First Bank Graduates 12 from Management Development Programme

By Modupe Gbadeyanka It was a double reward for a foremost microfinance institution, Advans Nigeria, at the recently concluded Marketing Edge Awards in Lagos. The firm, a subsidiary of Advans Group, was announced as the Most Innovative Microfinance Bank of the Year and the Most Customer-centric Microfinance Bank of the Year. The double awards are coming after the organisation was recently named as The Best in Retail Banking of the Year at the Pan African International Award. Advans Nigeria won the accolades due to its top-notch financial services and unwavering commitment to its customers. “We are immensely proud to receive

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The forthcoming trade expo organised by Fidelity Bank Plc has received the endorsement of the Mayor of Houston Texas, Mr Sylvester Turner. Mr Turner, in a short video, highlighted the several side attractions scheduled for FITCC Houston and encouraged businesses to take advantage of the expo to expand their businesses beyond borders. He described the event as “A catalyst to support bilateral trade between Nigeria and Houston; and an opportunity for the Houston community and the diaspora to explore emerging trends, forge new partnerships and unlock new possibilities.” The Nigerian lender will, on Tuesday, October 24 and

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Despite the challenging operating environment characterised by the Naira redesign policy and the foreign exchange (FX) unification policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Zenith Bank Plc showed why it is one of the strongest lenders in the country. Analysis of its financial statements for the first six months of 2023 showed that its gross earnings surged by 139 per cent to N967.3 billion from the N404.8 billion achieved in the same period of last year. It was observed from the results filed to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Monday that this triple-digit growth in

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 Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State has urged investors in the Nigerian capital market to consider putting their money in the Land of Virtue because they will never regret taking this investment decision. Mr Oyetola, who was at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday for the 2019 Osun State Facts Behind the Economy, assured investing public of stable electricity, which he said would boost their returns. He said his administration was doing everything possible boost the economic potentials of Osun State, calling on both local and foreign investors to be part of the success story. He

By Dipo Olowookere Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Heritage Bank Plc, Mr Ifie Sekibo, has described entrepreneurship as the antidote for unemployment of youth in the country. Mr Sekibo gave this submission in his keynote address delivered at the Next Titan Season-4 Premiere Show/Gala Evening held in Lagos not too long ago. Heritage Bank Plc, in partnership with organisers of the Next Titan Nigeria, Bravopoints International Limited, unveiled 16 finalists with brightest business ideas who will compete for the grand prize of the competition. The Next Titan is Nigeria’s entrepreneurial reality TV show where thousands of ambitious young

By Dipo Olowookere A non-governmental organisation known as the Ogoni Liberation Initiative has called for the support of national and international donors as it prepares to raise N1 billion in funding for the development of Ogoniland. Rev. Douglas Fabeke, who is the Convener of the movement, which focuses on the development of Ogoni environment and its people, noted that the fund is critical to the restoration of the region from its current state of disrepair. He said to achieve restoration, there is a need for equitable partnership, corporate collaboration and critical support of investors and stakeholders in and outside Ogoniland

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerians have been advised to start preparing for the rainy season which may come earlier with the possibility of serious flooding, the Nigerian Hydrological Services Agency (NHISA) has warned. Director-General of NHISA, Mr Clement Nze, gave this warning at the agency’s maiden news conference held in Abuja on Tuesday, February 4. He explained that this warning was appropriate time to put all measures to curb any disaster in place and not wait till the season kicked off. “We are here to use this medium to inform Nigerians, stakeholders, the state governments in particular and individuals that this

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The family of Ms Peace Anyiam-Osigwe has confirmed her death in a statement issued on Tuesday, January 10, 2023. The founder of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) died on Monday at the St Nicholas Hospital, Lagos. Her demise caused confusion in the movie industry as there were conflicting reports about her health status. But today, the family confirmed that the veteran filmmaker and critical stakeholder in Nollywood has passed on, promising to continue to uphold her legacies, especially AMAA. The family also said it would “announce the details of her rites of passage in due course.”

By Dipo Olowookere Discussions have been held between the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on how to forge closer ties on a range of issues from use of land in the ports where oil and gas free zones are located to strategic cooperation. The strategic engagement move between the two government agencies began some days ago when the managing director of OGFZA, Mr Umana Okon Umana, paid a courtesy call on his counterpart at the NPA, Mrs Hadiza Bala Usman, at the NPA head office on the Marina, Lagos. Briefing Mrs Usman

By Dipo Olowookere The Group Deputy Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, Mr Obinna David Nwosu, has resigned from the company. Mr Nwosu’s resignation was announced on Wednesday by the Board of Directors of Access Bank in a statement signed by Mr Sunday Ekwochi, the bank’s Secretary. It was stated that Mr Nwosu will officially quit the financial institution on Sunday, April 30, 2017. Access Bank explained that Mr Nwosu was leaving to “pursue other personal endeavours” and emphasised that he had no disagreement with the board and that there was no matter relating to his resignation that needed to

By Dipo Olowookere CRU Events and the African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP) are working with partners across Africa to offer brownfield projects seeking capital investment, the chance to make a showcase presentation to an audience of global investors and financiers. This opportunity to raise finance, named the “Investment Showcase” will take place at the CRU Africa Fertilizer Agribusiness 2018 Conference. The conference, now in its 4th edition, will be held 24-26 September 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa. The event typically attracts more than 400 senior fertilizer executives and agribusiness stakeholders from across the global fertilizer and agribusiness supply