Economy
Agriculture to Become $1tr Business in Africa by 2030—Expert
By Dipo Olowookere
Coordinator of Enable Youth Programme at the African Development Bank (AfDB), Mr Edson Mpyisi, has revealed that agriculture on the African continent is expected to be a $1 trillion value business by the year 2030.
Mr Mpyisi made this disclosure while speaking at the Ministerial Dialogue of the Conference on Land Policy in Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The AfDB executive stated further that agribusiness could provide a remedy to the problem of youth employment in Africa.
It is estimated that out of 11 million young people entering the job market in Africa every year, only 3 million end up in formal jobs and all do not have quality jobs.
Today, about 420 million African young people are between 15-35 years of age.
“Agriculture on the continent is expected to be a USD 1 trillion value business by 2030. Whichever sector you are working in, whatever policies and strategies you have, you cannot leave the youth out of this,” Mr Mpyisi said at the event.
Creating decent jobs of many of youths who failed to get an employment several years after graduation is now a top priority of many governments in Africa.
Minister of Land Reform in Namibia, Mr Utoni Nujoma, while also speaking at the conference, stated that there is an urgent need to develop clear plans and strategies that promote the participation of young people as pivotal stakeholders, actors and partners in policy making processes and sustainable development of their countries.
“The agriculture sector offers more opportunities for youth,” he highlighted, adding that the government of Namibia recognizes agribusiness and land related activities as important to the youth.
Mr Nujoma said youth must be empowered through opportunities to engage in agribusiness enterprises, calling the private sector to enhance skills development, training and mentorship of youth on the continent.
Sharing the experience of Uganda, Mr Richard Oput of the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development told the conference that the youth under 30 in Uganda constitutes 77 percent of the population and that 80% of the country’s land is in rural areas.
“It is therefore important our National Land policies address the issue of land governance so that the youth get gainful employment in agriculture sector and other related sectors,” he said.
Mr Ato Belete Tafere Desta, Head of the National Integrated Land Use Planning and Policy project, under the Prime Minister’s office of Ethiopia stated that over the last 3 decades, his government has put a lot of efforts to mobilize its people in a wide range of programmes and actions. “Incentive mechanisms were developed to accommodate the youth,” he said.
The ministerial dialogue session of the conference concurred that he African youth could change agriculture into agribusiness, a significant sector for Africa’s future employment creation.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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