Economy
Nigeria’s Cash Crunch Hurt Informal Economy—UN
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Nations (UN) has revealed the recent cash crunch in Nigeria, brought on by plans to replace older higher denominations with newly designed currency notes, affected the country’s informal economy.
In a recent report, the inter-governmental organisation said the development, which lasted for months, mostly affected the informal sector, which accounts for more than 57 per cent of the economy and has an estimated $1.2 trillion GDP.
In the UN report tagged Trade and Development Report Update; Global Trends and Prospects (April 2023), it was disclosed that, “In Nigeria, a shortage of cash, triggered by the replacement of the highest denominations of the country’s currency, hobbled the economy, especially the informal sector.”
“Meanwhile, the continuing decline of oil production, accompanied by large-scale oil theft, poses a main threat to strained finances in Africa’s most populous nation,” it added.
It also projected an expansion of the continent’s economy by 2.5 per cent, which is a drop from last year, in contrast to 2.8 per cent by the World Bank and 3.2 per cent by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Like in other developing regions, weaker external demand and tighter financial conditions have made growth prospects gloomier for the region. In the case of commodity exporters, the fading of the initial effects of the 2022 price boom will add to the equation,” it said.
“Rising global interest rates have triggered significant capital outflows and have further constrained fiscal space at a time when public finances were already severely affected by costly subsidy schemes aiming at contending the adverse effects of high food and energy prices.
“Under these circumstances, the risk of stagflation is a key concern for many African economies. In approximately half of the countries, inflation remained double digits in early 2023. In many instances, these recent inflation spikes relate to the continuing depreciation of several African currencies in early 2023 – often following a loss in 2022 of 10–30 per cent of their value vis-à-vis the dollar.
“Public debt, in many cases standing at levels not seen since the early 2000s, is another worry across the continent. Out of the 38 African countries that are part of the Debt Sustainability Framework (DSF) of the IMF and World Bank, 8 entities are already ‘in debt distress’, while 13 are considered ‘at high risk’ of distress.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in October 2022, announced the redesign of the N200, N500, and N1,000 as part of efforts to boost digital transactions acceptance and fight inflation, insecurity, and corruption. However, the change triggered a cash shortage, which forced businesses to close after being unable to withdraw their money.
Following violent protests by angry Nigerians and threats of strikes by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the apex bank, after ten days of a Supreme Court verdict, announced that the three denominations will remain legal tender until December 31.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.04 per cent appreciation on Tuesday, January 14 after the share prices of six stocks on the platform recorded movements.
Business Post reports that the bourse ended with four price gainers and two price losers during the session trading session of the week.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N2.50 yesterday to finish at N39.50 per share versus the previous day’s N42.00 per share and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc dropped N1.15 to wrap up the day at N22.05 per unit compared to Monday’s N23.20 per unit.
On the flip side, 11 Plc gained N25.53 to close at N280.84 per share versus N255.31 per share, UBN Property Plc increased by 20 Kobo to N2.20 per unit from N2.00 per unit, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc added 10 Kobo to close at N16.20 per share compared with the previous day’s N16.30 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc gained 10 Kobo to settle at N4.66 per unit versus N4.56 per unit.
When trading activities ended for the day, the market capitalisation went up by N410 million to remain relatively unchanged at N1.061 trillion as the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) inflated by 1.19 points to 3,096.19 points from 3,095.00 points.
The volume of securities traded in the session was up by 28.4 per cent during the session to 3.97 million units from 3.1 million units, the value of shares jumped by 161.8 per cent to N8.3 million from N3.2 million, and the number of deals declined by 16.7 per cent to 25 deals from 30 deals.
FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 million units worth N134.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc occupied the second spot with 8.9 million units valued at N43.0 million, and the third position claimed by Afriland Properties Plc with 690,825 units sold for N11.1 million.
IGI Plc ended the session as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with a turnover of 23.5 million units valued at N5.3 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 8.9 million units sold for N43.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 3.4 million units worth N134.9 million.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A pioneering agricultural solutions provider based in Kaduna, Nigeria, NaFarm Foods, has been named as the winner of the food category of the 2025 Zayed Sustainability Prize for its Hybrid Solar Food Dryer.
The company clinched the accolade for its groundbreaking innovation in reducing post-harvest losses, improving food security, and promoting sustainable agricultural practices across Nigeria.
Hybrid Solar Food Dryer was designed by NaFarm Foods to address the critical issue of food spoilage by combining solar heat and electricity generated from solar panels for efficient, all-weather drying of food, even during rainy or cloudy days.
With a capacity of 500kg per unit and the ability to retain the nutritional quality of food while minimising energy costs, the technology has already benefited over 80 communities across six Nigerian states.
By reducing post-harvest losses for over 65,000 farmers, the dryers contribute significantly to food security and rural economic empowerment.
The Hybrid Solar Food Dryer is transforming food preservation by reducing spoilage rates, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions from decomposing food, and lowering reliance on fossil fuels.
With a whole-of-life cost of less than 1 cent per 100 litres, the dryers are accessible and economically viable for smallholder farmers and food processors.
By 2030, NaFarm Foods aims to empower two million farmers and reduce carbon emissions by 50,000 metric tonnes annually.
Business Post reports that NaFarms Foods has won $1 million from Zayed to scale its operations by manufacturing and distributing 100,000 dryers across Nigeria and West Africa.
“We are deeply honoured to be recognised as a winner of the Zayed Sustainability Prize. It signifies global recognition of our efforts to tackle food insecurity and promote equitable and sustainable agriculture in Nigeria and beyond.
“This opportunity inspires us to continue pushing boundaries, knowing that our work is not only transforming lives locally but also contributing to a more sustainable and equitable world. For us, this is more than an achievement; it’s a call to action to drive greater impact,” the chief executive of NaFarms Foods, Ms Fatima Jimoh, said.
The Director of the Zayed Sustainability Prize, Dr Lamya Fawwaz, said, “NaFarm Foods’ innovative approach to sustainable food preservation not only improves food security but also empowers rural communities, particularly women and youth, by creating income-generating opportunities. This aligns with the Prize’s mission to drive progress and improve livelihoods.”
NaFarm Foods plans to expand training programmes to empower an additional 25,000 women and youth, fostering entrepreneurship and sustainable economic growth.
Additionally, it intends to establish distribution hubs and implement advanced cluster mapping systems to ensure technology accessibility and improved marketability of produce.
Each year, the Zayed Sustainability Prize rewards organisations and high schools for their groundbreaking solutions, fostering innovation on global challenges. Over the past 17 years, through its 128 winners, the prize has positively impacted 407 million lives worldwide.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated against the United States Dollar for the third straight session by 0.05 per cent or N1.36 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Tuesday, January 14.
During the second trading day of the week, the exchange rate closed at N1,549.65/$1 in the official market, in contrast to Monday’s closing price of N1,548.89/$1.
The renewed pressure on the Naira occurred as analysts expected the introduction of the electronic matching FX market system, increasing foreign portfolio inflows, greater access to dollar-denominated debt, rising FX reserves, and a positive current account balance to support the domestic currency in 2025.
Investment banking firm, CardinalStone Securities Limited, said the Naira movement, which has contributed about 20.0 per cent – 30.0 per cent to inflation in the last few years, is likely to be relatively stable in 2025.
Also in the spot market, the local currency weakened against the Pound Sterling yesterday by N2.22 to trade at N1,879.64/£1 compared with the preceding day’s N1,877.42/£1 and against the Euro, the Nigerian currency lost N7.17 to quote at N1,586.05/€1 versus the N1,578.87/€1 it was traded a day earlier.
However, in the black market, the Naira appreciated against the greenback during the session by N5 to finish at N1,650/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,655/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, the bulls took charge of reports that US President-elect Donald Trump is preparing first-day executive orders that will benefit the crypto industry. The advance continued today, supported by softer-than-expected US Producer Price Index (PPI) readings for December.
Mr Trump’s expected crypto policies and broader economic plans have brought back positive sentiment among traders — bumping up crypto prices.
Ripple (XRP) added 12.1 per cent to its value to close at $2.84, Cardano jumped by 6.8 per cent to trade at $1.02, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 5.0 per cent to $0.3589, Litecoin (LTC) grew by 3.2 per cent to $101.80, Bitcoin (BTC) expanded by 2.2 per cent to $96,866.89, Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $699.45, Solana (SOL) also gained 1.5 per cent to end at $188.57, and Ethereum (ETH) improved by 1.3 per cent to $3,219.28, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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