Brands/Products
Brand Ambassadors Sensitize Women on Ajinomoto Seasoning
More than 200 women in Ogbaru, Anambra State were recently sensitised on the usage of the popular Ajinomoto umami seasoning.
This demonstration was done by the brand ambassadors of the product, Nigeria’s ace comedian, Helen Paul and former Big Brother Naija contestant, Miyonse Amosu.
The duo took time to educate the consumers on how to use the seasoning at a Neighbourhood Cookout at Ogbaru and treated the women to a delightful taste of local bitter leaf soup, using the Ajinomoto seasoning.
The ace comedian, who thrilled the women to an entertaining event, also gave out free cash, souvenirs and seasonings as gifts to spice up the occasion.
In her remarks, Mr Niki Junichi, the Managing Director of West African Seasoning Company Limited (WASCO) which produces seasoning, said the cookout was aimed at sensitizing consumers on the use of the seasoning.
Junachi said, “We conducted a research that suggests there were negative opinions about the Monosodium Glutamate flavoring – Ajinomoto seasoning.
“Women make most decisions in terms of what to buy in the markets especially as it concerns food, so, we feel it is important to educate them that the brand is safe for consumption.
“Our objective is to sensitise them and also change the perception of the people of South East about our product.
“The campaign will continue until people change their mindset and realise that there is no harm in using the brand,’’ he said.
Speaking on the health benefits of Ajinomoto umami seasoning, a nutritionist, Dr Helen Unaeze explained that a lot could be derived from the use of the product.
“First of all, it adds flavour and heighten the natural flavour of food; it also helps in protein and energy synthesis and helps to reduce salt and fat in diet.
“It is pure, produced and packaged from sugarcane under hygienic condition, I urge women to ignore the negative reports said about the product,’’ she said.
Mrs Francisca Ikediashi, the Corporate Communications Officer told newsmen in an interview that the campaign started in the South-West region where they also visited the Ooni of Ife and engaged the people.
Ikediashi said the campaign train would move to the North where it hopes to further persuade and sensitise the people on the right information about the product.
“Here in Onitsha, we visited the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Alfred Achebe.
“We also invited the women because they are key in helping to disseminate the message and because they take most decisions when it concerns what is used to prepare meals,” Ikediashi said.
Speaking on their experiences, two consumers who are petty traders, Mrs Eucharia Ede and Mrs Nkechi Uguta extolled the benefits of using Ajinomoto.
“I am excited about the campaign, especially as I have heard the truth about the product which is that it is good for our health and not dangerous as was speculated in the past,” Uguta said.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An institutional investor, First Ally Capital, has strengthened a leading Nigerian financial technology company, Mathesis Analytics, to scale its proprietary credit decisioning infrastructure.
It made this possible by injecting fresh capital into the firm, which specialises in AI-powered credit decisioning infrastructure, an action that will directly support the growth and scaling of Mathesis’ core mission of providing the intelligence and infrastructure needed to bridge the credit gap for millions of unscored or underscored individuals across Nigeria.
With this investment, Mathesis will enable financial institutions to confidently assess and extend credit to borrowers who lack a formal credit history by leveraging an expanded pool of alternative behavioural and transactional data.
To date, Mathesis’ systems have supported more than 8 million loans for over 2 million unique borrowers in Nigeria, and the company is actively deploying its infrastructure to establish a growing pan-African footprint.
With the investment from First Ally Capital, Mathesis is well positioned to transform how the credit ecosystem operates, driving financial inclusion in partnership with lenders across the continent.
A significant barrier to credit access in Nigeria, which prides itself on being Africa’s largest economy, is data fragmentation. Borrowers frequently build positive financial behaviours across multiple digital platforms by repaying microfinance loans, saving through fintech wallets, or servicing Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) facilities.
However, under traditional credit infrastructure, these achievements remain invisible to new lenders.
Mathesis addresses this challenge through the concept of Personal Equity—the quantified expression of an individual’s financial behaviour aggregated across every institution with which they have transacted.
By translating these disparate signals into a precise, portable measure of creditworthiness, Mathesis creates a comprehensive credit identity that reflects the full breadth of a person’s financial life.
“True financial inclusion cannot be achieved in a vacuum; it requires structural collaboration in which lenders and fintech companies work as partners within the ecosystem.
“This investment from First Ally Capital validates our approach to reshaping credit infrastructure. By quantifying Personal Equity, we empower lenders to safely look beyond the constraints of formal credit histories and recognise a borrower’s true creditworthiness. This capital enables us to accelerate our pan-African expansion while maintaining the robust, institutional-grade infrastructure our partners rely on,” the chief executive of Mathesis Analytics, Winston Osuchukwu, stated.
On his part, the chief executive of First Ally Capital, Mr Ebenezer Olufowose, said, “At First Ally Capital, we pride ourselves on being a one-stop destination for financial solutions, offering a diverse portfolio of services ranging from investment banking and asset management to trusteeship, inclusive banking, and real estate.
“Our investment in Mathesis Analytics reflects our strong belief in the company’s vision and our commitment to supporting forward-thinking enterprises that deliver excellence.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The chief executive of Canal+ Africa, Mr David Mignot, has disclosed that MultiChoice is now fully integrated into the media group.
Mr Mignot disclosed this via a statement issued on Thursday, noting that this development marks a new phase in the evolution of one of Africa’s leading pay television operators.
He noted that the integration positions MultiChoice within a global media organisation with an extensive international footprint.
“MultiChoice is now a full subsidiary of a truly international media group operating in 70 countries. The group was founded in France, is listed in London and Johannesburg, and has a strong African presence with operations in more than 45 countries,” Mr Mignot said.
The statement underscores the scale of the combined business, highlighting Canal+’s global reach alongside its significant investments across Africa.
The completion of the transaction is expected to strengthen MultiChoice’s position in the African media and entertainment market by giving it access to the broader resources, expertise and international capabilities of the Canal+ Group, while reinforcing the group’s commitment to the continent.
MultiChoice operates across sub-Saharan Africa through platforms including DStv and GOtv, serving millions of subscribers with entertainment, sports and news content.
By Adedapo Adesanya
FoodCourt, a Nigerian cloud kitchen startup backed by Y Combinator, has suspended operations after months of unpaid salaries and mounting debts to vendors triggered a staff strike and forced the company to halt customer orders, according to a report by TechCabal.
The publication reported that customers first noticed on March 4 that they could no longer place orders through the FoodCourt app after the company disabled ordering as kitchen workers, delivery personnel and branch staff embarked on strike over unpaid wages. The company also owed outstanding payments to vendors.
By April 19, FoodCourt had temporarily shut its last operating branch after suspending activities across its Lagos and Abuja locations while seeking fresh funding and restructuring the business, according to the report.
The company’s chief executive, Mr Henry Nneji, said the decision to pause operations was not caused by a single issue but by a combination of operational, organisational and working-capital challenges.
“It’s important to clarify that the decision to pause operations wasn’t driven by one single issue. We reached a point where it became clear that continuing to patch those issues while operating wasn’t the right long-term decision,” he said.
“The objective is to build a stronger business than the one that existed before the suspension. We fully intend to bring FoodCourt back,” he added in an emailed response.
The company acknowledged outstanding obligations to employees, vendors, riders and service providers, but declined to disclose the number of affected workers or the total amount owed. It said efforts were underway to resolve the liabilities as part of its restructuring process.
It was also reported that the startup’s financial difficulties worsened after expansion into additional locations increased operating costs, while its cloud kitchen model came under pressure from rising labour, logistics, food and marketing expenses.
Despite the shutdown, Mr Nneji said FoodCourt intends to relaunch after completing its restructuring, adding that the company believes demand for its products remains strong.
Founded in 2021 by Henry Nneji and Paul Adokiye Iruene, FoodCourt operates cloud kitchens under multiple virtual restaurant brands through its consumer app. According to TechCabal, the startup had previously disclosed raising $1.7 million, delivering more than one million meals and reaching $4.3 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2024.
