Economy
Abisoye Wants More Funding for Women-led Startups, Innovative Projects
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Ms Teju Abisoye, has called for more funding for women-led startups and innovative projects.
She made this call while giving her keynote address at an event organised by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited to mark World Intellectual Property (IP) Day 2023.
Ms Abisoye, represented by the Director of Strategy, Funding and Stakeholder Management at LSETF, Ms Sheila Ojei, said that by recognising and protecting women’s IP rights, society can enhance innovation, create more business success and empower women globally whilst improving gender equality.
“To accelerate women-led innovation and creativity, we need to encourage girls and young women to pursue STEM education, create mentorship opportunities for women in innovation and creativity, and increase funding for women-led startups and innovative projects,” she said.
“We also have to address bias and discrimination in the innovation and IP system; provide education and training for IP protection for women innovators and creators; and increase the representation of women in IP law and policymaking,” she added.
During the programme, which was themed Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity, some experts spoke at the panel to discuss tech and finance, giving their views on how to bridge the IP gap and increase women’s contribution to innovation and creativity globally.
The speakers were Angela Adebayo, Partner, Inventa Nigeria; Koromone Koroye, Communications and Media Specialist; Tosin Thompson, Founder/CEO Mezovest; Mo’ Olagbegi ‘MoCheddah, Nigerian Artiste and Chidinma Chukwueke-Okolo, Head, Product Development, NGX.
In her speech, the Divisional Head of Business Support Services Division/General Counsel at NGX, Mrs Irene Robinson-Ayanwale, said, “This year’s World Intellectual Property Day, themed, Women and IP: Accelerating Innovation and Creativity, has helped to bring to the fore salient issues that impact women, especially the challenges in accessing the skills, resources, mentorship, and environment that are required to thrive.
“As a sustainable exchange, we identify with the success that Nigerian women are making in the arts, tech, entrepreneurship and much more. We understand the importance of IP to economic growth, and we remain committed to enhancing women-led innovation through the diversity of the potential of our offerings and technology drive.”
Also, the Chief Digital Officer of NGX, Mr Olufemi Oyenuga, stated that it was remarkable that the world created a mileage to recognise this day to celebrate things around IP.
“Even more significant is the theme for this year, which is to celebrate the amazing creations by women across different fields and explore ways to enhance women’s contribution to economic development further,” he stated.
“Data from the World Intellectual Property Organisation revealed only about 16.5% of inventors named in IP patent applications were women. There is a need to create more funding, mentoring and networking opportunities for women to utilise IP protection for innovation and creativity,” the Head of Rules and Adjudication at NGX Regulation, Oluwatoyin Adenugba, commented.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.
Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.
Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.
The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.
At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.
“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.
“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.
Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.
The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.
FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).
On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.
Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.
Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.
Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.
Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.
During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.
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