Agusto Assigns ‘4 Star’ Ratings to Two Nigerian Banks

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited has been recognised as the Most Outstanding Bank Supporting Women-Owned Businesses at the Women in Marketing and Communications Award (WIMCA) held in Lagos. The organisers of the event said the subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings has been very supportive of businesses owned by females in the society. The lender has created a healthy environment that breaks down barriers for talented, qualified women to achieve their career aspirations, own their businesses, and make demonstrable differences in their various industries. The Head of Enterprise Banking at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Ms Olajumoke Bello, while receiving the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A business grant of N10 million has been given to 30 members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), who partook in the entrepreneurship development initiative of Unity Bank Plc known as the Corpreneurship Challenge. The young entrepreneurs received funding support for developing innovative solutions in several business value chains like honey production, rice, and snail farming, among others. The beneficiaries pitched their business ideas to judges selected for the competition across 10 state NYSC Orientation Camps; Katsina, Kano, Kwara, Imo, Rivers, Delta, Sokoto, Edo, Akwa-Ibom, and Osun States. At the NYSC Orientation camp at Ikot Itie

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A global provider of audit and certification services, MSECB, has issued a certification to Access Bank Plc for its Anti-Bribery Management System. The certification was issued to the Nigerian lender after implementing effective measures and fostering a culture of integrity within its system and operations. With this certification, Access Bank aims to provide its customers with the highest level of confidence in the bank’s unwavering integrity, assuring them of its zero-tolerance policy for bribery and ethical misconduct, thus fostering a positive relationship, and building trust and credibility among its stakeholders, including customers, partners, and investors. The bank

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Head of Partnerships at Stanbic IBTC Bank Limited, Ms Omolara Osunsoko, has posited that any economy that intends to flourish must do everything possible to support business owners, especially those in the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector. The banker said this at a webinar organised to inform participants of a seamless payment experience for business owners through the enhanced Enterprise Online (EOL) payment platform. At the event themed Simplifying Payments for Businesses, the company unveiled EOL 2.0, an upgraded solution created to facilitate a smooth payment experience and improve human resources (HR) services for business

By Adedapo Adesanya The House of Representatives has expressed its determination to implement a wholesale reform of customs and excise operations in Nigeria. Speaker of the parliament, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, gave this assurance on Tuesday at a one-day public hearing on the Nigeria Customs Service (establishment) Bill, 2021, organised by the House Committee on Customs and Excise, chaired by Mr Leke Abejide. Mr Gbajabiamila said the House needed the support of the relevant stakeholders, whose contributions he said are critical in the legislative process that would strengthen customs operations. He said the bill was the product of a coordinated effort

By Dipo Olowookere Africa’s economy is set to feel the effects of Brexit following Britain’s formal trigger Wednesday of the two-year exit process from the European Union after last year’s historic referendum vote to leave the EU. Director Adam Elhiraika of the of Economic Commission’s Macroeconomic Policy Division says Africa’s economic growth declined from 3.7 percent in 2015 to 1,7 percent in 2016 due to weak global economic conditions, persistent low oil prices and adverse weather conditions and may further be affected by Brexit. “The effects of Brexit may slow the global economy with spillover effects into Africa, mainly through

By Adedapo Adesanya The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday said inflation rate in Nigeria has dropped to 11.02 percent in August 2019 from the 11.08 percent recorded in July 2019. This indicated that the inflation moderated by 0.06 percent in the period under review. In the report made available on the NBS website, the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measure inflation, had disinflation continuing in August 2019 despite several pronouncements on policies as regards restrictions on the import of some food items like milk and rice, minimum wage and the recent border closures. However, the stats office said,

By Dipo Olowookere MasterCard, a leading technology company in the global payment space, and Youth for Technology Foundation (YTF), an international non-for-profit organisation, have been commended by the former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili. The commendation by the former Minister came at the Nigeria launch of the Girls4Tech initiative recently. Girls4Tech is MasterCard’s signature education program designed for young girls around with the goal of inspiring girls to build skills in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Speaking at the launch held at the RiverBank School, Dr Ezekwesili admonished the young girls to emulate the likes of Sheryl Sandberg

By Modupe Gabdeyanka The United Nations has commended the Nigerian government for the release of additional 82 of the over 200 Chibok schoolgirls abducted by the Boko Haram insurgent group in April 2014 in Borno State. In a statement issued by the global organisation on Monday, it appealed to all Nigerians, including the families and local communities of the liberated girls, to fully embrace them and provide all necessary support to ensure their reintegration into society. “We also urge the international community to continue supporting the Government of Nigeria in its efforts to ensure the release, rehabilitation and reintegration of

By Sodeinde Temidayo David I’m sure you know that catfish farming in Nigeria has become one of the most commonly practised fish farming businesses, with a lot of back benefits. The high demand and consumption of fish have made the business very profitable if well-managed. Catfish farming has become one of the fastest-growing areas of animal food production. Gone were the days when the only means of getting fish was by catching it in the local rivers, ponds or from fishermen. About half of the fish consumed in Nigeria are now raised in artificial environments. If you are looking forward

By Investors Hub European stocks have fallen sharply to hit over three-month lows on Friday, as growing global trade tensions as well as weak manufacturing data from China have stoked recession fears. U.S. President Donald Trump has announced new tariffs on all goods coming from Mexico in an attempt to curb illegal immigration to the U.S. Trump announced in a post on Twitter that beginning June 10 a 5 percent tariff would be imposed and would slowly rise until the situation is resolved. China’s manufacturing activity declined in May for the first time in three months, raising fresh concerns about