Unity Bank Unveils UnityBiz Account

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Momentum is already gathering for the 2023 edition of Hackaholics Digital Summit organised by Wema Bank Plc, owners of the foremost digital lending firm, ALAT by Wema. The event is dubbed Africa’s largest gathering of innovators, disruptors, regulators, policymakers, investors & customers in the digital space. A statement from the bank disclosed that this year’s programme will take place in Lagos on Friday, October 6, with attendance by invitation only, though interested customers and technology enthusiasts can secure a spot by registering at https://hackaholics.wemabank.com/digital-summit. The theme, according to the organisers, is Re-Imagine: Disrupting the Ecosystem for Scale,

By Dipo Olowookere Schools have been urged to choose Ecobank Nigeria Limited as their preferred financial institution for fee payments and collections because of the exciting advantages the lender offers. The Head of Consumer Banking at Ecobank, Mrs Korede Demola-Adeniyi, made this appeal while rolling out the special loan packages designed by the bank for its back-to-school initiatives. Mrs Demola-Adeniyi said the financial institution created some packages for parents, guardians and schools in line with its overall strategy to support the development of the nation’s education sector. According to her, there is a Banking-for-School pack for educational institutions to access

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 Dipo Olowookere In cooperation with the Government of Malawi, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will establish an air corridor and use unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), known as drones, for humanitarian purposes, the agency announced today. “Malawi has over the past years faced serious droughts and flooding,” stated Malawi’s Minister of Transport and Public Works, Jappie Mhango. “The launch of the UAS testing corridor is particularly important to support transportation and data collection where land transport infrastructure is either not feasible or difficult during emergencies.” The corridor will be the first one in Africa, and the first one to

By Dipo Olowookere The currency market received a boost on Monday when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released another $210 million into the interbank segment of the market. A statement issued by spokesman of the apex bank, Mr Isaac Okorafor, explained that the intervention was part of efforts to sustain the flow of forex in the market. He said from the $210 million released by the country’s chief lender, $100 million was given to the wholesale market, while $55 million allotted to the small businesses, and $55 million went to the invisibles, which cover school fees, travels, and medical

By Aduragbemi Omiyale Seplat Energy Plc wants to immediately embark on a recruitment process to run a search for the next chairman of the organisation. The current occupier of the position, Mr Basil Omiyi, will leave the post next year when he retires, and for a smooth transition, the energy firm wants to begin the process of getting a capable hand. Seplat has been in the news lately for the wrong reason, and the company has blamed some disgruntled for the crisis. In a statement on Tuesday, the company said the recruitment process for selection of the successor of Mr

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) on Tuesday disclosed that 77 oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria currently owe the country $6.48 billion (N2.7 trillion), which can be used to service Nigeria’s debt. In a statement issued in Abuja, the agency’s Executive Secretary, Mr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, noted that the debts, which were identified in its 2019 Oil and Gas Audit Report, arose from the failure of the firms to remit petroleum profit tax, company income tax, education tax, value-added tax, withholding tax, royalty and concession on rentals to the federation account. Giving a breakdown

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Timipre Sylva, says the federal government is not responsible for the increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), otherwise known as petrol. According to Mr Sylva, the government is still subsidising petrol, with provision made to do that for the next few months. Speaking at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) stakeholders’ consultation forum on regulations, Mr Sylva said the marketers are most likely to blame. “I can tell you authoritatively that we have not deregulated,” he said. “The government is still subsidising. If

By Ahmed Rahma One of the telecommunication providers in Indonesia, Indosat Ooredoo, has deployed the artificial intelligence (AI)-based advanced analytics and marketing automation solution of Comviva for its marketing campaigns aimed to serve its customers better. The technology is aimed to improve Indosat’s customers engagement and increase the company’s revenue through Comviva’s MobiLytix Real Time Marketing platform. This platform will deliver contextual, in-the-moment, omni-channel marketing initiatives to enhance customer lifetime value in today’s hypercompetitive market. MobiLytix Real Time Marketing is a powerful Machine learning driven real-time interaction management platform that delivers proven top-line results for CVM marketers. It is a

By Adedapo Adesanya Vantage Health Technologies, an international health technology provider, part of the BroadReach Group, will collaborate with Nigeria’s Network for Health Equity and Development (NHED), a public health and development non-profit organisation, to boost the Nigerian health system through Artificial Intelligence (AI). The team will harness the power of AI and long-term in-country contextual expertise in health advocacy to build strong governance and health systems across the country’s public health system. The Nigerian health system is overburdened and resource-constrained, resulting in poor health outcomes. Nigeria experiences a high prevalence of HIV, TB, and Malaria, ranking fourth worldwide in

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Five health facilities in Ifo Local Government have been shut by the Ogun Government for non-compliance with validation. Commissioner for Health, Dr Babatunde Ipaye, while monitoring the level of compliance with the re-validation/registration of private health facilities in Akute on Monday, disclosed that the decision to close to facilities was to safe guard the profession against quackery and reposition the sector for quality health care delivery. Represented by the Director, Department of Hospital Services in the ministry, Dr Solomon Sokunbi, the Commissioner said activities of unqualified health workers had caused a lot of havoc in the country