Brands/Products
UAC Nigeria’s Mr Bigg’s Remodels Operations to Recapture Market
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Many years ago, the Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) arm of UAC of Nigeria Plc, Mr Bigg’s, was the darling of children and lovers, but the introduction of other companies offering similar services forced the market leader to lose its position to rivals.
However, the management of Mr Bigg’s is working tirelessly to recapture the market and take back its rightful position again.
To achieve this, the firm, which is operated by UAC Restaurants Limited, a subsidiary of UAC Nigeria, has made its services better by remodeling its restaurants in a new initiative aimed at positively redefining the lifestyle of its numerous customers.
The new initiative is principally aimed at sustaining the heritage of the 33 years old outfit by raising the customer service to a new level.
The foremost indigenous and largest fast-growing QSR business in West Africa, with over 100 restaurants in Nigeria started as fully company owned before it transformed into partial franchise, and later full franchise.
The new initiative, according to Mrs Ethel Mba, Marketing Manager, UACN Restaurants, is to remodel the restaurants into a scintillating go-to restaurant of high value lifestyle.
Speaking at the pioneer model Restaurant located at Northwest Filling Station by the Victoria Garden City, VGC, Lekki, Lagos, during a media tour of some restaurants on Wednesday, Mrs Mba said the new approach promises to sustain excellence in wide variety of dishes, Patries and Confectionaries to the delight of its teeming consumers, which is the heritage of Mr Bigg’s.
She explained that the VGC restaurant, which was opened on July 9, 2019, will remain the ‘signature poster’ for all the other restaurants in the new concept, aimed at bringing world class meal experience for Nigeria consumers with regards to customer service and restaurant ambience.
The VGC Restaurant presents a cozy ambience backed up by excellent service delivery by professionals to give customers unparalleled experience in a friendly setting. The conveniences, the downstairs lobby, the upper lobby are world-class, coupled with an excellent Kiddies Corner named “Duplin Planet” are aimed at providing the whole family with unforgettable experience.
Mrs Mba assured that apart from the VGC Restaurant, two other restaurants will spring up in Amuwo Odofin by Festac town and Abule Egba along Lagos Abeokuta Express Way very soon.
“The new restaurants will be patterned after the structure of the Northwest restaurant by VGC to deliver high-quality food and good ambience as the basic standard. The menu offering will be aimed at providing wide variety of choices to meet the customer tastes and trends,” she said.
Not a few customers agree that no restaurant can survive without offering quality food and service aimed at giving patrons a satisfying experience.
Mrs Gbemisola Lekan, a customer, who walked into the VGC restaurant with her kids, asserted that a good family restaurant is one that offers delicious food that reminds people of the favorite meals their mothers cooked when they were kids.
She recalled with excitement that products like Mr Bigg’s meat pie, Chicken pie, and Scotch eggs are legendary and still remains the best.
Other patrons averred that in terms of comfort, the new restaurant is well cut out with space wide enough to avoid congestion and movement interruptions.
Mr Bigg’s history began with the coffee shops inside Kingsway Department Stores in the 1960s. In 1973, these shops were rebranded as Kingsway Rendezvous, which became Mr Bigg’s in 1986. The chain saw rapid expansion after becoming one of the first Nigerian companies to sell franchises to investors.
In 2012, UAC Restaurants adopted a full franchising business model making it the first to establish Franchise restaurants in order to grow the brand’s footprint and equity.
UAC Restaurants Ltd has since then owned and operated quick service restaurants with a range of products including her signature Meat pie, Chicken pie & Beef roll, Rice and Peppered Chicken, Ice cream, Pizza, and local meals.
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.
