Economy
18 African Countries Grew GDP Above 5% in 2017—AfDB
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), Mr Akinwumi Adesina, has revealed that in 2017, the average GDP growth in Africa was 3.6 percent, up from 2.2 percent in 2016.
According to him, last year, 18 African countries grew above 5 percent in 2017, and 37 others above 3 percent.
Mr Adesina further disclosed the average GDP growth is projected to accelerate to 4.1 percent in 2018 and 2019.
The AfDB boss rolled out these figures when the bank hosted the annual luncheon of diplomats accredited to Côte d’Ivoire in Abidjan on Tuesday.
During the event, he urged the bank’s member countries to contribute to the 7th General Capital Increase to enable the institution to realise its development objectives.
Welcoming the diplomats on behalf of the Board of Directors, management and staff of the Bank Group, Mr Adesina shared perspectives on the performance of African economies, updated them on the institution’s activities and highlighted emerging economic issues for the Bank and the continent.
“The African Development Bank, your Bank, is reforming, innovating, leading and delivering more for Africa than ever before.
“With the strong support for a General Capital Increase by our Board of Directors, Governors of the Bank, and you, the Ambassadors representing our shareholder countries, Africa will indeed experience a much brighter and impactful future,” he said.
Mr Adesina said the continent remains resilient to global economic headwinds and climate shocks as related by the Bank’s 2018 Africa Economic Outlook published in Abidjan on January 17, 2018.
Bank makes impressive development impacts
In 2017, the Bank achieved impressive development impacts. Its ‘Light up and power Africa’ High 5 reached 4.4 million people with access to electricity.
Its ‘Feed Africa’ goal reached 8.5 million Africans with access to improved agriculture technologies, while its ‘Integrate Africa’ provided 14 million Africans with improved access to transport and the ‘Industrialize Africa’ provided 210,000 small businesses with access to financial services.
Also, the lender’s ‘Improving the quality of life’ High 5 provided 8.3 million Africans with improved access to water and sanitation.
Mr Adesina also shared important landmarks on the bank’s ongoing reforms and achievements over the past two years: achieving its highest annual disbursement ever in its history at $7.67 billion while maintaining its Triple ‘A’ rating by the major global rating agencies; investing $1.39 billion in 31 operations in the energy sector in 23 countries representing a 30 percent increase over 2017; launching its largest bond transaction, with a $2.5 billion 3-year global benchmark, followed by its largest ever 5-year global benchmark for $2 billion; and continues to grow its income, reversing a two-year declining trend; and recording a rise in 2016 in its net operating income to $556.6 million, which shot up to $855 million in 2017, and increased by almost 54 percent over 2016, and 73 percent increase over 2015.
Currently, the Bank is spearheading the development of the Desert-to-Power initiative to harness electricity from the sun all across the Sahel, designed to generate 10,000 MW of power, connect 250 million people to electricity, including providing 75 million people with off-grid systems.
A generous General Capital Increase will enable Bank to do more
The Bank is “reforming, changing, delivering and leading,” through the strong support it receives from it member countries, Mr Adesina said, adding that such support will be most needed during the General Capital Increase to help the Bank do more for Africa.
“At a time that we need to ramp up support to Africa for the SDGs, the Bank needs more resources through a General Capital Increase (GCI). The message could not have been heard louder than when the Ministers and Governors of the Bank from West and Central Africa came to the Bank recently. They unanimously supported the General Capital Increase for the Bank,” he said.
“The support of all shareholders will be crucial for the General Capital Increase of the Bank. The Bank should do more for Africa and we are working extremely hard to revamp the Bank, and put it in a much stronger position, with more highly capable staff and institutional capacity to deliver more … better and faster. Our ability to deliver in the past and now is a good indication that you can depend on us to deliver more in the future.”
Johannesburg to host Africa Investment Forum in November 2018
To mobilize African and global pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors, to invest in Africa, the Bank has launched the Africa Investment Forum (AIF) to be held November 7-9 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The transactional forum is expected to become Africa’s premier investment marketplace, Mr Adesina said, noting that several peer institutions have indicated their interest in participating in what could become Africa’s largest private-sector investment accelerator.
In his response, the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Apostolic Nuncio to Côte d’Ivoire, Monsignor Joseph Spitieri, congratulated Mr Adesina on his 58th birthday and commended the Bank for helping pull people out of poverty.
“The success of your strategy encapsulated in the High 5s is testimony to your commitment to help people in Africa and reduce poverty,” the cleric said.
“We wish the Bank success in its endeavours to improve the lot of the most deprived people in Africa,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Emir of Kano, Mr Muhammadu Sanusi II, has commended the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for its economic reforms, saying they have restored macroeconomic stability and driven economic growth beyond the country’s population growth rate.
Emir Sanusi, a former Governor of the central bank, made the remarks while speaking at the ongoing 31st Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.
According to the former banker, the apex bank inherited an economy weakened by years of excessive liquidity and rapid money supply growth but had succeeded in reversing the trend through tighter monetary policies.
“I have nothing but positive words for what the central bank has done. We are coming from the background of a very high level of instability as a result of loose money and uncontrolled growth in money supply.
“The central bank has taken one year to mop up all that money,” the monarch said, according to a video from the event that has circulated widely.
Speaking on the impact of the reforms, Mr Sanusi added: “This is the first time that this economy will be growing faster than the population.”
The remark suggests that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to outpace its population growth rate of about 2.1–2.5 per cent annually, implying an increase in per capita income.
This means the economy is expanding fast enough to raise average output and income per person, rather than merely keeping pace with population increases.
The reforms introduced by the Yemi Cardoso-led CBN have centred on restoring macroeconomic stability and rebuilding investor confidence. Key measures include adopting a more market-driven foreign exchange regime, tightening monetary policy through successive interest rate hikes to curb inflation, and clearing a significant portion of the foreign exchange backlog owed to businesses and investors.
The apex bank has maintained that these policies are designed to stabilise the naira, improve liquidity in the FX market, attract foreign investment, and lay the foundation for sustainable economic growth.
Running low on data with no airtime to spare, but you’ve got an unused gift card sitting in your email or phone? You’re not alone.
A lot of Nigerians receive gift cards from friends, family abroad, or clients, but have no real use for them. Meanwhile, data is one of those everyday needs that can’t wait. So the question comes up often: can you actually use a gift card to buy data in Nigeria? Let’s get into the answer.
Is It True That You Can Use Gift Cards to Buy Data in Nigeria?
Yes, you can buy data using your gift cards, but not directly.
Let’s clear up the confusion first. You cannot hand your Apple or Amazon gift card code directly to MTN, Airtel, or Glo and expect them to accept it as payment for data. Telecom networks don’t have any system for redeeming gift cards. They only take cash, bank transfers, USSD payments, or app-based payments.
So where does the idea come from? It comes from the workaround that’s become common practice: converting the gift card into cash first, then using that cash to buy data the normal way. This is where a gift card trading platform like Cardgoal comes in. Instead of a gift card sitting unused because you have no matching account to redeem it on, or no interest in what the card offers, you trade it in for real Naira. From there, buying data is as simple as it always is.
In other words, “buying data with a gift card” isn’t a direct swap. It’s a two-step process that takes just a few minutes when you use the right platform. And once you understand this, it opens up a genuinely useful way to make idle gift cards work for you.
How to Buy Data in Nigeria with a Gift Card? Step-by-Step
Here’s exactly how the process works from start to finish:
Step 1: Sell Your Gift Card on Cardgoal
- Download the Cardgoal app from Google play store or Apple App store
- Sign up and select the gift card you’re holding
- Enter the card’s value and code
- Get the details verified
Step 2: Get Paid Instantly
Once your card is verified, your payout is sent straight to your Cardgoal Wallet. This is the core value of using a trading platform over trying to sell a card informally to a stranger online. You can use this value to pay bills including data and airtime purchases. You get your gift card value quickly and securely, without the risk of being scammed or shortchanged.
Step 3: Use the funds to Top Up Data
With your gift card value in Naira now in your account, you can top up data directly within the Cardgoal app.
- Go to Pay Bills
- Tap on “Buy Data”option
- Select your network: — MTN, Glo, Airtel, or 9mobile.
- Enter the phone number to recharge.
- Input the amount you want to buy.
- Confirm the transaction — and your preferred data arrives almost instantly.
By this method, you can;
Whichever network you’re on, the cash from your gift card sale spends exactly the same as money from any other source, because at this point, that’s exactly what it is.
Why Use Cardgoal To Buy Data in Nigeria Instead of Other Methods?
There are informal ways to try converting a gift card into value, like posting it in a WhatsApp group, negotiating with a random buyer on social media, or asking around for anyone willing to take it off your hands. None of these are reliable, and most come with real risk of being underpaid or scammed outright. Here’s why selling gift cards through a proper platform makes more sense:
- Instead of waiting days for someone to respond to a post, verification and payout on a dedicated platform typically happen within minutes.
- Fair, transparent rates. You can see the going rate for your specific card before you commit to the trade, rather than negotiating blindly with a stranger.
- Verification checks confirm your card is valid and correctly priced, protecting you from common scams like fake buyers or already-redeemed codes.
- Convenience of one app. Beyond gift card trading, Cardgoal also supports airtime and data purchases, bill payments, and rewards. So once your card is converted to cash, you not even need to leave the app to complete your data top-up.
- No back-and-forth. There’s no haggling, no waiting for a buyer to “confirm” payment, and no uncertainty about whether the trade will actually go through.
For anyone who regularly ends up with gift cards they don’t need, this turns what would otherwise be a stagnant asset into something genuinely useful like data, airtime, bills, or straight cash.
Turn Your Unused Gift Card Into Data Today
If you’ve been sitting on a gift card with no real use for it, there’s no reason to let it go to waste. Selling it for cash and buying data with the proceeds is quick, safe, and puts real value back in your hands
Download the Cardgoal app today, sell your gift card, and buy data on your preferred network in minutes.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited recorded a profit after tax of N535 billion in June 2026, representing a 15.8 per cent increase from the N462 billion posted in May.
This information was revealed in the company’s June 2026 Monthly Financial and Operations Report released on Friday, which also showed that revenue for the month stood at N4.389 trillion.
According to the report, cumulative statutory payments to the federation between January and June 2026 rose to N6.286 trillion, reflecting the company’s continued contribution to government revenue.
On the operational side, average crude oil and condensate production slipped slightly to 1.72 million barrels per day (mbpd) in June from 1.73 million barrels per day in May. The state oil company attributed the decline to operational disruptions, facility integrity issues, and subsurface challenges across some producing assets.
The production figure remains close to Nigeria’s recent output levels as the country continues efforts to sustain higher crude production through improved security around oil facilities, reduced crude theft, and increased investments in upstream operations.
Natural gas production, however, increased to 7.841 million standard cubic feet per day from 7.774 million standard cubic feet per day recorded in the preceding month, representing a 0.86 per cent rise.
The report also highlighted progress on key gas infrastructure projects. The Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) Gas Pipeline reached 98 per cent completion, with final tie-in works underway ahead of the planned First Gas in August 2026.
The pipeline is expected to strengthen gas transmission between the eastern and western gas networks, improving supply reliability across the country.
Similarly, construction and installation of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline advanced to 94 per cent completion, supporting the target of delivering gas to Abuja in 2026. The project is designed to transport natural gas from southern Nigeria to the northern corridor, with early gas delivery to Abuja targeted for later this year.
