UBA Wins Big At BusinessDay Banking Awards

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 Modupe Gbadeyanka A creative studio, EPAC Studios, has been unveiled by Ecobank Nigeria Limited to promote talents in the showbiz industry in Africa. The bank disclosed in a statement that the facility would be used to carefully tell “authentic African stories in art, culture, lifestyle, and entertainment.” According to the Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Ecobank Nigeria, Mr Jide Sipe, the initiative is to showcase further and develop the creative industry, adding that the space is an open canvas for the public to explore, collaborate and create premium indigenous content for television, online and mobile platforms. EPAC

By Adedapo Adesanya Yellow Card has joined forces with MoonPay, a global leader in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, towards expanding cryptocurrency accessibility in Nigeria by leveraging local bank transfers. Despite a ban on trading via official channels, Nigeria has emerged as a powerhouse in the African cryptocurrency landscape, with increasing numbers of individuals turning to digital assets to hedge against inflation and economic uncertainty. The volatility in the local crypto market, marked by the recent challenges faced by various crypto companies in Nigeria, has underscored the critical need for a stable and reliable means of accessing cryptocurrencies. This partnership between both

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Last week, the United States Mission in Nigeria organised the annual US College and Career Fairs at the Ecobank Pan African Centre (EPAC) on Victoria Island, Lagos. The US Consul General, Mr Will Stevens, while speaking at the event, said that America remains a leading destination for international students, noting the United States offers students an unrivalled educational experience, flexibility, and diversity. “We are happy to provide Nigerian students who wish to study in the United States a unique opportunity to learn about the diversity of the programs offered at various U.S. educational institutions,” Mr Stevens said.

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigeria’s oil production could drop by 35 percent in the next 10 years as regulatory uncertainty and costs may delay companies’ investments in key oilfields across the country. This was disclosed in a research carried out by consultancy company, Wood Mackenzie, recently where it warned that three deep offshore fields, which would generate $2.7 billion per year for the government at peak production, will likely be delayed. According to Mr Lennert Koch, the principal analyst of sub-Saharan Africa upstream with Wood Mackenzie cited by Reuters, in the face of this, it was necessary for the country to

By Dipo Olowookere Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday, June 12, 2018, has revealed that the average price for refilling a 5kg cylinder of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Cooking Gas) increased by 0.68 percent month-on-month to N2,072.24 in May 2018 from N2,058.19 in April 2018. The stats office, in the data obtained by Business Post, also disclosed that the price showed a decrease by 15.30 percent year-on-year, from N2,446.57 in May 2017 to N2,072.24 in May 2018. It was revealed that states with the highest average price for the refilling of a 5kg cylinder for Liquefied

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Respite failed to come yesterday on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), giving investors some things to worry about. The equities market further depreciated on Tuesday by 1.20 percent as bears continue to maintain tight grip on the nation’s bourse. Business Post reports that the persistence profit taking activities by investors left the NSE’s year-to-date loss at 4.44 percent. This occurred after the All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 364.13 points to finish at 30,036.15 points and the market capitalisation going down by N136 billion to close at N11.201 trillion. It was observed that the losses

By Dipo Olowookere The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has launched a price verification system portal to allow importers and others to have access to foreign exchange (FX). The system is to enable transparency in forex transactions, as it will have details of how customers obtained the foreign currencies and at what rate. There had been allegations of round tripping, especially against banks and their officials, putting pressure on the Nigerian Naira at the FX market. To tackle this, the apex bank introduced the price verification system. In a circular issued on Thursday night, the CBN said the system is

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government has approved that all other Africans won’t require visas from January 2020 to come into Nigeria as the visas would be issued on arrival. President Muhammadu Buhari announced this in Egypt at the ongoing Aswan Forum, according to Ambassador Ahmed Awad, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Federal Republic of Somalia. This is a major change to the country’s current visa policy as it implies that Nigeria will begin issuing visas on arrival for all African nationals. This disclosure came after an earlier announcement from the Comptroller General of the Nigeria

By Dipo Olowookere It has been confirmed that the new four-wheel drive pick-up of JAC Motors will been sold in the Middle East and African markets from next year. The company said it is selling the vehicles in the two markets following the success of their Frison model in the international market. The Chinese auto maker disclosed that it aims to repeat the success the Frison has achieved globally, when it unveils its new model in Africa and the Middle East in 2017. Sales of the Frison were particularly high in Chile, where it quickly became the No.1 Chinese pick-up

By Adedapo Adesanya The unlisted securities market appreciated by 0.18 per cent on Tuesday and this was majorly influenced by the growth in the share price of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Plc. Business Post reports that the milk producer closed the session at N127.25 per unit compared with the previous N120.08 per unit after its value went up by N7.17 or 5.6 per cent. This pushed the total value of securities on the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange higher by N1.16 billion to N656.09 billion from N654.93 billion it closed on Monday. Also, it lifted the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by

In continuation of its support for the creative and entertainment industry, Ecobank Nigeria is once again partnering with the Bolanle Austen-Peters production as it unveils the movie ‘The Bling Lagosians’ premiering this Sunday, June 16 at Filmhouse Cinemas in Lekki Phase 1, the luxury venue for filmmakers which houses the IMAX Cinema. EcobankPay, the lifestyle digital payment and collections service of Ecobank Nigeria, has been designated the payment solution as the much-anticipated movie premieres. As part of the side attractions, guests have been encouraged to dress spectacularly to win cash prizes sponsored by EcobankPay. EcobankPay is a convenient digital QR