Banking
Goldberg Beer Village Boosts Commerce In Osun
The indigenes of Osun State and visitors to the ongoing Osun Osogbo festival have expressed excitement and appreciation to Goldberg Lager Beer for unveiling the Goldberg Beer Village, an initiative that enhances trade and commerce in the ancient city.
The people commended the beer brand at the Ogo-Oluwa area, venue of the Goldberg Beer Village on Tuesday during the official unveiling by the Ataoja of Osogboland, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji Olanipekun Larooye II and the Goldberg brand team.
The Baale Elese of Osogboland, Adebayo Moshood, who represented the royal father at the event, showered prayers on the Goldberg team and Nigerian Breweries Plc for setting up a beer village in the town because the initiative would increase and promote socio-cultural activities during the entire period of the Osun Osogbo Festival. He lauded the brand for championing befitting societal and cultural causes of the people.
In his welcome address, Joseph Abodunrin, Regional Business Manager, Ibadan, Nigerian Breweries Plc, gave thanks to the Ataoja, his chiefs and indigenes of Osogboland for their support and for coming out en-masse to witness the unveiling of the beer village. In his words: “the Osun-Osogbo Festival is an age-long traditional festival that must be honoured and celebrated and as the official Beer Sponsor, we want the state to be better culturally by giving it life, excitement and pleasurable moments during this period.” He therefore assured the people present at the event that the beer village and the 15-Day Beer Carnival will deliver enormous economic, social and cultural benefits for the ancient city, the state and the nation as a whole.
Ms Kunbi Ogunjobi, one of the local beer retailers at the event, said Goldberg has indeed enabled the inflow of money that would enhance her business expansion. She stated: “I am already seeing the signs of profit in all business activities that will happen here during this festival because I am recording high sales already.” She commended Goldberg for providing the platform, which many promoters of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) would enormously benefit from during the period of the Osun Osogbo festival.
Visitors to the beer village had a great time as they were thrilled to comical, dramatic and musical performances from live band of Fuji artistes and game shows involving raffle draws where customers who swarmed the village and purchased Goldberg won various gift items such as generating sets, Plasma TV, Kegs of vegetable oil and bags of rice, courtesy of the brand. The venue also provided art sculptors the opportunity to exhibit their craft to the delight of everyone present.
For the third year running, Goldberg, a brand from the stable of Nigerian Breweries is supporting the Osun Osogbo festival as the official BEER SPONSOR in the beer category.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A collaboration to enable fast money transfers into Nigeria has been entered into between Flutterwave and Xoom, PayPal’s international digital money transfer service.
The partnership allows Xoom transfers to be converted by Flutterwave and settled locally in Naira, enabling quick transfers directly into recipients’ bank accounts at Access Bank, UBA, Zenith Bank, First Bank, GTBank, and additional participating banks across Nigeria.
The deal also enables Xoom’s global network with Flutterwave’s local payout infrastructure, allowing users globally to send funds directly into Nigerian bank accounts with improved speed and efficiency.
Nigeria is the leading remittance recipient in Sub-Saharan Africa, receiving over $20 billion in personal remittances in 2024. Despite this volume, receiving international payments has historically remained complex due to FX constraints and settlement delays. This collaboration helps address those challenges in a market of more than 232 million people, where the ICT sector is projected to contribute 21 per cent of GDP by 2027.
By combining Xoom’s expansive reach with Flutterwave’s local compliance and banking partnerships, the two companies are providing a more accessible financial corridor for the continent.
Xoom, a PayPal service, is a fast and secure international digital money transfer service that enables consumers to send money, pay bills, and reload phones for friends and family in approximately 160 markets globally.
As part of PayPal’s global payments ecosystem, Xoom leverages advanced fraud protection, compliance capabilities, and a trusted global network to help millions of customers move money quickly and securely across borders.
“We’re excited to have been chosen by Xoom for their Nigeria expansion. Millions of Nigerians rely on money from abroad to support everyday needs, whether it’s families receiving help from loved ones, freelancers getting paid for their work, or individuals earning income from the global economy. This helps make it easy and more reliable for people in Nigeria to receive funds and stay connected to opportunities beyond borders,” the chief executive of Flutterwave, Mr Olugbenga GB Agboola, stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An initiative known as Nigeria Lightning Rounds, designed to expand funding opportunities for Nigerian startups and small businesses by connecting founders with local and international investors, has been launched by ProvidusUnity Bank, in partnership with US-based global venture firm and accelerator, gener8tor.
Scheduled to be held on July 15, 2026, Nigeria Lightning Rounds will feature carefully selected startups engaging with targeted investors who have expressed interest in supporting Nigerian innovation.
Participating founders will have the opportunity to pitch their businesses through focused 15-minute virtual sessions facilitated by gener8tor and ProvidusUnity Bank’s networks.
The program will focus on high-growth sectors including fintech, healthtech, manufacturing, sustainability, and AI, but welcomes SMEs from all industries, with intending participants urged to apply via https://www.gener8tor.com/lightning-rounds/nigeria.
“We recognise that access to capital remains one of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Through our partnership with gener8tor, we are creating a platform that connects promising Nigerian founders with investors who can provide the support required to scale their businesses,” the Head of Business Development at ProvidusUnity Bank, Mr Ernest Elue, stated.
“The partnership reinforces ProvidusUnity Bank’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by supporting innovation, enabling access to opportunities, and creating pathways for businesses with high-growth potential,” he added.
Also commenting, the Director of Lightning Rounds at gener8tor, Ms Elizabeth Larios, said, “gener8tor is thrilled to partner with ProvidusUnity Bank to extend the Lightning Rounds model into Nigeria.
“This collaboration reflects our commitment to building equitable ecosystems and driving capital to the most promising and underrepresented entrepreneurs.”
Lightning Rounds are a signature initiative of gener8tor’s investment platform, which has facilitated thousands of investor-startup meetings globally. The format is optimised to eliminate friction, reduce bias in early-stage fundraising, and help founders secure capital from investors aligned with their mission and stage. gener8tor’s previous Lightning Rounds for Nigerian Founders in 2025 featured 18 participating Investors and led to 50 investment meetings facilitated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The verification of the depositors of the 46 microfinance banks, whose operating licenses were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over a week ago, has commenced.
The exercise, aimed at refunding those whose funds were trapped in the small lenders, is being conducted by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
In a statement on Thursday, the agency said its staff members have been positioned at the offices of the affected banks across the country to attend to depositors.
It was disclosed that depositors of the defunct banks, who had their Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) linked to their accounts in the failed banks, will be paid through their alternative accounts in existing banks.
However, depositors whose BVNs were not linked to their accounts in the failed banks have been encouraged to visit the affected banks’ offices with proof of account ownership, a passport photograph, verifiable means of identification (Driver’s Licence, Permanent Voter’s Card, International Passport or National ID Card) and BVN.
NDIC also stated that depositors can alternatively file their claims online through its website: www.ndic.gov.ng, to complete the Pre-Verification Claims Form by clicking on the Search Bar, and typing Pre-Verification Claims Form; opening the Form and filling in their details. They can also do so by clicking the link: https://ndic.gov.ng/ndic-pre-verification-claims-form/ or by visiting any of the NDIC offices closest to them to file their claims.
For further enquiries, the corporation can be reached on any of the following lines: 09037273810, 09038197064, 08104220807, 09064657140.
