Connect with us

Banking

Life Continental Lager Beer Rewards Entrepreneurs

Published

on

life-continental-beer

By Dipo Olowookere

Life Continental Lager beer, a product of Nigerian Breweries Plc, has rewarded 30 more entrepreneurs in Imo State with a total of N7.5 million on its popular radio programme called ‘Life Progress Booster Show’.

The scheme was designed to assist innovative businessmen and women in the south eastern part of the country.

The beneficiaries were presented with their prizes recently at the Mimi’s Bar, All Season Avenue, Owerri.

At the event, 20 winners were selected on the radio program and another 10 were picked for their outstanding business proposals at the venue, all of which received N250,000 each for their business ideas.

It would be recalled that earlier in June, the brand presented N7.5 million to a different set of 30 winners in Enugu.

Speaking to guests at the event, Mr Funso Ayeni, Senior Brand Manager, Regional Mainstream Brands, Nigerian Breweries Plc, said, “We believe in the strength and capacity of the people of the South-east to thrive even amidst hardship and a recession, but we also believe progress can only be achieved with support, especially for excellent business ideas.

“We have a lot of people with those wonderful ideas with us here today. So there is a need to connect with them to ensure they make progress with those ideas. That’s why the Progress Booster show was specially created for the people of the South-east.”

“We started with 50 winners in 2015, and this year, we are targeting 200 winners. So far, we have had 60 winners. We still have room to receive, select and support more viable business ideas,” he added.

Some past winners of the programme who were at the event shared their experiences and achievements with the audience thanking Life Beer for supporting their businesses. They encouraged the new winners to make good use of the support given to them, and also pleaded with the audience to participate in the competition.

Other participants at the venue went home with various consolation prizes.

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

1 Comment

1 Comment

Leave a Reply

Banking

UBA Resolves ‘Transfers to Other Banks’ Glitch on Mobile Banking App

Published

on

UBA Mobile Banking App

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has restored full service to its mobile banking app after some customers experienced difficulties completing financial transactions from the platform.

Business Post reports that earlier, some UBA customers could not make fund transfers to other financial institutions from the mobile app.

The lender quickly swung into action to resolve the issue and has fully restored its mobile banking app service, with customers now able to send funds to other banks via the platform.

Confirming this development, the bank, in a notice to customers on Thursday afternoon, said, “We are pleased to inform you that the transfers to other banks service has been restored on the UBA Mobile Banking App.

“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused and reassure you of our commitment to continuously improve our services.”

While thanking them for their patience and understanding, UBA advised any customer still experiencing “any further issues [to] please contact our CFC support team.”

“For enquiries, please contact our 24-hour Customer Fulfilment Centre (CFC) on 02012808822 or send us an email at [email protected],” the message said.

Continue Reading

Banking

Ecobank Partners China’s XTransfer to Empower African SMEs Foreign Trade

Published

on

Ecobank Business Account

By Adedapo Adesanya

African lender, Ecobank, has partnered with China’s business-to-business (B2B) cross-border trade payment platform, XTransfer, to empower African Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) foreign trade.

XTransfer will leverage Ecobank’s extensive network across Africa, enabling its Chinese clients to collect funds in local African currencies while assisting African SMEs in making payments in their local currencies to negate foreign exchange (FX) issues.

The two parties have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding of Cooperation (MOU) to roll out comprehensive cross-border financial services that will facilitate trade between China and African countries.

In recent years, China and Africa have continued to deepen trade cooperation, with the scale of imports and exports rising rapidly. In 2023, bilateral trade reached a record $282 billion. From January to November 2024, China’s exports to Africa totalled $160 billion, a 1.4 per cent increase from the previous year, while imports from Africa reached US$107 billion, marking a substantial rise of 6.6 per cent.

Despite this growth, African SMEs engaged in foreign trade face numerous challenges related to cross-border payments and fund collections. These challenges include difficulties in opening accounts with traditional banks, a high risk of funds being frozen, difficulties in foreign exchange and related losses, lengthy remittance times and high remittance costs.

The partnership between XTransfer and Ecobank Group will foster collaboration between both parties to provide comprehensive cross-border payment solutions for African SMEs’ foreign trade.

XTransfer will leverage Ecobank’s extensive network across Africa, enabling its Chinese clients to collect funds in local African currencies while assisting African SMEs in making payments in their local currencies to negate foreign exchange issues.

The partnership also seeks to help reduce the costs of global trade and enhance the global competitiveness of African SMEs.

Speaking on this move, Mr Bill Deng, Founder and CEO of XTransfer, stated, “We are excited about the partnership with Ecobank. This collaboration represents a significant milestone for XTransfer and greatly enhances our global payment capabilities. Leveraging Ecobank’s extensive payment network in Africa will accelerate our business expansion in the region.

“We are looking forward to the synergies and opportunities this partnership will create. Together, we will drive innovation and improve the financial landscape, making financial services more efficient and accessible for African SMEs.”

On his part, Mr Jeremy Awori, CEO of Ecobank Group, said by collaborating with XTransfer, Ecobank is strengthening its position as a key player in the global payments industry by reducing trade barriers, enabling African SMEs to thrive in international markets and contributing to the continent’s sustainable development.

“We are proud to partner with XTransfer to advance seamless cross-border payment solutions between Africa and China. This partnership builds on our established strategy, which includes a representative office in China and a dedicated China desk.

“By integrating XTransfer’s cutting-edge solutions with our pan-African payment platform, we simplify payments, reduce transaction costs, and enable African businesses to thrive in global trade.”

Continue Reading

Banking

Shareholders Embrace Stanbic IBTC N148.7bn Rights Issue

Published

on

Stanbic IBTC

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The N148.7 billion rights issue of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc has continued to attract the interest of shareholders of the company because of the track record of the financial services provider.

The rights issue commenced on January 15, 2025, and is expected to close of February 21, 2025. The exercise offers existing shareholders the opportunity to increase their stake in the company from the available 2,944,772,083 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N50.50 per share.

Business Post reports that the rights issue is structured on a ratio of five new ordinary shares for every 22 ordinary shares held as of October 29, 2024.

Stanbic IBTC created the rights issue to strengthen its capital base, enhance its funding capacity and position it for sustainable growth as it will enable the company’s banking subsidiary meet the new minimum capital requirement set by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), thereby ensuring regulatory compliance and potentially strengthening its Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR).

“The pricing of our rights issue acknowledges the confidence of our shareholders have in the company’s vision and strategy.

“We are committed to delivering value to our shareholders and stakeholders, and this rights issue is a critical step in achieving our goals,” the acting chief executive of the firm, Mr Kunle Adedeji, said when Stanbic IBTC Holdings held its Facts Behind the Rights Issue at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in Lagos last month,

“At Stanbic IBTC Holdings, we believe that strong shareholder support is the cornerstone of our growth.

“The rights issue reflects our stakeholders’ trust in our company and reinforces our commitment to delivering sustainable returns.

“Together, we will navigate the path to success and continue to achieve our strategic objectives,” he added.

On his part, the chief executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Wole Adeniyi, said, “This is a significant milestone in our journey to becoming Nigeria’s leading financial services organisation and a critical step in our efforts to meet the evolving needs of our customers and stakeholders.

“We are committed to maintaining our leadership position in the industry, and this capital raise will enable us to invest in our business, drive innovation, and deliver sustainable returns to our shareholders.”

Speaking further, he expressed the gratitude of the company to its shareholders for demonstrating their “confidence in our ability to deliver long-term value.”

“This rights issue will enable us to build on our strengths, capitalise on new opportunities, and drive growth and profitability in the coming years.

“This is an exciting time for Stanbic IBTC Holdings and Stanbic IBTC Bank, and we are pleased to have commenced this important capital raise.

“We are well-positioned to drive growth, innovation, and customer satisfaction, and we look forward to continuing to deliver value to our stakeholders,” Mr Adeniyi said.

Continue Reading

Trending