Banking
Star Lager Beer Unveils Football, Music Platform
By Dipo Olowookere
A new platform to bring together music and football called Star Music The Fusion has been launched by Star Lager Beer.
This new initiative was unveiled on Tuesday, March 28, 2017, at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Star Lager, Nigeria’s foremost beer brand, has over the years been a pioneer of ground breaking platforms including Star Music Trek, Star Mega Jam, Star Super fans Show and Star Quest.
Star Music The Fusion, first of its kind in Nigeria, will see six teams of football legends, music artistes and DJs compete in a series of music and football concerts.
The novel platform will enthusiastically engage music and football fans with series of concerts, online and offline activities to pick a winning team.
The platform is based on Star Lager Beer’s consumer experience and their passion for music underpinned heavily by their favorite foreign clubs.
Commenting on the consumer experiences, Marketing Director, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Franco María Maggi, said, “With the brand’s activities over the past years, it can very well be seen that Star is a major supporter of music and football as we always seek to bring together and celebrate fans across the country.
“This new platform will bring more excitement and fun to millions of consumers, football and music fans across Nigeria, as they will be hands on to vote for their favourite teams.”
With Star Music The Fusion, Star Lager Beer will connect with as many music and football fans as possible as the platform will play on the strength of its partnerships with European clubs; Real Madrid, PSG, Juventus, Manchester City, Arsenal and Barcelona and also on the success of its nationwide tour, Star Music The Trek.
Speaking on the brand’s efforts to bring together its major pillars, Portfolio Manager, National Premium, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr Tokunbo Adodo stated that, “Our goal is to bring all of our target audience under one umbrella. We know what our consumers love and we would love to connect with them via their passions and interests.
“We see Star Music The Fusion as a way to further strengthen our commitment to millions of fans and bring quality enjoyment of football and music with unrivalled consumer interaction experience.”
The Star brand has over the years, built on its music and football pillars through initiatives including Star Music Trek, Star Mega Jam, Star Quest Shine on Nigeria and Star Super Fans Show by building great relationships with its consumers and rewarding their passion and love for music and football.
Since the first STAR lager beer bottle rolled out of the bottling lines in the Lagos brewery in 1949, the brand has been a premium market leader and was listed by the African Business magazine in its 100 Most Admired African Brands in 2015. Star has put its expansive platform to good use in promoting music and youth lifestyle through projects like STAR Music Trek, STAR Quest and STAR Mega Jam.
Sixty-eight years after it debuted in the Nigerian brewing sector, Star lager beer has continued to occupy the premium position by bringing a brighter shine to millions of fans.
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.
