Economy
Money Africa Wins $25,000 in NSIA Innovation Prize
By Adedapo Adesanya
Subscription-based financial edtech platform, Money Africa, won the star prize of $25,000 at the maiden edition of Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority’s (NSIA) Innovation Programme.
The agency, through the event, rewarded 10 Nigerian innovators with the sum of $60,000 and equity investments in its Prize for Innovation programme.
At the Prize for NSIA Innovation Programme (NPI) held on Saturday in Lagos, Money Africa won the star prize of the maiden event.
Extension Africa won the second place of $17, 500 while Legit Car Africa won the third place of $12,500.
Seven other innovators- TruQ, Capsa Technology, Apace, Ya-lo, Credit-Chek, Vella Finance and Kobo Pay all got prizes of $5,000.
The programme, with the theme, Driving a Sustainable Future Through Innovation, is designed to identify innovative technological solutions developed by Nigerian tech entrepreneurs.
Mr Aminu Umar-Sadiq, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NSIA, said the event was organised to encourage entrepreneurs.
”I think the important thing is that this event actually catalyzes what we have seen as very great ideas emanating from Nigeria and entrepreneurs to solve Nigerian problems.
“I hope that this event allows us to mobilise domestic capital long-term patience toward Nigeria.
“So, hopefully, beyond that, we are also looking at the value creation and addition that comes beyond the investment in these companies.
“They will require further polishing of their business ideas and the positioning of these companies for exits.
“We are hoping that this event will shine a light on the possibilities that our own local entrepreneurs are able to offer for solving Nigeria’s problems,” Umar-Sadiq said.
As opposed to giving just catch prizes, the NSIA MD said that the organisation decided to split the prizes into two components, a cash component and also an equity component.
This, he said, would allow NSIA to take ownership in these businesses so that beyond just the prizes, it could actually engage with the entrepreneurs and add value to them beyond offering money.
Mr Kashifu Abdullah, the Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), said that the seed funding for startups would help position Nigeria for accelerated job creation in the digital economy.
“I am highly impressed with the kind of innovative ideas that I have seen today. And this shows that we have great potential and luck in Nigeria.
“And looking at what is happening and this kind of initiative to provide seed funding for startups, it will really help position Nigeria for accelerated jobs creation in the digital economy.
“Most startups fail because of lack of financing. And according to many research, more than 47 per cent of startups fail because of lack of financing at the initial stage,” he said.
According to him, NITDA has started the implementation of the Nigeria startup act.
He said, “Under the act, we are to establish a startup investment seed fund.
“The act says we need a minimum of N10 billion per annum, but we are targeting N100 billion so that we should be able to seed at least 1,000 early-stage startups and about 400 late-stage startups.
“This can help us to hit more than 80,000 jobs in Nigeria.”
Ms Oluwatosin Olaseinde, the winner of the star prize and founder of Money Africa Financial Services, who expressed joy, said the challenge of managing her finances pushed her to find solutions to financial literacy.
“I feel really excited. It’s really nice to have put in all this work, and then, here I am, the winner of this prize. I’m very grateful.
“I had a personal challenge with my money, I struggled to manage my finances, I called my friends, and they had similar problems.
“Now I realised that having money is not the only thing, how do you keep that money and I noticed that it was a general problem.
“According to the research by S&P Financial Literacy survey, Africans score the least in financial literacy.
“So, I embarked on that mission. Once I figured it out, I felt like an evangelist. All I did was just to teach and tell everybody about how to manage money and make the most use of what they have,” Ms Olaseinde said.
She urged innovators to be flexible with their methods and continue to push and be focused on the goal.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited is seeking review of the controversial Capital Gains Tax increase, fearing it will chase away foreign investors from the country’s capital market.
Nigeria’s new tax regime, which takes effect from January 1, 2026, represents one of the most significant changes to Nigeria’s tax system in recent years.
Under the new rules, the flat 10 per cent Capital Gains Tax rate has been replaced by progressive income tax rates ranging from zero to 30 per cent, depending on an investor’s overall income or profit level while large corporate investors will see the top rate reduced to 25 per cent as part of a wider corporate tax reform.
The chief executive of NGX, Mr Jude Chiemeka, said in a Bloomberg interview in Kigali, Rwanda that there should be a “removal of the capital gains tax completely, or perhaps deferring it for five years.”
According to him, Nigeria, having a higher Capital Gains Tax, will make investors redirect asset allocation to frontier markets and “countries that have less tax.”
“From a capital flow perspective, we should be concerned because all these international portfolio managers that invest across frontier markets will certainly go to where the cost of investing is not so burdensome,” the CEO said, as per Bloomberg. “That is really the angle one will look at it from.”
Meanwhile, the policy has been defended by the chairman of the Presidential Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms Committee, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, who noted that the new tax will make investing in the capital market more attractive by reducing risks, promoting fairness, and simplifying compliance.
He noted that the framework allows investors to deduct legitimate costs such as brokerage fees, regulatory charges, realised capital losses, margin interest, and foreign exchange losses directly tied to investments, thereby ensuring that they are not taxed when operating at a loss.
Mr Oyedele also said the reforms introduced a more inclusive approach to taxation by exempting several categories of investors and transactions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Food Concepts Plc neutralized the gains recorded by three securities, returning the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange into the negative territory with a 0.27 per cent loss on Thursday, December 4.
Yesterday, the share price of the parent company of Chicken Republic and PieXpress declined by 34 Kobo to sell at N3.15 per unit compared with the previous day’s N3.49 per unit.
This shrank the market capitalisation of the OTC bourse by N5.72 billion to N2.136 billion from N2.142 trillion and weakened the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 9.57 points to 3,571.53 points from 3,581.10 points.
Business Post reports that Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went down by 50 Kobo to N38.50 per share from N38.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc gained 29 Kobo to sell at N55.79 per unit versus N55.50 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc added 5 Kobo to close at N4.60 per share compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N4.55 per share.
Trading data indicated that the volume of securities recorded at the session surged by 6,885.3 per cent to 4.3 million units from the 61,570 units posted a day earlier, the value of securities increased by 10,301.7 per cent to N947.2 million from N3.3 million, and the number of deals went up by 146.7 per cent to 37 deals from the 15 deals achieved in the previous trading session.
At the close of business, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc was the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 5.8 billion units for N16.4 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 170.4 million units worth N8.0 billion, and Air Liquide Plc with 507.5 million units valued at N4.2 billion.
InfraCredit Plc also finished the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units transacted for N16.4 billion, followed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 1.2 billion units sold for N420.2 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 536.9 million units traded for N524.9 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The upward trend witnessed at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited in recent sessions continued on Thursday as it further improved by 0.10 per cent.
This was despite investor sentiment turning bearish after the local equity market ended with 23 price gainers and 28 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth index.
UAC Nigeria gained 10.00 per cent to finish at N88.00, Morison Industries appreciated by 9.94 per cent to N3.54, Ecobank rose by 8.53 per cent to N36.90, and Coronation Insurance grew by 8.47 per cent to N2.56.
On the flip side, Ellah Lakes depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N13.14, Eunisell Nigeria also shed 10.00 per cent to finish at N72.90, Transcorp Hotels slipped by 9.95 per cent to N157.50, Omatek shrank by 9.23 per cent to N1.18, and Guinea Insurance dipped by 8.46 per cent to N1.19.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 152.28 points to 145,476.15 points from 145,323.87 points and the market capitalisation chalked up N97 billion to finish at N92.726 trillion compared with the previous day’s N92.629 trillion.
Customs Street was bubbling with activities on Thursday, though the trading volume and value slightly went down, according to data.
A total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 23,369 deals during the session versus the N2.3 billion valued at N21.0 billion traded in 21,513 deals a day earlier.
This showed that the number of deals increased by 8.63 per cent, the volume of transactions depleted by 17.39 per cent, and the value of trades decreased by 8.57 per cent.
For another trading day, eTranzact led the activity chart with 1.6 billion units sold for N6.4 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 31.0 million units worth N589.3 million, GTCO exchanged 28.3 million units valued at N2.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 27.1 million units for N1.6 billion, and Ecobank traded 21.9 million units worth N744.3 million.
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