By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria’s inflation rose for another month, hitting a multi-year high of 34.60 per cent in November 2024 spurred by increases in food and electricity costs.

The headline inflation rate lower than the 33.88 per cent recorded in October 2024, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Looking at the movement, the November 2024 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.72 per cent points compared to the October 2024 headline inflation rate.

On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.40 per cent higher than the 28.20 per cent recorded in November 2023. This shows that the average prices of goods and services increased in November 2024 compared to the same month in the preceding year.

Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in November 2024 was 2.638 per cent, which was 0.002 per cent points lower than the rate recorded in October 2024 (2.640 per cent).

This means that in November 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is slightly lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in October 2024.

The NBS data also showed that the food inflation rate in November 2024 was 39.93 per cent on a year-on-year basis, 7.08 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in November 2023 (32.84 per cent).

The rise in Food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of the following items: yam, water yam, coco yam, potatoes, and other tubers class, guinea corn, maize grains, rice, beer and consumable oils.

On a month-on-month basis, the Food inflation rate in November 2024 was 2.98 per cent which shows
0.05 per cent points increase compared to the rate recorded in October 2024 (2.94 per cent).

The rise is attributed to the rate of increase in the average prices of mudfish, catfish dried, dried fish sardine, rice, yam flour, millet whole grain, corn flour, agric egg, powdered milk, fresh milk, and the meat class.

The average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending November 2024 over the previous twelve-month average was 38.67 per cent, which was 11.58 per cent points higher compared with the average annual rate of change recorded in November 2023 (27.09 per cent).

The rise in inflation comes as the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hiked interest rates for the sixth time this year by 25 basis points to 27.50 per cent. This year alone, the apex bank hiked rates by 875 basis points.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Payment startup using stablecoin technology to transform cross-border payments, Juicyway, has launched out of stealth mode and announced a $3 million pre-seed to transform payments by expanding its team, advancing its technology, and eventual entry into new markets.

The round was led by P1 Ventures, with participation from Ventures Platform, Future Africa, Magic Fund, Andrew Alli, Gbenga Oyebode, Tunde Folawiyo, Microtraction, and others.

Founded in 2021 by Mr Ife Johnson and Mr Justin Ziegler, Juicyway enables individuals and businesses to send, receive, and process payments globally. The platform supports fiat currencies like the Nigerian Naira (NGN), US Dollar (USD), and Canadian Dollar (CAD), as well as cryptocurrency transactions.

As the creators of Nigeria’s price discovery engine, Naira Rates, Juicyway facilitates remittances and provides access to FX through various payment channels. It offers multicurrency accounts and access to a liquidity pool for local and international payments at competitive rates.

Licensed in Nigeria, Canada, the USA, and the UK, Juicyway has processed $1.3 billion across 25,000 transactions, and 4,000 customers, Juicyway has proven its value and efficiency. Trusted by prominent brands like Bolt, IHS, Piggyvest, Mocoh SA, Bamboo, and Afriex, the company also partners with Access Bank for remittance services.

Juciyway will be seeking to address high remittance fees by leveraging stablecoin technology to enable fast, affordable global money transfers with 24/7 execution and settlement.

According to a statement, Juicyway wants to simplify money movement while ensuring market-driven pricing in Africa where remittance fees average 13 per cent on $200 transfers as of Q4 2023.

In 2023 alone, Africa received an estimated $90.2 billion in remittances, accounting for 5.2 per cent of GDP and nearly double the amount of overseas aid.

Through its web and mobile apps and APIs, it will display real-time rates based on what other users are willing to pay.

The platform will also create a liquid ecosystem, lower remittance costs, and empower users to trade confidently, allowing greater financial inclusion.

Speaking on the round, Mr Johnson said, “Africa contributes less than 1% to the $5 trillion global currency market, partly because there’s no liquidity for intra-African currency pairs. The old systems weren’t built to support this. Over the next three years, we want to be the platform where Nigerians and eventually the whole of Africa, and those doing business on the continent can easily convert African currencies to local ones and back.

“Our ultimate goal is to unlock liquidity for African currency pairs that currently have none. Stablecoin technology and our network model make this vision achievable by enabling fast and efficient money movement. Without it, we’d still be in pursuit of this goal, but it would be far harder to achieve.”

Also commenting on the fundraise, Mr Justin Ziegler Co-Founder and COO of Juicyway stated, “Juicyway’s goal is to build uninterrupted, cost-effective cross-border infrastructure that enables Africa to participate in the global economy on equal footing.

“Our growth in a short period of time reflects the underlying demand for better global payments. We’re proud to offer a solution that eliminates the need for businesses and individuals to juggle multiple platforms to manage their financial needs. This investment represents a milestone for our company, and we are grateful for the trust and commitment from our investors”.

The funding will drive Juicyway’s growth by supporting team expansion, technological advancements, and entry into new markets. The round includes the addition of Joshua Wasserman, a compliance and regulatory expert with experience at the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and a key leader in building compliance for Cash App.

Juicyway also welcomes Mr Idris Ibrahim, CRO of Juicyway, Mr Ridwan Otun, formerly with Bamboo and Smart Pension, and Mr Ukeoma Chukundah, ex-Klarna and Deimos, as key members of its engineering team.

By Dipo Olowookere

Leading telecommunications firm in the country, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has gone to the capital market to borrow about N72.18 billion to support short-term working capital requirements.

The company got the money from the sale of commercial paper to investors, who were willing to part with their funds at attractive rates.

According to a statement issued by MTN Nigeria, it had intention of getting N50 billion from the exercise but it ended up selling issuing N72.18 per cent worth of the notes to investors.

The telco noted that the 144 per cent subscription rate the commercial paper sale recorded affirmed the confidence investors have in the organisation.

Business Post reports that the commercial paper issuance was in two series of 13 and 14 under its N250 billion Commercial Paper Issuance Programme, with Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited as the lead arranger and dealer and CardinalStone Partners Limited, Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Limited, Cordros Capital Limited, Coronation Merchant Bank Limited, FCMB Capital Markets Limited, Meristem Capital Limited, Quantum Zenith Capital & Investments Limited and Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited as joint dealers.

The Series 13 was with a tenor of 180 days issued at a yield of 27.50 per cent and the Series 14 was with a tenor of 270 days at a yield of 29.00 per cent.

“We are pleased with the support received from the investor community, having recorded 144 per cent subscription with participation from a broad range of investors.

“This further reinforces MTN Nigeria’s financial position, brand strength and market leadership amidst the challenging macro conditions,” the chief executive of MTN Nigeria, Mr Karl Toriola, said.

To avoid bank loans, which come with high interest rates, companies explore other fund raising options in the capital market with lower rates like bond and commercial paper sales.