Brands/Products
Nigeria’s Standards Agency to Clamp Down on Counterfeiters
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has issued a stern warning to those who clone popular brands, denying original manufacturers the opportunity to reap the fruits of their labour.
The Director-General of the agency, Mr Farouk Salim, explained that the organisation will discourage the registration of any product that has a similar business name with an existing brand or those hidden under the names of successful brands to short-change unsuspecting consumers.
“The issue of cloning brands cannot be handled alone by SON, but going forward, we are going to audit the products we register and certify.
“Anytime a new product comes and looks similar to another registered product that is already popular in the market, we will try to discourage the registration of that product with such a name, so that other product would be identified properly.
“This will increase traceability of products not yet in circulation,” he said when the Alaba International Amalgamated Traders Association visited him in Lagos on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Director-General has announced plans to increase its level of engagement with stakeholders in the country, including Alaba International Market, noting that the move would help to protect the interest of the business community while also safeguarding lives and property.
He said the standards body would work with stakeholders to sensitise the business community on the need to ensure safety and standards, warning that unscrupulous individuals would be prosecuted.
“We are here to work with them and to make their job easy while also to protect their interest because they are Nigerians employing people and they are doing what needs to be done.
“We are looking forward to cooperating with them to ensure that every other individual in their association not doing the right thing is encouraged to doing the right thing in the future,” the SON boss said.
He continued, “We are inviting stakeholders and the plan is to work together with stakeholders to sensitize and train them on the safety of life and property.
“As for those still breaking the laws, we will enforce our law either by a court or through appropriate regulatory.”
According to him, SON would reach out to the community through sensitization programmes to highlight the negative impacts of substandard goods on the business community.
“They have promised to work with us and those people who are not doing the right thing would be fished out. The task is for us to continue cooperation, continue openness, and to be fair with each other. We want you to be our eyes on the market. Help us make our work easy because we are out here to make you competitive. Let us work together to make this happen as we would be reaching to everyone in the market,” he added.
Also speaking, the Executive Chairman, Electrical Dealers Association of Nigeria (EDAN), Mr Fabian Ezeorjika, said there is an already existing partnership with SON to achieve a substandard-free market.
He reaffirmed the association’s commitment to working with SON to fish out the bad eggs in the market, saying that the association had formed a Joint Task Force comprising of SON officials and currently running a “buyer beware campaign” in the market.
To this end, he explained SON has destroyed a lot of products while some of its members are in court and added that the association was going to increase the level of collaboration with SON so as to bring an end to substandard goods.
He called on SON to encourage local production, saying that this is the surest way to create wealth and job opportunities for the nation’s teeming youths.
“We need to create a conducive environment for local production. Importation only creates job opportunities for people we import from. We must create a platform to boost local production,” he said.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
To make finding the right service provider or reaching the right customer seamless, popular local information portal, Connect Nigeria, has introduced a Quote Request platform.
Connect Nigeria described the new system as “a digital solution designed to make connecting with service providers faster, easier, and more reliable.”
It said the Quote Request was built for consumers who need services quickly and want trusted options without the stress of searching endlessly; and service providers and businesses looking for real, high-intent customers without spending heavily on marketing.
“Whether you need a caterer for an event, a plumber for your home, or a designer for your brand, the platform is designed to connect you with the right people,” Connect Nigeria added.
“By connecting demand directly with supply, the platform creates a more structured and dependable marketplace,” it further stated.
At its core, the Quote Request simplifies the entire process of finding and offering services.
To use the service, users have to submit a request describing the service or product needed, which is then sent to verified vendors on the platform. Interested providers respond within 1–2 days, and users compare offers and choose what works best for their needs and budget.
“Instead of searching for vendors, the vendors come to you, with relevant, tailored responses,” Connect Nigeria explained.
The company expects this new platform to eliminate the stress of endless online searches, delayed or vague responses, and uncertainty about service quality.
As for businesses, it solves poor visibility, inconsistent customer flow, and lost opportunities due to slow response times.
Connect Nigeria Quote Request mobile app is now available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
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.
