General
NCDMB, FI to Launch Portfolio Companies to Support Energy Startups
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), in partnership with Founder Institute (FI), is set to launch 17 new portfolio companies that have passed through the board’s Technology Incubation and Innovation Centre (TIIC).
This move is part of its mandate to catalyze research and development and support energy startups.
The launch of the companies will hold on Thursday, August 24, 2023, at the Nigerian Content Tower, Oxbow Lake Road, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. It will have in attendance international and local venture capitalists, investors, and product development subject matter experts who might be interested in investing or partnering with the new portfolio companies.
In a statement, the board said key highlights of the event will be the pitching by the founders of their business ideas, with the hope of eliciting the interest of investors.
“The launch of the new portfolio companies is a major milestone of the board’s R&D strategy anchored on the commercialization of research and innovation.
“The exposure given to the Founders is anchored on a well-tested NCDMB product development framework, which includes product validation, prototype development, field trial, business development, and product deployment.
“The mission of both NCDMB and FI is to empower Nigerian startups and entrepreneurs to innovate and scale up their minimum viable products,” the statement said.
Speaking on the initiative, the Executive Secretary NCDMB, Mr Simbi Wabote, explained that the board deploys an end-to-end strategy in its projects and does not relent until ideas that it supports are fully deployed, commercialised and begin to solve societal problems.
He noted that some of the solutions proposed by the founders will impact key sectors of the economy beyond the oil and gas sector.
“These are innovative solutions to everyday problems that we face in the country. Nigerian youths are innovative and creative. They are looking for a platform they can get, and NCDMB will be that platform,” he added.
Speaking ahead of the launch, the Director of Planning, Research and Development at NCDMB, Mr Abdulmalik Halilu, explained that Founder Institute was engaged by the agency in December 2022 as a partner in product development. The programme started with 54 incubates.
He further hinted that the collaboration leveraged the institute’s globally recognized accelerator programme that saw the 54 incubates transiting from idea to business development.
He noted that as part of the programme, the founders underwent mentoring, concept development, and patenting processes, and some of them are currently developing prototypes of their various innovations.
At the end of the seven months of intense tutelage, 17 of the incubates completed the business case development phase and are now positioned to establish startup companies and attract investors.
He stated that the incubation process will continue after the launch and will include validation, a startup process, and assuring that the Board will handhold the companies until their minimum viable products are introduced in the market and become successful.
The 17 incubates represent a spectrum of fields in the energy sector and data management, including renewable energy, geological and geophysical, local materials substitution, health, safety, & environmental, and engineering. Other areas are technology development, pipeline monitoring systems, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The structured accelerator and the NCDMB incubation programmes have guided incubates to master the art of pitching, understanding market dynamics and customer insights, practical, and mentorship. The accelerator programme also equipped participants to navigate the entrepreneurial landscape effectively.
The impending showcase of the 17 incubates bears immense significance for Nigeria’s economic trajectory.
“By nurturing these talents, NCDMB is not only fostering job creation but also cultivating a pool of capable individuals poised to drive growth across various industries. The programme also ignites an entrepreneurial and innovative culture, with the potential to propel technological innovation and effect positive social change.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why it initiated a move to freeze the bank account of the Osun State government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, claimed that the anti-money laundering agency asked one of its bankers, First Bank, not to release funds to the state government.
According to the Governor, this was part of the strategies to frustrate his administration ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the issue on Wednesday night, the EFCC, in a statement, said it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over an alleged “fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of N11.0 billion.
The organisation noted that some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” parts of the statement said.
In the disclosure, the agency noted that its preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources, stressing that it cannot “watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged.”
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it pointed out.
The EFCC disclosed that it is “keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the commission to ensure accountability and probity. The commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.”
The organisation urged the public “to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonisation of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the commission.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
No doubt, moving money among African markets remains a slow, fragmented process that relies on multiple intermediaries and prolonged settlement cycles.
To solve this issue and drive the development of stablecoin-enabled payment services for businesses across the continent, Onafriq has joined forces with a leading stablecoin infrastructure provider, Privy.
The collaboration will enable Onafriq to create and manage embedded digital asset solutions for its partners and, in time, institutional clients where regulation allows. The initial phase focuses on cross-chain stablecoin transfers and treasury and settlement workflows, creating the foundation for future cross-border payment and liquidity solutions.
Integrating Privy’s secure infrastructure enables Onafriq to build the capabilities required to support a new generation of efficient digital payment services for banks, fintechs, and mobile money operators.
This partnership is a key component of Onafriq’s broader strategy to modernise pan-African payment infrastructure, enabling secure multi-modal wallets and more efficient movement of value across the continent.
The outcome will support a range of future institutional use cases, including stablecoin-enabled settlement, treasury management and liquidity services, as it reflects Onafriq’s commitment to driving Africa’s digital transformation agenda by investing in technologies that make financial services more efficient, connected and accessible.
It was gathered that Onafriq selected Privy for its enterprise-grade infrastructure to enable the seamless integration of digital asset wallet capabilities into its products, subject to regulatory approval, and deliver a simple user experience while abstracting the complexity of blockchain technology.
“At Onafriq, we keep investing in technology that makes payments faster and more accessible. Privy gives us a building block for faster settlement and better liquidity management. As demand for digital asset services grows, our goal is to ensure Africa’s payment ecosystem benefits securely and in line with regulatory frameworks,” the Group Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Onafriq,” Mr Luke Kyohere, said.
The chief executive of Privy, Mr Henri Stern, said, “Stablecoins will play an increasingly important role in the future of global payments, but real-world adoption depends on infrastructure that is secure, scalable and simple to implement. Working with Onafriq allows us to help build that foundation across Africa and beyond.”
