Mastercard Foundation Supports Kafawa Training Program

By Aduragbemi Omiyale A Nigerian startup, Pivo, which raised about $2 million in November 2022, is shutting down its operations, TechCabal is reporting. The platform quoted the co-founder and chief executive of the firm, Ms Nkiru Amadi-Emina, as confirming the intention of the company to fold up. However, no specific reason was given for the decision, though some organisations have been closing shops in Nigeria lately due to the harsh operating environment. One of the biggest pharmaceutical firms in the country, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), announced a few months ago that it would no longer operate its business from Nigeria, opting to

By Dipo Olowookere The online stock trading platform of Morgan Capital Securities Limited, iTrade, is now back online. The iTrade service went offline on Monday due to a technical glitch, which the company confirmed has been resolved, allowing its numerous clients to buy and sell shares and other securities without hassle. “Thank you for your patience and understanding. “This is to inform you that the trading platform (iTrade) is now fully up and running to enable you to trade seamlessly. “Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused as a result of this,” a statement from the company, which was sighted

By Adedapo Adesanya  Appreciation in the stock prices of Newrest Airline Services & Logistics (ASL) Plc, Food Concepts Plc, and UBN Property Plc saw the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extend its gain by 0.47 per cent on Tuesday, December 5. Data showed that Newrest increased its price by N1.61 during the session to settle at N17.71 per unit compared with the previous day’s price of N16.10 per unit, Food Concepts Plc (owners of Chicken Republic) gained 15 Kobo to close the day at N1.65 per share versus N1.50 per share, and UBN Property Plc rose by 13 Kobo to

By Adedapo Adesanya The supply of foreign exchange (FX) into the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) improved by 92.9 per cent or $68.7 million on Tuesday to $142.63 million from $73.93 million on Monday, according to data obtained from the FMDQ Securities Exchange. This improvement in forex liquidity into the official market supported the Naira to gain weight against the United States Dollar yesterday, as its value soared by N31.04 or 3.7 per cent to N806.73/$1 from the N837.77/$ it ended a day earlier. This also trickled down to the parallel market, which witnessed less pressure from customers, helping

By Adedapo Adesanya  The prices of the crude oil benchmarks, Brent and the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell to a near five-month low on Tuesday on a stronger US Dollar and demand concerns. According to data obtained by Business Post, Brent futures went down by 83 cents or 1.1 per cent to $77.20 a barrel and WTI weakened by 72 cents or 1.0 per cent to $72.32 per barrel. The prices were the lowest for both crude benchmarks since July 6. This put the market down for a fourth day in a row on doubts over voluntary supply cuts announced by

By Dipo Olowookere The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited quickly returned to the green territory after chalking up 0.43 per cent on Tuesday as a result of buying activities in some financial and industrial goods equities. The high demand for some large-cap stocks at the exchange influenced the rebound recorded during the session, ahead of the forthcoming earnings season. Business Post reports that the industrial goods index appreciated by 1.94 per cent, the banking space grew by 1.45 per cent, and the consumer goods sector improved by 0.08 per cent, while the insurance space depreciated by 0.17 per cent, with the

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited will alter how its crude cargoes are priced from January 2024. According to a new circular, the state oil company will start pricing its supplies against the monthly average of Dated Brent, the physical crude benchmark, raising worries that the nation’s barrels may become more risky. Prior to this latest move, Nigeria prices its crude cargoes based on Dated Brent’s average settlement in the five days after loading. NNPC plans to stick with the initial nominated loading dates for pricing purposes, according to the circular. Bloomberg reported that traders said

 By Adedapo Adesanya A new report from SB Morgen Intelligence has shown that prices of drugs have skyrocketed by as much as 1,000 per cent in the last four years, raising worries about Nigerians being able to treat themselves using orthodox methods. In the report Paying the Price on Health, the firm analysed the impacts of the Nigerian economy and foreign exchange crisis on the prices of essential medicines in the country. It was found that between 2019 and 2023, there were massive surges across four broad categories of Antimalarial, Antibiotics, Painkillers and Common Cold medicines. The report indicates that antibiotics

By Modupe Gbadeyanka From January 1, 2024, Mr Stephen Onaivi will take charge of mediaReach OMD Nigeria as the new Managing Director following the approval of his appointment by the board of the organisation. He was chosen for the position after working as the MD of OMD Ghana, where he contributed to developing a multi-disciplinary, forward-looking media and advertising industry and serviced an array of national, multinational, and regional clients. In his new role, Mr Onaivi will drive the OMD brand across West and Central Africa to enhance client value and ensure the seamless integration of OMD values, technology, and

Afro-pop songstress Abigail Chams (real name Abigail Chamungwana) continues to collect accolades. Following her nomination in 2022 for the Emerging Artist award at the Tanzania Music Award, she closes 2023 as the Spotify EQUAL Africa ambassador for the month of December. The prodigiously talented Abigail, or Abby, as she is often referred to, is a multilingual singer who performs in Swahili, French and English. She is also a multi-instrumentalist who plays five musical instruments, the violin, piano, guitar, flute and drums. The Nani hitmaker was born into a family with a musical heritage where her grandfather directed an orchestra and