GoMetro Raises $1m to Expand to UK, American Markets 

By Adedapo Adesanya Ride-hailing service, inDrive, has announced an investment of over seven million Rand to acquire top-notch car seat covers across Africa to create comfort for its customers. The mobility and urban service headquartered in California, USA, has distributed this to drivers in one of its crucial market, South Africa. inDrive, has seen extensive distributions in major cities like Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban. According to a statement seen by Business Post, this underscores the company’s unwavering commitment to the drivers and passengers that constitute the backbone of the gig economy. “The local driver community has greeted this initiative with

By Bliss Okperan Some commercial bus drivers in Lagos popularly known as Danfo drivers, have commenced a warning strike to kick against alleged extortions by operatives of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA). Business Post gathered that the bus drivers refused to convey passengers to their various destinations across the metropolis, leaving many of them stranded at bus stops. The situation affected some workers, who could not get vehicles to take them to their different places of work because of the actions of the aggrieved motorists. It was gathered that only a few of the commercial motorists were working

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The Chairperson and Managing Director of Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA), Ms Martina Biene, has been elected as the new president of the African Association of Automotive Manufacturers (AAAM). She was chosen to take over the leadership of the organisation, established in November 2015, from Mr Mike Whitfield, who has been president since July 2020. AAAM is the only African body focusing on the expansion and deepening of the automotive industry across the continent, by working with governments to shape policies that will attract investors to unlock the economic potential of the continent and align a global

By Bliss Okperan Users of ride-hailing mobile applications like Uber, Bolt, LagRide and others may have to submit their National Identification Number (NIN) for registration before using the services if the demands of the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transporters of Nigeria are granted by the federal government. The group has asked the government to force the ride-hailing companies to capture the NIN of passengers before ordering a ride. The drivers made this request because of the incessant killing of their colleagues by hoodlums across the country. In a statement made available to journalists, the ride-hailing drivers said if this demand

By Lamin Manjang The launch of a common currency called Eco in West Africa is yet to see the light of day after two decades and the question is whether events are starting to overtake the project. With the latest 2020 launch deadline postponed because of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and no new timetable in place, there are concerns about whether the Eco continues to be a viable proposition. This is despite the many advantages a common currency offers the 15 members of the ECOWAS trading bloc. Removing trade and monetary barriers and meeting these targets across the

Technicians at Ghana-based exploration drilling company, Geodrill, have successfully built a multipurpose drill rig in the country. This is the sixth time the company is locally manufacturing its own drill rig designed specifically for the Ghanaian terrain. Eric Twum, the Workshop Manager at Geodrill, who led the team assembling the drill, explained the feat goes a long way to confirm that when the right training, opportunities and investments are made in the local economy, Ghanaians can produce anything. The latest rig, which he described as unique, is an up-spec’d version of those supplied of international drill rig manufacturers that are

By Ahmed Rahma An American business magnate, Mr Bill Gates, may not be investing in Bitcoin, a leading cryptocurrency, because he is not a fan of the digital currency. The philanthropist, who aims to work more closely with the chief executive of Amazon, Mr Jeff Bezos, to combat a climate crisis, made this declaration in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Emily Chang. The co-founder of Microsoft said, “I’m not a fan of bitcoin, either for environmental reasons, it uses a lot of energy.” Commenting on Mr Elon Musk investing in Bitcoin, he said, “Elon has tons of money and he’s

By Dipo Olowookere A citizen of Hungary has been kidnapped by some pirates off the coast of Nigeria on Saturday, the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has confirmed. A statement issued on Wednesday in Budapest quoted the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Péter Szijjártó, as saying that, “The local and German authorities have confirmed that a Hungarian citizen was among the six crew members kidnapped by pirates off the coast of Nigeria on Saturday.” During a press conference held on another topic, the Minister said there is no information as yet with relation to the fact

By Dipo Olowookere The National Long-Term Rating of Union Bank of Nigeria Plc’s BBB(nga) has been downgraded to BBB-(nga) by Fitch Ratings. In a statement issued by the rating agency, it however, said the lender’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) has been affirmed at ‘B-‘ with stable outlook. Fitch said the downgrade of Union Bank’s National Long-Term Rating mainly reflects its view of weaker asset quality relative to Nigerian peers’, as highlighted by the bank’s disclosure under IFRS 9. According to the statement released on Tuesday, the rating company said the IDRs of Union Bank are driven by its standalone

By Oremade Oyedeji Let me start this piece with a transcript from Rev. Badejo’s memorial service held in his honour, a great man of God. For those who don’t know him, Rev. Badejo was the first General Overseer in Nigeria to leave office after completing his term. He left veterinary work in the 90s and worked on many farms as mentioned at the memorial. The last was the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) award-winning Hackon Farm Limited in Ewu Oliwo, Sagamu, Ogun State, where he “shepherded a flock of chicken” before he went into pastoring flocks of men. At the

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Three Nigerian startups are among the 11 small firms selected by Google for its Artificial Intelligence (AI) First Accelerator Program for Africa. The beneficiaries will undergo a 10-week accelerator journey and will get $350,000 as an allocation in Google Cloud Credits, and further enjoy mentorship sessions, technical guidance, and networking opportunities to enhance their reach and impact. The 11 startups were picked from a vast pool of innovative talent. At the end of the scheme, they would be required to use cutting-edge AI to address both the continent’s challenges and broader global issues. “At Google, we’ve been

By Jerome-Mario Utomi Prior to the recent ‘youths revolt’ in the country which got the young Nigerians once described as ‘lazy’ busy on and off the social media platforms and led to alignment and realignment of opinions as well as resulted in the proliferation of leadership related associations, I have had the opportunity to read with rapt attention about the danger of building a nation without the youths, written by some prominent and well foresighted Nigerians on one hand and relatively controversial citizens as well. It was against this backdrop that this piece stems to among other aims examine and