Economy

Tigo Tanzania Gives $40,000 to Two Winners

Published

9 years ago

10/03/2017

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

Two persons have received $40,000 as winners of the 5th edition of the Tigo Digital Change-makers Competition

The winners got the cash prize in partnership with a non-profit organization, Reach for Change.

The competition aims at identifying and supporting social entrepreneurs who use digital tools and technology to improve communities and impact future generations.

In addition to a substantial financial grant, winners are provided with access to Tigo and Reach for Change Incubator Program, which provides them with advice, expertise and access to global networks, enabling them to build financially sustainable social enterprises that create lasting, large scale change to the community.

This year’s winners of the coveted award are Sophia Mbega and Nancy Sumari. Sophia Mbega impressed the judges with a grand digital initiative that is geared towards helping self-help women groups popularly known as VICOBA (Village Community Banks).

She has come up with a mobile app that creates a collaborative platform that uses existing tools for financial and task management in a way that is adaptable to the African context.

Through the app, all users, regardless of where they are, can transfer money from their mobile wallet to their Vicoba group account (directly from the app by using an USSD code), view all of their financial records, profit generated, weekly reports, etc.

Nancy Sumari’s award-winning initiative dubbed JENGA HUB focuses on foundation knowledge for children.

Through her hub and co-creation space for kids, she teaches computer programming, robotics and coding skills to primary school children.

The hub also exposes children to learning basic Information and Communication Technology such as programming skills that can in turn be used for creation of a range of educational and entertainment content.

Speaking at the press conference in Dar es Salaam, Tigo Tanzania Managing Director Diego Gutierrez said: “It is with great pleasure that we announce the winners of this year’s Tigo Digital Change-makers Competition.

“For five years now, our Change-makers have touched the lives of over 250,000 children in Tanzania. We believe that with the addition of these two Change-makers, we will impact on the lives of more children and help to make Tanzania a better place for our future generations.”

Gutierrez further elaborated that as a digital lifestyle brand, Tigo encourages technology-driven ideas and projects that bring sustainable change. “Digital technology is not only changing the way we do business in Africa but also revolutionizing the way we perceive and solve social development challenges.

“It is therefore with great honour that we will once again create an opportunity for such ideas to be recognized, supported and transformed to maximize social and economic impact,” he said.

This is the fifth year that Tigo and Reach for Change are unveiling the winners of the competition. The final winners were selected from a group of hundreds of passionate ‘social entrepreneurs’ who use digital tools and technology to implement solutions to problems facing Tanzanian communities.

Gutierrez praised the work of the past winners while encouraging others to share their ideas: “Our portfolio of social entrepreneurs is very impressive. To date, we have supported a total of 8 Digital Changemakers in Tanzania and we look forward to supporting more social entrepreneurs every year to propel this movement forward.”

The Changemakers in the program include Faraja Nyalandu, who runs a digital social enterprise called Shule Direct. Shule Direct provides digital educational content to help address teacher shortages and ensure that every child and youth has access to quality education.

Faraja’s organization also offers a mobile app called Makini SMS that helps children study with access to unlimited multiple choice questions for 9 subjects. She is currently planning to scale her organization in other East African countries.

Carolyne Ekyarisiima, a YALI alumna, is a Tigo Digital Changemaker who is working to bridge the gender gap in ICT technology through her social enterprise, Apps & Girls. Carolyne has impacted hundreds of girls, through coding clubs in schools.

She has also reached hundreds of girls through hackathons, bootcamps and competitions. Not only does this help to ensure that more girls have access to digital technologies, Carolyne is also empowering them to become ICT leaders of the future.

Carolyne is currently scaling her social enterprise to maximize her impact and provide many more girls with tech education, helping them to develop solutions for social issues through their own digital applications and websites!

Joan Avit, a YALI alumna, is improving the quality of early childhood education through digital innovation.

As a Digital Changemaker through her project known as GraphoGame Tanzania, she provides child-friendly, game-based learning that helps children learn to read using phonics. Her innovation has been life changing for hundreds of young students who previously struggled in school and are now thriving as a result of her digital innovation.

“We are very supportive of the work of all our Changemakers and this is why, this year, we have once again identified and supported two more brave and innovative social entrepreneurs,” Gutierrez noted.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Reach for Change Tanzania Program Manager, Josephine Msambichaka hailed the NGO’s partnership with Tigo, noting that it had provided perfect opportunities for the implementation of sustainable business models that benefit communities, especially scores of children, from across the country.

Economy

NASD Exchange Extends Bearish Run After 0.56% Drop

Published

18 hours ago

03/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.

This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.

It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.

MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.

On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.

Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.

GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.

The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.

Economy

Naira Slips to N1,380/$1 at Official Market, Remains N1,405/$1 at Black Market

Published

18 hours ago

03/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.

However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.

Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.

At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.

Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.

This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.

The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.

Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.

Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.

Economy

Bulls, Bears Share Customs Street’s Spoils Amid Bullish Investor Sentiment

Published

18 hours ago

03/04/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.

Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.

Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.

Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.

On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.

The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.

Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.

Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.