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Economy

Firm Unveils All-Women e-Market Platform

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e-Market Platform

By Adedapo Adesanya

SME.NG’s e-market platform is set to go live with the aim to provide access to finance, wider market access, technical and business support to local female entrepreneurs.

The platform, Ebi Marketplace, is a one-stop-shop solution for female business owners and will will democratize access to finance, financial inclusion and e-commerce for beneficiaries.

The new platform, which was unveiled on March 25, 2021, was introduced as a solution to the impact of COVID-19 on Nigerian female-owned businesses.

Speaking on the purpose of the Ebi Marketplace during its unveiling, the Managing Director, SME.NG, Ms Thelma Ekiyor, stated that, “With Nigeria’s population increasing exponentially coupled with the global pandemic, economic opportunities are now limited and overstretched especially for the female entrepreneurs.”

“The need to encourage, give access to finance and support these female entrepreneurs cannot be overemphasized. SME.NG, through this platform, aims to provide Nigerian Female Entrepreneurs with the opportunity to grow their businesses through financial services, trading opportunities, advisory services, mentorship and networking and so much more.

“By providing female entrepreneurs with entrepreneurial opportunities to create wealth and support their livelihood, the Ebi Marketplace platform will help keep people in business, generate jobs and income,” she explained.

The Ebi Marketplace will improve access to finance (grants, loans and investments), access to wider markets, access to technical and business support, and access to a job portal connecting female entrepreneurs to suitable staff.

The platform will further allow entrepreneurs to connect and partner with other female entrepreneurs across the country, thus helping them transform their economies to become more independent, equitable, and sustainable

It will be Nigeria’s first all-women e-market platform which is safe and user-friendly. The platform will also feature a Nigerian women’s SME directory with sector and location tags to expand the reach of products and services across Nigeria and beyond.

It will be all-inclusive and will be a one-stop-shop information portal of opportunities for female entrepreneurs. The platform will provide female entrepreneurs and their customers with a unique and seamless online trading and shopping experience.

It also includes features that will help drive sales and boost revenues for women-owned businesses, as well as provide other resources that will enable female-owned businesses to thrive.

Commenting on Bank of Industry’s partnership with SME.NG, the Head of Gender Business, Bank of Industry, Mrs Adebisi Ajayi, said, “SME.NG e-market platform, Ebi Marketplace is important to support women Entrepreneurs as they recover from COVID-19 pandemic. Digitization is central to boost resiliency.”

To join the Ebi Marketplace Platform, interested female entrepreneurs can register to be vendors on www.ebimarketplace.com. Women in cooperatives and associations are also encouraged to register on the platform.

The Ebi Marketplace will officially go live on August 1 and the App will be available for download on Play Store and Apple Store. Successful sign-ups would officially become vendors on the platform and can access all the benefits on the Ebi Marketplace platform.

SME.NG was established to bridge the gaps in women’s access to finance through “gender lens investing”. It is an impact investment platform that invests in Nigerian SMEs to realize measurable environmental, social, and financial returns.

The platform’s approach to SME financing is through a “blended financing” model, which leverages private capital, public sector investments and philanthropic giving. SME.NG has two funds for women and operates an all women accelerator, She Works Here.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

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Economy

NASD Index Records 0.67% Appreciation

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NASD Unlisted Security Index

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) recorded a 0.67 per cent appreciation on Thursday, November 28, with the portfolios of investors on the platform rising by N7.09 billion to N1.061 trillion from the N1.053 trillion it closed in the preceding session and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) growing by 20.22 points to wrap the session at 3,026.60 points compared with 3,006.38 points recorded on Wednesday.

This happened after the unlisted securities market finished the trading session with three price gainers and two price losers.

Afriland Properties Plc gained N1.58 to end at N17.39 per unit compared with the midweek’s closing price of N15.81 per unit, as Acorn Petroleum Plc improved its value by 14 Kobo to close at N1.69 per share, in contrast to the previous day’s N1.55 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went up by N1 to sell for N23.00 per unit compared with the preceding session’s N22.00 per unit.

On the flip side, First Trust Microfinance Bank Plc lost 4 Kobo to finish at 32 Kobo per share versus Wednesday’s closing price of 36 Kobo per share and Geo-Fluids Plc slumped by 3 Kobo to sell at N3.90 per unit compared to N3.93 per unit it was sold a day earlier.

There was a 191.9 per cent rise in the volume of securities traded in the session as investors exchanged 2.9 million units compared with the previous trading day’s 1.0 million units.

Equally, there was a 283.9 per cent surge in the value of shares traded yesterday to N7.9 million from the N2.1 million recorded in the previous day, and the number of deals increased by 300 per cent to 12 deals from the three deals executed in the preceding day.

At the close of transactions, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units valued at N3.9 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units sold for N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units worth N5.3 million.

Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 billion.

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Economy

Enhanced Forex Liquidity Buoys Naira to N1,644/$1 at Official Market

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print Naira massively

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Naira rose against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by 0.96 per cent or N15.97 to exchange at N1,644.86/$1 on Thursday, November 28 compared with the preceding day’s N1,660.83/$1 amid a surge in FX transactions.

Data showed that the forex turnover increased during the session by 66.2 per cent or $223.27 million to $560.34 million from the $337.07 million recorded at the midweek trading session.

However, the domestic currency weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N8.42 to sell at N2,124.86/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N2,116.44/£1 but appreciated against the Euro by N10.18 to quote at N1,773.18/€1 versus midweek’s closing rate of N1,783.36/€1.

A look at the parallel market showed that the Nigerian currency traded flat against its American counterpart yesterday at N1,750/$1.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrencies were largely positive as Ripple (XRP) rose by nearly 6 per cent, precisely by 5.9 per cent to trade at $1.56to as Thanksgiving holiday saw the market avoid a feared historical massacre.

Traders said the Japanese Yen briefly crossed 150 against the Dollar due to expectations of a Bank of Japan (BOJ) rate increase in December, spurred by higher-than-expected inflation data.

The movement was also likely spurred by month-end financial adjustments and low liquidity due to Thanksgiving.

Further, Cardano (ADA) went up by 3.4 per cent to trade at $1.04, Solana (SOL) jumped by 1.1 per cent to quote at $241.14, Bitcoin (BTC) went up by 0.8 per cent to settle at $95,661.36 and Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.2 per cent to finish at $654.44.

On the flip side, profit-taking in Dogecoin (DOGE) saw its price down by 0.5 per cent to sell at $0.4054, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 0.5 per cent to quote at $96.36, and Ethereum (ETH) depleted by 0.4 per cent to end the session at $3,578.26, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.

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Economy

Nigeria’s Stock Market Rebounds by 0.50%

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stock market indices

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited rebounded by 0.50 per cent on Thursday after staying with the bears for a single trading session, though investor sentiment remained weak.

Business Post reports that the market breadth index was negative yesterday with 28 appreciating stocks and 29 depreciating stocks.

Vitafoam Nigeria was the best-performing equity during the trading day after it went up by 9.81 per cent to sell for N23.50, Aradel Holdings appreciated by 9.23 per cent to N517.00, FTN Cocoa rose by 7.82 per cent to N1.93, Sovereign Trust Insurance grew by 6.25 per cent to 68 Kobo, and Oando gained 5.40 per cent to quote at N65.35.

On the flip side, Prestige Assurance ended the day as the worst-performing equity after it shed 10.00 per cent to close at 81 Kobo, Unilever Nigeria lost 9.97 per cent to settle at N26.65, Austin Laz depleted by 9.96 per cent to N2.17, John Holt waned by 9.90 per cent to N8.92, and Eterna fell by 6.94 per cent to N20.80.

During the session, the energy and the consumer goods sectors went down by 0.50 per cent and 0.11 per cent, respectively.

However, the banking index improved by 0.74 per cent, the insurance counter expanded by 0.23 per cent, and the industrial goods space increased by 0.15 per cent.

As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) jumped by 487.24 points to 97,783.81 points from the 97,296.57 points recorded in the preceding day and the market capitalisation grew by N305 billion to settle at N59.275 trillion compared with Wednesday’s closing value of N58.970 trillion.

Yesterday, the value of transactions expanded by 4.85 per cent to N10.8 billion from the N10.3 billion recorded a day earlier, as the volume of trades shrank by 23.08 per cent to 632.7 million shares from the 822.5 million shares traded at midweek and the number of deals tumbled by 10.45 per cent to 8,404 deals from the 9,385 deals achieved in the previous day.

FBN Holdings was the busiest stock at the market on Thursday with a turnover of 166.8 million units worth N4.2 billion, Haldane McCall traded 119.3 million units valued at N669.8 million, Guinea Insurance transacted 41.3 million units for N20.7 million, Cutix sold 38.5 million units worth N90.5 million, and Access Holdings exchanged 20.6 million units valued at N473.6 million.

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