Economy

Olam, MIT Solve Partner for Sustainable Food Systems Solutions

Published

6 years ago

13/02/2020

A leading global agri-business, Olam International, has partnered with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Solve (MIT Solve) to design a Challenge aimed at addressing the issues around sustainable food systems in Nigeria.

’MIT Solve is a hybrid business incubator and business ideas marketplace from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, that advances solutions from tech entrepreneurs to address pressing global issues. MIT Solve connects innovators with resources such as expertise, human capital, technology, and funding’.

On Tuesday, February 4, 2020, Olam International and MIT Solve co-hosted a Challenge Design Workshop which held at Eko Hotel, Lagos.

The workshop was designed to engage cross-sector stakeholders in the country to deliberate on issues affecting the country’s agri-business ecosystem and aid MIT in designing Solve’s 2020 Global Challenges.

The event was also aimed at building connections amongst individuals and organizations with an interest in innovation, to address social and environmental challenges.

Addressing the audience on the rationale behind the event, Mukul Mathur, Country Head, Olam Nigeria said, “Olam started as a single-man, single product operation in Nigeria and we have managed to achieve massive growth over a 30-year period.

“However, we still face problems and we cannot fix these challenges alone. We realize the value of having an ecosystem which can help in proffering solutions, especially around sustainable food systems in Nigeria. It is important to have such an ecosystem of likeminded people. I know that together, we can fix these problems.”

Ms Sharon Bort, Officer, Sustainability Community for MIT Solve, described the programme as an initiative of the MIT aimed at solving identified global challenges.

According to her, the MIT Solve cycle which starts in February of each year initiates competitions in the areas of Economic Prosperity, Health, Learning and Sustainability.

Ms Bort added that MIT Solve decided to focus on challenges associated with food in an attempt to find solutions to issues around sustainable food systems.

According to Ms Julie Greene, Vice President, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Olam International, the rise in the world’s population presents an opportunity for players in the agricultural value chain with the rapid rate of urban migration resulting in mass movements away from farms where crops are harvested.

“For most part of history, people lived near their food sources, they grew their own food. Today over 50 percent of the population lives in the cities. This has huge implications because of the channels through which these food products are transported and stored. The bigger challenge is that it inhibits people from having a healthy diet,” she said.

Ms Green pointed out that agriculture also has its negative impacts, despite its positive effects, saying, “Agriculture and other land uses are responsible for a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions from fertilizers, deforestation and transportation.

“Agriculture is responsible for 70 percent of freshwater withdrawals. While these are critical to productivity, they also have polluting effects on the environment.

“We only grow enough food to feed the population, but the problem is that 1/3 of that food never actually reaches our plates due to food loss and waste.

“Therefore, the food system needs innovation and that is why we are here today to answer the question what are the various opportunities for a sustainable food system?”

Mr Reji George, Vice President, Farming Initiatives, Olam Nigeria, identified food loss and wastage amongst some of the challenges encountered in agribusiness.

He said, “One third of the global food production is wasted; and this is estimated to be around 1.3 billion tonnes of food. If food losses can be improved upon, global food security, food systems and nutrition will also improve.”

He, however, added that Olam has commissioned surveys in some selected states in Nigeria, while also working with farmers to know the extent of losses incurred during harvest and find ways of reducing such losses.

Economy

Nipco, 11 Plc Crash OTC Securities Exchange by 4.76%

Published

34 minutes ago

06/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Energy stocks influenced the 4.76 per cent loss recorded by the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Friday, December 5.

The culprits were the duo of 11 Plc and Nipco Plc,with the former shedding N32.17 to end at N291.83 per share compared with the previous day’s N324.00 per share, and the latter down by N21.00 to sell at N195.00 per unit versus the previous session’s N216.00 per unit.

Consequently, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) slumped by 170.16 points to 3,401.37 points from 3,571.53 points and the market capitalisation lost N101.81 billion to close at N2.035 billion from the N2.136 trillion quoted in the preceding session.

The OTC securities exchange suffered the decline yesterday despite the share prices of three companies closing green.

Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc was up by N1.80 to close at N39.80 per share compared with Thursday’s price of N38.00 per share, Air Liquide Plc appreciated by N1.09 to N11.99 per unit from N10.90 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by 78 Kobo to N56.57 per share from N55.79 per share.

During the session, the volume of transactions rose by 6,885.3 per cent to 18.2 million units from 4.3 million units, the value of transactions ballooned by 10,301.7 per cent to N389.7 million from N347.2 million, but the number of deals declined by 29.7 per cent to 26 deals from 37 deals.

Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units worth N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units valued at N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units worth N4.2 billion.

InfraCredit Plc also finished the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units worth N524.9 million.

Economy

Naira Depreciates to N1,450/$1 at Official Forex Market

Published

50 minutes ago

06/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira depreciated further against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, December 5, as FX demand pressure mounts.

The Nigerian currency lost N2.60 or 0.18 per cent against the greenback to close at N1,450.43/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,447.83/$1.

Equally, the domestic currency declined against the Pound Sterling in the official forex market during the session by N4.48 to trade at N1,935.45/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,930.97/£1 and shrank against the Euro by 43 Kobo to end at N1,689.17/€1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N1,688.74/€1.

Similarly, the local currency performed badly against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to close at N1,455/$1 versus Thursday’s N1,453/$1 but traded flat at the parallel market at N14.65/$1.

As the country gets into the festive period, pressure mounted on the local currency reflecting higher foreign payments and lower FX inflows.

However, there are expectations that the Nigerian currency will be stable, supported by interventions by to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in the face of steady dollar Demand and inflows from Detty December festivities that will give the Naira a boost after it depreciated mildly last month.

Traders cited by Reuters expect that the Naira will trade within a band of N1,443-N1,450/$1 next week, buoyed by improved FX interventions by the apex bank.

As for the crypto market, it was down yesterday due to profit-taking associated with year-end trading. However, the December 1-Year Consumer Inflation Expectation by the University of Michigan fell to 4.1 per cent from 4.5 per cent previously and 4.5 per cent expected. The 5-Year Consumer Inflation Expectation fell to 3.2 per cent from 3.4 per cent previously and 3.4 per cent expected.

With the dearth of official economic data of late, these private surveys have taken on a new level of significance and the market banks of them to make decisions.

Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 5.7 per cent to $0.4142, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 5.1 per cent to $0.1394, Ethereum (ETH) dropped by 3.9 per cent to $3,039.75, Solana (SOL) declined by 3.8 per cent to $133.24, and Litecoin (LTC) fell by 3.7 per cent to $80.59.

Further, Bitcoin (BTC) went down by 2.6 per cent to sell at $89,683.72, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 2.2 per cent to $883.59, and Ripple (XRP) shrank by 2.1 per cent to $2.04, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

Economy

Oil Market Climbs on Federal Reserve Rate-Cut Signals, Supply Concerns

Published

1 hour ago

06/12/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The oil market was up on Friday on increasing expectations the US Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next week, which could boost economic growth and energy demand.

Brent futures rose by 49 cents or 0.8 per cent to $63.75 per barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures expanded by 41 cents or 0.7 per cent to $60.08 per barrel.

Investors digested a US inflation report and recalibrated expectations for the Federal Reserve to reduce rates at its December 9-10 meeting.

US consumer spending increased moderately in September after three straight months of solid gains, suggesting a loss of momentum in the economy at the end of the third quarter as a lackluster labor market and the rising cost of living curbed demand.

Traders have been pricing in an 87 per cent chance that the US central bank will lower borrowing costs by 25 basis points next week, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

Investors also focused on news from Russia and Venezuela to determine whether oil supplies from the two sanctioned members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) will increase or decrease in the future.

The failure of US talks in Moscow to achieve any significant breakthrough over the war in Ukraine has helped to boost oil prices so far this week.

A loss of Venezuelan oil production in case of a US military intervention will materially impact global benchmark prices as the market will have to replace Venezuela’s heavy crude.

Venezuela is estimated to pump about 1.1 million barrels per day of crude oil at present, so if the US-Venezuela tension escalation into an invasion in the South American country, this volume of crude would be at risk.

Reuters reported that the Group of Seven countries and the European Union are in talks to replace a price cap on Russian oil exports with a full maritime services ban in a bid to reduce the oil revenue that helps finance Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Any deal that could lift sanctions on Russia, the world’s second-biggest crude producer after the US, could increase the amount of oil available to global markets, weakening prices.