Anchor Raises $2.4m to Expand BaaS Offering

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A partnership will enable customers to receive remittances from anywhere in the world, directly into their Smartcash Payment Service Bank (PSB) has been entered into with Simba Pay Limited, a subsidiary of MFS Africa. A statement from the firm explained that Smartcash customers can instantly receive international funds directly into the account by simply sharing their phone numbers, which also serve as their account numbers. Smartcash PSB, a subsidiary of Airtel Networks Nigeria, was launched in 2022, after obtaining an operating licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide financial services to unbanked persons in

By Adedapo Adesanya The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has unveiled a digital platform for the submission of Microfinance Bank (MFB) licence applications with effect from Monday, September 25. The apex bank made this known in a statement signed by its Director of Corporate Communications, Mr Isa AbdulMumin. “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is pleased to announce the unveiling of a new online platform for submission of microfinance bank (MFB) licence applications,” the statement released on Wednesday said. According to the statement, the new online platform is called the CBN Licensing, Approval and Other Requests Portal (CBN LARP) and

By Adedapo Adesanya The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) recorded a 107.1 per cent growth in total interest income to $1.1 billion for the half-year of 2023 versus $540.8 million in the same period of 2022. This was contained in the consolidated financial statements of the bank and its subsidiaries for the half year ended 30 June 2023, which demonstrates a strong and resilient performance, which was ahead of expectations due to global headwinds. The growth in its total interest income came as a result of increased volume of interest-earning assets, particularly loans and advances and higher interest rates. Afreximbank Group’s

By Dipo Olowookere The Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in charge of Financial System Stability, Mrs Aishah Ahmad, has been apprehended by the Department of State Services (DSS). The central banker was arrested by the country’s secret police to harvest vital information from her over the sale of a first-generation bank, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, to a relatively new lender, Titan Trust Bank Limited. The acquisition of the more than 100-year-old financial institution by the less than 5-year-old bank raised eyebrows because the buyer coughed out $300 million to complete the transaction. Titan Trust Bank

By Dipo Olowookere A Lagos-based company, Ronchess Global Resources Plc, is planning to list its shares on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, a regulatory document sighted by Business Post has revealed. What to know about Ronchess Global Resources Ronchess Global is a company with its headquarters located in Victoria Island, Lagos. The company is into the construction of roads and according to its website, its major focus is “to deliver excellence and client satisfaction consistently and therefore we focus on areas of service where we have proven expertise and a solid track record.” Ronchess is also a provider of traffic

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 Adedapo Adesanya The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned loan seekers and owners of small-scale businesses to be wary of fraudulent people when trying to access its development finance intervention programmes. In a statement released on Monday and signed by Mr Isaac Okorafor, the apex bank’s director of corporate communications, the bank advised prospective loan seekers to approach their banks to access its programmes. “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to fraudulent messages in the social media circles requesting unsuspecting loan seekers and owners of small-scale businesses to apply for loans provided

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Monday, September 11, 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Oando Plc has received the clearance of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The meeting, in its 40th edition, is scheduled to take place at the Akwa Ibom State Hall, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. SEC’s clearance came after an interim report by the special task team set up by the capital market regulator found no substantial evidence against the oil and gas firm following petitions filed by Alhaji Dahiru Bara’u Mangal and Ansbury Inc. Both parties had filed the petitions against Oando, alleging gross abuse of corporate

By Dipo Olowookere The long and short-term issuer credit ratings on Nigeria-based Diamond Bank Plc have been lowered by S&P Global Ratings, Business Post has learnt. A statement issued by the rating agency disclosed that the ratings were downgraded to ‘CCC+/C’ from ‘B-/B’, with the outlook negative. In addition, S&P said it also lowered its issue rating on the bank’s senior unsecured debt to ‘CCC+’ from ‘B-‘, with the long and short-term Nigeria national scale ratings on the bank dropped to ‘ngBB-/ngB’ from ‘ngBBB-/ngA-3’. According to the statement, the rating action reflects Diamond Bank’s dependence on favourable business, financial, and

By Modupe Gbadeyanka An American named Dr Wendy Kay Daeges has been appointed by the Kwara State Governor, Mr Abdulfatah Ahmed, as the pioneer Rector of the International Vocational, Training and Entrepreneurship College (IVTEC) in Ajase-Ipo area of the state. A statement issued on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Mr Musa Yeketi, disclosed that Mr Femi Josiah Olabisi was also appointed as the College Registrar. According to the statement, Saadat Iqbal was named by the Governor as IT System Manager; Mr Olatunde Timothy Fadipe as Instructor and Head of Automative, and Mr Tokunbo Femi Olayinka

Many years ago, the firewall was everything. Defence-in depth was a concept defined as layered defence with multiple firewalls on the path. Behind the firewall was a fortress. Organisations designed networks with strong perimeters and demilitarised zones to ensure the crown jewels were well-protected. Attackers had a difficult time trying to break into the firewalls. On the physical layer, Network Admission Control (NAC) technologies were implemented to prevent intruders from having direct access into the network by preventing them from plugging unauthorised devices into the network. Before a device was admitted, it had to meet a minimum requirement defined by

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The latest edition of the NEITI Quarterly Review released by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has revealed that a total of N2.28 trillion was shared among the three tiers of government comprising federal, state and local governments in the third quarter of 2018. The disbursements were made by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), with the federal government receiving the highest sum of N904.8 billion, followed by states, which received N718.5 billion and local governments receiving the lowest disbursements of N432.1 billion. “Total FAAC disbursements in the third quarter of 2018 amounted to N2.28 trillion