Economy
Fidelity Bank, Empretec Train 200 Young Entrepreneurs

By Dipo Olowookere
As part of its unfailing efforts in building the next generation of sustainable Nigerian businesses, top lender in Nigeria, Fidelity Bank Plc, recently organised a graduate entrepreneurship training programme for 200 youths in Cross River State.
The programme was done in strategic partnership with Empretec Nigerian Foundation as part of the bank’s next phase of entrepreneurship support interventions for state governments and Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
Organised under the auspices of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the week-long training programme was designed strategically to provide vivid insights into the theoretical and foundational knowledge required to manage sustainable businesses.
Fidelity Bank Managed SME Division through its Youth Entrepreneurship team has put in place a programme for identifying and building young and budding entrepreneurs who will become tomorrows’ big SME customers.
Managing Director of the lender, Mr Nnamdi Okonkwo, while speaking at the opening ceremony of the graduate entrepreneurship programme held in Calabar, stated that the programme was aimed strategically at helping young entrepreneurs build capacity needed to own and manage successful businesses.
“The idea is to inculcate in youths the entrepreneurship spirit that will enable them establish on their own and eventually become employers of labour instead of roaming about the streets looking for white collar jobs that do not exist,” the bank’s chief, represented by the Bank’s Group Head, Specialised SMEs, Mr Ndubuisi Onuoha, disclosed.
He advised participants to remain focused and take advantage of the knowledge and skills provided by the workshop to live out their dream of becoming successful entrepreneurs.
On her part, founder of Empretec and wife of former Governor of Cross River State, Mrs Onari Duke, enjoined the beneficiaries to put to good use the knowledge and skills acquired to internalize and maximize the opportunities being offered by the federal and state governments.
Mrs Duke applauded the relentless effort of Fidelity Bank particularly with regards to empowering entrepreneurs in the country.
She also urged other Private sector organisations and corporate bodies to borrow a leaf from us, adding that they should support government’s effort to grow the Micro Small Medium Enterprise (MSME) landscape particularly in the area of funding.
As a flagship capacity-building programme of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Empretec is aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with a view to facilitating sustainable development and inclusive growth.
Present at the opening ceremony of the Empretec training workshop were Peter-Egba-Commissioner for Trade and commerce, Ignatius Atsu; Director General Microfinance and Enterprise Development Agency (MEDA); and Catherine Ogim, Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on Microfinance and Enterprise Projects.
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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