Economy
Canada-based Proto Gets Fresh Funds for Global Expansion
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Fresh funds worth $4.4 million (5.6 million Canadian Dollars) have been injected into a Canada-based technology company, Proto, to aid its global expansion.
The funds were supplied by Mucker Capital with support from Yolo Investments.
Proto will use the money to ensure more organisations across the world have access to its AI Customer Experience (AICX) solutions by automating local language customer experiences through chatbots powered by its proprietary natural language processing (NLP) technology.
“The growth of mobile and internet adoption in the emerging world is stunning, and this continued trend is inevitable. However, due to poor support for their native languages, billions of people are still cut out from critical digital services.
“Proto’s multilingual, industry-relevant machine learning models and conversational chatbots can unlock greater inclusivity at a massive scale while generating significant ROI for the institutions that adopt it. We are thrilled to support Proto’s mission and partner with Curtis, Albert and the entire team,” Mr Joe Tsai from Mucker Capital said.
On his part, the CEO of Proto, Mr Curtis Matlock, stated that, “In the midst of crises that have been especially hard on people in the emerging world, we believe it’s more important than ever for citizen engagement and customer experience to prioritize inclusion as a guiding principle.”
“Proto’s conversational AI deployments for local languages are at the forefront of overcoming long wait times, unresolved cases, and limited language and channel support in over a dozen emerging markets,” he added.
With this new capital, Proto expects to take its services to Asia and Africa, especially Rwanda and Ghana through the deployment of its NLP engine called HermesAI, a platform that uniquely understands both local and mixed languages.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange was weakened by 1.19 per cent on Thursday, July 9, by three bellwether stocks on the platform.
Consequently, the NASD Security Index (NSI) lost 50.47 points to close at 4,199.73 compared with the previous day’s 4,250.20 points, and the market capitalisation gave up N30.29 billion to settle at N2.520 trillion versus Wednesday’s closing value of N2.551 trillion.
The price decliners were led by 11 Plc, which fell by N20.54 to sell at N200.01 per share compared with the preceding session’s N220.55 per share. FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc crashed by N11.48 to trade at N140.51 per unit compared with the N151.98 per unit it ended a day earlier, and UBN Property Plc depreciated by 19 Kobo to N1.80 per share from N1.99 per share.
Business Post reports that the sole gainer at the session was IPWA Plc, which added 88 Kobo to quote at N9.71 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s closing price of N8.83 per unit.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by market participants surged by 14,965.4 per cent to 23.9 million units from the previous session’s 158,933 units, and the value of stocks rose by 528.1 per cent to N68.2 million from the preceding session’s N10.9 million, while the number of deals decreased by 3.2 per cent to 30 deals from Wednesday’s 31 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc closed the trading day as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 70.7 million units exchanged for N4.9 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
A slowdown in the demand for foreign exchange (FX) strengthened the value of the Nigerian Naira against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, July 9.
At the official market, the Naira gained 64 Kobo or 0.05 per cent against the greenback yesterday to sell at N1,378.43/$1 compared with Wednesday’s exchange rate of N1,379.07/$1.
The market saw a sharp decrease in transaction volume and value, meaning that heavy demand for the Dollar eased.
Interbank FX turnover reduced sharply by more than 62 per cent to $78.708 million, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), from $208.094 million in the preceding day.
FX traders also noticed a sharp decline in the number of deals at the NFEM window in the absence of Dollar injection by the central bank. Deal counts shrank to 106 during the NFEM window, down from 150, reflecting a slowdown in FX activity among market makers.
However, the local currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the spot market during the session by N6.18 to N1,846.82/£1 from N1,840.64/£1, and declined against the Euro by N2.79 to close at N1,576.09/€1 versus the preceding session’s N1,573.30/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira lost N4 against the US Dollar to quote at N1,385/$1, in contrast to the N1,381/$1 it was traded at midweek, and at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,400/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market soared after a moderation in oil prices and bond yields following the collapse of the Iran war ceasefire.
As has been the pattern for months, markets are looking past inflamed rhetoric and new airstrikes to likely conciliatory statements in the near future.
Bitcoin (BTC) gained 2.3 per cent to sell at $64,048.89, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.9 per cent to $0.0741, Ethereum (ETH) expanded by 1.6 per cent to $1,777.98, Solana (SOL) rose by 1.0 per cent to $79.13, Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 0.9 per cent to $1.10, Binance Coin (BNB) added 0.6 per cent to sell for $576.91, and TRON (TRX) also improved by 0.6 per cent to $0.3329.
However, Cardano (ADA) crashed by 0.9 per cent to $0.1669, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
Subscription for the July 2026 edition of the FGN savings bond is closing today, Friday, July 10.
The exercise started on Monday, July 6, with two tenures of two years and three years on offer to retail investors.
The retail bonds are sold by the federal government through the Debt Management Office (DMO) to raise funds for the country’s budget deficits.
The savings bond offers investors steady tax-free income. It is risk-free, backed by the Nigerian government, and listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, allowing for secondary market trading and easy exit before maturity.
For the two-year FGN savings bond maturing on July 15, 2028, the debt office is offering it at a 14.716 per cent per annum interest rate, while the three-year FGN savings bond due July 15, 2029, is at 15.716 per cent per annum, with the interest on the investment being paid by the government every quarter.
Intending investors can purchase the debt instrument at a unit price of N1,000, subject to a minimum subscription of N5,000 and in multiples of N1,000 thereafter, subject to a maximum subscription of N50.0 million.
