General
AXA Mansard Empowers 100 Female Entrepreneurs With Digital Marketing Skills
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
In order to increase opportunities for women, accelerate their participation in economic activities and encourage digital equity, Axa Mansard has empowered over 100 young female entrepreneurs with digital marketing skills in Lagos.
Axa Mansard, a member of a global leader in insurance and asset management known as AXA, held a two-day digital marketing training for the participants.
It was part of the company’s activities lined up to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day, designed “to empower female SMEs owners with skills to improve their digital output and position them for the immense opportunities available in the digital space,” according to the Chief Customer and Marketing Officer of AXA Mansard, Ms Jumoke Odunlami.
Ms Odunlami explained that the underwriter was convinced that support for women, through its inclusive protection programmes, was important to AXA’s purpose of acting for human progress by protecting what matters.
She noted that the focus on digital equity as a sub-theme of this year’s IWD was because the firm realizes the importance of digital to the growth of the SME sector in Nigeria and wants to ensure that women are empowered enough to be a consequential part of that growth.
“It’s almost trite to say that SMEs are the engine for economic growth, especially in developing countries like Nigeria. What needs to be continually discussed is how Nigeria is going to unlock that potential for economic development and how much of those potentials will be unlocked by women and for women.
“For us at AXA Mansard, we are aware that digital will play a major role in Nigeria’s economic future. So, to ensure that women are equally represented in unlocking these future potentials, we have collaborated with SME 100 Africa to support them in developing the required skills,” Ms Odunlami said.
“Our choice of digital marketing as the skill to leverage is also deliberate. We understand the power of marketing. We understand that helping these SMEs with the skill to attract more customers will be a faster means to empower them. We see that they have amazing products and services, but they need to understand how to attract value for themselves by attracting the right customers, and you will agree with me that virtually all customer segments are online in one way or the other today.
“So, if we can empower them with digital marketing skills, we would have been helping them with the heavy lifting of trying to find and attract customers,” she further explained.
Commenting on the programme, the Chief Executive Officer of SME 100 Africa, Mr Charles Odii, explained that the company was happy to partner with AXA Mansard again to empower women within the SME space.
“We believe that for the world to truly experience progress, there must be an equitable distribution in the creation and access to opportunities for men and women,” he said.
Mr Odii noted that this quest for balance informed the digital marketing training, saying further that, “This training is part of the group of initiatives we have designed for the Nigerian woman.
“Our goal is to see them grow, add value to their lives and help them mitigate risks every step along the way. What we found through our research is that regardless of the economic segment, access to digital skills is one of the most important things to present-day Nigerian women, and they desire to be financially independent, secure, and to be respected in the community”.
Concluding, he submitted that, “Women entrepreneurs play a vital role in unlocking economic growth as they provide the majority of the labour with little resources. As an organization, we will therefore continue to create opportunities for these women to grow and achieve their dreams. We wish every Nigerian woman a happy Women’s Month.”
General
CNPP Begs Wike for Certificates of Occupancy Payment Deadline Extension
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has been urged to extend the deadline for the payment of Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) by property owners in Abuja.
This plea for an extension was asked by the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) through a statement signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mr James Ezema.
The group said the initial two-week grace period given to the affected allottees, which expired on Friday, January 3, 2025, was insufficient, considering the current economic challenges facing the country.
Recall that after public outcries, Mr Wike, who is the immediate past governor of Rivers State, granted an extension to the owners of the 762 revoked plots of land in Maitama, Abuja.
“We are appealing to the Minister and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) to tamper justice with mercy and issue an extension in the spirit of the yuletide and in view of the economic challenges in the country,” the association stated.
It stressed that the extension would give the affected individuals and groups ample time to comply with the directive, thereby avoiding any undue hardship or loss.
“We pray that the Minister and the FCTA will grant the allottees an extension to comply with the directive, giving all the affected individuals and groups enough time to have themselves to blame at the end of the final extension,” the statement added.
The CNPP’s appeal comes on the heels of its recent expression of concern over the escalating hunger and suffering faced by millions of Nigerians due to the economic realities in the country.
General
All Farmers Association of Nigeria Dissociates Self From Ado Kano
By Adedapo Adesanya
The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has dissociated itself from an unofficial viral statement by one of it members, regarding posters indicating activities of the organisation.
The group dissociated itself from the member in a statement signed by its National President and the National Secretary, Mr Kabiru Ibrahim, and Mr Yunusa Halidu, respectively.
“This post is made by an authorized member, Ado A Ado Kano.
“The opinions and views expressed here are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the group, its administrators, or other members.
“For official statements, please refer to AFAN official contact or platform,” parts of the statement made available to Business Post stated.
According to AFAN, the unofficial posters flying around doesn’t represent the association, noting that Mr Kano is not authorized by AFAN or its officials but those of the author.
AFAN is the umbrella organisation for all farmers’ commodity associations in Nigeria.
Its vision and mission are to assemble all Nigerian producers into one organization, providing a single interlocutor for the government to address agricultural issues with the farming community.
AFAN was formed by the merger of the All-Farmers Association of Nigeria (ALFA) and the National Farmers’ Association of Nigeria (NAFAN). The merger was recommended by former Nigerian president, Mr Olusegun Obasanjo.
General
BUA Debunks Claims of 90% Completion of Refinery in Akwa Ibom
By Adedapo Adesanya
BUA Group has denied widespread reports that its ongoing construction of a 200,000 barrels per day capacity refinery located in Akwa Ibom State is 90 per cent completed.
In a statement signed on Sunday, the group with subsidiaries in food, cement, and energy sectors said that the claims that the structure was at end stage did not come from it.
“Contrary to a misleading report stating that our 200,000 barrels/day refinery is at 90% completion, BUA wishes to advise the public to disregard such misleading reports that did not emanate from us,” a part of the statement read.
It clarified that the project was progressing well and added that it was going to meet the project timeline of 2025.
“As we make remarkable strides on our Akwa Ibom refinery project, we are proud to share that construction is progressing steadily.
“Whilst the refinery is not at 90% completion, we are however on track to meet our delivery timelines in collaboration with our partners.
“This BUA Refinery & Petrochemicals project represents a major milestone in strengthening Nigeria’s refining capacity and energy security,” the group said.
BUA is also carrying out other energy projects, including the construction of a mini-LNG plant and several new hybrid power plants across the country, which it said are also progressing rapidly.
The group says this will add additional capacity to our over 1,000MW installed captive power generation capacity.
“The public is advised to verify any news through our official channels and platforms so as not to be misled by mischievous persons,” the statement said.
“At BUA, we remain committed to transparency and excellence. As we have consistently done with over 12 of our completed mega industrial projects worth over $ 3.5 billion in the past 10 years, we will continue to keep you updated with verifiable and accurate information only where necessary, and as milestones are achieved.
“We appreciate the public’s interest and enthusiasm for this transformative project as we work together in building a stronger industrial and manufacturing base for a self-reliant Nigeria,” it added.
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