AfDB Earmarks $24b for Africa’s Food Sufficiency Agenda

By Adedapo Adesanya Ultrasonic sensing technology company, Fluenta, has completed work on the Dangote Refinery in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil refinery, installing 18 ultrasonic flare gas meters on large pipelines around the plant. This company is using its technology to aid Nigeria’s flare gas reduction efforts and with Dangote Refinery set to begin operations soon, according to its management recently, this could be a step to fix inaccurate measurements of gas flaring. Nigeria currently imports refined petroleum products for its use, even though it is Africa’s biggest oil producer and with Dangote Refinery, the world’s largest single-train refinery capable of

By Adedapo Adesanya A foreign oil company, Equinor ASA, has chosen a little-known Nigerian company, Chappal Energy, as the preferred buyer of its stake in one of the country’s largest deep-water oil fields, Agbami. According to a report by Bloomberg on Monday, the Norwegian energy giant is trying to sell its 20.2 per cent interest in the Agbami field – joining other international producers such as Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corporation and Eni SpA in looking to offload assets in Africa’s biggest crude producer, Nigeria. In January, Equinor launched the sale of its stake in an offshore Nigerian oilfield, joining

By Bliss Okperan The exchange rate instability in the country is already giving small business owners sleepless nights and it threatens their investments. This concern was raised recently by the National Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists, Mr Segun Kuti-George. He emphasised that business owners would have to increase their prices because of the unavoidable consequence of the current exchange rate crisis in Nigeria. According to him, if consumers are unable to meet up with the increase in the cost of goods and services, businesses would be forced to shut down their operations, which would, in turn,

By Dipo Olowookere The bears tightened their grip on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday, chopping off 0.34 per cent from the local bourse despite assurances from Mr Yemi Cardoso he would endeavour to ensure the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) restores its independence. Mr Cardoso was confirmed as the new CBN Governor by the Senate yesterday and he promised to formulate evidence-based monetary policies, a departure from his predecessor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, who was accused of romancing the President and coming up with trial-and-error policies. Business Post reports that investors were more interested in trimming their exposure to

By Modupe Gbadeyanka No fewer than 90,000 residents of Oyo State have received the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, the state government has said. The Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Mr Rauf Olaniyan, while speaking at a sensitization programme on COVID-19 vaccine safety for religious leaders, assured of the safety of the jab. At the programme organised by the Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace in conjunction with the National Primary Health Care Development Agency at the University of Ibadan on Wednesday, Mr Olaniyan warned Nigerians against the possibility of reinfection by the virus. He, therefore, urged all to adhere to COVID-19 protocols

By Dipo Olowookere Last week, a total of 1.195 billion equities worth N12.924 billion were bought and sold in 19,305 deals at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in contrast to the 914.443 million equities valued at N15.263 billion in 18,021 deals a week earlier. Shares of Sterling Bank, Fidelity Bank and Access Holdings were the most attractive in the five-day trading week, recording 540.056 million units worth N1.499 billion in 2,179 deals to contribute 45.18 per cent and 11.60 per cent to the total trading volume and value respectively. A further breakdown showed that financial stocks led the activity chart

By Adeniyi Ogunfowoke One of the biggest challenges that many Small and Medium Scale Enterprises encounter in emerging economies like Nigeria is access to funding and capital. Majority of them either bootstrap or rely heavily on friends and family members for funding. For the latter, it usually leads to disagreement or dispute, especially when parties involved are not on the same page, and this might eventually lead to the liquidation of the business. Meanwhile, for SMEs that approach banks for the so-called ‘soft loan’, they may not be able to meet the demands and the many paper works required to

By Aduragbemi Omiyale One of the leading integrated agro-industrial companies, Presco Plc, is looking to borrow N30 billion from investors through the issuance of bonds. Subscription for the bond issuance commenced on Monday, February 28, 2022, and will close on Monday, March 7, 2022, according to details of the exercise obtained by Business Post. The debt instrument, which has a tenor of seven years, would be sold at a coupon rate between 12.25 per cent and 12.75 per cent, with the principal repayments to be amortised following a 36-month moratorium. The fixed-rate senior unsecured bonds are callable either in part

By Dipo Olowookere One of the companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Learn Africa Plc, has announced a change to its financial year cycle. The company, in a notice to the NSE on Wednesday, disclosed that it was changing its fiscal year end to March 31, from December 31. According to the statement, the new development was approved by shareholders of the firm at its last Annual General Meeting (AGM). “Learn Africa Plc wishes to notify the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), its shareholders, and the investing public that, as approved by the shareholders at its last Annual General

By Adedapo Adesanya The Lagos State government has increased the number of passengers in the state-operated buses from 20 to 42 just as it increased fares on buses operated by the Lagos Bus Services Limited (LBSL) by 45 per cent effective August 1. This was disclosed in a statement on Tuesday by the Assistant Director, Corporate Communication, at the Lagos Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LAMATA), Mr Kolawole Ojelabi. According to Mr Ojelabi, the approval has been made by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the execution will take effect at the stipulated date. The statement said, “Governor Sanwo-Olu assented to the bus fare

Summer calls for some refreshment that can be soothing enough for the body and mind. The transitional period between winter and summer demands a change in lifestyle and food habits. After a chilling winter, the sudden variation in temperature becomes difficult for people to adapt to the new weather. During summer, due to extreme sweat among some people, the human body undergoes the problem of dehydration. Dehydration, in turn, leads to dizziness, fatigue, nausea, and vomiting. In such cases, foods with high water content stand fruitful in maintaining the body’s average temperature. Experts suggest the intake of foods that are

By Dipo Olowookere Researchers, policy-makers and development partners converge in Abuja, Nigeria, for the 11th African Economic Conference (AEC) from December 5-7, 2016, to share ideas on topical African development issues including how to end hunger and ensure food security in Africa. About 300 participants are expected to attend the annual event co-organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) on the theme, “Feed Africa: Towards Agro-Allied Industrialization for Inclusive Growth.” The theme, according to organisers, is in line with the current African and global development agenda. Tackling