General
Organisers Seek Entries for 2023 Sahara Impact Fund Programme
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Social innovators and entrepreneurs across Africa, including Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Cameroon, Tanzania, and Zambia, have been urged to register registration for the 2023 Sahara Impact Fund (SIF) programme.
The scheme is an initiative of Sahara Foundation, the corporate citizenship vehicle for the leading energy and infrastructure conglomerate, Sahara Group.
The fund is a strategic partnership between Sahara Foundation and LEAP Africa, which aims to provide support to business ideas and solutions which will increase access to clean energy and promote sustainable environments.
The organisers said SIF is open to African social enterprises and entrepreneurs between the ages of 25 and 40 years and must apply on or before April 30, 2023.
It was stated that all entries for this fund must be in English or French, and only one entry will be accepted per organization, and innovations must show sustainability and scalability.
Once an entry has been submitted, no further changes will be accepted, and winners will be announced via social media channels, and awards will be given at our offices in the countries where the competition is held.
It was further stated that organisations must have been in existence for at least one year and must submit social solutions within the foundation’s key focus areas of Clean and Affordable Energy and Sustainable Environment.
Non-profits or social businesses must be registered with their country’s relevant regulatory and government bodies as funding will not be given to cater for that or to individuals in their personal capacity.
In addition, only technology-based innovative solutions with measurable community impact will be considered, and submissions must show evidence through the provision of web links and other online presence.
It was stressed that all submitted social solutions must have been implemented, must be at the growth stage and have direct beneficiaries and evidence of claim through pictures, news releases, etc must be documented and shared during the application.
A Director at Sahara Group Foundation, Ejiro Gray, said, “The aim of the programme is to better equip the young social entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses which will, in turn, grow their respective economies, contributing to the growth of the continent at large.
“We believe that entrepreneurs and game-changing business owners are the backbone of the African economy and are essential to its growth and development.
“Therefore, our goal is to provide the resources and support they need to succeed while improving lives and livelihood within their communities and across the Africa continent as a whole.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, has announced that Nigeria will launch a new alphanumeric postcode system on October 1, 2026, with every home expected to have a unique postcode.
Mr Tijani disclosed the development in a video post on X, describing the new system as a more precise and digitally oriented approach to addressing locations across the country.
He said the initiative would mark a significant shift in Nigeria’s postal addressing system by assigning unique postcodes to individual homes.
The initiative marks a major step in Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda. By replacing the outdated numeric-only system, the alphanumeric codes provide a more flexible and scalable framework that can accommodate the country’s rapid urban growth and diverse settlement patterns.
For emphasis, an alphanumeric postcode system is a postal indexing system that uses a combination of both letters (alpha) and numbers (numeric), along with spaces or punctuation, to identify specific geographic locations, streets, or individual buildings for mail delivery.
Unlike purely numeric postcode systems (such as the 5-digit US ZIP Code or 5-digit codes used in some European countries), alphanumeric codes offer a much higher number of unique combinations using fewer total characters. This flexibility allows postal authorities to pinpoint locations with incredible precision, often down to a single side of a street or a specific large building.
“On October 1st 2026 Nigeria’s new Alphanumeric Postcode System goes live,” Mr Tijani said.
“For the first time, every home will be assigned a unique postcode that’s simple, precise and built for a digital future,” he added.
The minister urged Nigerians to prepare to generate their individual postcodes ahead of the launch.
The new system is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s digital addressing infrastructure and improve the identification and location of homes and properties for postal and other location-based services.
The initiative is being implemented in collaboration with the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) as part of broader efforts to modernise the country’s addressing and digital infrastructure.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, has been directed to give an account to Nigerians on how the current government has fared since its inception on May 29, 2023.
This directive was given by President Bola Tinubu in a message posted on his verified social media handles on Wednesday.
This coincides with the commencement of campaigns for the 2027 presidential election scheduled for January 16.
According to the timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), candidates seeking to become the country’s president are eligible to kick off their campaigns from today, Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
In his message today, Mr Tinubu said, “When we began this journey of reform in 2023, I promised that the difficult decisions we were making would serve the purpose of building an economy that works better for you and a country that is stronger for our children.
“Today, your government presents The Reforms Scorecard. It sets out what our reforms have achieved, what they have cost us, and the greater costs and harms we have prevented by acting when we did.
“I have therefore directed the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, to give an account to Nigerians, to explain the numbers, the choices we have made, the progress recorded, and the work that remains.
“You deserve to see the numbers. You deserve to know what has changed and what these reforms mean for you, your family, your business and our country.
“This is your government. This is your country. This is our account to you.”
Shortly after he took the oath of office over three years ago, President Tinubu declared that subsidies on petroleum products were gone. He later approved foreign exchange (FX) reforms, which devalued the Nigerian Naira, shooting from about N800 per Dollar to nearly N2,000 per Dollar. However, it is currently slightly above N1,340 per Dollar in the official market.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the Nigerian Agip Exploration (NAE) Limited are advancing discussions on the development of deepwater assets estimated to hold 500 million barrels of oil reserves.
The development followed a meeting between the chief executive of the state oil company, Mr Bayo Ojulari, and Agip’s Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Mr Maurizio Pinna, in Abuja.
The talks focused on ongoing work on deepwater acreage jointly held by NNPC, NAE and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) as well as plans to bring the associated resources into production.
According to NNPC, the acreage comprises the Zabazaba and Etan deepwater fields, with estimated reserves of about 500 million barrels.
The fields are located in Nigeria’s deepwater terrain and are considered significant to the country’s efforts to expand its upstream oil production base, particularly as operators seek to advance projects capable of delivering additional barrels over the medium to long term.
While details of the expected production timeline were not disclosed, the meeting underscores renewed industry focus on unlocking Nigeria’s deepwater resources and growing crude oil production.
The acreage comprises licences converted from OPL 245 and is operated by NAE in partnership with NNPC Limited and SNEPCo.
Mr Ojulari and Mr Pinna also reviewed the work currently underway on the assets and the expected production outlook, with the discussions centred on advancing deepwater development.
The engagement comes amid renewed efforts to attract investment into Nigeria’s offshore petroleum resources and increase national oil production.
