Economy
5,527 MSMEs in Lagos Share N4.5b Funding Support
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Not less than N4.5 billion has been disbursed to 5,527 Medium Small Manufacturing Enterprises (MSMEs) by the Lagos Employment Trust Fund in the last one year.
Speaking on Monday at the 2nd Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) exclusive fair themed ‘Unleashing the Potentials of MSMEs for Economic Diversification,’ Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State his administration will continue to do more for the sector.
The Governor, who spoke through the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Tunji Bello, noted that despite the contributions of the MSME sector to the Lagos economy, the sector’s competitiveness was weakened by limited access to credible, customized-business support and inability to penetrate local and expanded markets, emphasizing that there is a need to build strong public-private support systems that would enhance the capacity of the MSME sector for economic diversification.
“I charge you to take advantage of the structures our administration has put in place to support your businesses and together, let us build world class businesses which would positively impact on Lagos, Nigeria and the World,” the Governor disclosed.
Mr Ambode urged all exhibitors to take full advantage of the platform of the fair and e-commerce to launch their products to a global but competitive market.
At the inception of his administration in 2015, Governor Ambode set aside N25 billion to support the small scale sector.
Yesterday, the Governor revealed that the fund, in partnership with the UNDP and private sector employers, will also train 16,000 unemployed Lagosians in order to take up technical and vocational jobs, adding that, “The state government would launch innovation driven enterprise framework to support business start-ups in the fourth quarter of this year.”
He reiterated the commitment of the present administration to continually implement enterprise-friendly policies and develop the critical infrastructure that would enhance the productivity and competitiveness of all businesses in the state.
“We will continue to support the growth of MSMEs and make concerted efforts to develop enterprise cluster parks especially the Imota Light Industrial Park”, he said.
The Governor informed that the theme of this year, ‘Unleashing the Potentials of MSMEs for Economic Diversification,’ throws a challenge to all players, both public and private, to look inwards and develop the internal and external capacities of the local non-oil MSME for steady growth and global competitiveness.
He stated that the 4-Day fair would match-up the local small-scale industrial giants with business development support providers, investors from the private sector, public regulatory support agencies at the state and Federal government levels as well as foreign economic development institutions.
Speaking earlier, Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Prince Rotimi Oguleye, described Lagos as the largest hub of MSMEs and the economic nerve-centre of Nigeria, accounting for more than 3 million micro and 11,663 small and medium enterprises that are significantly boosting the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), generating employment, creating sustainable enterprises, and accelerating value-added industrialization.
Also speaking, Chairman, House Committee on Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Mr Oladele Adekanye, expressed appreciation to Governor Ambode-led administration for introducing the numerous innovative interventions aimed at enhancing the capacity of the small-business sector so that its members could actively contribute to national development and economic recovery.
The event also attracted the President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Mrs Nike Akande; representative of the National President of the National Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Iyalode Alaba Lawson; and members of the Organised Private Sector.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed flat on Wednesday, August 5, as the market witnessed weaker trading activity with only two deals executed.
In the midweek session, the volume of securities exchanged by investors dropped 99.9 per cent to 802 units from the 1.6 million units recorded on Tuesday. The value of securities further decreased by 99.6 per cent to N208,240 from the preceding session’s N47.6 million, and the number of deals significantly went down by 93.9 per cent to two deals from the 33 deals recorded a day earlier.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 76.9 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million.
There were no price gainers or losers yesterday.
As a result, the market capitalisation stood unmoving at N2.739 trillion, while the NASD Security Index (NSI) remained unchanged at 4,563.96 points.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira slid against the US Dollar by N2.28 or 0.17 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Wednesday, August 5, to N1,363.85/$1 from N1,362.55/$1.
The local currency also declined against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N5.97 to close at N1,837.38/£1 compared with Tuesday’s closing rate of N1,831.41/£1, and against the Euro, it crashed by N6.54 to quote at N1,575.25/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,568.71/€1.
But at the black market, the Nigerian Naira traded flat against the greenback yesterday at N1,400/$1, and also remained unchanged at the GTBank FX desk at N1,373/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says rates have narrowed to below two per cent, while the country’s external reserves have risen above $52.5 billion, reflecting the impact of its ongoing monetary and foreign exchange reforms.
CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso, represented by the Acting Director of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali, disclosed this on Tuesday during the CBN Fair in Gombe. He noted that reforms introduced since 2023 had significantly reduced the disparity between the official FX market and the parallel market.
“The Naira continues to strengthen, with the spread between official and Bureau de Change rates now below two per cent,” he said, adding that reserves at $52.5 billion were supported by sustained inflows and renewed investor confidence in the economy.
Interbank FX transactions slid as weaker market activities dropped total Dollar volume exchanged to $75.35 million, a 51.8 per cent decline from $156.23 million in turnover quoted at the previous close.
The deals at the NFEM window also fell as data from the central bank put Wednesday’s quote at 82 from 139.
In the cryptocurrency market, major were down as global risk sentiment softened as a key world equity index slipped and chipmakers fell.
The MSCI All Country World Index snapped a five-day run to fall 0.2 per cent as chipmakers retreated on both sides of the Pacific. South Korea’s Kospi, a bellwether for the AI trade, dropped 4.4 per cent.
Ripple (XRP) depleted by 1.7 per cent to $1.05, Binance Coin (BNB) decreased by 1.0 per cent to $594.87, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $0.1884, TRON (TRX) shrank by 0.2 per cent to $0.3261, Solana (SOL) crumbled by 0.1 per cent to $74.00, and Dogecoin (DOGE) went down by 0.1 per cent to $0.0697.
On the flip side, Ethereum (ETH) gained 2.3 per cent to trade at $1,911.41, and Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 0.8 per cent to $64,759.28, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The domestic stock exchange rebounded by 0.05 per cent on Wednesday on the back of renewed bargain-hunting by investors, though the level of activity waned.
After bleeding for a few days, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited heaved a sigh of relief yesterday, as the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 109.41 points to close at 244,912.24 points compared with the previous day’s 244,802.83 points, and the market capitalisation garnered N71 billion to settle at N158.087 trillion versus Tuesday’s N158.016 trillion.
Business Post reports that despite the rebound recorded by Customs Street at midweek, the market breadth index remained negative, as there were 20 price advancers and 29 price decliners, implying bearish investor sentiment.
Linkage Assurance appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, AVA Capital rose by 9.55 per cent to N10.90, Fortis Global Insurance advanced by 7.69 per cent to N2.80, McNichols gained 7.34 per cent to finish at N5.85, and Coronation Insurance surged by 5.51 per cent to N2.49.
Conversely, Honeywell Flour depreciated by 9.94 per cent to N16.30, PZ Cussons gave up 9.94 per cent to trade at N74.75, Zichis crashed by 9.74 per cent to N20.76, Learn Africa slipped by 9.62 per cent to N9.40, and Neimeth tumbled by 8.33 per cent to N8.25.
The busiest equity was FCMB, with a turnover of 369.2 million units valued at N4.1 billion. Chams transacted 46.7 million units worth N201.8 million, First Holdco transacted 43.5 million units for N5.7 billion, Access Holdings sold 29.8 million units worth N778.0 million, and Linkage Assurance exchanged 19.6 million units valued at N33.5 million.
At the close of transactions, market participants bought and sold 824.1 million units worth N25.5 billion in 48,114 deals, in contrast to the 1.6 billion units sold for N28.7 billion in 54,160 deals a day earlier, showing a shortfall in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 48.49 per cent, 11.15 per cent, and 11.16 per cent, respectively.
