Economy
Lord’s London Dry Gin Honours Nigerian Innovators
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
On Saturday, March 26, 2022, one of the leading premium spirit brands, Lord’s London Dry Gin, rolled out the drums to celebrate Nigerian innovators.
The impact makers were honoured amid pomp and pageantry at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos at the fourth edition of the Lord’s Achievers Awards.
“Since the establishment of the Lord’s Achievers Awards in 2018, we have worked towards the vision with doggedness, birthing a platform that helps us to fulfil our desire to celebrate the journey towards success and every achievement along the way.
“Today, we recognise young, exceptional, and outstanding people who have recorded notable success and kindled within us a desire to contribute to national socio-economic development,” the General Manager, Marketing at Grand Oak Limited, Mr Stanley Obi, stated.
It was gathered that this year’s event themed The Bold and Audacious was to recognise and celebrate young and exceptional Nigerians between the ages of 25 and 40, who have recorded notable success in their chosen endeavours.
Mr Obi, while explaining the criteria for being nominated and chosen as a Lord’s Achiever, said, “A Lord’s Achiever is young and vibrant, bold and audacious with their ideas, confident and unflinching in their resolve to develop innovative solutions.
“They are deliberate about impact, outstanding and exemplary in leadership. In choosing each honouree, we consider the following: reach and scope of their work; duration since they commenced the work or initiative; and the potential for scale and future impact on wider socio-economic outcomes.
“With the increasing brain-drain in Africa, we are especially proud of the strength and resilience of these individuals we honour today.”
On his part, the Category Manager, Schnapps, Gin & Bitters at Grand Oak Limited (GOL), Mr Tony Ogbonna, expressed the brand’s gratitude to the honourees, resource partners, fans and their entire team.
“This evening could not have been a success without our special guests, tonight’s honourees, lovers of Lord’s London Dry Gin and our partners.
“This fourth edition of the Lord’s Achievers Award is a milestone that has strengthened our resolve to keep the momentum and commitment to celebrating the successes of our people. More importantly, we recognise the importance for the younger generation who look up to these achievers and need to understand that there is no limit if we can only believe,” he said.
The beneficiaries for this year cut across all segments of the Nigerian ecosystem, including Finance: Tosin Olasiende, the founder/CEO of Ladda and Money Africa, a platform that enhances financial literacy and investments leveraging technology; Tech: Akintola Adensami, co-founder and CEO at Spleet Africa, a property tech solutions company whose work realises a basic amenity needed by all, Shelter; Science: Bukola Bolarinwa, founder of Haima Health, Nigeria’s first online and mobile blood bank revolutionising the country’s blood supply system; and Arts: Dapo Adedeji (DapoKing), a visual storyteller whose visual works help bring awareness to vulnerable groups.
Others were Agriculture: Jennifer Onyebuagu, the co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Voriancorelli, which aims to solve food insecurity by bridging the gap between actors in the agricultural value chain; Fashion and Lifestyle: Ore Runsewe, founder of Arami Essentials, a beauty brand centred on beauty with integrity and encouraging people to make better decisions for their body, being mindful of it as a sacred place; Literature: Sarah Aluko, a Nigerian-British author and poet whose poetry speaks about womanhood, being black, love and loss; Social Development: Wilson Atumeyi, the founder and CEO of Water With Development (WaterWide), a non-profit organisation that solves water sanitation and hygiene-related issues for vulnerable communities; Start up: Maya Horgan Famodu, MD at Ingressive Capital, a $10 million VC fund targeting early-stage startups across Sub-Saharan Africa’s key tech markets; and Entertainment: Tomike Adeoye, an award-winning TV and radio presenter, brand influencer, actress, and on-air-personality.
By Dipo Olowookere
About 0.04 per cent was recovered on Friday from the loss recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) the previous due to profit-taking.
Yesterday, investors were in the market with renewed vigour, mopping up stocks trading at relatively cheaper prices.
According to data, the insurance counter gained 0.41 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 0.38 per cent, and the consumer goods index grew by 0.14 per cent.
The gains achieved by these three sectors were enough to lift Customs Street at the close of business despite the 0.26 per cent decline printed by the industrial goods segment and the 0.14 per cent loss suffered by the energy industry. The commodity counter was flat during the session.
A total of 43 equities gained weight on the last trading day of this week, while 26 equities shed weight, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Red Star Express increased its share price by 10.00 per cent to N13.20, NCR Nigeria grew by 9.97 per cent to N128.55, SCOA Nigeria inflated by 9.96 per cent to N14.90, Omatek appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N1.77, and Deap Capital expanded by 9.85 per cent to N4.46.
On the flip side, McNichols decreased by 8.81 per cent to N6.00, Legend Internet crumbled by 7.56 per cent to N5.50, Cornerstone Insurance crashed by 6.48 per cent to N6.35, C&I Leasing contracted by 6.29 per cent to N8.20, and Austin Laz slipped by 5.78 per cent to N3.75.
Yesterday, 539.9 million shares valued at N16.7 billion were transacted in 48,023 deals versus the 1.0 billion shares worth N31.6 billion executed in 51,227 deals in the preceding day, implying a shrink in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 46.01 per cent, 47.15 per cent, and 6.26 per cent apiece.
Zenith Bank was the most active for the day with 54.6 million stocks sold for N3.8 billion, Jaiz Bank traded 41.5 million units worth N359.4 million, Secure Electronic Technology transacted 37.7 million units valued at N39.2 million, Access Holdings exchanged 30.5 million units for N699.2 million, and Lasaco Assurance transacted 27.2 million units worth N68.3 million.
When the market closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 72.21 points to 166,129.50 points from 166,057.29 points and the market capitalisation gained N31 billion to N106.354 trillion from N106.323 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was a positive ending for the Naira this week after it further appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, January 16 by N1.33 or 0.09 per cent to sell for N1,417.95/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,419.28/$1.
The domestic currency also gained N2.41 against the Euro in the official market to close at N1,647.51/€1 versus the preceding session’s closing price of N1,649.92/€1, however, it suffered a N7.97 loss against the Pound Sterling in the same market window to trade at N1,901.32/£1, in contrast to Thursday’s closing price of N1,893.35/£1.
In the same vein, the Nigerian Naira depleted against the Dollar at the GTBank FX counter by N2 to quote at N1,427/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,425/$1, but strengthened against the greenback at the black market yesterday by N5 to settle at N1,485/$1 versus the N1,490/$1 it was exchanged a day earlier.
Improved supply conditions helped keep the market within range as exporters’ and importers’ inflows in addition to non-bank corporate supply enhanced liquidity as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) made no visible intervention.
Stronger external inflows from foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) and improving current account dynamics, continue to align with structural support in the wider economy.
Nigeria has seen projections of a stronger economic or gross domestic product (GDP) growth and lower inflation in 2026, with these forecasts citing improved macroeconomic fundamentals and reform impacts.
As for the cryptocurrency market, it was mixed following selloff in precious metals and lower US stocks appeared to be denting crypto sentiment.
Gold and silver, both of which also enjoyed big rallies earlier this week, tumbled 1.2 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively while key US stock indexes — the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average — all reversed from early gains to modest losses in Friday trade.
Dogecoin (DOGE) shrank by 2.2 per cent to $0.1370, Ripple (XRP) slipped by 0.8 per cent to $2.05, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.7 per cent to $3,228.56, and Bitcoin (BTC) slumped by 0.6 per cent to $95,086.80.
Conversely, Litecoin (LTC) appreciated by 3.2 per cent to $74.48, Solana (SOL) rose by 0.4 per cent to $143.70, Cardano (ADA) jumped by 0.2 per cent to $0.3942, and Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 0.1 per cent to $935.88, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices settled higher amid lingering worries about a possible US military strike against Iran, a decision that may still occur over the weekend.
Brent crude settled at $64.13 a barrel after going up by 37 cents or 0.58 per cent and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude finished at $59.44 a barrel after it gained 25 cents or 0.42 per cent.
The US Navy’s aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln was expected to arrive in the Persian Gulf next week after operating in the South China Sea.
Market analysts noted that it doesn’t seem likely anything will happen soon. However, the weekends have become the perfect time for actions so as not offset the markets.
The market had risen after protests flared up in Iran and US President Donald Trump signalled the potential for military strikes, but lost over 4 per cent on Thursday as the American president said Iran’s crackdown on the protesters was easing, allaying concerns of possible military action that could disrupt oil supplies.
Iran produces approximately 3.2 million barrels per day, accounting for roughly 4 per cent of global crude production, so it was not a coincidence that markets rallied sharply through Tuesday and Wednesday as President Trump canceled meetings with Iranian officials and posted that “help is on its way” to Iranian protesters, raising fears of potential US military strikes that sent prices surging toward multi-month highs.
Weighing against those fears are potential supply increases from Venezuela.
The Trump administration is exploring plans to swap heavy Venezuelan crude for US medium sour barrels that can actually go straight into Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) caverns, since not all all oil belongs in the reserve.
According to Reuters, the Department of Energy is considering moving Venezuelan heavy crude into commercial storage at the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, while US producers deliver medium sour crude into the SPR in exchange.
Analysts expect higher supply this year, potentially creating a ceiling for the geopolitical risk premium on prices.
Some investors covered short positions ahead of the three-day Martin Luther King holiday weekend in the US.
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