“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

For better or worse, your 20s are an essential time in your life. Careers, relationships, and an absurd amount of other stuff constantly occupy the minds of 20-somethings at any given time.

Fresh out of college, I myself have inadvertently learned quite a few life lessons as I delve deeper into this defining decade. Bad news, college friends: most real jobs require that you wake up before noon.

The truth is, you have to catch on pretty fast when life is changing around you at the speed of light. We millenials are just trying to be happy — one success (or failure) at a time — and that’s totally OK. We are all trying to figure it out. Read on to discover 22 crucial lessons I have learned about making it through my 20s in one piece.

1. You’re going to be broke.

Accept it. Think of it as that super savvy, frugal time of your life you will look back on once you can actually buy noodles that aren’t ramen.

2. Your parents are actually really cool.

Remember in high school when you were utterly mortified to be seen in public with them? By now you have finally escaped your angsty adolescence to realize that Mom and Dad are totally awesome and know a lot more about life than you. Don’t freak out when realizing that youwant to hang out with them.

3. Networking is everything.

You have heard it a million times, and that’s because it’s so true. The bigger your professional network is, the more opportunities you will have. Your skills count for a lot, but you’ll learn that your connections count for a whole lot more, especially when you’re young.

4. You will get your heart broken, probably a few times.

Love is hard. Some people get lucky and find long-term relationships right away, but don’t feel discouraged — or like you have to be one of those 20-somethings. It can take a few duds before you find a winner, so until the lucky guy comes along, enjoy being single. But when you do find him, don’t take what you have for granted.

5. Your metabolism slows down.

Put down the donut . . . or the pizza or the chips or whatever it is that’s calling your name from the kitchen cupboard. OK, take a bite, then put it down. You’re young, you’re stressed, food is good — trust me, I get it. Unfortunately for us, the human body’s metabolism rapidly slows down as it enters its 20s. That means you can’t eat what you want anymore — one of the saddest truths in adulthood.

6. Even if you went to University, there’s still more to learn.

A University education is so important, but there’s also a lot to learn outside of the classroom. That goes the other way around, too. Learn as much as you can early on both inside of a university’s walls and out of it.

7. Speaking up for yourself pays off.

Do you deserve a job? Do you want that raise? Nobody will know that unless you let it be known. Your own voice can take you pretty far.

8. Hangovers are a real thing that will actually happen to you.

Ah yes, let’s take a moment to reflect on the early years when you could go out multiple nights in a row and feel like a million bucks by the end of the weekend. Say goodbye to those glorious days and hello to your new friends Advil and coffee.

9. Landing a job isn’t easy.

We all dream of nabbing the career of our dreams right out of the gate, but as soon as you walk out of your dorm room and into the real world you will realize that it’s going to take a lot of résumés, applications, and hard work to get to where you want to be.

10. Make time for your family.

So much is happening during this time in your life that it can be pretty easy to let the time you spend with family slip between the cracks. Pick up the phone or go visit, because everything else in your life is temporary. Your family, on the other hand, will always be there. Oh yeah, and they usually provide you with free meals.


11. There’s more to life than social media.

We millennials love our smartphones. Sure, it’s a great way to keep up with friends and news, but obsessing over what you tweet or post every moment makes you miss out on what’s right in front of you.

12. Don’t compare yourself to your friends.

Your 20s are a time when your friends begin to go their separate ways. Remember that you’re all completely different people. While going to college might be right for one person, traveling to another country might be more fitting for another. One choice isn’t better than another; it’s all relative. You should all be rooting each other on.

13. You can still wear whatever you want.

Warning: this is your last chance to wear that crop top. The magic of being in your 20s is that you can still get away with wearing just about any crazy fashion trend that you want. Enjoy it while you can.

14. That credit card bill is always going to come.

It won’t magically disappear, so don’t pretend like it will. Spend your money wisely, because it’s likely that you still have plenty of student loans to pay off in the first place.

15. Exercise now, thank yourself later.

Yes, I know it takes a lot of effort. And no, it does not get any easier. But if you exercise now, you will be a whole lot healthier in the future. At least take a walk or something, you know?

16. Your University Degree will not define your career.

Most people don’t end up having a career in whatever they majored in, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Don’t be surprised when your art history degree leads you to a job in marketing (or something else completely unrelated to your intended field; get my drift?).

17. Sleep is precious.

Say it with us: Sleep. Is. Precious. You will find yourself bragging about how much sleep you got last night far more often than how amazing it was to stay up super late.

18. Don’t worry so much.

I’m worried that you’ll be worried about worrying all the time after reading this post . . . see what I mean? We all fret way too much. Enjoy your life — these are supposed to be the best years, aren’t they? You will get rent paid and you will kill that presentation at work; don’t let those thoughts occupy the majority of your mind.

19. You still have to pay your dues at work.

Having a college degree is not enough anymore. In fact, it’s the bare minimum. That means you might have to start off with a job or position that isn’t necessarily ideal. It’s a building block for making it to the top, so throw your 20-something ego into the gutter and remember that you’re not too good to start at the bottom. All of your peers are hanging out down here with you.

20. Love who you are, body and all.

Sometimes it’s really hard to love yourself in this world of Photoshop and unrealistic expectations. If you didn’t know it already, you are beautiful and amazing and perfect exactly as you are. As long as you know that on the inside, everyone else is going to see it. Besides, you’re at your ultimate hotness peak in your 20s, so enjoy it before the decade sneaks away.

21. You don’t have to take everyone’s advice.

This is a very important time in your life, so naturally you are going to be bombarded with a lotof advice and opinions. Nobody said you have to listen to all of it; ultimately it’s your life and you know what’s best for you. Chances are you’d like to throw out a few points in this very post.

22. Discover who you are.

Figuring it all out is tricky. You want to know what’s going to happen and how it’s all going to play out. Chances are your life will be nothing like how you expected, and that’s for the better. Take a deep breath and dive into your 20s headfirst; you’ll bob back to the surface in no time.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/22-lessons-every-20-something-should-learn/

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

For better or worse, your 20s are an essential time in your life. Careers, relationships, and an absurd amount of other stuff constantly occupy the minds of 20-somethings at any given time.

Fresh out of college, I myself have inadvertently learned quite a few life lessons as I delve deeper into this defining decade. Bad news, college friends: most real jobs require that you wake up before noon.

The truth is, you have to catch on pretty fast when life is changing around you at the speed of light. We millenials are just trying to be happy — one success (or failure) at a time — and that’s totally OK. We are all trying to figure it out. Read on to discover 22 crucial lessons I have learned about making it through my 20s in one piece.

1. You’re going to be broke.

Accept it. Think of it as that super savvy, frugal time of your life you will look back on once you can actually buy noodles that aren’t ramen.

2. Your parents are actually really cool.

Remember in high school when you were utterly mortified to be seen in public with them? By now you have finally escaped your angsty adolescence to realize that Mom and Dad are totally awesome and know a lot more about life than you. Don’t freak out when realizing that youwant to hang out with them.

3. Networking is everything.

You have heard it a million times, and that’s because it’s so true. The bigger your professional network is, the more opportunities you will have. Your skills count for a lot, but you’ll learn that your connections count for a whole lot more, especially when you’re young.

4. You will get your heart broken, probably a few times.

Love is hard. Some people get lucky and find long-term relationships right away, but don’t feel discouraged — or like you have to be one of those 20-somethings. It can take a few duds before you find a winner, so until the lucky guy comes along, enjoy being single. But when you do find him, don’t take what you have for granted.

5. Your metabolism slows down.

Put down the donut . . . or the pizza or the chips or whatever it is that’s calling your name from the kitchen cupboard. OK, take a bite, then put it down. You’re young, you’re stressed, food is good — trust me, I get it. Unfortunately for us, the human body’s metabolism rapidly slows down as it enters its 20s. That means you can’t eat what you want anymore — one of the saddest truths in adulthood.

6. Even if you went to University, there’s still more to learn.

A University education is so important, but there’s also a lot to learn outside of the classroom. That goes the other way around, too. Learn as much as you can early on both inside of a university’s walls and out of it.

7. Speaking up for yourself pays off.

Do you deserve a job? Do you want that raise? Nobody will know that unless you let it be known. Your own voice can take you pretty far.

8. Hangovers are a real thing that will actually happen to you.

Ah yes, let’s take a moment to reflect on the early years when you could go out multiple nights in a row and feel like a million bucks by the end of the weekend. Say goodbye to those glorious days and hello to your new friends Advil and coffee.

9. Landing a job isn’t easy.

We all dream of nabbing the career of our dreams right out of the gate, but as soon as you walk out of your dorm room and into the real world you will realize that it’s going to take a lot of résumés, applications, and hard work to get to where you want to be.

10. Make time for your family.

So much is happening during this time in your life that it can be pretty easy to let the time you spend with family slip between the cracks. Pick up the phone or go visit, because everything else in your life is temporary. Your family, on the other hand, will always be there. Oh yeah, and they usually provide you with free meals.


11. There’s more to life than social media.

We millennials love our smartphones. Sure, it’s a great way to keep up with friends and news, but obsessing over what you tweet or post every moment makes you miss out on what’s right in front of you.

12. Don’t compare yourself to your friends.

Your 20s are a time when your friends begin to go their separate ways. Remember that you’re all completely different people. While going to college might be right for one person, traveling to another country might be more fitting for another. One choice isn’t better than another; it’s all relative. You should all be rooting each other on.

13. You can still wear whatever you want.

Warning: this is your last chance to wear that crop top. The magic of being in your 20s is that you can still get away with wearing just about any crazy fashion trend that you want. Enjoy it while you can.

14. That credit card bill is always going to come.

It won’t magically disappear, so don’t pretend like it will. Spend your money wisely, because it’s likely that you still have plenty of student loans to pay off in the first place.

15. Exercise now, thank yourself later.

Yes, I know it takes a lot of effort. And no, it does not get any easier. But if you exercise now, you will be a whole lot healthier in the future. At least take a walk or something, you know?

16. Your University Degree will not define your career.

Most people don’t end up having a career in whatever they majored in, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Don’t be surprised when your art history degree leads you to a job in marketing (or something else completely unrelated to your intended field; get my drift?).

17. Sleep is precious.

Say it with us: Sleep. Is. Precious. You will find yourself bragging about how much sleep you got last night far more often than how amazing it was to stay up super late.

18. Don’t worry so much.

I’m worried that you’ll be worried about worrying all the time after reading this post . . . see what I mean? We all fret way too much. Enjoy your life — these are supposed to be the best years, aren’t they? You will get rent paid and you will kill that presentation at work; don’t let those thoughts occupy the majority of your mind.

19. You still have to pay your dues at work.

Having a college degree is not enough anymore. In fact, it’s the bare minimum. That means you might have to start off with a job or position that isn’t necessarily ideal. It’s a building block for making it to the top, so throw your 20-something ego into the gutter and remember that you’re not too good to start at the bottom. All of your peers are hanging out down here with you.

20. Love who you are, body and all.

Sometimes it’s really hard to love yourself in this world of Photoshop and unrealistic expectations. If you didn’t know it already, you are beautiful and amazing and perfect exactly as you are. As long as you know that on the inside, everyone else is going to see it. Besides, you’re at your ultimate hotness peak in your 20s, so enjoy it before the decade sneaks away.

21. You don’t have to take everyone’s advice.

This is a very important time in your life, so naturally you are going to be bombarded with a lotof advice and opinions. Nobody said you have to listen to all of it; ultimately it’s your life and you know what’s best for you. Chances are you’d like to throw out a few points in this very post.

22. Discover who you are.

Figuring it all out is tricky. You want to know what’s going to happen and how it’s all going to play out. Chances are your life will be nothing like how you expected, and that’s for the better. Take a deep breath and dive into your 20s headfirst; you’ll bob back to the surface in no time.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/22-lessons-every-20-something-should-learn/

◾Over N287.4bn loss is being recorded yearly by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation from the operations of its subsidiaries across the country despite the fact that it is meant to be a profitable business venture.
◾The corporation is losing about N250bn yearly as a result of the inefficiencies of the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company alone, which is one of its subsidiaries, according to figures made available by the national oil company.
◾The PPMC’s N250bn loss accounts for about 87 per cent of the corporation’s aggregate loss by implication.
◾Findings by our correspondent showed that aside the huge losses coming from the PPMC, the refineries and contractual arrangements, among other problem areas, were responsible for the remaining 13 per cent of the losses made by the corporation.
◾Some of the contracts were recently cancelled by the new Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, and according to him, an average of $150m is being saved monthly due to the cancellation.
◾The country is also losing about N10bn as a result of the near-comatose state of the refineries.
◾Kachikwu said in an interview that when 40,000 barrels of crude oil were transferred to the refineries for processing, only 15,000 barrels came out.


To this end, he said, “The truth is that the refineries are not working profitably now. This, no doubt, could be for the reason of pipeline issues, or for aging facilities in the refineries. If the refineries do 60 per cent capacity today and tomorrow zero per cent, we could possibly end up with a 20 per cent capacity when the average is done. This is, of course, a huge loss.

“We will not continue to commit crude and other resources to the refineries only to get far less. It would be better to shut the refineries for turnaround maintenance, while the crude hitherto pumped into them is sold and the proceeds used to import petroleum products.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/these-are-the-reasons-why-nnpc-losses-n250bn-yearly-from-operations/

◾Nigerian banks are on the verge of another credit crisis, Citigroup’s Head of Frontier Market Banks and Research, Josh Levin has warned, citing what he described as deteriorating macro conditions in the country.
◾The economic analyst, in a presentation at the just concluded Citi media summit in London, noted that borrowers, mostly oil and gas industry operators are unable to service the loans obtained from the Nigerian banks due to the plummeting price of oil.


“Nigerian banks have made a lot of loans to the oil and gas industry. About 25 to 30 per cent of the bank loans went to the oil and gas sector. So as the price of the oil plunges, there will be a lot of concerns about the ability of the borrowers to service the loans, because the cash flow of the borrowers goes down.

He said: “The big issue at the moment for banks in Nigeria is Nigerian banks are on the verge of another credit crises. Alternatively, you could say, how well are Nigerian banks positioned to whether the deteriorating macro conditions in the country. The macro environment has really deteriorated over the past 15 months; so, what’s going on, the price of oil has plummeted. Even though Nigeria directly derives only a 15 per cent of its GDP from the oil industry, Nigeria derives roughly 80 per cent of its tax revenue from oil. So the low oil price, certainly negatively impacts the country’s economy.”
◾According to Levin, most investors are concerned about the growth of Nigeria, a country of over 170 million people and the largest economy in Africa because of the strength of the country’s potential. He said for investors who are focused on the frontier markets, Nigeria tends to be the largest or one of the largest in the bench mark, adding that getting Nigeria right is very important to these investors.
The Citi analysts added:


“The big issue right now is credit. Investors are worried that many of the loans by the Nigerian banks are going to go bad and these bad loans will severely impair the banks. So why would investors think the loans are going to go bad? I think the point is the GPD growth, when the GPD growth tends to slow, credits tend to deteriorate. These are what investors are worried about. These are the concerns on the credit side for the Nigerian banks.”


◾The economic expert, who put the average assets of big Nigerian banks at roughly $12 billion to $15 billion in size, said they are very small when compared to banks in the frontier markets.


“When you think about the bank and size, you should think about the bank’s assets; how many assets the bank has. For instance, if you look at the big Nigerian banks’ assets, the average assets is roughly $12 billion to $15 billion in size; the Egyptian bank is $20 billion, Citi is $220 billion in assets and the US Regional Bank in Latin America is $75 to $100 billion in assets; so the best we are talking about, even though it may not be the biggest in the country, is very small when it has to do with banks in the markets.”
◾He said the deteriorating macroeconomic environment is negatively affecting the Nigeria banks although there is no crisis indication yet in the banks’ second quarter results declared in July. According to him, from the results, the credit metric reported by the banks are not accurate and insisting that the banks are playing games with the numbers.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/why-citigroup-predicts-a-credit-crisis-for-nigerian-banks/

Ex-Googler Sanmay Ved was the lucky buyer of “Google.com,” if only for a minute.

Ved told Business Insider that he was up late and searching Google Domains, Google’s website-buying service, when he noticed thatGoogle.com was available.

Instead of a gray sad face that indicates a domain has an owner, the green happy face showed it was available.

The cost to buy the most-trafficked domain in the world? Only $12.
“I used to work at Google so I keep messing around with the product. I type in Google.com and to my surprise it showed it as available,” Ved told Business Insider. “I thought it was some error, but I could actually complete check out.”
Ved added it to his shopping cart and, surprisingly, the transaction went through.

Instead of receiving the normal “you bought a domain” emails from the company, his Google Search Console dashboard, which has an overview of his other websites, was updated with messages for the Google.comdomain owner. He also received emails with internal information, which he has since reported to Google’s security team, Ved said.


“The scary part was I had access to the webmaster controls for a minute,” Ved said.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/this-guy-bought-google-com-from-google-for-one-minute/

The Nigerian Music Industry has transformed over the years, evidence is the quality of videos that are now key components of such transformation.

In the 90s not too many people could lay claim to listening to Nigerian Rnb or hip hop songs, not to talk of sitting down to watch a 3 minute video laced with bare bone productions.

It is a well-known fact that Music videos are now as important as the songs in reaching new markets and sustaining the tempo of air play. With the increase in smartphone usage and cheaper internet data, the ability to view videos online (Youtube) and download the latest videos from sites like Tooxclusive.com and Notjustok.com has never been easier.

Why Are Music Videos Important to Artistes?

There are 2 major ways through which music videos help artists:
◾Exposure
◾Revenue

Typically music videos are produced and released in the early stage of a songs’ release cycle, intended to drive exposure through additional channels for fans to consume, whether they are shown on TV, or streamed in a public area.

When brands enter the picture and strategically place products in music videos, it can produce a new revenue stream for the artiste while also building exposure for the brand. (Nielsen.com)

What Does A Standard Music Video Production Budget Cover?

A standard Nigerian video can cost between N2 million and N10 million depending on the production budget of the artiste.

A standard and top quality video production budget covers the following but not limited to the following:
◾Concept development
◾Casting
◾On-camera talent
◾Pre-production
◾Choreography
◾Rehearsals
◾Location fees
◾Props
◾Costumes
◾Production equipment
◾Production crew
◾Editing
◾Visual effects
◾Color correction
◾Video encoding
◾Digital delivery

So What Changed the Nigeria Music Video Scene?

With the breakthrough in Nigerian music crossing borders and foreigners beginning to appreciate our music better, the Nigerian artistes caught the buzz and improved the quality of videos. However this wasn’t done without some notable names.

Enter Clarence Peters who took over the market around 2005/06. He changed the face of the Nigerian videos. What Clarence Peters had that others before him like DJ Tee didn’t have was a good Camera, in fact he was a very good Camera handler which was his unique selling point.

Most Nigerian videos made use of the Mac3 or Mac2 years back, but Peters was the first to use the D7 camera. With time other producers followed suit and consequently the quality of videos improved.
Reasons Why Nigeria Videos Cost Much

Concept: Some Directors have their own in-house creative services department with a team of writers, directors and designers who help develop creative options for the artistes to choose from. This will definitely cost money.

For example DJ Tee directed the ‘Eniduro’ which shot Olamide to limelight. In the video Olamide wore 25 different outfits and in addition the video was in black and white.

Technology: Nigerian videos are now advanced and producers have moved from using Coma shoots/ Greenhouse effect where the video is shot in one house or location. With the aid of Cameras like D7 used by producers to shoot videos, this has driven up the cost of videos shootings. This is because some of these cameras are quite expensive and require efficient maintenance.


Logistics, Wardrobe, and Props: These items determine the look of the video, and their importance cannot be overstated in terms of the final product.

Good locations can be expensive, and sometimes even requires existing relationships. Even free locations end up costing money. It is easily noticeable that lots of Nigerian artists travel to places like South Africa, Dubai, America to shoot videos and the locations used in these places require lots of money.

Ash Hamman a UAE-based Nigerian-born artist is reported to have shot the most expensive video in the Emirates. The video gulped a whooping DH850, 000. The money was spent to rent flashy cars, luxurious yachts and beautiful girls.

He said “I want to make a statement. Let me do what everybody is doing, but do it on a larger scale. I said ok, people want to use one Lamborghini? I want five (5) Lamborghinis. People want to use five (5) choppers? I want seven (7) choppers. People want one (1) girl? I got seven (7) girls.”

For his video, he ended up using 13 exotic cars, 3 yachts and 40 female models.

The Cast and Crew: A great music video requires lots of talented people. A shoot generally involves at least 7-10 production professionals. These people work on day rates and sometimes bring their creativity and scripts on how they want the video to look like.

For example when Clarence peters shot the video for ‘Ghostmode’ Olamide ft Phyno. An eye-witness who was at the making of the video confirmed that about 10 tankers of water and flowers were used during the shoot.

Availability of resources: Much more money is flowing in the music industry with artists selling millions of albums, million dollar sponsorship deals from the top companies in the land. Lots of these money is spent on music videos to keep pleasing the fans and maintaining the make-believe lifestyle these artists live.

Olu Maintains’ ‘Enuf Effizi’ has been claimed to be the most expensive music video. Olu Maintain has been a big player in the game for a long time and has the resources to spend so much. In the video he used a Private Jet, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and expensive PROFESSIONAL models.

P square has one of the highest selling albums in the country and also generate the highest revenue from shows for any African artist or group. They have featured American Rapper Rick Ross in their video shot in the US on a yacht. We all know how much it is to feature a foreign “A” list artist, then to also get him to appear on the video also. This would cost as much as $30,000 in cash.
Experience and Connection of Producer/Director: Only a handful of people know that Clarence Peters worked on the set of TV Programme Everyday People as Assistant Director, then he went to South Africa, came back and had a deal with TV Station Soundcity. The deal was that for every of the video he directs, he has a playing slot on the station. This also helps drive his price because Nigerian Artists know that once he directs their videos the chances of their videos being aired is higher.

Sesan, another famous Producer who shoots all of Mavin records videos has his style. He doesn’t shoot low budget videos and wouldn’t want to work with the Artists budget, even if the artist has over 1 million Naira.

Conclusively, a major factor attributed to the expensive nature of producing videos here in Nigeria or anywhere is the excuse artistes give concerning the exchange rate between the naira and the dollar. They argue that if the Federal Government gives the same or better treatment as the one given to pilgrims as it affects the exchange rate, their bills will be minimal in producing music videos.
http://nairametrics.com/why-nigerian-music-videos-cost-so-much/

The Nigerian Music Industry has transformed over the years, evidence is the quality of videos that are now key components of such transformation.

In the 90s not too many people could lay claim to listening to Nigerian Rnb or hip hop songs, not to talk of sitting down to watch a 3 minute video laced with bare bone productions.

It is a well-known fact that Music videos are now as important as the songs in reaching new markets and sustaining the tempo of air play. With the increase in smartphone usage and cheaper internet data, the ability to view videos online (Youtube) and download the latest videos from sites like Tooxclusive.com and Notjustok.com has never been easier.

Why Are Music Videos Important to Artistes?

There are 2 major ways through which music videos help artists:
◾Exposure
◾Revenue

Typically music videos are produced and released in the early stage of a songs’ release cycle, intended to drive exposure through additional channels for fans to consume, whether they are shown on TV, or streamed in a public area.

When brands enter the picture and strategically place products in music videos, it can produce a new revenue stream for the artiste while also building exposure for the brand. (Nielsen.com)

What Does A Standard Music Video Production Budget Cover?

A standard Nigerian video can cost between N2 million and N10 million depending on the production budget of the artiste.

A standard and top quality video production budget covers the following but not limited to the following:
◾Concept development
◾Casting
◾On-camera talent
◾Pre-production
◾Choreography
◾Rehearsals
◾Location fees
◾Props
◾Costumes
◾Production equipment
◾Production crew
◾Editing
◾Visual effects
◾Color correction
◾Video encoding
◾Digital delivery

So What Changed the Nigeria Music Video Scene?

With the breakthrough in Nigerian music crossing borders and foreigners beginning to appreciate our music better, the Nigerian artistes caught the buzz and improved the quality of videos. However this wasn’t done without some notable names.

Enter Clarence Peters who took over the market around 2005/06. He changed the face of the Nigerian videos. What Clarence Peters had that others before him like DJ Tee didn’t have was a good Camera, in fact he was a very good Camera handler which was his unique selling point.

Most Nigerian videos made use of the Mac3 or Mac2 years back, but Peters was the first to use the D7 camera. With time other producers followed suit and consequently the quality of videos improved
Reasons Why Nigeria Videos Cost Much

Concept: Some Directors have their own in-house creative services department with a team of writers, directors and designers who help develop creative options for the artistes to choose from. This will definitely cost money.

For example DJ Tee directed the ‘Eniduro’ which shot Olamide to limelight. In the video Olamide wore 25 different outfits and in addition the video was in black and white.

Technology: Nigerian videos are now advanced and producers have moved from using Coma shoots/ Greenhouse effect where the video is shot in one house or location. With the aid of Cameras like D7 used by producers to shoot videos, this has driven up the cost of videos shootings. This is because some of these cameras are quite expensive and require efficient maintenance.


Logistics, Wardrobe, and Props: These items determine the look of the video, and their importance cannot be overstated in terms of the final product.

Good locations can be expensive, and sometimes even requires existing relationships. Even free locations end up costing money. It is easily noticeable that lots of Nigerian artists travel to places like South Africa, Dubai, America to shoot videos and the locations used in these places require lots of money.

Ash Hamman a UAE-based Nigerian-born artist is reported to have shot the most expensive video in the Emirates. The video gulped a whooping DH850, 000. The money was spent to rent flashy cars, luxurious yachts and beautiful girls.

He said “I want to make a statement. Let me do what everybody is doing, but do it on a larger scale. I said ok, people want to use one Lamborghini? I want five (5) Lamborghinis. People want to use five (5) choppers? I want seven (7) choppers. People want one (1) girl? I got seven (7) girls.”

For his video, he ended up using 13 exotic cars, 3 yachts and 40 female models.

The Cast and Crew: A great music video requires lots of talented people. A shoot generally involves at least 7-10 production professionals. These people work on day rates and sometimes bring their creativity and scripts on how they want the video to look like.

For example when Clarence peters shot the video for ‘Ghostmode’ Olamide ft Phyno. An eye-witness who was at the making of the video confirmed that about 10 tankers of water and flowers were used during the shoot.

Availability of resources: Much more money is flowing in the music industry with artists selling millions of albums, million dollar sponsorship deals from the top companies in the land. Lots of these money is spent on music videos to keep pleasing the fans and maintaining the make-believe lifestyle these artists live.

Olu Maintains’ ‘Enuf Effizi’ has been claimed to be the most expensive music video. Olu Maintain has been a big player in the game for a long time and has the resources to spend so much. In the video he used a Private Jet, Ferrari, Lamborghini, and expensive PROFESSIONAL models.

P square has one of the highest selling albums in the country and also generate the highest revenue from shows for any African artist or group. They have featured American Rapper Rick Ross in their video shot in the US on a yacht. We all know how much it is to feature a foreign “A” list artist, then to also get him to appear on the video also. This would cost as much as $30,000 in cash.
Experience and Connection of Producer/Director: Only a handful of people know that Clarence Peters worked on the set of TV Programme Everyday People as Assistant Director, then he went to South Africa, came back and had a deal with TV Station Soundcity. The deal was that for every of the video he directs, he has a playing slot on the station. This also helps drive his price because Nigerian Artists know that once he directs their videos the chances of their videos being aired is higher.

Sesan, another famous Producer who shoots all of Mavin records videos has his style. He doesn’t shoot low budget videos and wouldn’t want to work with the Artists budget, even if the artist has over 1 million Naira.

Conclusively, a major factor attributed to the expensive nature of producing videos here in Nigeria or anywhere is the excuse artistes give concerning the exchange rate between the naira and the dollar. They argue that if the Federal Government gives the same or better treatment as the one given to pilgrims as it affects the exchange rate, their bills will be minimal in producing music videos.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/why-nigerian-music-videos-cost-so-much/

◾GZ Industries Ltd. of Nigeria plans to expand into South Africa with the construction of a 1 billion rand ($71 million) factory, becoming the second beverage-can maker after Nampak Ltd. to have operations in the country. Nampak shares fell the most in four months.
◾GZI agreed to a partnership with local packaging maker Golden Era Group and will build a plant in Johannesburg with annual capacity of 1.2 billion cans, the Agbara, Nigeria-based company said in an e-mailed statement on Tuesday. The factory will start operations in the second quarter of next year and supply other southern African countries, it said.


“This partnership with Golden Era accelerates our access to new markets across southern Africa, and consolidates our ongoing expansion efforts,” GZI Chief Executive Officer Motti Goldmintz said in the statement. “Upon completion of the plant, GZI will have the capacity to manufacture in excess of 3.5 billion aluminum beverage cans every year.”
◾Canmakers are investing to take advantage of rising demand for canned and bottled drinks in Africa, where many consumers are switching from subsistence existences and buying packaged goods for the first time. Johannesburg-based Nampak, the continent’s largest maker of beverage cans, is also expanding with new plants in Nigeria and Ethiopia.
◾Nampak shares declined 6.1 percent, the most since May 26, to 25.83 rand at the close in Johannesburg, valuing the company at 19 billion rand. The stock is down 41 percent this year, compared with a 0.8 percent fall on the FTSE/JSE Africa All-Share Index.
◾GZI is owned by a group of four individual investors, Standard Chartered Private Equity, Verod Capital Management and Ashmore Private Equity.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/nigerian-can-maker-enters-south-africa-with-71-million-plant/

Sir Alex Ferguson is the Steve Jobs of the sporting world.

The brilliant, ruthless and controversial manager transformed England’s Manchester United from a mediocre soccer team into the world’s most valuable sports club, and the one everyone else wanted to beat. He kept the team on top over an astonishing quarter century and racked up a record number of trophies.

And now Ferguson, who retired two years ago, has published his thoughts on what he’s learned about leadership, management and success in a book, “Leading,” co-written with Sequoia Capital’s Sir Michael Moritz.


It says a lot about British snobbery and mediocrity that many people in the U.K. are apparently smirking about the presumption of a working-class, “mere” soccer manager writing about leadership lessons. (Ferguson’s even been invited to give lectures at Harvard Business School.) In reality, Ferguson is one of the most impressive and successful leaders the British Isles has produced since the industrial heyday of the Victorian era, and he produced and led a world-beating organization in one of the most competitive fields of human endeavor on the planet.

Is there a Ferguson formula for winning? For anyone hoping to learn the art of success from a master, here are 10 lessons.

1. Focus on the big things. Like many people who’d watched United from afar, I’d assumed Ferguson kept an iron grip on every detail of the club. Not true, it seems. Ferguson says leaders need to learn to delegate and manage through others. And he recalls learning early on how much more valuable it was for him to take a step back from the team’s daily practice sessions and watch from the sidelines, where he could see everything, than to take the field and try to coach them himself. That lesson, he recalls, “was the making of me.”

2. Build a winning organization. It’s not just about hiring stars or going for quick wins, he says. “I’ve always felt that it’s impossible to field a great football team if you don’t have a great organization,” writes Ferguson.

3. Fire people early. When Ferguson took over United in the 1980s, it was a mediocre club with the wrong players and culture. It took him years to change that into one reflecting his values. In retrospect, he says, he should have switched out more people sooner.

4. Recruit, train and promote young people. They’ll be loyal, they’ll climb mountains for you, and they’ll take on many of your values, notes Ferguson, who became famous for spotting and developing players such as David Beckham when they were young.


5. Keep reinventing your team. The world won’t stand still and nor can you. “(A)t United we effectively rebuilt the team on four-year cycles,” Ferguson recalls.

6. Communicate simply. Too many managers are too verbose. Ferguson says the two most powerful words in the language are “well done” — and few reprimands are as powerful as silence.

7. Value team discipline. Ferguson weeded out players who were disruptive or undermined cohesion, even when they were individually talented.

8. Show up. Leaders underestimate just how important their simple presence is, Ferguson says. He recalls a player complaining about his absence even from a training session. In total, he says he missed just three of United’s 1,500 professional fixtures during his tenure — an astonishing record.

9. Pick values over talent. Ferguson is famous for developing or signing some of the greatest soccer players in history, but says: “If I had to choose between someone who had great talent but was short on grit and desire, and another player who was good but has great determination and drive, I would always prefer the latter.”

10. Don’t micromanage. Ferguson says he learned early not to try to give players last-minute advice just before a big game or to try to shout lots of instructions from the sidelines during the match. It’ll just confuse or irritate them or undermine their confidence. If they don’t already know what to do by then, he says, there’s something wrong.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/10-lessons-on-how-to-win-from-manchester-uniteds-most-successful-manager/

Am I angry, I’m not sure.
For the first time in my adult life I cannot even put in words my present feeling especially as the news of Pastor Adeboye’s latest acquisition of a luxury Private Jet hits me this morning with just N2,000 in my pocket.


Against the backdrop of the recent almost violent rejection by the ‘body of Christ’ of the call for taxes in our churches, we now hear of Pastors launching luxury liners and huge real estate collections you begin to ask yourself some very pertinent questions with answers you are afraid of exploring.

At the last count, Pastors Adeboye, Joshua and Oyedepo, Oritsejafor etc have all acquired the very latest in luxury jets amongst a vast array of holdings making them some of the very wealthiest human beings on earth. Me I am afraid of personally attacking Pastor Joshua for fear that he may not be as forgiving as the other two, but my searchlight and arrow will be directed at Adeboye and Oyedepo because if they get angry with me, I can beg and as fathers they will forgive and pray for me. That other one, no go gree.

I have attended both the Redeemed and Winners and the scale of their vision always stupefies me, humbling and humiliating me at the same time. The vastness of their holdings and immense wealth which they control if not checked can begin to compete with the federal Government in revenues generated. They rely on the fear and near literate disposition of their followers. Yes, near literate because the most educated of us, when it comes to spiritual things we are all illiterate and gullible or how else can you explain this continued perfidy where we assemble every Sunday and listen to the same story retold for over 2,000 years and still give out 10% of our hard-earned income to a few to live like Roman Emperors and yet refuse to be taxed.

These pastors are the new overlords, slave masters with whips garnished with the sweet tongues of Babylon aimed at impoverishing us, putting us under spells of hypnosis and keeping us in a permanent state of slowpoke servitude. They bestride the firmament in holier than thou gowns collecting from a deprived and depraved flock, fleecing, throwing prosperity messages that seem to deliver the wealth to them alone and their cronies, while the rest of us, defiled cups in hands, adorned with rags and defiled by leprosy , kneel at their feet, hoping and waiting for the deliverance but alas we are told to wait till heaven while they live in opulence here on earth.

We will definitely wait till heaven and there if we find them will embark on the ultimate protest. Heaven will surely witness its first race riot. A riot occasioned by Nigerians and only Nigerians seeking for a pound of flesh from these masters who made our lives a living hell on earth. Yes, a living hell because we ran to them for succor, for relief from the vicissitudes of this world but yet little did we know that we were just running from one slave master to the other albeit with a promise of a better life herein after while taking the last of our pennies, the last of our hopes and in some cases our wives and depriving us of the last vestiges of dignity and leaving us naked with the utopian hope of a better tomorrow.


Two of these churches have birthed luxury airliners with the tithes of a pitiable gullible crowd. This airliner I hear has two of the state of the art jetliners sequestered for only those who can afford it and reserved for the exclusive use of the GO in many of his travels. Who are the shareholders of this firm? Who are the Directors of the firm, registered in America thereby keeping it out of reach of the millions who have contributed their kobo to this initiative. Where is the corruption war? Why is it not beaming its search light towards this area of continuous and stylish thievery?

The airliner is not just the only one, the huge Real Estate holdings, the University where the brethren cannot afford to take their children to despite the fact that it’s their tithes that built the school. The hotels, the various businesses. This is nothing but organized fleecing under the guise of religion. Now, I am angry and will unsheath my sword. This ‘religious’organizations are nothing but multi national firms who have gotten their seed capital from their members who unlike normal shareholders have been deprived of the benefits of their investments. Where is the democracy in all these? Why are dividends not declared and shared amongst all tithe payers? Why is the GO position held almost in perpetuity?


These church owners are wicked. The Roman Catholic Church is a very rich organization who have impacted on the lives of not just Italians but the rest of the world. It is not controlled by a family or a patriarch but controlled by structures and institutions that have for centuries continued to ensure the perpetuity of its vision. The selection of the Pope who is the titular head is carried out along very set lines of succession, lines that have over the centuries withstood the vagaries of time, encrypting it into the concrete of structure. This has ensured the continuous democratization of dividends that accrue from their various activities. They pay their taxes, run a government in the Vatican and support governments and society wherever they find themselves. I am not a fan of the Catholic Church but in terms of transparency, institutionalized decision taking, clear and transparent succession planning and decision taking procedures they are miles ahead of this family owned businesses we call churches in this country.


I hereby call for the democratization of the Redeemed Christian church and the Winners chapel. Their size, influence and continued growing wealth makes it dangerous to continually be controlled by one individual. You see the way Presidents and political candidates scamper there for support, the influence and power they carry must be broken otherwise we will be faced by a parallel government which will be very dangerous for us as a country and which could make the menace of Boko Haram child’s play. Yes child’s play because they are dealing with the mind, hypnotizing a vast section of the population controlling them and making them allude to their biding irresponsibly. See the role of the Redeemed in the selection of the current Vice President and the mass movement of their members towards his candidacy without even querying his position on issues. See how a sitting President made regular pilgrimages to go bow down unconstitutionally to an unelected self-appointed demagogue all in the name of ‘spiritual father.’

The General Overseer-GO position must have tenor limits. The constitution of this group must be tinkered with. A four-year maximum two term tenor must be infused in their constitution. Proper elections or at best clear GO appointing procedures and decision taking process must be made with every tithe paying church goer having the same opportunity to aspire to the position. A clear system of checks and balances with separation of powers must also be entrenched. Some people will be cursing me now as they read, but do I care. It is for their own good that I am making these suggestions and also for my own good as a Nigerian who will suffer when this monster collapses into chaos and tyranny if effective structures are not put in place to guide and sustain its unprecedented growth.

See what happened to the Celestial Church when its founder Pa Oshoffa died. We saw a wicked succession battle which led to court cases, violence and a balkanization of the church. The celestial church came out of that era weakened. Today it has lost its glory and is no more than a local champion. This was so because Oshoffa led with the power of his charisma, not putting structures in place and when he passed there was nobody with that kind of persona to fit into his huge shoes. Wait for Adeboye’s passing and you will see a Colombian drug cartel like war of control.

Already parish Pastors are helping themselves to church funds, stealing wives of their members and generally exhibiting unchristian like behavior because of the weak structures of control and cohesion. The Redeemed church is today as popular as Coca Cola with parishes on every street corner but unlike coke with no clear tested machinery for governance and control. While the center is busy building global enterprises, the local parish pastor is defiling the church with his own thievery.


This is not an attack on the church and no satan sent me. I am a Christian, not very devout but a Christian none the less. What I have done is detach myself from all this Tom foolery and attempted to look dispassionately at the monster that is today’s churches especially the redeemed and Winners in the wake of the tax controversy. Our churches need to open themselves for proper scrutiny otherwise they will continue in this profane exploitation of a gullible and in most cases helpless population seeking solace and succor from task masters who are even worse than the devil himself.

I have stopped payment of tithe until corporate governance and transparency is instituted in our churches, until open elections are conducted for sensitive church positions and until tithe payers are recognized as shareholders and dividends declared and paid annually. Till then, I will be paying my tiny tithe to an orphanage in Palmgrove, Onipanu Lagos where the madam is struggling daily to feed and educate kids with no hope in life. This to me is far better and enriching than funding a financial behemoth masquerading as a religious organization, dodging taxes and yet doing business at the levels that even the biggest of global players cringe with fear.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/scathing-why-pastors-should-have-term-limits-and-practice-democracy/

1) “Mastery” by Robert Greene
This book is like a curated version of 1,000 biographies all under the guise, “how to become a master at what you love.”

2) "Bold" by Peter Diamondis and Steven Kotler
Basically if you want to know the future, read this.

3) “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell.
Malcolm Gladwell’s stories are great and he explains deep concepts.

How did the Beatles become the best? Why are professional hockey players born in January, February and March? And so on.

4) “Where Good Ideas Come From” by Steven John
The connections Johnson makes are brilliant. For instance, The Gutenberg Press made everyone realize they had bad vision.

5) “Man’s Search For Meaning” by Victor Frankl
Read it because when you’re about halfway through you will realize your life is no longer the same. And next time you get a chance to whisper in the ear of someone about to kill himself, whisper words from this book.

6) “Born Standing Up” by Steve Martin
This is the book where the writer took his passion, documented it, and shared it with us. That’s when you see the subtleties, the hard work, the luck, the talent, the skill, all come together to form a champion.

7) “Zero to One” by Peter Thiel
Thiel, the founder of PayPal, and first investor in Facebook, is brilliant in how he simply shares his theories on building a billion dollar business.

There’s a lot of business books out there. 99% of them are BS. Read this one. So many concepts that will help change your attitude about not only business but capitalism.

cool “Quiet” by Susan Cain
“Quiet” shows the reader how to unlock the secret powers that probably half the world needs to unlock.

9) “Antifragile” by Nassim Tale
“Resilient” means if you hit something, it will stay the same. Nassim discusses building a system, even one that works for you on a personal level, where if you harm yourself in some way it becomes stronger.“Fragile” means if you hit something might break.

10) “Mindset” by Carol Dweck
Carol Dweck, through massive research and storytelling, shows the reader how to continue on the path of improvement and why so many people fall off that path.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/10-books-that-will-change-your-life/

◾London-based venture capital firm TLcom Capital is expanding its presence on the continent with the opening of it Lagos office. The firm, initially focused on backing telecom, media and technology ventures in Europe and Israel, has turned its attention to sub-Saharan Africa in recent years.
◾TLcom opened its Nairobi office in 2013 and has recently appointed Omobola Johnson, Nigeria’s former minister of communication technology, to head up the Lagos office. Johnson has previous private sector experience as the managing director of Accenture in Nigeria.
◾Maurizio Caio, TLcom’s founder and managing partner, first recognised the continent’s opportunity a few years ago when he saw how well some European companies with an African focus were doing. He believes there is a considerable opportunity for African tech companies to leverage existing technology to solve problems and meet basic needs, such as access to electricity, health, education and commerce.


Despite the hype around the middle class, the vast majority of big, rising demand on the continent is coming from low-income segments,” he said at a media round table in Cape Town yesterday.

There’s gigantic demand for vast underserved verticals. And there’s very affordable technology – that is mobile and internet – which is actually much more penetrative [in providing] the services and products that people really need. That’s the opportunity.

He added this misconception is aligned with the “myth” that venture capitalists cannot achieve profitable exits from their investments in African companies.


“If you have a good company, you can exit,” he continued. “It is a not an exit problem – it is a quality of company problem
more on...http://nairametrics.com/this-former-minister-has-just-been-appointed-by-a-venture-capital-firm-in-lagos/

Startups are changing the world, and a Nigeria is joining in this wave. Startup businesses and their activities are having a far-reaching ripple effect on the socio-economic fabric of the demography in which they operate. They impact on customers by offering specialized products or service, they generate employment and pay taxes to the government amongst other benefits.

In Nigeria, we are beginning to see our own fair share of startups spring up in numbers aided with the rise in technological advancement. Over the past few years startups that spring to mind here in Nigeria include names like Konga, Hotels.ng, Iroko TV, Jobberman, Simple pay, BudgIT and others.

The purpose of this article is to find out how these startups raised equity to run their businesses.



1. Konga.com

Konga.com is a Nigerian e-commerce website and an online shopping mall launched in July 2012 by Sim Shagaya. On the website one can get everything from electronics, computers, mobile phones, refrigerators, books and fashion accessories delivered to you within 24 hours.

Shortly after launching in 2012, Konga raised a $3.5 million seed round from investment AB Kinnevik. In early 2013, Konga raised a $10million series A round from investment AB Kinnevik and Naspers.

In late 2013, Konga finalized a $25 million series B round from previous investors, Investment AB Kinnevik and Naspers, the largest single round raised by a single African startup at the time.

In late 2014, Konga finalized a $40 million series C round from Investment AB Kinnevik and Naspers, the largest single round raised by a single African startup to date. It is worth noting that Konga received $13.5 million worth of orders during its 2014 Black Friday Promotion.



2. Simple Pay

Simple Pay is an innovative payments platform that allows users with an e-mail address and a bank account to securely and conveniently send and receive payments online. It was founded in 2013 by Simeon Ononobi who had a plan to solve the problems associated with making payments in Nigeria such as the hefty costs for payment gateways and the drudgery and unsafe exposure of personal debit and credit card details on multiple sites.

Simple Pay pitched at the 2013 edition of the Seedstars world startup competition where the company was able to raise $330,000.

The company also went for the global event in Geneva, Switzerland where it witnessed a rain of investment proposals from local and international money bags.

Italian investment consultancy conglomerate CBO Group were the first to jump on Simple Pay’s wagon after Simeon’s pitch in Switzerland. The CBO Group offer was $2 million.



3. Hotels.ng

Hotels.ng founded in 2013 by Mark Essien is Nigeria’s first online hotel booking portal which provides affordable, safe and convenient online bookings for Nigerian hotels for both tourist and business travelers. It currently has a listing of more than 7,000 hotels in 21 regions across Nigeria and has facilitated up to 2 million hotel reservations since its inception.



In an interview with Vanguard Mark Essien said “when you are building a startup, the first thing you need to do is to make sure you are in the right market”.

He also said “ you have to tell your story, if you do that, people will read about it, they know about you, they get a feeling of who you are so that you will be able to attract funding. That was what we were able to do fast.

Hotels.ng raised $1.2 million from the Omidyar Network, the investment vehicle of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, and EchoVC Pan-Africa Fund, a seed-stage technology fund.



4. Iroko TV

Iroko TV was launched in 2011 by Jason Njoku and Bastian Gotter.


Njoku was inspired to start the company when he found it difficult to obtain Nollywood movies online for his mother, who he was living with abroad at the time. He researched the Nollywood industry and noted a lack of infrastructure in place for the international distribution of movies. He came to Nigeria and purchased the online license of Nollywood movies directly from the producers. He also struck a deal with Youtube in Germany. The channel became hugely popular in a short period.

Bastian Gotter, a friend to Njoku was the first investor with a $150,000 investment in Iroko TV meant he controlled a 50 percent stake at the time.

In mid-2011, US-based hedge fund Tiger Global contacted Njoku and Gotter to offer them an investment of $3 million. “No pitch. No PowerPoint slides’’.

Tiger Global again led a two-round investment totaling $8 million, with $6 million coming from Tiger Global and $2 million from Swedish-based hedge fund Kinnevik, in July 2012.

Iroko TV also raised $10 million in series B and series C funding from Tiger Global and Kinnevik.

Iroko has also raised $8million in their series D funding.



5. BudgIT

BudgIT was founded in 2011 by Seun Onigbinde and Joseph Agunbiade. BudgIT is a civic tech organization dedicated to raising standards of transparency and accountability. The idea of BudgIT was to care about accountability and transparency in governance. People are expecting more accountability and asking more questions than social and traditional media can handle.

BudgIT graduated as a pioneer in the co-creation Hub’s incubation programme, raising over $500,000 in funding from different foundations/organizations such as Indigo Trust, OSIWA, MacArthur foundation, U.S State Department amongst others. BudgIT also received a $400,000 investment from Omidyar Network. The co-creation Hub mentorship process was critical to the growth of BudgIT as it helped build a platform for startups.

In an interview Seun Onigbinde had with techpoint.ng, he said that the biggest source of funding for the company is Grants. He said “BudgIT gets grants for things around budget access and visualizations, although it’s difficult to get grants for a non-profit organization”.

BudgIT also has corporate clients like the Elumelu Foundation.



6. Jobberman

Jobberman, one of the top jobs websites in Nigeria was started by the trio; Opeyemi Awoyemi, Ayodeji Adewunmi and Olalekan Olude in 2009 during the famed ASUU strike. has been described by Forbes as “West Africa’s most popular job search engine and aggregator’’.

Jobberman at inception was financed from a pool of funds created from their stipends.

In January 2010, the team entered into a strategic partnership with a Nigerian based startup incubator and venture capitalist. By August 2010, Tiger Global Management approached the team and agreed to lead the ‘Series A’ financing and investment in the business.

It was reported around April 2015, that One Africa Media had acquired 100% shares in Jobberman.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/how-these-leading-nigerian-startups-raised-millions-of-dollars-in-equity/

Startups are changing the world, and a Nigeria is joining in this wave. Startup businesses and their activities are having a far-reaching ripple effect on the socio-economic fabric of the demography in which they operate. They impact on customers by offering specialized products or service, they generate employment and pay taxes to the government amongst other benefits.

In Nigeria, we are beginning to see our own fair share of startups spring up in numbers aided with the rise in technological advancement. Over the past few years startups that spring to mind here in Nigeria include names like Konga, Hotels.ng, Iroko TV, Jobberman, Simple pay, BudgIT and others.

The purpose of this article is to find out how these startups raised equity to run their businesses.



1. Konga.com

Konga.com is a Nigerian e-commerce website and an online shopping mall launched in July 2012 by Sim Shagaya. On the website one can get everything from electronics, computers, mobile phones, refrigerators, books and fashion accessories delivered to you within 24 hours.

Shortly after launching in 2012, Konga raised a $3.5 million seed round from investment AB Kinnevik. In early 2013, Konga raised a $10million series A round from investment AB Kinnevik and Naspers.

In late 2013, Konga finalized a $25 million series B round from previous investors, Investment AB Kinnevik and Naspers, the largest single round raised by a single African startup at the time.

In late 2014, Konga finalized a $40 million series C round from Investment AB Kinnevik and Naspers, the largest single round raised by a single African startup to date. It is worth noting that Konga received $13.5 million worth of orders during its 2014 Black Friday Promotion.



2. Simple Pay

Simple Pay is an innovative payments platform that allows users with an e-mail address and a bank account to securely and conveniently send and receive payments online. It was founded in 2013 by Simeon Ononobi who had a plan to solve the problems associated with making payments in Nigeria such as the hefty costs for payment gateways and the drudgery and unsafe exposure of personal debit and credit card details on multiple sites.

Simple Pay pitched at the 2013 edition of the Seedstars world startup competition where the company was able to raise $330,000.

The company also went for the global event in Geneva, Switzerland where it witnessed a rain of investment proposals from local and international money bags.

Italian investment consultancy conglomerate CBO Group were the first to jump on Simple Pay’s wagon after Simeon’s pitch in Switzerland. The CBO Group offer was $2 million.



3. Hotels.ng

Hotels.ng founded in 2013 by Mark Essien is Nigeria’s first online hotel booking portal which provides affordable, safe and convenient online bookings for Nigerian hotels for both tourist and business travelers. It currently has a listing of more than 7,000 hotels in 21 regions across Nigeria and has facilitated up to 2 million hotel reservations since its inception.



In an interview with Vanguard Mark Essien said “when you are building a startup, the first thing you need to do is to make sure you are in the right market”.

He also said “ you have to tell your story, if you do that, people will read about it, they know about you, they get a feeling of who you are so that you will be able to attract funding. That was what we were able to do fast.

Hotels.ng raised $1.2 million from the Omidyar Network, the investment vehicle of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, and EchoVC Pan-Africa Fund, a seed-stage technology fund.



4. Iroko TV

Iroko TV was launched in 2011 by Jason Njoku and Bastian Gotter.


Njoku was inspired to start the company when he found it difficult to obtain Nollywood movies online for his mother, who he was living with abroad at the time. He researched the Nollywood industry and noted a lack of infrastructure in place for the international distribution of movies. He came to Nigeria and purchased the online license of Nollywood movies directly from the producers. He also struck a deal with Youtube in Germany. The channel became hugely popular in a short period.

Bastian Gotter, a friend to Njoku was the first investor with a $150,000 investment in Iroko TV meant he controlled a 50 percent stake at the time.

In mid-2011, US-based hedge fund Tiger Global contacted Njoku and Gotter to offer them an investment of $3 million. “No pitch. No PowerPoint slides’’.

Tiger Global again led a two-round investment totaling $8 million, with $6 million coming from Tiger Global and $2 million from Swedish-based hedge fund Kinnevik, in July 2012.

Iroko TV also raised $10 million in series B and series C funding from Tiger Global and Kinnevik.

Iroko has also raised $8million in their series D funding.



5. BudgIT

BudgIT was founded in 2011 by Seun Onigbinde and Joseph Agunbiade. BudgIT is a civic tech organization dedicated to raising standards of transparency and accountability. The idea of BudgIT was to care about accountability and transparency in governance. People are expecting more accountability and asking more questions than social and traditional media can handle.

BudgIT graduated as a pioneer in the co-creation Hub’s incubation programme, raising over $500,000 in funding from different foundations/organizations such as Indigo Trust, OSIWA, MacArthur foundation, U.S State Department amongst others. BudgIT also received a $400,000 investment from Omidyar Network. The co-creation Hub mentorship process was critical to the growth of BudgIT as it helped build a platform for startups.

In an interview Seun Onigbinde had with techpoint.ng, he said that the biggest source of funding for the company is Grants. He said “BudgIT gets grants for things around budget access and visualizations, although it’s difficult to get grants for a non-profit organization”.

BudgIT also has corporate clients like the Elumelu Foundation.



6. Jobberman

Jobberman, one of the top jobs websites in Nigeria was started by the trio; Opeyemi Awoyemi, Ayodeji Adewunmi and Olalekan Olude in 2009 during the famed ASUU strike. has been described by Forbes as “West Africa’s most popular job search engine and aggregator’’.

Jobberman at inception was financed from a pool of funds created from their stipends.

In January 2010, the team entered into a strategic partnership with a Nigerian based startup incubator and venture capitalist. By August 2010, Tiger Global Management approached the team and agreed to lead the ‘Series A’ financing and investment in the business.

It was reported around April 2015, that One Africa Media had acquired 100% shares in Jobberman.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/how-these-leading-nigerian-startups-raised-millions-of-dollars-in-equity/

Startups are changing the world, and a Nigeria is joining in this wave. Startup businesses and their activities are having a far-reaching ripple effect on the socio-economic fabric of the demography in which they operate. They impact on customers by offering specialized products or service, they generate employment and pay taxes to the government amongst other benefits.

In Nigeria, we are beginning to see our own fair share of startups spring up in numbers aided with the rise in technological advancement. Over the past few years startups that spring to mind here in Nigeria include names like Konga, Hotels.ng, Iroko TV, Jobberman, Simple pay, BudgIT and others.

The purpose of this article is to find out how these startups raised equity to run their businesses.



1. Konga.com

Konga.com is a Nigerian e-commerce website and an online shopping mall launched in July 2012 by Sim Shagaya. On the website one can get everything from electronics, computers, mobile phones, refrigerators, books and fashion accessories delivered to you within 24 hours.

Shortly after launching in 2012, Konga raised a $3.5 million seed round from investment AB Kinnevik. In early 2013, Konga raised a $10million series A round from investment AB Kinnevik and Naspers.

In late 2013, Konga finalized a $25 million series B round from previous investors, Investment AB Kinnevik and Naspers, the largest single round raised by a single African startup at the time.

In late 2014, Konga finalized a $40 million series C round from Investment AB Kinnevik and Naspers, the largest single round raised by a single African startup to date. It is worth noting that Konga received $13.5 million worth of orders during its 2014 Black Friday Promotion.



2. Simple Pay

Simple Pay is an innovative payments platform that allows users with an e-mail address and a bank account to securely and conveniently send and receive payments online. It was founded in 2013 by Simeon Ononobi who had a plan to solve the problems associated with making payments in Nigeria such as the hefty costs for payment gateways and the drudgery and unsafe exposure of personal debit and credit card details on multiple sites.

Simple Pay pitched at the 2013 edition of the Seedstars world startup competition where the company was able to raise $330,000.

The company also went for the global event in Geneva, Switzerland where it witnessed a rain of investment proposals from local and international money bags.

Italian investment consultancy conglomerate CBO Group were the first to jump on Simple Pay’s wagon after Simeon’s pitch in Switzerland. The CBO Group offer was $2 million.



3. Hotels.ng

Hotels.ng founded in 2013 by Mark Essien is Nigeria’s first online hotel booking portal which provides affordable, safe and convenient online bookings for Nigerian hotels for both tourist and business travelers. It currently has a listing of more than 7,000 hotels in 21 regions across Nigeria and has facilitated up to 2 million hotel reservations since its inception.



In an interview with Vanguard Mark Essien said “when you are building a startup, the first thing you need to do is to make sure you are in the right market”.

He also said “ you have to tell your story, if you do that, people will read about it, they know about you, they get a feeling of who you are so that you will be able to attract funding. That was what we were able to do fast.

Hotels.ng raised $1.2 million from the Omidyar Network, the investment vehicle of eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, and EchoVC Pan-Africa Fund, a seed-stage technology fund.



4. Iroko TV

Iroko TV was launched in 2011 by Jason Njoku and Bastian Gotter.


Njoku was inspired to start the company when he found it difficult to obtain Nollywood movies online for his mother, who he was living with abroad at the time. He researched the Nollywood industry and noted a lack of infrastructure in place for the international distribution of movies. He came to Nigeria and purchased the online license of Nollywood movies directly from the producers. He also struck a deal with Youtube in Germany. The channel became hugely popular in a short period.

Bastian Gotter, a friend to Njoku was the first investor with a $150,000 investment in Iroko TV meant he controlled a 50 percent stake at the time.

In mid-2011, US-based hedge fund Tiger Global contacted Njoku and Gotter to offer them an investment of $3 million. “No pitch. No PowerPoint slides’’.

Tiger Global again led a two-round investment totaling $8 million, with $6 million coming from Tiger Global and $2 million from Swedish-based hedge fund Kinnevik, in July 2012.

Iroko TV also raised $10 million in series B and series C funding from Tiger Global and Kinnevik.

Iroko has also raised $8million in their series D funding.



5. BudgIT

BudgIT was founded in 2011 by Seun Onigbinde and Joseph Agunbiade. BudgIT is a civic tech organization dedicated to raising standards of transparency and accountability. The idea of BudgIT was to care about accountability and transparency in governance. People are expecting more accountability and asking more questions than social and traditional media can handle.

BudgIT graduated as a pioneer in the co-creation Hub’s incubation programme, raising over $500,000 in funding from different foundations/organizations such as Indigo Trust, OSIWA, MacArthur foundation, U.S State Department amongst others. BudgIT also received a $400,000 investment from Omidyar Network. The co-creation Hub mentorship process was critical to the growth of BudgIT as it helped build a platform for startups.

In an interview Seun Onigbinde had with techpoint.ng, he said that the biggest source of funding for the company is Grants. He said “BudgIT gets grants for things around budget access and visualizations, although it’s difficult to get grants for a non-profit organization”.

BudgIT also has corporate clients like the Elumelu Foundation.



6. Jobberman

Jobberman, one of the top jobs websites in Nigeria was started by the trio; Opeyemi Awoyemi, Ayodeji Adewunmi and Olalekan Olude in 2009 during the famed ASUU strike. has been described by Forbes as “West Africa’s most popular job search engine and aggregator’’.

Jobberman at inception was financed from a pool of funds created from their stipends.

In January 2010, the team entered into a strategic partnership with a Nigerian based startup incubator and venture capitalist. By August 2010, Tiger Global Management approached the team and agreed to lead the ‘Series A’ financing and investment in the business.

It was reported around April 2015, that One Africa Media had acquired 100% shares in Jobberman.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/how-these-leading-nigerian-startups-raised-millions-of-dollars-in-equity/


Are there any major Startups you wish to know about? Send us an email info@nairametrics.com

President Muhammadu Buhari said on Thursday in an interview with France 24 that he does not think the Naira, should be devalued again.


I don’t think it is healthy for us to have the naira devalued further. That’s why we are getting the central bank to make modifications in terms of making foreign exchange available to essential services, industries, spare parts, essential raw materials and so on — but things like toothpicks and rice, Nigeria can produce enough of these.

It is unclear how investors will react to those comments. However we believe this will not go down well with a lot of those who believe the Naira should be devalued. It also confirms Buhari’s support for most of the CBNs bold and controversial actions, which many believe would not have been possible for Emefiele to dish out.
read full on...[urlhttp://nairametrics.com/boom-buhari-explains-why-naira-shouldnt-be-devalued-again/][/url]

◾Nigeria’s economic woes continue with the Federal Government borrowing N882.12 billion so far to finance the 2015 budget deficit. The amount sourced internally, included what was budgeted for internal and external borrowing for the fiscal year.
◾The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Anastasia Daniel-Nwaobia, said this in her presentation to the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on Non-Implementation of Capital Projects in the 2015 appropriation in Abuja on Tuesday.
◾The Permanent Secretary, who was represented by the Director General, Budget Office of the Federation, Alhaji Aliyu Yahaya Gusau, said the national economic crisis and the attendant depreciation of the Naira, increase in interest rates and inflation is not unconnected with the global slowdown and its attendant impact.
The economy is not expected to outperform global growth rate of 3.3 percent. Significant drop in oil price has led to exchange rate depreciation, pushing the dollar to N197 as of June 2015. This has led to the adoption of stringent measures in fiscal and monetary policies to ensure stability in the economy she explained.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/fg-borrows-n882bn-to-finance-2015-budget/

Forte Oil Plc, has commenced the sale of kerosene for N50 per litre in line with the aspiration of the federal government for the product to be available at subsidised price.
◾The company commenced the sale of the product, which it officially called “Buhari Kerosene” in its retail outlets in Lagos on Tuesday and has promised to extend it to other retail outlets across the country in the coming days.
◾A huge turn-out of people mostly women in Forte Oil filling Stations Ikoyi, Victoria Island (Oniru), Aja road, Oba Akran, Agindigbi, Airport road and other parts of Ikeja.
◾An official of the Forte Oil filling Station in Oba Akran told newsmen on condition of anonymity that the directive to sell kerosene for N50 came from the Chairman of the company, Mr. Femi Otedola.


“Chairman directed us to crash the price. This is Buhari Kerosene and you know that President Buhari wants kerosene to be affordable to the common people. We have no choice than to obey the last order. We have discharged one truck and we are expecting another truck this evening,” he said.
◾At Forte Oil filling station in Awolowo Road, Ikoyi, one truck of kerosene, which was yet to be discharged into the underground tanks, was seen parked at the station.
◾Though a good number of customers had gathered with containers, waiting to buy the product but no sale was going on.
more on....http://nairametrics.com/forte-oil-begins-sale-of-buhari-kerosene-at-n50-per-litre/

◾The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation says it is set to revisit the fiscal terms of the existing Production Sharing Contracts(PSC) entered into by it with some international oil and gas companies with a view to seeking favourable benefits to the country based on prevailing realities in the industry.
◾The Group Managing Director of NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu who was speaking at the France-Nigeria Business Forum organized to mark the state visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to France, said that in the weeks and months ahead, the corporation will be re-negotiating the contracts to extract as much benefit as possible for the nation.
◾Kachikwu was quoted in a statement by the Corporation on Tuesday that although the PSC agreements were firm contracts, which should be adhered to, the NNPC was allowed to make use of the window that created space for re-negotiation.


We intend to begin the process of the re-negotiation of the PSCs to see what value chain and improvements we can have from these contracts. Some of the contracts were negotiated over 20 years ago and they have since been overtaken by new realities in the industry, the GMD said.

He, however noted that in carrying out a review of the existing PSCs, care must be taken not to create an anti-investment atmosphere as that might be counterproductive to the industry.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/nnpc-will-review-production-sharing-contracts-with-oil-companies-says-kachikwu/

◾Col. Hameed Alli has taken over as the new helmsman of the nation’s customs service, what is sure is the number of job-cuts that will follow in days to come.
◾The hierarchy of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) are now jittery over impending job cuts in line with the Federal Government’s resolve to reform the establishment for higher revenue generation.
◾This was as industry watchers believe President Muhammadu Buhari’s preference for an outsider to head the Customs was to allow a neutral person to clean the paramilitary agency seen by many as a cesspit of corruption in Nigeria.
◾The new Comptroller General of the NCS, Hameed Ali, while addressing top officers of the service in Abuja last week reminded them of his presidential mandate to restructure, reform and increase revenue generation while he holds sway at the service.
◾Though his address sounded like that of any new head of government establishment, analysts viewed his body language on “reform” in the Customs as a pseudo word for mass sack going by precedence.


According to a Customs officer who preferred anonymity, “Some of them have already developed thick skin and made up their minds to face whatever fate throws at them at the end of the day. Many of the service’s top brass appear not to trust Ali who is seen as a strict disciplinarian. So they can only expect the worst,”
more on...http://nairametrics.com/a-tsunami-is-imminent-in-the-customs/

The National Bureau of Statistics has released its August Inflation report confirming inflation rate topped 9.3% year on year for the month of August 2015.

According to the report, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which measures inflation edged higher to 9.3% (year-on-year), from 9.2% in July. The marginal increase was as a result of slower increases in Alcoholic Beverages, Tobacco and Kola; Health, Transport; and Recreation and Culture Divisions.

On a month-on-month basis, the pace of increases of food prices as reflected by the Food Sub-index has slowed, contributing to the relatively slower pace of increases reflected on the year-on-year rates between July and August.

The Food Sub-index rose by 10.1% (year-on-year) in August, slightly higher from 10.0% in July. While increases were observed in major groups within the index: Bread and Cereals, Meats and Fish, the index was weighted upon by a slower increase in the Fruit, Vegetables, and Potatoes, Yams and Other Tubers groups.

This report basically confirms our analyst prediction that inflation rate will rise 9.3% this month and is expected to taper down as the year runs down.
more on...[urlhttp://nairametrics.com/stagflation-is-here-inflation-rate-rises-to-9-3/][/url]

◾President Muhammadu Buhari has hinted that the Federal Government may have uncovered some Nigerian oil companies working in connivance with Ghanaian oil firms to steal crude oil from the country.
◾Addressing members of the Nigerian community in Ghana on Monday during his one day state visit, Buhari revealed that he had received reports that some oil companies in Ghana were bringing Nigerian crude oil into the Ghanaian system and vowed to deal with the perpetrators.


“We are going to pursue this information and find out if it is legally done. We will try to get to the bottom of it and prosecute the companies or those persons, who are involved,” he declared.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/buhari-says-ghanaians-firms-may-be-involved-crude-oil-theft/

◾A recent Facebook report shows that 7.3 million South Africans are daily active users (DAU) of the social media network. Followed by Nigeria with 7.1 million DAU’s, then Kenya with 2.2 million DAU’s. Also, the statistics showed, as expected, that major traffic on the social media network comes from mobile devices.
◾These statistics, coupled with the continent’s growing population and a possible revenue market ironically created by the high cost of data and low signal informed the company’s recent expansion into Africa, as they launched their first office in South Africa two months ago.
◾The company intends to work with local mobile phone companies like ‘internet.org’, where Facebook users can access to the site for free, as well as introduce other applications, such as Facebook Lite, that require a small amount of data to run.
◾For now, Facebook is focused on three African markets – Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa – because of their population and level of development. However, the social media company plans to expand business to other African countries overtime. Nicolas Mandelsohn, Vice President of Facebook Europe, stated that the company’s next billion users is coming from Africa, therefore Africa plays a significant role in the company’s growth.
◾For Nigeria, its global recognition for this year alone says it all. At the Cannes Lion International Festival of Creativity held in February 2015, Insight communications, Nigeria’s biggest marketing communications agency made the country proud by bagging the Press Lions National Diploma award.
◾ Nigeria’s impact on technology worldwide and its knowledge of IT is visible through the amount of technological devices that are present in the country today.
more on....http://nairametrics.com/official-nigeria-is-ranked-2nd-with-use-of-facebook-in-africa/

◾A high number of spurious third party insurance papers are purportedly making the rounds across Lagos State! These documents are most times obtained through seemingly official quarters; especially through cunning agents of the Federal Road-Safety officer (FRSC).
◾Leading the pack in these counterfeit documents is the third party insurance in the name of African Alliance Insurance (AA).

◾According to Mr. Wale Enitan, a senior officer in Ojodu Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), up to 10 fake third party African Alliance Insurance papers are seized at VIO check points across the State every hour. “These (AA) insurance papers happen to be fake and it was not on our list of accredited insurance company that can issue vehicle insurance paper”, he added.
◾According to our reporter, the proliferation of this (AA) third party ‎vehicle insurance paper has been going on for years at a cost ranging from N2000 to N3500. Tunde (would not give his surname) a taxi driver, who fell victim to this scam claimed that the insurance paper was done for him by a senior staff of the Federal Road-Safety officer (FRSC) inclusive of other vehicle particulars for N45,000. “I have been using this paper for long and nobody has disturbed or accuse me of caring a fake insurance document until now” he added.
◾Inside Mainland contacted the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA), the umbrella body for insurance companies in Nigeria, who expressed shock that the practice is yet to abate. Mr. Davis Iyasere, the Head of Corporate Affairs of the NIA stated clearly the organisation’s stance; “We condemn unequivocally the masterminds of this heinous business of faking third party motor insurance certificates and use this opportunity to urge the respective law enforcement agents to go after these criminals who are out to plunder the national economy by denying the insurance industry premiums from motor third party insurance. We urge members of the public not to patronize touts at licensing offices and local government secretariats but to obtain their Third party motor Insurance certificates from the registered offices of insurance companies.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/beware-this-is-what-a-fake-third-party-insurance-looks-like/

◾Nigeria, listed as an investment destination for China, is missing on the roll as the Chinese government hosts eight African nations to a high powered investment opportunities forum which begins in Beijing on October 15.
◾The two-day investment drive will focus on opportunities in the energy sector of Africa’s economy. Listed to address the forum and present investment opportunities in the energy sector of their countries are energy ministers from Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Namibia, Uganda and South Africa.
◾Chairman of the Board of ICBC Standard Bank PLC, Mingqiang Bi and Deputy General Manager, Special Financing Department, ICBC Bank, Madam Shen Min are expected to provide insights into investment financing for
African nations.


According to a statement made available, “there will be 11+ project presentations featuring major opportunities, including: The East to West Landbridge – LAPSSET Corridor; East African Standard Gauge Railways; Dry port development in Ghana; Unbundling of state utilities in Liberia and; Gas-to Power investment opportunities in Mozambique and South Africa.

The forum, which is in its fourth year, is tagged The 4th Annual Africa Infrastructure and Power Forum and “partners with the China Africa Development Fund, who will be seeking new projects to receive some of the $5billion under their management”.
◾The statement notes that 2015 marks a turning point for African investment with the need to address the continent’s energy deficit, and the critical requirement to connect those living without access to electricity. According to the statement, 13 percent of world’s population live without electricity, majority, in Africa.
◾Energy industry experts link Nigeria’s absence at the investment forum on the absence of an Energy Minister for the country. President Muhammadu Buhari, who has been unable to form a cabinet since inauguration on May 29, had promised to do so before the month runs out.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/nigeria-ignored-as-china-hosts-africa-on-investment/

News broke on Wednesday that Diageo the parent company of Guinness Nigeria Plc was looking to increase its stake in its Nigerian subsidiary to 70%. To the shock of many investors they were even willing to buy Guinness Nigeria shares at a price of N175, more than a 40% premium to the closing price of N125.05 as at September 9, 2015.

The impact of the news on the market was significant enough to pare down the JP Morgan induced losses of the All Share Index from about 4% intra-day to about 2.98% by the close of trading.

The question on analysts mind now is why is Diageo so hot on increasing its stake in Guinness? The company did not reveal much details as such one can only speculate. We have thought hard and suggest the following may have influenced this move;

Defense Mechanism

The beer wars have been ratcheting of late around the world with the top two brewers in the world Anheuser-Busch and SAB Miller both making top acquisitions. Anheuser-Busch has also attempted a takeover of SAB Miller in 2014, a move that eventually fell through due to the huge debts the former had incurred on acquisitions. However, some analyst believe the deal is still in the works and could materialise as early as next year.

For beer makers like Diageo, it is in their best interest to play against the likes of SAB Miller or even their local arch rival Heineken. SAB Miller is already in Nigeria and have themselves made some juicy acquisitions in the past. They are cash rich and could see the current downbeat share price of Guinness as an opportunity to pounce. Heineken itself was a target of SAB Miller last year and promptly spurned the latter’s acquisition bid.

The folks at Diageo may have felt vulnerable and are now playing defense seemingly at any cost. The 54.3% they currently own is a vulnerable stake as Diageo is the only company that owns more than a 10% stake in Guinness. The remaining 45.7% is therefore in the hands of a diverse pool of shareholders that could be targeted by a predator competitor.

This in our opinion may be a good trigger for their decision to play up their stake.

Getting ready for a takeover


Alternatively, this could also be a smart move to set themselves up for a possible merger or takeover bid from a major competitor. We have said it earlier that the beers wars are alive as beer drinkers are now gravitating towards cheaper beers, wines and spirits. Thus cornering market share and extinguishing competition may just be the way to go for most major players. Guinness, being a strong brand may well be a future target and with Nigeria being one of its larger and profitable market, it is only logical that Diageo consolidates its holdings on its subsidiary ahead of any takeover bid. At just 54.3%, they appear vulnerable and have little leeway to force the hand of minority shareholders. At 70%? well it only gets easier for them to do any possible deal.

De-listing

The company in its press statement already indicated that after seeking up to 70% equity in Guinness it still hopes to remain listed on the exchange. However, we take that with a pinch of salt as things could rapidly change down the line. A de-list proposition is even easier when they own up to 70% of the equity of the company.

More control

This probably the most obvious guess for many especially as takeover goes in Nigeria. Owning more than up to 70% of any Nigerian company gives the parent company significant control which enables it decide the future and influence the operations of the company. Guinness probably needs such a control at this point of its operations considering its debts profile and dwindling profitability. Already they have changed CEO’s like two times in the past one year (though it claimed it had nothing to do with performance). Guinness paid down a significant portion of its debts this year and would probably need to pay down more and refinance some of it. Gaining 70% controls gives the parent company more leverage to influence the capital structure of the company.

These are at best speculations as we do not at the moment have any intelligence beyond what was put out in the press release on Wednesday. However, as more information become available we will report it.
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JP Morgan Chase (JPM) on Tuesday issued a press release saying it will start phasing out Nigeria from its Emerging Market Bond Index this month and will completely yank Nigeria off the index by end of October. The bank cites the current restrictions on forex transactions and policies of the CBN as its reasons alleging that it has prompted investor concerns about a shortage of liquidity. JP Morgan had earlier in the year warned that it will take Nigeria out of the index if the current CBN policies which most investors see as capital controls is not reversed. The potential implications of this move are far-reaching as JP Morgan Index is currently tracked by over $200 billion Funds. Here are a few immediate implications for Nigeria


Political Capital


The current Buhari Government has been taking credit for some of the policy initiatives carried out by Goodluck Jonathan Government such as stable power, the Treasury Single Account, tax initiatives, war on terror, renewal of strong diplomatic ties with the US etc. The Buhari Government is also not relenting in calling out the past government for its bad policies and alleged corruption. This development will now give critics of the current government, the opposition party and sympathisers of the past government enough armory to blame the current government. They will surely blame the Buhari government for not acting swiftly enough to stop the decision of JP Morgan considering that it issued the threat about 9 months ago. They will also say it is because of the slow mode of operation of the current government (which for example has not announced a cabinet more than 100 days after being in office) that has made the CBN Governor act alone thus portraying the country as one without an economic direction. This will cost the president a lot of political capital as even his supporters must now be jittery.


Bond Yields


When Nigeria borrows money by selling bonds they pay investors based on the on prevailing bond yields. For example, a unit of a bond priced at N1000 may have been originally sold at an interest rate of 10%, that is N100 per N1000. With Nigerian thrown out of the index holders of that bond could dump it and sell for lower than N1000 per paper just to exit. If the average price drops to N800 due to high volume of sellers then that interest rate of 10% is now 12.5%, that is N100 dividend by N800.


This means the next time the Nigerian Government goes out to borrow it will no longer attract a 10% yield but will now borrow from investors at a yield of 12.5% or even more. This will cost the government more money in servicing interest thus taking money it could have used for capital projects for debt servicing.


Lack of foreign demand


By taking Nigeria off the index, there will be little or no demand for our bonds from foreign investors. Already, since JPM threatened to yank Nigerian off back in January, foreign holding of our bonds has dropped from a peak of $11 billion in 2013 to $3 billion today. It is therefore likely that this may even shrink further thus affecting the demand for our debts. A lack of demand for our debts means yields may even get higher as fewer investors will now sought for our bonds


Gain for other emerging markets


With Nigeria out of the scene, other emerging markets in Africa like Ghana, Kenya and even South Africa could now be more attractive to investors. They will simply now move their funds to competing countries leaving Nigeria in its wake. Since investors like to follow the money, it is also likely that other forms of investments may elude Nigeria because of this singular move.


Prestige and Clout


With the above happening, Nigeria will lose its prestige as not just the largest economy in Africa but the economy attracting the most foreign investments. This will be damaging to an economy that has been thumping itself as the destination to be for foreign investors.


Corporate Bonds


Local companies and banks also borrow money from foreign investors by selling foreign denominated bonds and also Naira bonds. Now that the Federal Government is likely to see their borrowing cost go up due to this development, it is likely that banks and other corporates seeking to borrow may have to pay more in interest as well. Some companies may not even have the courage to borrow with bonds again due to high lending rates and may result in some companies gets starved of funds so much that they may start to incur losses or even fold up. For those that have even borrowed refinancing such loans will now be expensive as yields have already gone up.


Higher lending rates


For the banks that are lucky enough to borrow, they will have to pass on that cost to someone else. Small businesses which rely on banks for small loans such as overdrafts, local purchase orders, letters of credit etc. may also see their borrowing rates rise even higher. For individuals with consumer loans they may also be expecting a letter from banks telling them that their loan rates have gone up.


Foreign Currency Cost


It is also likely that foreign currencies will cost more to use due to this action. Holiday makers or business travelers who use their cards abroad for foreign denominated transactions may also see themselves paying more whenever they spend their naira debit cards. Since some banks also channels some of their foreign borrowings in the forex market it is likely that they will charge end users more to recover the higher cost of borrowing.


Shallow market


With the exit of most foreign investors the long term plan of the Debt Management Office of ensuring that our bond market is deep is now in jeopardy. With little demand, it is unlikely that the government and other private companies seeking foreign currency loans will use the bond market as a possible source. This will make the market shallow and unattractive and could even throw some companies out of business. For example, Fund Sourcing Companies, Legal Advisers and other consultants may witness a huge reduction in deals thus affecting their revenues.


Ripple Effect


The Nigerian stock market which has seen some bullish trends in recent days may also be negatively impacted. With this announcement it is likely that this may hurt the confidence of foreign investors which make up about 45 to 50% of transactions in the Nigerian Stock Exchange. If they decide to exit the market because of this then the market may just be primed for another long bearish run.


Devaluation


If this situation is not handled properly it may also trigger another massive devaluation. This could be caused by foreign investors who have had enough and will now use this decision by JPM as a reason to pull out their funds. Pulling out their funds creates demand pressure on forex and may result in a devaluation of some sort.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/jp-morgan-index-list-of-possible-implications-when-nigeria-is-evetually-kicked-out/

◾The Senate will Tuesday begin investigation into alleged unwholesome practices in the power sector from 1999 till date.
◾The probe is to be carried out by an Ad-hoc Committee on Power, inaugurated by Senate President, Bukola Saraki on August 28.
◾The committee inaugurated on August 28th, is chaired by Sen. Abubakar Kyari (APC, Borno North).
◾In a statement on Monday, Clerk of the Committee, Cletus Ojabo, said the probe would take the form of investigative hearing/interactive session with stakeholders in the power sector.


According to the statement: “The investigation will centre on funds appropriated for the power sector since 1999 to the point of unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and all matters connected there.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/senate-begins-probe-of-power-sector/

◾In line with the present administration’s intention to reduce the volume of imported refined petroleum products, promoters of another privately owned refinery in Nigeria, on Saturday in Lagos, disclosed plans to commence the building of a 107,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery in Okporoma, Southern Ijaw Local Government of Bayelsa State.
◾The refinery, called Epic refinery, licensed by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) with licence number: PI/ES/MSF/6239/S.233/292, dated June 15, 2015, is expected to start operations in the next 12 months.


“In terms of production volume, Epic refinery is the third on the list after Dangote and one other refinery, and we have been working hard to put things right so that the project will be up and running in the next 12 months,” Barango Mathew Wenke Jnr, president/CEO, Epic Refinery Group, said while briefing newsmen in Lagos.

It is a big shame that Nigeria, which is one of the largest oil producing state, is still importing refined petroleum products. We want to support the Federal Government with 30,000bpd mid-stream production to complement the volume that will be produced by Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries, and we strongly believe that Epic, if fully operational, will help the present administration to achieve its bid of removing subsidy,” he said.
◾While disclosing that the project is a foreign direct investment, the Epic boss said refineries were better functional when there was access to crude. Epic is sure of its raw material because the refinery will seat in between two oil majors, Agip and Shell.
◾He called on the government to deregulate the downstream sector, support local refineries and encourage local investors by allocating marginal fields and oil blocs to competent investors to enhance their operations.
more on...http://nairametrics.com/private-investors-to-set-up-107000bpd-epic-refinery-in-bayelsa/

◾No doubt the world’s richest people live in opulence and splendor, they can afford to buy multiple houses and cars and luxuries that most of us can only dream of.
◾In some cases, this wealth might be inherited, but the vast majority of millionaires and billionaires are self-made. Their wealthy empires did not just just appear out of thin air; they are worked for and pushed for over the course of a lifetime.
◾What is striking is that that most of these super-successful people have multiple paths in common. These shared experiences helped shape these entrepreneurs’ lives, and put them on a path toward ultimate financial success:
◾Let’s see some of these billionaires and understand the unique attributes they used in building their empires
◾Richard Branson DID SOMETHING DIFFERENT
◾There’s a famous quote “Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.
Richard Branson, serial entrpreneur and multi-billionaire, frequently preaches the value of doing something different and standing out from the crowd. He credits his own success in part to this principle.
It is well documented that Richard Branson is the only person in the world to have built 8 billion – dollar companies from scratch in 8 different sectors.
◾ Donald Trump TOOK RISKS
◾Making cautious, conservative investments and sticking with the life you’re comfortable with will help relieve some steps in your life, but it will also stifle your potential growth.
People who aren’t afraid to take calculated risks tend to perform better in the long run.
Take Donald Trump for example, he’s a successful and wealthy business man with a multi – billion dollar net worth. He only got to that point because he was willing to take substantial risks, even though some of those risks burned him, such as when his business declared bankruptcy with $3.5billion in debts, but he still powered through.
◾ John D Rockefeller KEPT WHAT WORKED
◾When it comes to empire building, you can’t just gobble up everything in your path. You have to look at what you have, keep whatever’s working and let go of whatever isn’t.
Rockefeller built the Standard Oil Company in the late 1800s. He acquired new businesses and ventures under the Standard oil Umbrella, Weeded out the ones that didn’t suit his purposes and held on th anything that kept his empire moving.
◾ T. Boone Pickens STAYED FRUGAL
◾He lived below his means. . Living below your means is a sure-fire way to ensure your expenses never outpace your salary, whether you make minimum wage or skim off the top of a multimillion-dollar portfolio. Pickens scrutinizes every detail of his basic grocery lists, and pays only cash for his regular expenditures. It’s not the picture of billionaire-dom that most people envision, but it’s a habit that allowed him to get to that point
◾Steve Jobs PERSISTED
◾After a brief rise to the top of Apple, Jobs was fired as the CEO of his own company. That would have crushed most people, but instead, Jobs started a new company, Next. Next wasn’t a breakout success either, but Jobs kept pushing and kept innovating despite his numerous setbacks. Eventually, he was welcomed back to Apple, which at the time was greatly struggling, and he helped turn it into the massive tech powerhouse it is today.
◾Bill Gates LEARNED FROM HIS MISTAKES
◾His first company wasn’t Microsoft; it was a startup called Traf-O-Data, which ultimately failed because of a flawed plan and an even more flawed execution. Gates took point number five and persisted to start a new company, but he also learned from the mistakes that made Traf-O-Data such an embarrassing failure. He applied those lessons to his new company, Microsoft, and we all know what happened from there.
◾THEY ALL SET GOALS
◾Goals, in theory, are very simple. All you have to do is create a vision for where you want to be, and work actively to get there. Yet 80% of the world richest people set goals, compared with only 12 percent of those in poverty.
◾Goals make a big difference in your life–they inspire you, encourage you, reward you, and help you plan and execute your actions better. They take fantasies and convert them to a tangible, achievable form.
◾Finally, If you’re trying to build your own empire of wealth, these seven paths are a good place to start. But remember point number one–you also have to differentiate yourself, so you can’t just follow blindly in another’s footsteps.
◾Forge your own path, make your own mistakes, and build your own empire from the ground up.
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Guinness Nigeria Plc today announced its full year results for the period ended 30th June 2015 reporting a 9% increase in net sales during the year.

The results reflect strong volume growth on the back of year-on-year impressive performance of its innovation and value brands.

Commenting on the results, the Company’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Peter Ndegwa observed, “We delivered a 9% increase in net sales during the year in a tough trading environment largely driven by the growth in our RTD category and value beer segment. Our gross profit also grew by 9%. During the year, we continued to invest significantly behind our brands and our route to consumer expansion and these, together with the high interest environment, have driven a profit before tax decline of 8%”.

The Board of Directors of the Company has also recommended, subject to approval at the next Annual General Meeting, slated to hold on 26th November 2015, the declaration of dividend of approximately N4.82 billion in respect of the year ended 30 June 2015, that is, 320 kobo per 50 kobo ordinary share. The dividend recommended, if approved at the Annual General Meeting will be paid to shareholders on 27th November 2015.


On his part, Mr. Babatunde Savage, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company stated, “The current economic environment is challenging for all companies but we look forward to an improvement in the operating environment and are positioned to take advantage of improving consumer confidence that may occur as a result”.
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