General
Five Join Standard Chartered Women in Technology Incubator Programme
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The prestigious Standard Chartered Women in Technology Incubator Programme (SC-WITI) in Nigeria has taken in five women who will get a $10,000 grant each, with business development advisory, mentorship opportunities and strategic business public relations.
The beneficiaries are Oluwadamilola Soyombo, founder of Skooqs; Bolarinwa Kemisola, founder of Nextwear Technology; Adegbite Adenike, founder of The Trillionbucks Company; Zita Agwunobi, founder/CEO of Iverify; and Wunmi Akinsola, founder of Fashtracker.
They emerged winners of the third edition of the scheme at a graduation ceremony held in Lagos recently.
Like the last two editions, the 10 young businesswomen in this cohort were shortlisted from over 1,000 applicants and went through a rigorous 16-week executive bootcamp during which they also interacted with business development coaches and executives from Standard Chartered.
At the end of the training period, five winners with the most compelling ideas were chosen. They will also receive portfolio advisory support for 10 weeks. They would be exposed to potential investors and join the global SCWIT alumni network to have access to additional networking events, resources, content, and business scaling opportunities.
“Today, we congratulate and celebrate these exceptional women who have gone above and beyond to prioritise the growth, sustainability and community impact of their businesses.
“As part of our Bold Stands, to Lift Participation initiatives like the Women in Tech incubator gives us the opportunity to unleash the full potential of female entrepreneurs who in turn are able to improve the lives of people around the world especially Nigeria.
“We continue to stand up for equitable access to financial support for women and small business. We are committed to accelerating the provision of quality financial services to women in Nigeria, purposefully connecting SMEs to international markets and building partnerships to expand the reach and scale of financial services.
“These are just some of the ways we continue to reiterate to our communities and customers that we are Here for good,” the Country CEO, Lamin Manjang said.
Also speaking, the Head of Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing, Dayo Aderugbo, stated that, “We are optimistic about the impact this programme will have on their businesses.
“Through the Women in Technology Incubator program, the bank focuses on capacity building for women-owned small enterprises, under our Futuremakers by SC Community Investment initiative, which we believe serves as a great opportunity to support greater diversity in gender representation within technology entrepreneurship for women in Nigeria.
“The resources the beneficiaries have received from the sessions are theirs for life and will certainly support the resilience of their businesses while creating employment for more women and youths in the country.
“We are excited about the endless growth opportunities and the ripple effect this growth will have on the economy. This initiative builds on the bank’s track record of increasing women’s access to entrepreneurial finance, employability and supporting adolescent girls and women through financing and capacity building.”
Launched in Nigeria in June 2019, the SC Women in Tech Incubator (SCWITI) was established to support and promote the economic and social development of women engaging in a technology-led enterprise.
Implemented for the bank by the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), Pan-Atlantic University (PAU), the programme targets female-owned technology-driven businesses, including start-ups, and provides the shortlisted candidates with training, mentorship and knowledge exchange sessions with industry experts and thriving businesses in the country. To date, nearly half a million dollars has been invested in the program in Nigeria.
By Dipo Olowookere
A $15 million debt facility has been obtained by Watt Renewable Corporation from the AfriGreen Debt Impact Fund to finance hybrid solar power plants to be built and operated by the former, especially in Nigeria.
WATT intends to use the projects to serve commercial and industrial clients in Nigeria, particularly in the telecommunication and financial services sectors.
By integrating solar hybrid solutions, the firm aims to significantly reduce diesel consumption and CO2 emissions, enabling its clients to achieve substantial energy cost savings while promoting environmental sustainability.
As a pioneer in renewable energy solutions, WATT continues to drive innovation in Nigeria’s energy sector.
The company’s robust roll-out plan includes deploying hundreds of hybrid solar power sites nationwide to meet the growing energy demands of commercial & industrial clients.
This strategic expansion aligns with WATT’s vision to revolutionize energy access across Africa, enabling sustainable development and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The funds from AfriGreen provide the critical capital needed to accelerate WATT’s ambitious projects, strengthening its market position and empowering businesses with reliable and affordable energy solutions.
Business Post gathered that to mitigate the currency risk for WATT in the event of devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, AfriGreen is offering a local currency facility that matches the payment structure of the power purchase agreements.
“We are thrilled to partner with AFRIGREEN on this transformative journey to expand reliable and sustainable energy solutions across Africa.
“With this support, it enables us to accelerate our shared mission of providing hybrid solar power to businesses, reducing carbon emissions, and supporting economic growth while enhancing energy security for our clients,” the Managing Director of WATT, Mr Oluwole Eweje, said.
“We are delighted to support WATT in rolling out hundreds of hybrid sites across the country.
“This represents another key transaction for AFRIGREEN in Nigeria. The combination of high energy prices, good solar irradiation, and strong demand from industrial and commercial energy users makes this market particularly attractive for companies like WATT.
“By leveraging these favourable market conditions alongside WATT’s exceptional operational performance and a well-structured financing solution, we are setting the stage for a strong and lasting business partnership,” the Managing Director of AfriGreen, Mr Alexandre Gilles, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has denied issuing a directive that gas supply to power generating companies (GenCos) be halted.
In a statement on Wednesday, the authority also denied instructing wholesale gas suppliers to stop further supply of gas to companies due to failure in payment obligations.
The NMDPRA described reports stating that it has directed the stoppage of gas supply to GenCos over N2 trillion debt as “false and completely unfounded”.
“It has absolutely no bearing on the information shared at a recent stakeholders’ engagement held in Lagos between the Authority, the OPTS, IPPG and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry,” the NMDPRA said.
“The purpose of the engagement was to sensitise stakeholders on the requirements, opportunities and benefits associated with the implementation of the wholesale supply license as provided by sections 142 and 197 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
“It was a follow-up to an earlier stakeholder engagement held at the NMDPRA corporate headquarters in Abuja on November 27, 2024.
“The Authority wishes to reassure all our stakeholders and indeed the general public that at no time was the false statement made at that event and anywhere else, and are advised to completely disregard the publication as every effort is being made to ensure that the supply and distribution of natural gas and petroleum products to end users is seamless and unabated as we head into the festive season and indeed all through the coming year 2025.”
Recall that Nigeria’s national grid experienced another collapse on Wednesday, the 11th time in 2024 as Gencos couldn’t generate enough power, compounding issues facing the Nigerian power sector.
This was the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shutdown in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.
Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria is currently experience a cut in power supply after the national grid collapsed for the 11th time in 2024.
This is the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shut down in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.
Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.
However, just when Nigerians were thinking they will not witnessed another national grid collapse in the year, it issue reared its ugly head again.
On Wednesday afternoon, most of the energy distribution companies suffered power outage, prompting them to inform their customers of the situation.
One of the DisCos, Ikeja Electric Plc, in a message to electricity consumers under its franchise area, said, “Please be informed that we experienced a system outage today, December 11, 2024, at about 13:32 hours affecting supply within our network.
“Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders. Kindly bear with us.”
Recall that on Tuesday, in a report, Google listed national grid as one of the top trending searches by Nigerians this year.
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