are doing it in phases. We are doing Mile 2 to CMS now and we will do Mile 2 to Okokomaiko later,” he said.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/federal-government-approves-2-4billion-lagos-red-line-rail-project/

The bank however, provided more clarification on the issue which it called a mixup, saying that it did not at any time conceal any information from the CBN as adjudged.

Skye Bank clarified by saying;
◾The sum of N40 billion for which the bank was penalized consists of various NNPC account balances, NNPC Pension Funds Accounts, and National Assembly Legislative Aides account balances.
◾On October 7, 2015, the bank rendered returns on all remitted and unremitted amounts to the CBN, including the balances in the above accounts.
◾On October 9, 2015, the bank received a communication from the NNPC forwarding a letter from the Accountant General of the Federation on the treatment of NNPC funds. By the communication, the bank was advised that an 18 business day window had been granted by the Vice President within which a plan for the orderly withdrawal of the NNPC funds would be implemented. In rendering the returns requested by the CBN via its directive of October 14, 2015, the bank relied on the letter from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation as advised by the NNPC, and backed out the NNPC monies from those that were required for the immediate implementation of the TSA arrangement.
◾The bank however continued to render daily returns of all MDA moneys in its custody to the CBN, including those whose status under the TSA were not yet clear. W e continue to render all due returns daily.
◾The foregoing shows that the Bank did not at any time conceal information from the CBN in relation to the amounts in question.

It is also important to note that a significant portion of the moneys for which the penalty was applied are NNPC Pension Funds and National Assembly Legislative Aides account balances. These organs have since been confirmed by the CBN that they are not Federal Government agencies and amounts erroneously transferred to the CBN on them by some banks have been refunded.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/skye-bank-confirms-that-it-was-fined-n4bn-by-the-cbn/