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Nigeria to Roll Out $617m i-DICE Fund for Digital, Creative Industries

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i-DICE Fund

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria is set to roll out the $617 million Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (i-DICE) Fund in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB).

At a high-level meeting in Abuja on Thursday, the Minister of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, Mrs Hannatu Musawa, with the Director General of AfDB, Mr Lamin Barrow, highlighted the huge potential of the creative economy to generate employment opportunities for millions of young Nigerians.

“With eager anticipation from the creative community, the IDICE fund emerges as a landmark transaction, providing a strategic platform for directing additional long-term financing into this dynamic sector”.

“We are delighted that the conditions precedent for the release of IDICE funds are nearing completion. We eagerly anticipate providing start-up funds to young creatives, facilitating the development and monetisation of their talents.”.

The Minister commended AfDB and other parties to the transaction for the remarkable achievement, now being emulated by other African nations.

Recall that in March last year, former Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, launched the flagship initiative and touted that it would drive vital funding for Nigeria’s digital and creative industries.

i-DICE was described as a major step toward significantly upscaling entrepreneurship and innovation in digital technology and creative industries, which include film, fashion, and music.

The new administration has now taken over, and the minister applauded the impact investment focus which includes elements such as geographical spread, first loss position of the FGN, and grants for capacity development, stressing that the minister will reflect this spirit in its nationwide awareness campaign on the initiative.

She highlighted that the i-DICE structure offers a platform through which the fundraising initiatives of her Ministry can be secured and assured that this opportunity will be thoroughly explored.

“Nigeria, having solidified its position as a global hub for music, film, and visual art, is strategically positioning itself to leverage the i-DICE funds. This move aims to consolidate its global standing and propel further expansion within the creative industry, in subsectors such as Design, Gaming, Content Creation, Animation, Culinary Arts, and Publishing”.

Mr Barrow, an integral part of the collaborative effort, provided insight into the fund structure, clarifying that i-DICE is built around a world-class governance framework, incorporating a steering committee that includes Mrs Musawa.

“AfDB has appointed the Bank of Industry as the executing agency to manage program implementation, reporting directly to the steering committee. The initiative is set to forge strategic partnerships with selected Universities and Polytechnics, major technology companies, and key players in the private sector.”

Acknowledging the eagerness of the creative community, Mr Barrow stated, “The youth are understandably impatient. Since the approval of IDICE, we have received daily inquiries about the launch. While the processes are intricate, we are on the verge of the roll-out phase.”

i-DICE comprises two major components: the intervention fund, a $147 million fund supporting enterprise and skills development, and the sectoral fund, a $433M fund divided into three categories – Creative Fund: Equity or quasi-equity to startups and SMEs in the creative sector; Tech Fund: Equity or quasi-equity to innovative early-stage and growth-stage start-ups and; Fund of Funds: Participations in closed-end Venture Capital Funds or Creative Business- focused funds.

Adedapo Adesanya is a journalist, polymath, and connoisseur of everything art. When he is not writing, he has his nose buried in one of the many books or articles he has bookmarked or simply listening to good music with a bottle of beer or wine. He supports the greatest club in the world, Manchester United F.C.

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Women Need to Own Their Stories, Collaborate—Ayo Mario-Ese

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UBA Business Series Ayo Mario-Ese

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Celebrated broadcaster with Arise TV, Mrs Ayo Mario-Ese, has charged women to be open to collaboration and not limit themselves.

The charming media personality was one of the panellists at the UBA Business Series themed Introducing Gen W – The Evolved Woman, held at the UBA House in Lagos last Thursday.

At the event moderated by popular actor, Mr Tobi Bakre, the Morning Show anchor on Arise TV expressed worry about females who are usually laidback about speaking up and sharing their achievements, and said that women need to own their stories.

“A lot of women are doing phenomenal work and are sometimes afraid of showcasing what they are doing. As an evolved woman, you have to find out what you are comfortable doing, create your own unique offering, and also be open to collaboration,” she submitted.

Another panellist, Ms Joycee Awosika, described an evolved woman as one who has awareness of who she is.

“That woman does not need to ask to sit at the table; she is creating her own table and adding value. As your company is growing, you must grow too, and always do an audit of where you need to become a better leader,” the energy economist stated.

For a digital entrepreneur, Ms Tomike Adeoye, the question of what a woman is bringing to the table has now become obsolete, as the evolved woman is now bringing their own table.

“She is now more vocal about their struggles, setting the standards, and she is not ready to give up on her dreams,” she declared.

For the founder of Fine-Funky, Ms Olufunke Davies, she remarked that, “Creating unique designs that are affordable remains my driving force and something that has helped me grow as an evolved woman.”

In her remarks, the Group Head for Brand, Marketing and Corporate Communications at UBA, Ms Alero Ladipo, said, “Raising each woman is actually not that hard, because everyone has their community as well as their story; and so as women, we need to take a position so that we can give to others.”

She said the Gen W platform of the lender is dedicated to the evolved woman, adding, “Through expert insights, real stories, and practical resources, the platform connects women who are building brands, creating businesses, growing careers, and leading across industries. They also have access to a plethora of discounted products and loans. The best part: it is open to every woman. No UBA account needed. This is Gen W, for the evolved woman.”

This edition of the UBA Business Series was hosted to mark International Women’s Month.

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Navy Intensifies Crackdown on Oil Theft in Rivers, Calabar

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oil theft

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Nigerian Navy has intensified its crackdown on crude oil theft and illegal bunkering, destroying a reactivated illegal refinery site in Rivers State and intercepting suspected stolen petroleum products in Calabar.

The Director of Naval Information, Captain Abiodun Folorunsho, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja, revealing that personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship SOROH, operating under Operation Delta Sentinel, destroyed a reactivated illegal refinery site at Okolomade Community in Abua-Odual Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State.

He said the action followed credible intelligence that a previously dismantled illegal refining site had resumed operations.

According to him, an Anti–Crude Oil Theft (Anti-COT) team deployed to the location discovered that the dismantled refining oven had been reconstructed.

“Further exploitation of the area led to the discovery of additional refining equipment and storage facilities containing about 3,000 litres of product suspected to be illegally refined Automotive Gas Oil (AGO),” he said.

Mr Folorunsho added that the illegal refining infrastructure—including ovens, storage tanks, hoses, connected pipes and newly acquired metal components used for illegal refining—was destroyed in line with operational procedures.

He said personnel of the Nigerian Navy Ship Victory, in another operation, intercepted about 3,950 litres of suspected stolen petroleum products at the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) area in Calabar, Cross River.

He said the interception was based on credible intelligence on suspected siphoning of petroleum products from vessels berthed at the port.

The naval patrol team, according to him, swiftly deployed to the area and traced the illegally siphoned products to a trailer park within the port facility.

“On sighting the naval patrol team, the suspected perpetrators fled the scene, after which the area was cordoned off and the illegally siphoned products secured,” he said.

The official said further inspection led to the recovery of about 3,950 litres of Automotive Gas Oil stored in drums and jerrycans, which had been evacuated to the naval base for further necessary action in line with extant regulations.

He noted that the successes aligned with the directive of the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Idi Abbas, to intensify operations against crude oil theft and other maritime crimes across Nigeria’s maritime domain.

The captain reiterated the Navy’s commitment to sustaining the operational tempo of Operation Delta Sentinel through intensified surveillance, patrols and intelligence-driven operations aimed at combating crude oil theft, illegal bunkering and other forms of economic sabotage.

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Mastering SEO: Proven Methods to Grow Your Online Presence

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RiseGrower

Search Engine Optimization isn’t what it used to be.

Gone are the days of stuffing keywords, buying random backlinks, and expecting overnight rankings. Today, SEO is a sophisticated blend of technical precision, content authority, brand positioning, and strategic digital PR.

At RiseGrower.com, we’re launching with one mission:

To help brands grow through ethical, scalable, authority-driven SEO.

This isn’t just another SEO agency. This is the next evolution of ranking strategy.

🌍 SEO in 2026: What Has Changed?

Search engines—especially Google—have become dramatically smarter.

Modern ranking systems analyze:

  • Topical authority
  • Content depth and expertise
  • User engagement signals
  • Link quality (not quantity)
  • Brand credibility
  • Search intent satisfaction

SEO today is no longer about “gaming the algorithm.” It’s about becoming the most trusted answer in your industry.

That’s where RiseGrower comes in.

🚀 What RiseGrower.com Is Built For

We specialize in performance-focused SEO strategies designed to:

  • Increase organic traffic
  • Improve high-intent keyword rankings
  • Strengthen domain authority
  • Build sustainable backlink profiles
  • Turn search visibility into revenue

Our approach combines:

  • Advanced technical SEO audits
  • Strategic content architecture
  • Authority guest posting campaigns
  • White-hat link acquisition
  • On-page optimization
  • Data-driven reporting

We don’t chase vanity metrics. We build growth systems.

🧠 Our Philosophy: Authority Wins

Search engines reward expertise and trust.

That’s why our strategy centers around three pillars:

1️ Topical Authority

We help brands dominate entire keyword clusters—not just single keywords.

2️ Editorial Authority

Through high-quality guest posting on real industry publications, we build contextual backlinks that move rankings safely and effectively.

3️ Technical Excellence

From crawl optimization to structured data, we ensure search engines fully understand and prioritize your content.

🔥 Why Most SEO Strategies Fail

Many businesses struggle with SEO because:

  • They focus only on backlinks without strategy
  • They publish content without search intent research
  • They ignore technical site health
  • They chase short-term wins instead of long-term growth

SEO is not a trick.

It’s a system.

RiseGrower builds systems.

📊 Our Approach Is Data-Driven

Every campaign starts with:

  • Competitive analysis
  • Keyword gap research
  • Link profile audit
  • SERP intent mapping

We analyze what’s ranking—and why.

Then we engineer a strategy that outperforms it.

🏢 Who We Work With

RiseGrower is built for ambitious brands:

  • SaaS companies
  • eCommerce brands
  • Agencies
  • Startups
  • Enterprise businesses
  • Niche industry leaders

If your goal is sustainable organic growth, you’re in the right place.

⚖️ White-Hat SEO Only

We believe in:

  • Real editorial placements
  • Ethical outreach
  • Genuine authority building
  • Search engine compliance

We do not use:

  • Private Blog Networks (PBNs)
  • Spammy link schemes
  • Automated backlink tools
  • Manipulative ranking shortcuts

Long-term growth requires integrity.

📈 The Rise of Performance-Based SEO

The future of SEO isn’t “deliverables.”

It’s measurable outcomes.

At RiseGrower, we align our strategy with:

  • Ranking milestones
  • Traffic growth targets
  • Lead generation goals
  • Revenue impact

Because rankings are only valuable if they drive business growth.

🌟 What Makes RiseGrower Different?

We blend:

  • SEO strategy
  • Digital PR
  • Authority guest posting
  • Content intelligence
  • Conversion-focused thinking

We don’t just improve rankings.

We build market leaders.

🔮 The Future of Search

AI-generated content is flooding the internet. Competition is rising daily.

Search engines will increasingly reward:

  • Authentic expertise
  • Brand mentions
  • Trusted backlinks
  • Valuable long-form content
  • Real-world credibility

The brands that invest in authority now will dominate tomorrow.

RiseGrower was created for that future.

🚀 Launching Soon

RiseGrower.com is preparing to launch with a clear promise:

Growth through strategic SEO authority.

If you’re ready to:

  • Outrank competitors
  • Scale organic traffic
  • Build long-term visibility
  • Turn search into revenue

We’re ready to grow with you.

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