Economy
Lagos To Finance 100,000 SMEs With N25b
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Not less than 100,000 entrepreneurs are expected to access the N25 billion Employment Trust Fund put in place by the Lagos State government.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos on Monday at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Mr, Akintunde Oyebode, pointed out that the financial support was aimed at helping Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the state grow.
According to him, by 2019, 100,000 entrepreneurs must have benefited from the trust fund, but stressed that beneficiaries would have to fulfil some obligations, including being duly registered by the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) among others.
Mr Oyebode noted that the fund was in line with Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s vision to create employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for all Lagosians.
He disclosed that the Board set up to manage the funds had spent the last few months perfecting strategies and addressing grey areas ahead of the commencement of the disbursement of the funds later this year.
Explaining further, he said the Board of Trustees embarked on several strategy sessions to define the mission, vision, core values and strategic framework to guide the Fund’s activities.
“After the completion of the research exercise, the Board working with its appointed consultants developed a strategic framework articulating the goals of the Board, the key interventions designed to enhance job creation, and the supporting infrastructure needed to deliver the set goals. This exercise has now been concluded and approved by the Lagos State Executive Council,” he said.
Highlighting some of the framework for the disbursement, Oyebode said the fund would provide loans to MSMEs at a single digit interest rates per annum, while training and capacity building and technical support would be provided to drive growth and job creation.
“The businesses we support must demonstrate capacity to repay our loans; be owned by Lagos residents duly registered by the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA); show evidence of tax payments to the Lagos Inland Revenue Service (LIRS); and have valid Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs).
“In addition to our MSME financing schemes, we will also train unemployed residents to either take up identified jobs or run their businesses,” he said.
Mr Oyebode added that in adherence with Section 6 of the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund Law of 2016, the Board has forwarded the Operating Guidelines outlining the proposed interventions and eligibility criteria for approval by the Lagos State House of Assembly.
He expressed optimism that the fund would have multiplier effect with the capacity to create 300,000 direct and 600,000 indirect jobs while about 200,000 new tax payers would be added to the State’s tax net.
He said that the LSETF Board, in order to ensure sustainability of the Fund, has set its target to raise a minimum of N25 billion from domestic and international donors, in addition to the N25billion already committed by the State Government.
“Once the pilot phase is completed, we will roll out our loan schemes in all 57 LGAs and LCDAs across Lagos State. The full rollout will see us visit all LGAs to hold stakeholder sessions, where our staff will educate applicants on the application process, and the eligibility criteria for our various schemes. We are also in the process of setting up liaison offices in 20 LGAs, to bring the Fund’s activities closer to the people, and increase our points of representation to serve Lagos residents,” he said.
Corroborating him, Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Dr Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti said Governor Ambode’s administration was committed to ensuring the fund impacts on the lives of Lagosians.
He lauded the plan by the LSETF Board to set up offices in 20 Local Governments in the State, saying that it would go a long way to ensuring that no area is marginalized.
“It is important that this process has taken considerable time, we need to make it work and also ensure that it is to the benefit of all Lagosians,” Mr Durosinmi-Etti said.
Adding his voice, Chairman, House Committee on Wealth Creation and Employment, Mr Sola Giwa, assured that members of the House would give the Operational Guidelines of the fund expeditious passage.
“This is one of the pivotal promises of Governor Ambode and I can assure you that the House would do its best to ensure that we do it right,” Mr Giwa said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of fast food brands like Chicken Republic and PieXpress, has disclosed plans to pay 10 Kobo in interim dividend to new and existing shareholders for the 2026 financial year.
This was disclosed by the company in a notice to the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange, where it trades its securities.
The notice indicated that the proposed interim dividend, which comes with no bonus, will be paid to those who hold the stocks of the company as of the qualification date for the dividend, which was Tuesday, March 24.
This means only those who hold the company’s shares as of the closing session will be eligible to receive the stipulated dividend payment.
The shareholders of the company will be credited with the 10 Kobo dividend on Tuesday, March 31.
The notice noted that the closure of the company’s register will be on Wednesday, March 25, through Friday, March 27, 2026, both days inclusive.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange dropped for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, March 18, by 0.39 per cent due to continued sell-offs.
In what would be the final trading session of the week due to public holidays on Thursday and Friday for Eid-el-Fitr, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) further dipped by 16.14 points to 4,114.75 points from 4,130.89 points, and the market capitalisation lost N9.66 billion to close at N2.461 trillion versus the previous day’s N2.471 trillion.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by N10.32 to sell at N112.00 per share versus N122.32 per share, NASD Plc dropped N4.50 to finish at N41.50 per unit compared with the previous session’s N46.00 per unit, and Geo-Fluids decreased by 9 Kobo to N3.02 per share from N3.11 per share.
On the flip side, Air Liquide Plc improved by N2.23 to N24.57 per unit from N22.34 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc advanced by 90 Kobo to N76.33 per share from N75.43 per share, Food Concepts Plc rose by 24 Kobo to N3.30 per unit from N3.06 per unit, UBN Property Plc surged by 20 Kobo to N2.18 per share from N1.98 per share, Impresit Bakalori Plc jumped 16 Kobo to N1.83 per unit from N1.67 per unit, and First Trust Mortgage Bank Plc added 14 Kobo to trade at N1.89 per share versus N1.75 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities went up by 43,404.4 per cent to 400.8 million units from 921,265 units, the value of securities grew by 2,108.7 per cent to N1.2 billion from N54.7 million, and the number of deals soared by 23.7 per cent to 47 deals from 38 deals.
CSCS Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value (year-to-date) with 38.7 million units valued at N2.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units exchanged for N1.2 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 6.4 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
Resourcery Plc finished the session as the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.1 billion units worth N415.7 million, trailed by Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units sold for N1.2 billion, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 131.1 million units valued at N505.6 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) experienced a pullback of 0.69 per cent as a result of profit-taking by investors, with shares in the banking and energy sectors mostly affected.
Data harvested by Business Post showed that the energy index was down by 4.58 per cent during the session, and the banking space lost 2.14 per cent.
They brought down the All-Share Index (ASI) by 1,402.56 points to 201,156.85 points from 202,559.41 points and shrank the market capitalisation by N900 billion to N129.126 trillion from N130.026 trillion.
Customs Street ended in red at midweek despite three of the five key sectors finishing in green. The consumer goods counter expanded by 1.19 per cent, the industrial goods index improved by 0.46 per cent, and the insurance sector grew by 0.43 per cent.
Red Star Express declined by 9.98 per cent to N25.70, Aradel Holdings went down by 9.68 per cent to N1,210.30, Presco lost 9.30 per cent to trade at N1,701.10, Living Trust Mortgage Bank crashed by 8.40 per cent to N4.80, and DAAR Communications dropped 7.50 per cent to end at N1.85.
On the flip side, Secure Electronic Technology gained 10.00 per cent to settle at N1.32, Guinness Nigeria rose by 9.92 per cent to N423.20, John Holt increased by 9.72 per cent to N11.85, Sovereign Trust Insurance surged by 9.57 per cent to N2.06, and Linkage Assurance chalked up 9.33 per cent to trade at N1.64.
Investor sentiment was weak yesterday after the bourse registered 33 price gainers and 38 price losers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
Market participants bought and sold 6.1 billion stocks valued at N130.1 billion in 58,562 deals compared with the 1.8 billion stocks worth N88.1 billion traded in 62,654 deals on Tuesday, representing a shortfall in the number of deals by 6.53 per cent, and a spike in the trading volume and value by 238.89 per cent and 47.67 per cent apiece.
The most active equity on Wednesday was eTranzact with 5.2 billion units sold for N24.3 billion, Wema Bank exchanged 111.4 million units worth N3.1 billion, Coronation Insurance transacted 96.4 million units valued at N303.9 million, Dangote Cement traded 75.2 million units for N56.5 billion, and Access Holdings exchanged 61.5 million units valued at N1.6 billion.
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