Brands/Products
FCCPC Raises Alarm Over Low-Quality Brazilian Sugar in Nigerian Markets
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has raised alarm about low-quality sugar from Brazil in the Nigerian markets.
In a statement signed by the Director of Corporate Affairs, Mr Ondaje Ijagwu, the consumer protection agency said it uncovered the availability of substandard and unregistered sugar products in Nigerian markets, particularly smuggled brands from Brazil, including Grupo Moreno, Terous, USI S. Joao, Alvean and Arapora Bionergia.
The products failed to meet mandatory Vitamin A fortification requirements, posing serious health risks to consumers, undermining the integrity of the local sugar industry, and contributing to price manipulation that harms the market.
Acting on a tip-off, FCCPC operatives conducted discreet investigations across the country, particularly in the South-West and the North-East.
The investigations revealed that many of the identified sugar products lacked normal labelling, including production and expiry dates, batch numbers, and the mandatory National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) registration.
“Even more concerning, most of the products were not fortified with Vitamin A, a critical nutrient essential for good vision, immune health, and overall well-being.
“The absence of this fortification exposes Nigerian consumers to serious health risks, including blindness and increased susceptibility to infections, particularly among vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women,” the statement added.
The FCCPC also lamented concerns about the economic impact of these products, noting that the influx of smuggled sugar undermines fair competition, placing undue pressure on compliant local producers who adhere to regulatory standards.
The body warned that importers of these substandard products engage in price manipulation to the detriment of genuine producers and consumers while pretending that the products are genuine.
“This jeopardises the sustainability of the Nigerian sugar industry and also erodes consumer trust in the market,” the statement added.
The FCCPC also warned that smuggling, facilitated through porous borders, particularly from neighbouring countries such as Cameroun and the Benin Republic, further complicates enforcement efforts and hampers traceability.
FCCPC also reassured the general public that it is taking decisive steps to address this issue consistent with the provisions of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) 2018.
“The Commission charged Nigerian consumers to verify the authenticity of sugar products by ascertaining they carry proper labelling, including NAFDAC registration and evidence of Vitamin A fortification.
“The FCCPC is intensifying enforcement and surveillance in collaboration with NAFDAC, the Nigeria Customs Service, and other relevant agencies. These efforts include enhanced surveillance and follow-up market inspections to disrupt the supply chain of smuggled sugar products.
“The FCCPC is also engaging with industry stakeholders to promote compliance with quality standards, protect local producers, and foster fair competition within the sugar market,” it added.
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.
