Economy
Africa Still Attractive To Investors—PenCom Boss
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigeria’s National Pension Committee (PenCom) boss, Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, has disclosed that despite how people downgrade Africa, the continent was still very attractive to foreign investors.
Mrs Anohu-Amazu said, “There is a lot of talk around retrenching from Africa but I’m not seeing this at all,” pointing out that, “Look at what the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are doing in the region for instance. If you look at the amount of money they are putting into Africa, I wouldn’t say this meant that investment was scaling back at all.”
Her remarks come at a time when private equity, the long-term investment vehicle often heralded as complimenting Africa’s long-term development needs, in the continent appears to be losing its shine.
Most recently, the IFC has leant $25m to support the expansion of Nigerian dairy company, Promasidor, invested $200m in Guinea’s bauxite mining sector and arranged a financing package to expand Ghana’s seaport to boost trade.
Although the IFC as part of its mandate often invests in sectors and countries that are not as popular for mainstream investors, for Mrs Anohu-Amazu, this highlights an interesting point: “Institutions such as the IFC are coming into Africa because there are still obvious returns to be made – impact investing can still be profitable.”
In September, Marlon Chigwende announced his departure from Carlyle, and in August, Peter Baird was removed as Africa head from Standard Chartered private equity team. Meanwhile, it is rumoured that John van Wyk may be leaving his post as head of Africa at Actis.
According to the African Economic Outlook Report 2016, published by the AfDB, the OECD and the UNDP, portfolio flows into Africa have fallen from $23bn in 2014 to $13bn in 2015. In the second half of 2015, there was a net portfolio exit of equity while bond flows remained relatively stable. Remittances are still the most important source of external finance accounting for $64bn in 2015.
“Portfolio flows in and out of Africa can be more reactionary,” says Mrs Anohu-Amazu. “Many of these investors will be waiting to see how policy changes react to recent economic headwinds affecting the region.”
The recent fall in commodity prices, inflation and stringent foreign exchange policies that commodity producers have introduced in response to fiscal and economic pressure has been a turn off for some investors.
Nigeria, one of Africa’s major oil producers, has seen foreign direct investment fall 27% from $4.7bn in 2014 to $3.4bn in 2015.
“Foreign exchange receivables from oil in Nigeria have fallen which in itself reduces portfolio flows into the country, but the downturn in the global oil price marks a period of readjustment for commodity and oil exporters, and we hope that in Nigeria, this will mean that government policy will reinvigorate investment into agriculture and technology for instance,” says Mrs Anohu-Amazu.
“I don’t think there is a scaling back in terms of investment into Africa, more a realignment. Investment into the continent is changing,” she adds.
She further said in June 2016, total assets under management for PenCom reached N5.73 trillion up from N2 trillion in 2010 with an average annual growth of 20 percent.
Around 11.43 percent of Nigeria’s total labour force and 3.95 percent of the population contribute to a pension, but new initiatives coming in to increase this.
“Our micro pension initiative aims to attract contributions from the 20m Nigerians who work in the informal sector. The rules for these types of contributors will be more flexible, however, to fit in with the way in which they work,” says Mrs Anohu-Amazu.
“Education around pensions will also be a key part of the initiative,” she added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Bitfinex has listed the wrapped Minima ($WMINIMA) token, an ERC-20 token, aimed at helping build a truly decentralized network that empowers freedom worldwide and increases access to Web3 for any person with a mobile or IoT device.
Bitfinex is one of the first crypto exchanges to list WMINIMA, built on the world’s first mobile-native Layer 1 blockchain.
Minima’s presale for WMINIMA started on February 14, 2023, with 10 million tokens currently acquired out of the total supply of 125 million $WMINIMA tokens.
Traders on Bitfinex are taking this new innovation as a huge opportunity to become early adopters of the $WMINIMA token, by making deposits and purchases during the presale period. Effective 21st of March, 2023, on Bitfinex, trading for WMINIMA against the US Dollar (USD) and Tether tokens (USDt) will be available for all traders.
Wrapped Minima (WMINIMA) is a wrapped version of Native Minima (MINIMA), which has been issued on the Ethereum blockchain. Wrapped Minima (WMINIMA) enables Minima to be tradable on exchanges shortly after its Token Generation Event, without waiting for the technical integration of Native Minima ($MINIMA) onto exchanges, scheduled for Q3/Q4 2023. WMINIMA has an initial circulating supply of 98,100,000 coins and a total supply of 125,000,000 coins, with a listing price of $0.30.
The move is part of Bitfinex’s efforts to bring financial inclusion and financial freedom to less-advantaged and emerging communities around the world, particularly where there is currency volatility.
By becoming an owner of Wrapped Minima on Bitfinex, users will be helping build a truly decentralized network that empowers freedom all around the world.
The Minima protocol and its network have already been built, with Mainnet recently launching after several years in Testnet, yet Minima is still relatively unknown.
As a result, there is still a huge opportunity to become an early adopter of the world’s first mobile-native layer 1 blockchain before it becomes widely adopted.
How to trade WMINIMA on Bitfinex
WMINIMA is available to trade with US Dollar (USD) and Tether tokens (USDt). To sign up now, follow these few easy steps:
- Visit the Bitfinex website or download the Bitfinex mobile app and click on the sign-up button.
- Use the African Bitfinex LEOs community affiliate code “9r9ifKfHx” to get a 6 per cent discount on trading fees for life.
- Create an account by entering the required details: username, email, password, country of residence, and referral (optional).
- Create and confirm a log-in pin code or enable touch ID or face ID, if your phone enables it.
- You will be directed to the setup security page. Here, download the Google Authenticator app. If already downloaded, select the “I’ve installed the app” tab.
- Open the GA app to directly add your new token. Alternatively, you can also select to use the QR or Setup key. Enter your code to enable 2FA setup.
- Check your inbox to confirm your email address via an email sent by Bitfinex.
- After email confirmation, accept the Bitfinex Terms of Service to complete the account setup and proceed to the trading page.
- Once that is done you can now trade the WMINIMA on Bitfinex.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disbursed N12.65 billion to the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), its flagship agriculture intervention scheme, in the first two months of 2023.
The Governor of the apex bank, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said this on Tuesday in Abuja when he read the communique issued at the end of the 290th meeting of the apex bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
According to Mr Emefiele, the total disbursement under the ABP since its inception by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in 2015 is N1.09 trillion.
“Between January and February 2023, the bank disbursed N12.65 billion to three agricultural projects under the ABP,” he said.
“It brings the cumulative disbursement under the programme to N1.09 trillion to more than 4.6 million smallholder farmers cultivating or rearing 21 agricultural commodities on an approved 6.02 million hectares of farmland,” Mr Emefiele added.
According to Mr Emefiele, the improved performance of the economy has been driven largely by sustained growth in the services and agricultural sectors.
He also cited a rebound in economic activities associated with economic recovery and continued intervention in growth-enhancing sectors by the CBN as responsible for the growth.
He said that the CBN had also disbursed huge sums as an intervention to various other sectors of the economy.
“The CBN also released the sum of N23.70 billion under the N1.0 trillion Real Sector Facility to eight new real sector projects in agriculture, manufacturing, and services.
“Cumulative disbursements under the Real Sector Facility currently stands at N2.43 trillion disbursed to 462 projects across the country, comprising 257 manufacturing, 95 agriculture, 97 services, and 13 mining sector projects,” he said.
He said that the apex bank also released N3.01 billion under the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF-2) for capital and operational expenditure of electricity distribution companies (Discos).
He said that the facility was aimed at improving the liquidity status of the Discos, there aiding their recovery of legacy debt.
“This brings the cumulative disbursement under the facility to N254.39 billion,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Baron and Cabot, a UK-based international real estate firm, has launched a portal that will use artificial intelligence technology to predict property prices in Africa to allow real estate agents to sell properties and earn in pounds, providing an unprecedented opportunity for growth and financial success.
The novel approach will allow real estate firms to de-risk their investments in international markets and gain access to a wide range of fully compliant properties.
Baron & Cabot has been particularly successful in Africa due to inflation driving clients to move their money into GBP and Dollar to purchase assets. It is one of the top fastest-growing property companies in the world and transacts around £100 million per annum ($120 million) of UK property while having access to some of the best property developments in the UK.
Speaking on this, Mr Mark Pearson, Managing Director of Baron & Cabot, said, “We are thrilled to be launching this innovative concept that will not only provide a platform for real estate agents in Africa to sell UK properties but will also create job opportunities and drive economic growth.
“We believe that by leveraging AI technology to predict property prices, we can provide our partners with a unique advantage and help them to achieve financial success. Our joint venture expansion plans are aimed at creating mutually beneficial partnerships that will bring value to all parties involved.”
In addition to providing agents with access to new revenue streams, Baron and Cabot’s property portal is also expected to create new job opportunities in the African market.
The company also revealed that it would provide its agents with comprehensive 2 to 4-week training and support to help them succeed in their new roles. This training will ensure that agents are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to navigate the real estate market and take advantage of the opportunities that Baron and Cabot’s concept provides.
As part of its offering, Baron and Cabot will provide clients with mortgages anywhere in the world (excluding war zones), with mortgage rates lower than 6 per cent and deposits below 35 per cent, making it easier for clients to invest in UK properties.
“Our management company boasts an impressive occupancy rate of over 99 per cent, with properties awaiting new tenants for an average of only 10 days. This sets us apart from other cities around the world, where the average occupancy rate is only 70 per cent.
“In addition, our Airbnb or short-term rental products have an average occupancy rate of over 70 per cent, resulting in substantial rental returns and secure investment. Our secret to success lies in our ability to identify high-demand areas with low supply, combined with exceptional management that keeps both our tenants and landlords satisfied,” Mr Pearson added.
