Union Bank Partners TEDxLagos

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 The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) recorded a 107.1 per cent growth in total interest income to $1.1 billion for the half-year of 2023 versus $540.8 million in the same period of 2022. This was contained in the consolidated financial statements of the bank and its subsidiaries for the half year ended 30 June 2023, which demonstrates a strong and resilient performance, which was ahead of expectations due to global headwinds. The growth in its total interest income came as a result of increased volume of interest-earning assets, particularly loans and advances and higher interest rates. Afreximbank Group’s

By Gbolahan Oluyemi Websites create an online presence for businesses and serve as a valuable tool to enhance e-commerce, customer engagement, branding, marketing, and lead generation. A website provides the bank customers with information on branch location, the composition of the bank’s management team, product features, forms, and terms and conditions of service. Aside from the branding and customer information, banks are legally required to publish certain information on their website.  This article considers some of the information banks are mandated by law to publish on their respective websites. A bank is required to publish its foreign exchange, lending, and

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 Aduragbemi Omiyale An accelerator programme designed to boost the development and adoption of digital solutions for the insurance sector has been launched by FSD Africa and Nigeria’s National Insurance Commission (NAICOM). The initiative, BimaLab Accelerator Programme, according to a statement, will support the nation’s vision to meet the rising demand for innovative insurance products This is because it will address gaps in the insurance market by educating, nurturing, and promoting innovators and Insurtech start-ups. The programme will borrow from Kenya’s BimaLab I, BimaLab II and global best practices with a focus on local experience to provide Nigeria with the

By Dipo Olowookere Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, and the Acting Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Mary Uduk, have been accused of acting in ways that could have a negative effect on the Nigerian capital market. This allegation was made by shareholders of Oando Plc under the aegis of Proactive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PROSAN). In a statement issued at the weekend, National Coordinator of PROSAN, Mr Taiwo Oderinde, said the refusal of the duo to release the forensic audit report on Oando Plc was tarnishing the image of the capital market. To salvage the market,

By Adedapo Adesanya Five agencies of the United Nations on Thursday called for urgent action to protect millions of malnourished children in the 15 countries hardest hit by the unprecedented food and nutrition crisis, including Nigeria. The appeal was issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organisation (WHO). They warned that more than 30 million under-fives are suffering from wasting, or acute malnutrition, brought on by conflict, climate shocks, ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rising costs of

By Adedapo Adesanya The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has threatened to down tools over the sacking of its members by an oil firm, Fedoz Nigeria Limited. The oil workers union explained that Fedoz Nigeria Limited violated labour laws by terminating the appointments of four of its members who joined PENGASSAN, which according to them, is their inalienable rights as guaranteed in Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Speaking, the Assistant General Secretary of PENGASSAN, Port Harcourt Zone, Mr Tamuno Dappu, urged all its branch chairman and Chapter Chairman of

By Adedapo Adesanya For the fourth consecutive session, the Naira depreciated at the Peer-2-Peer (P2P) segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Wednesday by 0.34 per cent or N2 against the United States Dollar. The decision of the Federal Reserve to raise the interest rate yesterday contributed to the pressure on the Nigerian currency at the P2P arm of the forex market, which became an alternative exchange rate window for Nigerians after Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) prohibited financial institutions in the country from having anything to do with cryptocurrencies. At the market segment on Wednesday, the Naira was

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Transactions again closed positive on Thursday on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) following a 0.93 percent growth recorded at the market, pushing the year-to-date up to 31.83 percent. The All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 325.91 points to settle at 35,429.31 points, while the market capitalisation improved by N112.4 billion to finish at N12.2 trillion. Though the market breadth ended negative today with 21 gainers and 26 losers, the volume and value of shares traded by investors closed higher. A total of 346.2 million shares exchanged hands on Thursday in 3,066 deals worth N4 billion

By Nkem Ndem The Christmas bells are starting to ring and there is already merriment in the air as Nigerians are always eager to welcome the yuletide season, recession or not. As much as we love the Christmas parties, rice, chicken, and bottomless glasses of red wine, though, Christmas can be stressful financially as when you add it all up, it actually turns out to be a super expensive time of year. With that said, it doesn’t always have to be. There are ways to avoid spending your naira on the less important parts of the festive season. Jumia Travel

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira traded flat against the United States Dollar in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) and the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) windows of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Tuesday, February 28. However, the country’s legal tender depreciated against its American counterpart in the parallel market during the session as forex scarcity persists. In the P2P segment, the value of the local currency against the greenback remained unchanged yesterday at N768/$1, and in the official market, the exchange rate was flat at N462.00/$1. According to data obtained by FMDQ Securities Exchange, the value of forex transactions went down by