Brands/Products
Chain Reactions Unveils New Identity, Innovative Digital Platforms
By Dipo Olowookere
Change, they say, is constant and any brand that fails to adapt to the latest trends will be left behind and live to regrets not taking an action.
This may have triggered the decision of a leading Public Relations and Integrated Communications Consulting (IMC) firm, Chain Reactions Nigeria, to “transition from services to platforms,” according to its Managing Director/Chief Strategist, Mr Israel Jaiye Opayemi.
At an event to mark its 15th anniversary held at Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja GRA, Lagos, on Wednesday, March 30, the company rebranded and repositioned to become a digital-first platform and 24/7 solution house for governments and brands desirous of winning in Africa’s reputation economy.
It was disclosed that the repositioning involves a name change from Chain Reactions Nigeria to Chain Reactions Africa, setting a new vision and a mission, unifying its expertise and competencies and using them as a competitive advantage to help businesses and governments to understand the extant and emerging cultures and trends.
Mr Opayemi, while speaking at the event tagged Ara Unstripped, informed eminent players in corporate Nigeria and the public sector in attendance that, “It is a transition from services to platforms. Today, we are becoming a digital-first Public Relations and Integrated Communications Consultancy. This explains why we are officially becoming a 24/7 solution house for governments and brands who wish to win in the reputation economy of Africa.”
“Our new role is to help public and private sector clients develop communications strategies that feed on the plate of culture and trends. Cultures and trends have the power to transform human behaviour.
“If a public policy would fail, it may fail because of entrenched cultures and trends a government has failed to notice. Cultures and trends largely influence purchase decisions.
“We all often hear this statement, don’t buy it. It is no longer in vogue. That is a death sentence passed on a brand. It was because the brand owners never paid attention to the changing culture and trends in the market.
“Our solutions will now traverse problem identification, cultural solution, and experience design as a company. Be it voter behaviour, driving against traffic, or consumer behaviour, they are all driven by cultures and trends.”
At the event, Chain Reactions Africa unveiled its new logo, the innovative digital platforms called Ara and the Prophet, and the Goodnews Nigeria website described as “a digital news platform dedicated to reporting everything good and positive about Nigeria. It will become a one-stop-shop for leisure and business tourists seeking information about our great nation.”
While Ara, a chatbot, is CRA’s virtual assistant available 24/7, the Prophet is a tech-powered hub that helps businesses and brands understand issues, trends and cultural nuances in hindsight. It provides clarity on current trends with insight and offers foresight without human interaction.
Explaining the new brand logo featuring African drums, colours orange and ochre, intricate designs and the infinity symbol, Chain Reactions Africa’s Creative Director, Briton, Mr Colin Morris, said, “they represent the heartbeat of Nigeria and Africa.
“These colours mirror the optimism of every Nigerian. They also reflect the colours of the Sahara. The Sahara, of course, is not in Nigeria but Africa and is the reason the logo is not just Nigeria but Africa, the big picture. The intricate designs are also an African thing, not just Nigeria.”
“Chain Reactions is no longer just local; it will get bigger. The infinity symbol tells our story; it’s never-ending. It reflects the opportunities of a new blend of communications merging, beyond the traditional, beyond what we have always assumed.
“As a consultancy, the plan is for Chain Reactions to leave a footprint in every part of Africa. Africa is where we will win.
“Our redesigned logo shows that we are both Nigerian and African; we are progressive and resilient. We are drivers of change in our industry and new industries. Like the infinity symbol, we intend to keep evolving.”
The 15th anniversary featured the maiden Innovation and Tech Trends Summit (ITTS). PR & Comms Manager at OMNIBIZ, Elizabeth Adebanjo, Chief Business Officer, Cellulant, Sike Bamisebi, Group Chief Operating Officer, Palton Morgan, Nidal Turjman and film producer and actress Hauwa Alahhbura discussed Enablers for living and winning in a disrupted world at the session moderated by youth analyst, Femi Daniel.
Executive Assistant, New Media and Public Relations to the Lagos State Governor, Mr Segun Fafore; Head, Marketing Communications and Investor Relations, Wema Bank, Funmi Falola; integrated marketing communications professionals, Yomi Badejo-Okusanya; Mrs Nkechi Alli-Balogun; Chido Nwakanma; and Muyiwa Akintunde were among guests at the occasion.
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.
