The Decade for Africa: What Next for the Continent’s Brands and CMOs?

By Benson Uche Egbuchiwe Incidences of coup d’état within the West African subregion have yet again brought a new dimension to the question of democratic stability on the African continent. Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in a Zoom debate organized by my Law school classmates and the topic of discussion was coup d’états in Africa and its impact on democracy within Africa. Participants took turns to share opinions on this worrisome issue of military incursions and the obvious consequences. Interestingly, this topic aligned perfectly with my university project from over 25 years ago. For my undergraduate studies at

By Nneka Okumazie How many startups in Africa can say that their existence is the reason a major problem was solved in Africa, for the majority of Africans? Some may easily dismiss this as not being a part of their mandate, but maybe looking at what they do through that lens could make their services more useful to their people. The startup scene in Africa is full of activities, but there is no evidence that those activities are connected to solving major problems on the continent, as most of the problems that Africa faces are still there, or worse, with

By Jerome-Mario Utomi Wikipedia, the world information horsepower, defined Social Responsibility as an ethical framework in which individuals or corporations are accountable for fulfilling their civic duty and taking actions that benefit society. Viewed from a simpler prism, it means that individuals and companies must act in the best interests of their environment and society as a whole. The above subject (Social Responsibility) recently came flooding after listening to the news report that Ewuru Education Incentive Programme Organizers, a voluntary, non-governmental, non-political organisation, on September 12, 2023, donated hundreds of thousands of learning materials to Uweifo Primary School, Ewuru, Ika

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A new report released on Thursday, March 2, 2017, by FSDH Research has revealed that the February 2017 inflation rate (year-on-year) is expected to drop to 16.95 percent from 18.72 percent recorded in the month of January 2017. According to FSDH Research, the drop in inflation rate is expected after 15 months of consecutive increase and to “come mainly as a result of base effect.” On March 15, 2017, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is expected to release the inflation rate for the month of February 2017. It was disclosed that the monthly Food Price Index

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The chief executive of Stanbic IBTC Insurance Brokers Limited, Mr Anselem Igbo, has revealed what can be done to make the insurance sector more attractive in Nigeria. Mr Igbo, speaking in a recent interview, admitted that the insurance landscape in the country has tremendously evolved and this growth can be attributed to certain policies introduced to the industry. According to him, contributions from the government and governing bodies, which were positively welcomed by the masses, have turned out to be impressive over the years. He noted that commendably, the rising rate of response of Nigerians to insurance

By Dipo Olowookere The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday mopped up excess liquidity in the system with the sale of treasury bills worth N355.4 billion. This came as treasury bills, both OMO and the primary market, worth N150 billion matured today. A breakdown of the OMO auction by the central bank showed that N143.65 billion worth of the 84-day bill was sold on Thursday at 13 percent, while N211.71 billion worth of the 315-day bill was traded at 14.80 percent. Business Post reports that despite the CBN auction, the treasury bills market was relatively bearish. Consequently, the average

By Investors Hub European stocks have turned mixed in cautious trading on Thursday amid a rebound in oil prices and gains in the banking sector on a day of hectic political and economic activity. Traders are digesting the European Central Bank’s latest monetary policy announcement, with the ECB leaving its benchmark interest rate unchanged. The ECB said interest rates are expected to remain at their present levels for an extended period of time but dropped any reference to a future rate cut. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The importation and production of cough syrups with codeine have been banned by the Nigerian authorities. This ban followed a documentary filmed by BBC, outlining the illegal sale and abuse of codeine used in the production of cough syrups. Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Adewole, who gave this directive on Tuesday, said Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria, (PCN) and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), should supervise the recall for labelling and audit trailing of all codeine containing cough syrups in the country. According to him, this move became necessary to tackle drug abuse

By Adedapo Adesanya Wednesday at the foreign exchange market closed with the Naira appreciating by 9 Kobo or 0.03 percent against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment. The local currency traded at N362.83 against the American Dollar at the Investors window in contrast to N362.92/$ it was exchanged the previous day. The market turnover yielded about 78 percent increase to $302 million from $170 million recorded on Tuesday. At the Central Bank’s interbank segment, the Naira/US Dollar rate saw no movement at the closing of the midweek session as Naira traded at $306.90/$ same as it

By Dipo Olowookere An economic expert has backed the outright privatisation and concessioning of national assets so as to reduce the burden on government and also block leakages. According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr Laoye Jaiyeola, government was getting too overwhelmed managing public assets spread across the country. This, he was said, was making it impossible for government to adequately monitor how these assets are positively impacting on the lives of citizens. Speaking at the public presentation of the Spring 2018 Issue of the Sub-Saharan African Regional Economic Outlook (REO) in

**Denies maltreating her By Dipo Olowookere One of the lenders in Nigeria, Diamond Bank Plc, has refuted reports making the rounds that it treated harshly a woman recently defrauded of her pension funds domiciled with the bank. A consumers’ activist, Mrs Sola Salako Ajulo, who is also the President/Founder of Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (CAFON), had posted on her Facebook wall that a pensioner, Mrs Comfort Ashaye, was allegedly chased away by a Diamond Bank Manager in Ikeja, Lagos after she had gone to lay complaint of her accumulated pension of N572,000 which developed wings from her account. But