Courageous Collection for Economic Progress and Societal Development

**Set to hit $6.65bn by End of 2023 A publication by ECDB states that Nigeria ranks 40th in global e-commerce, and is set to generate $6.65 billion by the end of 2023. Nigeria’s e-commerce landscape is said to be on the verge of a transformative revolution, with anticipated growth from 2023 to 2027 at 10.8%. Black Friday is arguably Nigeria’s biggest shopping season, where consumers hunt for unbeatable deals. Interestingly, the unsung heroes of this retail frenzy are the small businesses powered by e-commerce platforms. This Black Friday, we spotlight the important role of Nigeria’s leading e-commerce platforms, like Jiji, Jumia,

By Emmanuel Udom Are you a church founder or what is commonly known as a general overseer? Good enough if your answer to this very question is yes. This means you have followers or worshippers in your church. Yes, God is the chief security officer of our world, but we must work alongside God to ensure that our world with an estimated population of 7 billion people is saved and secured. Head or tail, you, your followers or worshippers, your assets and the properties in your church must not be tampered with by intruders. These intruders; kidnappers, terrorists, robbers, killers,

By Emmanuel Udom Jesus Christ is the founder of the Christian religion. Born of a Virgin Mary over 2000 years ago, Jesus, the beloved son of God, came down to earth from heaven on a mission of liberating humanity from sin. More than 2000 years after he returned to heaven, writers, journalists, scholars, researchers and other interested persons have continued to speculate on whether or not our Saviour was a white or black man. Go to Google to read some of the expository and insightful articles and books on the complexion and mission of Jesus Christ on earth, which later

By Walter Duru, Ph.D It was Albert Einstein who once said that “setting an example is not the main means of influencing another, it is the only means.” That sentiment expressed by Einstein is the primary essence behind the theory of transformational leadership, which requires passion, charisma, and the ability to motivate others. Transformational leaders are usually very authentic, emotionally intelligent, great listeners, results-focused, visionary, and self-aware. In just 100 days at the helm of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Engr. Abisoye Coker-Odusote has ushered in a new era of transformational leadership, leaving an indelible mark on the organization. Her eventual confirmation

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira suffered losses against the United States Dollar in the parallel market and the Peer-to-Peer (P2P) windows of the foreign exchange (forex) market on Wednesday as the scarcity of the local currency worsened, sparking violent protests across the country. In the black market, the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar in the midweek session was N757/$1 compared with the previous day’s N754/$1, indicating a decline of N3. Also, in the P2P segment, the Nigerian Naira depreciated against the greenback yesterday by N3 to settle at N768/$1, in contrast to the preceding session’s rate of

By Bliss Okperan A 23-year-old cultist has been arrested by the police in Ogun State after an alarm was raised by a resident of Abioro Community in the Sango Ota area of the state. A statement issued by the spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, Ms Omolola Odutola, said the suspect has been terrorising the inhabitants of the area. She said the accused person, identified as Mr Afolabi Taiwo, confessed to being a member of the Eiye cult group, adding that efforts are being made to arrest other cult members. “During his subsequent interrogation, Afolabi confessed to being a

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The federal government has introduced a yearly vehicle ownership verification fee of N1,000 for motorists across Nigeria. The fee, known as Proof of Ownership Certificate (POC), is aimed at tracking the real time status and the integrity of all vehicles registered on the National Vehicle and Identification Scheme (NVIS) database. The government said it is line with the National Road Traffic Regulation 2012 as amended, No. 101, Vol. 99; Section 73 (1), according to the Permanent Secretary of the state’s Ministry of Transportation, Mr Abdulhafiz Toriola. The Lagos State government has already keyed itself into the initiative,

By Ebitonye Akpodigha Dr Yemi Kale has been reappointed as the Statistician General of the Federation. His appointment was approved by the Federal Government. With the approval of his reappointment, he will have the opportunity to spend another five years in office. Dr Kale had been the head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and his first term in office has been successful. He spearheaded the rebasing of the Nigeria’s economy that elevated the country as the largest economy in Africa. He introduced petrol and diesel watch as well as the template for tracking the progress of the Sustenance

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Largest financial institution in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, QNB Group, has announced its results for the three months ended March 31, 2018. During the period, the lender’s net profit reached QAR3.4 billion ($0.9 billion), up by 7 percent compared to previous year, while the total assets increased by 12 percent from March 2017 to reach QAR834 billion ($229 billion), the highest ever achieved by the group. It was learnt that the key driver of growth in total assets was from loans and advances which grew by 12 percent to reach QAR598 billion ($164 billion).

By Dipo Olowookere A total of $462.3 million was released into the foreign exchange market yesterday by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This was part of efforts of the apex bank to boost liquidity in the market so as to continue to make the local currency stable at the forex market. Since February this year, the central bank has continued to release forex into the market, keeping the Naira as low as N363 per Dollar from over N500 when it started the intervention five months ago. A breakdown of Friday intervention showed that the Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS)

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian fintech startup, FairMoney, has acquired PayForce, a CrowdForce subsidiary, for an undisclosed amount believed to be between $15 million and $20 million. The acquisition of the merchant payment services that serve small businesses will also see CrowdForce CEO, Mr Oluwatomi Ayorinde, join FairMoney to head its payments business unit. This is the latest news coming from FairMoney since 2021 when it raised $42 million in a Series B, which saw it expand to India. According to TechCrunch, the acquisition will provide incentives for PayForce-acquired merchants who use FairMoney as their primary bank, such as an 18

By Adedapo Adesanya Oil prices hit a three-week high on Tuesday as the market returned from the Christmas holiday spurred by hopes of a demand recovery as China eases its COVID-19 restrictions. Brent crude was up 41 cents or 0.5 per cent to trade at $84.33 a barrel, while the United States West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 26 cents or 0.33 per cent to quote at $79.82 per barrel. This saw both benchmarks hitting their highest level since December 5 as China announced on Monday a major easing of its COVID-19 travel quarantine rules after Winter Storm Elliott knocked