Economy
Yuguda Proposes Robust Sustainability Ratings to Attract Investors
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Lamido Yuguda, has proposed the development of robust sustainability ratings and indices to track the performance of companies in the area of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) so as to attract investors in the green sector.
He said with the design of the sustainability ratings and indices, conscious investors would have available materials and information to help their investment choices.
Mr Yuguda also reiterated the need to facilitate the issuance of green and sustainable instruments in the Nigerian capital market, saying it will go a long way to assist in financing solar energy and other environmentally friendly infrastructure.
“Another important step in the journey of promoting sustainable investment principles is the development of robust sustainability ratings and indices to track companies’ ESG performance.
“This will further assist ESG conscious investors in making their investment choices. It will also simplify for investors and other stakeholders the process of analyzing information disclosed by issuers on sustainable finance,” the SEC DG said at an ESG roundtable themed Unlocking Value Through ESG Investing organised by the CFA Society Nigeria last Thursday.
He also tasked state governments to take advantage of the growing appetite to issue bonds to finance relevant environment-friendly projects, especially those that are revenue-generating and with reasonable social impact.
In Nigeria, only the federal government and a few corporate organisations have issued green bonds. The market is still largely untapped.
“Companies will also need to continuously disclose relevant information on their adoption of ESG principles. Such information will be critical for the investing public to make informed decisions about available investment choices and guide their asset allocation,” Mr Yuguda said.
According to the SEC Boss, given the global interest in ESG and the quantum of finance available to corporates and countries adopting the relevant principles, Nigerian issuers, governments and corporates, regulators, exchanges and other key stakeholders need to collaborate more to develop and issue necessary instruments to attract additional foreign capital into the country.
“With the enhanced focus on ESG considerations, much effort is now geared towards the preservation of biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, inclusiveness, reduced inequality, human capital and communities’ development, among others.
“Given the important position of the financial sector in the economy, one can understand why these issues are accorded high priority in the sector and why the sector has begun to consider sustainability in its practices.
“Sustainable finance has become a global brand as the world stands strongly together to promote the transition to a low-carbon, more resource-efficient economy and to build a financial system that spurs sustainable growth across nations.
“As we are all aware, finance has an enormous influence on sustainability; with players in the financial sector acting as catalysts for redefining the natural and business environments. They help support the transition from exploiting nature to restoring and maximizing nature’s valued gifts. Investing in sustainable instruments, therefore, has far-reaching benefits, further justifying why ESG advocacy and practices are gaining more popularity,” he stated.
The SEC chief said that as securities regulators, whose core mandate is to ensure investor protection, by maintaining fair, efficient and transparent markets and reducing systemic risks, his agency believes this role can further be harnessed through sustainable finance; and pledged to continue to strongly support the adoption of ESG principles and collaborate with relevant stakeholders to drive sustainable finance initiatives.
“I am really pleased and encouraged by the interest shown in ESG by the CFA Society Nigeria. I am also glad to inform you that the commission will be willing to collaborate further with the society on ESG and other relevant issues.
“With the quality of the membership of the society and the resources available to it, I am confident that such collaboration will result in positive outcomes for the Nigerian capital market and the economy as a whole.
“I have no doubt that collectively we will chart a common course for sustainable finance in the country that will be beneficial to the economy and the Nigerian people,” he added.
In her address, President of the CFA Society Nigeria, Ms Ibikun Oyedeji, explained that the webinar was organised in continuation of the association’s mandate of promoting global best practices for the investment industry, and to serve as a stimulus to advocate and promote awareness in Nigeria and Africa as a whole for the incorporation environmental, social and governance factors in business decisions and product development.
Ms Oyedeji stated that the webinar also provides an opportunity to accelerate the progress and demonstrate the purpose through responsible investing and aimed at equipping the practitioners and other stakeholders within our community with the right tools to navigate this evolving terrain.
She said, “The theme of the round table unlocking value through ESG investing implies that an untapped opportunity exists in business beyond profitability.
“Our clarion call today to the investment management industry is to put measures in place to ensure that product and services contribute to the sustainable development of our environment, employee working conditions, labour right, diversity discussions become our forefront while transparency and openness provide long term benefit for shareholders and our stakeholders are widely impressed.
“ESG factors have become increasingly important to institutional investors and there is a rising need for us invested professionals, regulators and other stakeholders to build a capacity in ESG focus investing which will remain relevant. This round table serves as a foundation for building the sustained effort in developing our local capacity in ESG investing.”
Ms Oyedeji said the CFA institute through the principle of responsible investing has created a best practice report and regions specific report that focuses on the Nigerian region to help investors understand how they can better integrate ESG factors into their equity, corporate funds and even the sovereign debt portfolio.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
In the first quarter of its financial year ended June 30, 2026, Airtel Africa Plc showed resilience in the midst of challenging operating environments, churning out strong operating performance with accelerating customer base growth across all segments.
It was observed that the total customer base in Q1 2027 increased by 11.6 per cent to 189 million, with data customers rising by 15.5 per cent to 87.3 million.
In addition, data usage per customer continued its upward trajectory, rising from 7.8 GB to 10.6 GB per month over the past year, translating into a 56.3 per cent increase in data traffic across the network, underpinning a 10.3 per cent growth in constant currency data ARPU. Smartphone penetration was the key enabler of this increased traffic as penetration increased to 51.0 per cent as digital adoption of our services continues.
A look at the financial performance indicated that revenue in reported currency grew by 31.0 per cent to $1.85 billion, reflecting constant currency growth of 21.1 per cent and macroeconomic tailwinds supporting currency appreciation.
All segments continued to see double-digit constant currency revenue growth, with mobile services revenue growing by 19.1 per cent, and mobile money growing by 25.8 per cent.
Across mobile services, voice continued to see strong constant currency growth of 11.2 per cent and data revenue grew by 27.2 per cent.
In East Africa and Francophone Africa, constant currency revenues grew by 17.8 per cent and 18.0 per cent, respectively, while Nigerian revenues grew by 29.8 per cent, fully reflecting the lapping effect of the tariff adjustments which were implemented in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Constant currency EBITDA went up by 24.4 per cent, with reported currency EBITDA of $928 million growing by 36.6 per cent. The Q1’27 EBITDA margin of 50.1 per cent, an increase of 206bps year-on-year, continues to reflect the success of the company’s ongoing cost optimisation programme, despite the recent energy cost inflation arising from geopolitical developments.
The post-tax profit improved to $198 million from $156 million in the prior period, with higher profit after tax in the current period driven by elevated operating profit partially offset by derivative and foreign exchange losses of $6 million in the current period compared to $22 million derivative and foreign exchange gains in the prior period.
Furthermore, Profit after tax was impacted by the recognition of an exceptional finance cost of $37 million following an in-principle settlement reached during the quarter in respect of a commercial dispute in one of the group’s subsidiaries.
Commenting on the results, the chief executive of Airtel Africa, Mr Sunil Taldar, said, “We have started this year with another pleasing performance. Our continued focus on the customer experience translated into accelerating customer base growth across all business segments.
“As we continue to digitise our business, we are streamlining customer journeys, increasing digital adoption and harnessing data and AI to improve service delivery and support a strong, sustainable growth profile.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the nation’s top brewers, Guinness Nigeria Plc, is paying an interim dividend of N7 per share to its shareholders for the period ended June 30, 2026.
The funds should, on August 10, 2026, hit the bank accounts of investors whose names appear in the Register of Members as of the close of business on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, a regulatory note from the organisation disclosed.
The firm has informed shareholders who have yet to complete the e-dividend registration to download the Registrar’s E-Dividend Mandate Activation Form, which is also available on its website, so as not to be left out of the cash reward for the first half of this year.
In the first six months of 2026, Guinness Nigeria grew its net profit by 53.33 per cent to N25.3 billion from N16.5 billion in the same period of 2025, amid improved top line and better management of administrative, marketing and distribution costs.
The revenue for the period under consideration rose to N265.0 billion from N237.0 billion, boosted by domestic sales of its products, which accounted for N260.9 billion compared with N237.0 billion a year earlier. The balance was from its export sales. This showed that over 98 per cent of the company’s earnings are from sales in Nigeria.
In the first half of the year, Guinness Nigeria improved its gross profit to N97.5 billion from N89.4 billion in the same period of 2025, as its finance income, arising from financial assets and others, stood at N1.2 billion compared with N110.7 million in H1 of 2026.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government has reaffirmed its commitment to mobilising domestic capital to finance Nigeria’s long-term development, saying stronger local investment will be critical to accelerating economic transformation and attracting private sector participation.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, stated this while speaking at the 6th Annual General Assembly of the Association of Nigerian Development Finance Institutions (ANDFI) in Abuja on Thursday.
The Minister’s remarks were contained in a statement on Friday, July 24, by his Senior Special Assistant on Communications and Press Secretary, Mrs Maryann Duke.
Addressing the conference with the theme, Unlocking Domestic Capital for Development Financing, Mr Oyedele said Nigeria must harness its domestic financial resources and strengthen institutions that can channel capital into productive sectors of the economy.
He noted that despite increasingly difficult global financing conditions, the country possesses substantial domestic savings, institutional assets and private capital that can be leveraged to fund infrastructure, industrialisation, agriculture, housing, innovation and other critical sectors.
According to the minister, domestic capital should not be viewed as an alternative to foreign investment but as the foundation for attracting sustainable international investment.
“Our focus is to build an economy where confidence leads capital. By strengthening macroeconomic stability, deepening our financial markets and empowering development finance institutions to catalyse private investment, we are unlocking Nigeria’s enormous domestic potential to finance inclusive and sustainable growth,” Mr Oyedele said.
He said the federal government’s ongoing economic reforms under the Renewed Hope Agenda are beginning to deliver positive outcomes, including improved investor confidence, stronger external reserves, enhanced revenue generation and renewed international confidence in Nigeria’s economy.
The Minister identified five priority areas for unlocking domestic capital, including expanding investment opportunities for households, deepening institutional capital through pension and insurance assets, strengthening credit enhancement mechanisms, broadening local currency financing through the capital market, and building stronger development finance institutions capable of attracting larger volumes of private investment.
Mr Oyedele also called on development finance institutions to move beyond conventional lending by helping to structure bankable projects, reduce investment risks, support policy reforms and create financing ecosystems that encourage greater private sector participation.
He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to working with development finance institutions, financial regulators, investors and development partners to develop a financing framework that will support businesses, create jobs, accelerate industrialisation and promote inclusive economic growth across the country.
