Connect with us

Economy

Lagos Leads in Volume of Online Food Orders—Jumia Food Index

Published

on

jumia food

By Adedapo Adesanya

Retail giant, Jumia, has published its first Nigeria Food Index, showing the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on food trends in Nigeria with an increase recorded in online delivery.

The report, released today, showed that the online food delivery is changing habits in unexpected ways for businesses and consumers due to the pandemic, showing the growing popularity of fast food, coupled with the growing trends for convenience and value for money which have opened up opportunities for the food market in Nigeria.

The report indicated that the country’s agricultural sector experienced a major boom in 2019, significantly responsible for the 90.23 per cent contribution made by non-oil sectors to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The index further showed that the food and grocery retail market had total revenues of $44.9 billion, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7 per cent in the last eight years.

Similarly, the report revealed that overall grocery retailing continues to expand, as consumers seek comfort and convenience when shopping for food. The food segment was the market’s most lucrative, with total revenues of $33.7 billion, equivalent to 75 per cent of the market’s overall value.

It also showed that online food delivery is gaining momentum through companies such as Jumia Food. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for food rose significantly, especially online food delivery as a result of the lockdown and social distancing guidelines. This was because many people relied heavily on food delivery as opposed to physical shopping in grocery markets.

The report highlighted two major drivers of the growth observed in 2020 – demography and the COVID-19 lockdowns. While with a growing population averaging 18 years old, a new generation of Nigerian middle-class consumers are spending more money online on food and grocery services, the lockdowns induced by the COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to this evolution in habits.

The report further highlighted that, while most restaurants are popular in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Ibadan, Lagos leads in terms of volume of online food orders.

It also showed among others, that pizza, Chinese delicacies and shawarma are the most promising cuisines. In terms of peak periods, lunch leads in the time of orders with 65 per cent; weekdays record the biggest volume in orders, peaking on Wednesday at 16 per cent; males place more orders (56 per cent) than females (44 per cent) and Port Harcourt leads in delivery timing at 26 minutes.

The index also showed that while Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Cold Stone Creamery and Pizza Hut come out as the most popular international brands in the country due to consumers’ proclivity to chicken-related orders, Chicken Republic, The Place, Kilimanjaro, Sweet Sensation and Drumstick are the most popular local food vendors due to the affordability of their offers.

Jumia explained that the positive trend recorded in the agricultural sector offers the prospect of increased jobs, greater prosperity, reduced hunger and improved opportunities for Nigerian farmers and entrepreneurs to participate in the global economy.

Over the years, Nigeria’s growing online audience has seen an increase in international brands setting up shop to tap into the growing middle-income segment. Direct investments from players such as KFC, Cold Stone Creamery and Pizza Hut have been achieved.

Online food delivery players such as Jumia have also played a key role in shaping supply chains and opening up the markets to new entrants. Local producers and restaurants have embraced this evolution and reached new consumers as well as grown their businesses in spite of these challenging times.

“This pandemic crisis has shown the world that online food delivery is not just a commodity, but a necessity. The food business adapted quickly to the new normal, by availing contactless and cashless deliveries,” said Mr Shreenal Ruparelia, Chief Commercial Officer, Jumia Food.

“We also started to provide support to local food vendors to keep their businesses running during this difficult time. With our food partners, we will continue to deploy capabilities across the food value chain to ensure consumers buy food online safely and at the right price, in line with the theme of this year’s World Food Day celebration of ‘Grow, Nourish, Sustain Together,’” added Mr Ruparelia.

Nigeria’s population is expected to double over the next 30 years at a growth rate averaging around 2.3 per cent a year. With its diversification plan from oil production, the country is set to witness growth in a large consumer market, such as the food and grocery retail market.

Jumia Food is Africa’s largest food delivery company operating in nine countries on the continent. The consumers can order restaurant meals, groceries, drinks, pharmacies, and supermarkets, having them delivered in less than 45 minutes.

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.

Economy

Tinubu Presents N58.47trn Budget for 2026 to National Assembly

Published

on

2026 budget tinubu

By Adedapo Adesanya

President Bola Tinubu on Friday presented a budget proposal of N58.47 trillion for the 2026 fiscal year titled Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity to a joint session of the National Assembly, with capital recurrent (non‑debt) expenditure standing at 15.25 trillion, and the capital expenditure at N26.08 trillion, while the crude oil benchmark was pegged at $64.85 per barrel.

Business Post reports that the Brent crude grade currently trades around $60 per barrel. It is also expected to trade at that level or lower next year over worries about oil glut.

At the budget presentation today, Mr Tinubu said the expected total revenue for the year is N34.33 trillion, and the proposal is anchored on a crude oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day, and an exchange rate of N1,400 to the US Dollar.

In terms of sectoral allocation, defence and security took the lion’s share with N5.41 trillion, followed by infrastructure at N3.56 trillion, education received N3.52 trillion, while health received N2.48 trillion.

Addressing the lawmakers, the President described the budget proposal as not “just accounting lines”.

“They are a statement of national priorities,” the president told the gathering. “We remain firmly committed to fiscal sustainability, debt transparency, and value‑for‑money spending.”

The presentation came at a time of heightened insecurity in parts of the country, with mass abductions and other crimes making headlines.

Outlining his government’s plan to address the challenge, President Tinubu reminded the gathering that security “remains the foundation of development”.

He said some of the measures in place to tame insecurity include the modernisation of the Armed Forces, intelligence‑driven policing and joint operations, border security, and technology‑enabled surveillance and community‑based peacebuilding and conflict prevention.

“We will invest in security with clear accountability for outcomes—because security spending must deliver security results,” the president said.

“To secure our country, our priority will remain on increasing the fighting capability of our armed forces and other security agencies by boosting personnel and procuring cutting-edge platforms and other hardware,” he added.

Continue Reading

Economy

PenCom Extends Deadline for Pension Recapitalisation to June 2027

Published

on

Pension Recapitalisation

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The deadline for the recapitalisation of the Nigerian pension industry has been extended by six months to June 2027 from December 2026.

This extension was approved by the National Pension Commission (PenCom), the agency, which regulates the sector in the country.

Addressing newsmen on Thursday in Lagos, the Director-General of PenCom, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, explained that the shift in deadline was to give operators more time to boost the capital base, dismissing speculations that the exercise had been suspended.

“The recapitalisation has not been suspended. We have communicated the requirements to the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), and we expect every operator to be compliant by June 2027. Anyone who is not compliant by then will lose their licence,” Ms Oloworaran told journalists.

She added that, “From a regulatory standpoint, our major challenge is ensuring compliance. We are working with ICPC, labour and the TUC to ensure employers remit pension contributions for their employees.”

The DG noted that engagements with industry operators indicated broad acceptance of the policy, with many PFAs already taking steps to raise additional capital or explore mergers and acquisitions.

“You may see some mergers and acquisitions in the industry, but what is clear is that the recapitalisation exercise is on track and the industry agrees with us,” she stated.

PenCom wants the PFAs to increase their capital base and has created three categories, with the first consists operators with Assets Under Management of N500 billion and above. They are expected to have a minimum capital of N20 billion and one per cent of AUM above N500 billion.

The second category has PFAs with AUM below N500 billion, which must have at least N20 billion as capital base.

The last segment comprises special-purpose PFAs such as NPF Pensions Limited, whose minimum capital was pegged at N30 billion, and the Nigerian University Pension Management Company Limited, whose minimum capital was fixed at N20 billion.

Continue Reading

Economy

Three Securities Sink NASD Exchange by 0.68%

Published

on

NASD securities exchange

By Adedapo Adesanya

Three securities weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.68 per cent on Thursday, December 18.

According to data, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc led the losers’ group after it slipped by N2.87 to N36.78 per share from N39.65 per share, Golden Capital Plc depreciated by 77 Kobo to end at N6.98 per unit versus the previous day’s N7.77 per unit, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc dropped 19 Kobo to sell at N60.00 per share versus Wednesday’s closing price of N60.19 per share.

At the close of business, the market capitalisation lost N16.81 billion to finish at N2.147 billion compared with the preceding session’s N2.164 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) declined by 24.76 points to 3,589.88 points from 3,614.64 points.

Yesterday, the volume of securities bought and sold increased by 49.3 per cent to 30.5 million units from 20.4 million units, the value of securities surged by 211.8 per cent to N225.1 million from N72.2 million, and the number of deals jumped by 33.3 per cent to 28 deals from 21 deals.

Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc remained the most traded stock by value with a year-to-date sale of 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

Similarly, InfraCredit Plc ended as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units traded for N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.7 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units exchanged for N524.9 million.

Continue Reading

Trending