Economy

Sage Tutors Customers on Business Solutions

Published

9 years ago

10/03/2017

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

Market and technology leader for integrated accounting, payroll & HR, and payment systems, Sage, has underlined its strong commitment to future technologies with a focus on solutions that move business builders closer to a future of invisible admin at Sage Summit Tour in Africa and Middle East at the Sandton Convention Centre.

Sage spoke about how all Sage products will be connected to the cloud, with new mobile, social, chatbot and IoT (Internet of Things) offerings in the pipeline for the entire product portfolio. It also highlighted a vision to empower business builders around the world to automate back-office functions, where accounting is invisible.

Sage used the Sage Summit Tour to discuss key product launches and developments. These include Sage Live, Sage One Payroll in East Africa and West Africa, the Sage X3 Fast Start configuration and more.

Users got to see new technology in action, such as Pegg the smart bot from Sage that helps you to track and manage expenses. These technologies allow businesses to automate processes, improve efficiency and become more agile.

“We want to enable entrepreneurs and business builders to spend less time on admin and more time on growing their businesses, developing innovative products and interacting with their customers,” said Anton van Heerden, Managing Director and Executive Vice-President, Africa & Middle East at Sage. “Using the latest cloud technologies, we are focusing on addressing the immediate challenges our customers are facing today.”

In his keynote speech, Sage CEO Stephen Kelly, outlined a bold vision for a world of invisible accounting, powered by the cloud, bots and mobile technology. “Artificial intelligence is the game changer for the next decade. Technology has made accounting business solutions much smarter, with admin capabilities that manage your business, enabling you to get on with your business and follow your dreams,” he said.

A panel discussion on the future of work saw industry experts explore the implications of automation alongside Sage experts.

The accelerating pace of change and innovation means humans face an uncertain future and participants debated the challenges and opportunities this presents to leaders and organisations. Panel moderator Vincent Hofmann, Director of Inquisition, concluded that while automation will surely replace many of the routine tasks that we do at work there is a case for optimism: new industries, new jobs will be created and people will be encouraged to refocus their time on creative problem solving and deriving more fulfilment from work. The recording of the discussion will be available next week as a podcast in Sage’s Invisible Admin podcast series.

Other speakers at the conference also issued a clarion call for digital transformation to businesses in Africa and the Middle East. “Don’t be a digital dinosaur. Never use the phrase ‘in my day’. If you’re alive, it’s your day,” said Nick Goode, ‎Executive Vice President, Product Management at Sage.

Justin Spratt, Head of Business, Sub-Saharan Africa at Uber and Luke McKend, Country Director at Google South Africa both highlighted how growing connectivity are disrupting the world and creating new entrepreneurial opportunities.

“We need to take advantage of the fact that we’re more connected than ever, all the time,” said McKend, while Spratt pointed out that there will be mobile penetration of 90% by the end of 2017.

To thrive in this environment, every business should see itself as a tech company, said Gil Oved, co-founder and co-CEO of The Creative Counsel.

“Those who are crazy and brave enough to think they can change the world are the ones who actually do,” he added.

“Technologies such as the cloud, mobility and artificial intelligence are all unlocking innovation, driving better performance and helping the region’s businesses to become more competitive,” said Van Heerden. “Sage will provide business builders with ‘invisible accounting’ so they can focus on following their visions and changing the world.”

Economy

OTC Exchange Begins Week With 0.39% Loss

Published

41 minutes ago

13/01/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange fell by 0.39 per cent on Monday, January 12, after it closed higher in every trading day of last week.

The loss recorded yesterday took out N8.5 billion from the unlisted securities market, closing at N2.184 compared with the preceding session’s closing value of N2.193 trillion.

In the same vein, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went down by 14.2 points during the session to 3,651.48 points from the 3,665.68 points it finished last Friday.

The decline was influenced by three securities, with Afriland Properties Plc down by N1.55 to end at N14.75 per unit compared with the previous N16.30 per unit, and NASD Plc declining by N1.00 to N59.00 per share from N6.00 pr share, as Food Concepts Plc slid by 34 Kobo to finish at N3.06 per unit versus N3.40 per unit.

On the flip side, three securities gained weight, with FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciating by N6.23 to N68.70 per share from N62.47 per share, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added 45 Kobo to close at N43.07 per unit versus N42.62 per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc gained 2 Kobo to settle at N6.84 per share versus N6.82 per share.

During the session, the trading volume soared by 826 per cent to 4.03 million units from 434,845 units, the trading value skyrocketed by 579.1 per cent to N46.8 million from N6.9 million, and the number of deals jumped by 118.2 per cent to 48 deals from 22 deals.

When trading activities closed for the day, CSCS Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 1.5 million units exchanged for N57.6 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 6.4 million units valued at N43.3 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 379,749 units worth N24.4 million.

In terms of volume, Geo-Fluids Plc led with 6.4 million units sold for N43.3 million, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 2.9 million units traded for N1.9 million, and CSCS Plc with 1.5 million units valued at N57.6 million.

Economy

Naira Appreciates to N1,421/$1 at Official Market

Published

1 hour ago

13/01/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, January 12 by N1.71 to trade at N1,421.46/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1,423.17/$1.

However, the local currency further depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market window yesterday by N3.81 to close at N1,915.84/£1 compared with last Friday’s price of N1,912.03/£1 and lost N3.55 on the Euro to quote at N1,661.68/€1 versus N1,658.13/€1.

In the same vein, the domestic currency depleted against the Dollar at the GTBank FX desk during the trading session by N4 to to settle at N1,431/$1 compared with the previous trading day’s rate of N1,427/$1 and closed flat in the black market at N1,490/$1.

The appreciation of the Nigerian currency against its American counterpart in the official market was supported by foreign portfolio investors’ inflow with support from non-bank corporate supply, leaving it within the N1,350/$1 – N1,450/$1.

“We anticipate that the CBN will emphasise exchange rate stability over rapid appreciation through 2026, supported by prudent policy execution and effective reserve management,” Coronation Merchant Bank research said in an update.

Despite a differential against other currencies, market analysts noted that stronger external inflows from FPIs, improving current account dynamics, and more disciplined FX management by the authorities, will give the Naira stronger footing.

As for the cryptocurrency market, most tokens tracked by this newspaper were largely down with traders seeing the market settle into equilibrium after leverage was flushed and liquidity thinned.

Market analysts noted that with spot demand soft and no clear institutional catalyst, price discovery continues to shift to where thinner liquidity and narrative trades can overwhelm fundamentals.

Litecoin (LTC) lost 4.6 per cent to trade at $76.25, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 1.6 per cent to $140.23, Cardano (ADA) slid by 1.4 per cent to $0.3914, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 0.9 per cent to $2.05, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 0.8 per cent to $3,128.74, and Dogecoin (DOGE) decreased by 0.5 per cent to $0.1392.

On the flip side, Binance Coin (BNB) appreciated by 0.3 per cent to $908.87, and Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 0.1 per cent to $91,916.73, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.

Economy

eTranzact, Others Top Stock Market’s Gainers’ Chart as Buying Pressure Persists

Published

4 hours ago

13/01/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited kicked off the week on a positive note after it closed higher by 0.58 per cent on Monday amid sustained buying pressure.

The stock market was bullish as a result of bargain-hunting activities across the key sectors of the bourse, with the energy index growing by 1.49 per cent.

Further, the insurance space expanded by 0.88 per cent, the banking counter improved by 0.86 per cent, the industrial goods sector gained 0.81 per cent, the commodity segment soared by 0.79 per cent, and the consumer goods landscape advanced by 0.57 per cent.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 946.61 points to 163,244.69 points from 162,298.08 points and the market capitalisation surged by N745 billion to N104.521 trillion from N103.776 trillion.

The market breadth index of Customs Street was positive yesterday with 49 price gainers and 20 price losers, representing a strong investor sentiment.

The quintet of eTranzact, UPDC, McNichols, Red Star Express and RT Briscoe led the gainers’ chart during the session after chalking up 10.00 per cent each to sell for N16.50, N5.50, N6.05, N11.55, and N3.96, respectively.

However, Champion Breweries topped the losers’ table after it shed 8.51 per cent to quote at N15.05, Eunisell shrank by 8.01 per cent to N156.20, Ikeja Hotel crumbled by 8.00 per cent to N36.80, Guinea Insurance depreciated by 7.30 per cent to N1.27, and Omatek moderated by 3.13 per cent to N1.24.

The activity chart had Sovereign Trust Insurance on top after a turnover of 307.5 million shares valued at N1.0 billion, Fidelity Bank followed with 158.4 million equities sold for N3.1 billion, Linkage Assurance traded 118.7 million stocks worth N213.9 million, Mutual Benefits exchanged 31.5 million shares for N130.4 million, and Lasaco Assurance transacted 31.0 million stocks valued at N79.6 million.

At the close of trades, a total of 1.2 billion equities worth N19.2 billion exchanged hands in 59,359 deals versus the 624.1 million equities valued at N18.5 billion traded in 43,816 deals last Friday, showing a spike in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 92.28 per cent, 3.78 per cent, and 35.47 per cent apiece.