Economy
Lagos Leads in Volume of Online Food Orders—Jumia Food Index
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.
Economy
Aradel Holdings Acquires Equity Stake in Chappal Energies
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A minority equity stake in Chappal Energies Mauritius Limited has been acquired by a Nigerian energy firm, Aradel Holdings Plc.
This deal came a few days after Chappal Energies purchased a 53.85 per cent equity stake in Equinor Nigeria Energy Company Limited (ENEC).
Chappal Energies went into the deal with Equinor to take part in the oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitised 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron.
Since production started in 2008, the Agbami field has produced more than one billion barrels of oil, creating value for Nigerian society and various stakeholders.
As part of the deal, Chappal will assume the operatorship of OML 129, which includes several significant prospects and undeveloped discoveries (Nnwa, Bilah and Sehki).
The Nnwa discovery is part of the giant Nnwa-Doro field, a major gas resource with significant potential to deliver value for Nigeria.
In a separate transaction, on July 17, 2024, Chappal and Total Energies sealed an SPA for the acquisition by Chappal of 10 per cent of the SPDC JV.
The relevant parties to this transaction are working towards closing out this transaction and Ministerial Approval and NNPC consent to accede to the Joint Operating Agreement have been obtained.
“This acquisition is in line with diversifying our asset base, deepening our gas competencies and gaining access to offshore basins using low-risk approaches.
“We recognise the strategic role of gas in Nigeria’s energy future and are happy to expand our equity holding in this critical resource.
“We are committed to the cause of developing the significant value inherent in the assets, which will be extremely beneficial to the country.
“Aradel hopes to bring its proven execution competencies to bear in supporting Chappal’s development of these opportunities,” the chief executive of Aradel Holdings, Mr Adegbite Falade, stated.
Economy
Afriland Properties Lifts NASD OTC Securities Exchange by 0.04%
By Adedapo Adesanya
Afriland Properties Plc helped the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange record a 0.04 per cent gain on Tuesday, December 10 as the share price of the property investment rose by 34 Kobo to N16.94 per unit from the preceding day’s N16.60 per unit.
As a result of this, the market capitalisation of the bourse went up by N380 million to remain relatively unchanged at N1.056 trillion like the previous trading day.
But the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) closed higher at 3,014.36 points after it recorded an addition of 1.09 points to Monday’s closing value of 3,013.27 points.
The NASD OTC securities exchange recorded a price loser and it was Geo-Fluids Plc, which went down by 2 Kobo to close at N3.93 per share, in contrast to the preceding day’s N3.95 per share.
During the trading session, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors increased by 95.8 per cent to 2.4 million units from the 1.2 million securities traded in the preceding session.
However, the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 3.7 per cent to N4.9 million from the N5.07 million recorded a day earlier, as the number of deals surged by 27.3 per cent to 14 deals from 11 deals.
Geo-Fluids Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.5 million units worth N5.3 million.
Also, 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 297.5 million units sold for N5.3 billion.
Economy
Naira Trades N1,542/$1 as FX Speculators Dump Dollars in Panic
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira continued to appreciate on the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), gaining 0.7 per cent or N10.23 on Tuesday, December 10 to trade at N1,542.27/$1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,552.50/$1.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-backed Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) platform introduced to tackle speculation and improve transparency in Nigeria’s FX market has been attributed as the source of the Naira’s appreciation.
Speculators holding foreign currencies, particularly the US Dollar, have seen the value of their money drastically drop due to the appreciation of the local currency. This is forcing them to dump greenback into the system and take the domestic currency alternative- a move that has seen available FX increase.
Equally, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the trading day by N6.81 to sell for N1,955.12/£1 compared with Monday’s closing price of N1,961.93/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N10.84 to close at N1,613.00/€1, in contrast to the previous day’s rate of N1,623.84/€1.
Data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange showed that the value of forex transactions significantly increased yesterday by $228.85 million or 257.2 per cent to $401.17 million from the preceding session’s $112.32 million.
However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency weakened against the US Dollar on Tuesday by N5 to settle at N1,625/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,620/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, Dogecoin (DOGE) lost 4.8 per cent to sell at $0.39116, Litecoin (LTC) depreciated by 3.3 per cent to trade at $110.25, Binance Coin (BNB) went south by 2.3 per cent to $681.44, Ethereum (ETH) dropped 1.6 per cent to finish at $3,671.08, and Cardano (ADA) slid by 0.5 per cent to $0.8837
Conversely, Ripple (XRP) jumped by 5.4 per cent to $2.23 amid a continued shift for the coin with its parent company seeing the benefits of a crypto-friendly regulatory environment for US-based companies.
XRP is closely related to Ripple Labs, a high-profile payments company targeted by the SEC in 2020 on allegations of selling the token as a security to U.S. investors. Ripple fully cleared a long-drawn court case in 2024.
Further, Solana (SOL) expanded by 0.8 per cent to $219.75, Bitcoin (BTC) grew by 0.4 per cent to $97,446.95, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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