Economy
KongaPay Projects Growing Customer Base by 3m in 2022
By Adedapo Adesanya
KongaPay said it plans to increase its active subscriber base to over three million by 2022, data released by the company has shown.
The mobile money platform, the leading provider of digital services for e-commerce shoppers in Nigeria, is one of the thriving subsidiaries within the Konga Group, Nigeria’s e-commerce giant.
Feelers from within the company indicate that KongaPay was recently repositioned to take a greater share of the payments market in Nigeria, a development that has seen the platform taking the fintech space by storm.
The move has seen KongaPay – which has witnessed an astronomical 400 per cent rise in adoption, growing from about 272,000 to 1.1 million subscribers within a space of fewer than three months and from a paltry 81,000 wallets at the point of acquisition in 2018 by the Zinox Group – now on its way to tripling its subscriber numbers in the next one year to over three million.
Furthermore, the management of KongaPay is also targeting an ambitious growth in active usage by 25 per cent in 2022.
According to the Vice President, KongaPay, Mr Isa Aliyushata, ‘KongaPay is set to take a greater share of the market, in line with the exciting offerings on the cards which we are set to unveil soon. We have not only enjoyed greater engagement and increased transactions from our existing subscribers but have also seen a huge leap in adoption by new subscribers.
“KongaPay is currently growing at a rate of 400 per cent month-on-month and we are envisaging our subscriber base to hit and possibly exceed the three million mark by 2022. This is all down to the hard work still ongoing behind the scenes to make KongaPay the payment platform of choice for millions of Nigerians, the loyalty and confidence we have enjoyed from Nigerians, as well as the smart features and additional products and services we are adding to our growing bouquet of offerings.
“As we continue to take pride in our great vision to constantly solve the challenges of the payment ecosystem globally, KongaPay remains relevant in the minds of its customers with great innovation and hybrid technology solutions,’’ he stated.
Meanwhile, KongaPay was recently identified by Statista, a globally renowned market and consumer data firm, as the leader in providing e-payment services for e-commerce transactions in Nigeria and a foremost enabler of online shopping in Africa’s biggest market.
A robust and reliable digital payments platform, KongaPay offers a long list of services to subscribers including cardless withdrawals for all banks in Nigeria, money transfer to individual accounts or various accounts at once, receiving payments from customers, creditors or benefactors through a variety of means, airtime purchase from various telcos or network providers such as MTN, Airtel, Glo and 9Mobile, etc., payment for or renewal of internet subscriptions, recharge and payment for electricity digitally, renewal of cable TV subscription including DSTV, GOTV, IrokoTV, etc., payment for flights, travel and hotel accommodation, funding of sports betting, lottery and gaming accounts, while also functioning as a mobile money wallet, among others.
KongaPay is also at the forefront of promoting financial inclusion across the reached, the unreached and under-served segments of the populace. Specifically, the platform is deepening the scope of Point of Sales (POS) transactions in Nigeria with the aggressive deployment of mobile money agents across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. KongaPay is confident of adding 10,000 POS agents nationwide by end of the financial year 2022.
Launched in 2015, KongaPay debuted as a pilot product in partnership with Nigerian commercial banks in response to concerns expressed by customers about the confidentiality of their details while trying to make payment for products on the Konga website.
Since its inception, the platform has grown immensely and under the drive of the new management of Konga, is leading the newfound appetite for digital payments among e-commerce patrons and other subscribers, processing tons of transactions daily.
The company has also recently extended its services to Nigerians in the Diaspora, many of whom have often struggled to find a reliable way to extend support to their families and relatives back home, make payments to suppliers or even receive payment for the goods and services they sell locally.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria ranked as Africa’s leading destination for upstream oil and gas investment in 2024, new research from market intelligence firm, Wood Mackenzie, has shown, accounting for three out of four Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) announced by global oil and gas majors, totaling $13.5 billion.
The FIDs announced within the Nigerian market included Shell’s $122 million investment in the Iseni Gas Project, TotalEnergies’ $566 million commitment to the Ubeta Gas Project and Shell’s approval of the Bonga North Tranche 1 project valued at around $5 billion.
According to the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Ms Olu Verheijen, these investments reflected Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to unlock its hydrocarbon potential through investor-friendly policies and strategic global partnerships.
Last year, Nigeria introduced several initiatives to create a conducive environment for oil and gas investors, including new tax incentives aimed at attracting up to $10 billion in natural gas investments.
Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest oil producer, also offered tax relief for gas investors, reducing corporate income tax and extending capital allowance benefits – for deepwater gas projects.
Other policies include the Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements 2024 to address the reduction in oil and gas investments caused by high operating costs compared to global markets.
Also, the Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines 2024 reduces the time spent to award contracts for oil and gas projects.
In addition to the directives, Nigeria also launched its 2024 oil and gas licensing round, offering 19 blocks for exploration, demonstrating its commitment to continued collaboration with local, regional and international partners.
Market analysts note that with this momentum, further FIDs are anticipated, including TotalEnergies’ expected $750 million commitment to the Ima Shallow Gas Project in 2025.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.22 per cent decline on Monday, January 20, with the market capitalisation shedding N2.35 billion to close at N1.073 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.075 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) going down by 6.79 points to wrap the session at 3,105.12 points compared with 3,111.91 points recorded in the previous session.
It was observed that the loss recorded on the first trading day of the week was triggered by UBN Property Plc, which crashed by 20 Kobo to trade at N2.00 per share versus last Friday’s N2.20 per share.
However, the share price of Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went up by 4 Kobo to 40 Kobo per unit from 36 Kobo per unit, it could not stop the bourse from going down at the close of transactions.
The activity chart showed that on Monday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 57.9 per cent to 767,610 units from the 486,215 units traded in the preceding session, while the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 17.7 per cent to N2.3 million from the N2.8 million recorded in the preceding trading day, as the number of deals declined by 14.3 per cent to 12 deals from the 14 deals carried out in the previous trading day.
At the close of transactions, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with a turnover of 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with the sale of 55,358 for N14.5 million.
Also, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 25.3 million units sold for N5.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc came next with 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The value of the Naira weakened against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, January 20 amid FX pressures associated with this period.
Most people who came into the country for Christmas and New Year holidays are already going back and are in need of forex, putting pressure on the local currency.
Also, the poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to end to the 42-day access granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators to buy forex at official price.
According to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the Nigerian Naira lost 0.16 per cent or N2.47 on the greeback yesterday to sell at N1,550.05/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s rate of N1,547.58/$1.
Similarly, the Naira slumped against the Pound Sterling in the spot market on Monday by N23.39 to trade at N1,906.98/£1 versus N1,883.59/£1 and depreciated against the Euro by N23.14 to sell for N1,613.48/€1 compared with last Friday’s N1,590.34/€1.
However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the Dollar during the session by N5 to quote at N1,665/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,670/$1.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it turned red yesterday as the US President, Mr Donald Trump, didn’t bring up the much-expected subject of crypto in his inauguration speech on Monday afternoon.
Mr Trump had promised a far more friendly crypto policy stance than the previous administration but in the long speech that announced his plans in the coming days, he didn’t make mention of Bitcoin or crypto.
Just over the weekend, the President ignited a speculative frenzy with the Friday evening launch of the Trump meme coin, which was shortly followed by a meme coin associated with his wife, Melania.
Dogecoin (DOGE) crumbled yesterday by 6.3 per cent to $0.3419, Solana (SOL) slumped by 4.7 per cent to $235.32, Cardano (ADA) fell by 3.6 per cent to $0.9777, and Litecoin (LTC) moderated by 1.9 per cent to $114.98.
Further, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 1.7 per cent to $3,241.36, Binance Coin (BNB) retreated by 1.4 per cent to $693.30, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 1.2 per cent to $3.06, and Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled by 0.8 per cent to $101,746.99, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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