General
World Standards Day: SON Charges on Responsible Use of Resources
By Adedapo Adesanya
To commemorate World Standards Day 2020, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has called on Nigerians to uphold standards in their undertakings to ensure responsible use of limited resources to help sustain a healthy environment.
This call was made by the Director-General of SON, Mr Farouk Salim, in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday while commemorating the 2020 World Standards Day, which is celebrated globally on October 14 to raise awareness among regulators, industry and consumers to the importance of standardisation to the global economy.
The theme for the 2020 World Standards Day titled Protecting the planet with standards.
Mr Salim said that standards covered all aspects of human activities including energy savings, water and air quality, standardised protocols and methods of measurement.
According to him, the nation’s rapid population growth and broad urbanisation call for the responsible use of limited resources.
“Nigerians should join the quality vanguard and continue to support SON in its quest to improve the lives of Nigerians through standards and quality assurance activities as well as protecting the environment for sustainability.
“This can be achieved through the reduction in throwaway, reuse and recycle, and landfill of spaces as well as spreading information on the importance and value of our natural resources.
“Experts in international standardisation around the world have advocated a substantial reduction in human impact and protection of the planet, seeking political will, concrete action and the right tools among which are international standards.
“This advocacy is predicated on the human and large-scale industrial activities which modern civilisation have added to earth’s natural greenhouse gases which negatively impact our climate and with it,’’ he said.
The DG said that the organisation as a representative of the international standardisation bodies in Nigeria was propagating global standards through adoption and modification for local use.
He expressed SON’s commitment to manpower training through seminars, workshops, consumer enlightenment activities and certification of products, processes and systems using international standards.
He suggested volunteering for cleanups in communities, more efficient use of water to avoid waste and use of energy-efficient appliances as important conservation ideas that should be upheld by Nigerians.
Mr Salim also called for the planting of trees to provide food and oxygen as well as the use of non-toxic chemicals at homes and in offices.
He also appreciated the efforts of the thousands of experts who develop voluntary standards within standards development organisations.
They include the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
General
NIWA to Collaborate With Coastal States to Secure Waterways
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has commenced moves to collaborate with coastal states across the country to increase the safety of Nigerians using the waterways to commute.
According to the waterways regulator, this is part of bids to enhance safety on the nation’s waterways.
This was disclosed by Mr Bola Oyebamiji, the Managing Director of NIWA while speaking at a one-day consultative forum on safety and insecurities on inland waterways, organiwed by the Nigeria Transportation Commissioners’ Forum in Ilorin, Kwara State on Thursday.
He emphasised the critical role that safety and security play in fostering a thriving water transportation system.
The conference, themed Prevalent Safety, Security Hazards and Practices in Inland Waterways: Passenger Transport Safety in Ilorin, Kwara State, sought to address the pressing issues facing the inland waterways sector.
Mr Oyebamiji acknowledged the ongoing efforts by NIWA to improve safety, such as the recent unveiling of the transportation code for public use, and the inauguration of several operational assets including survey boats, gunboats, water ambulances, and a passenger ferry.
He also noted that safety campaigns have been launched across all operational bases, targeting local communities in their native languages.
The NIWA boss highlighted the support from the National Assembly, including the ongoing discussions on establishing coastal guards and the attention safety and security on inland waterways have received from the House Committee on Inland Waterways.
He appealed to the Commissioners for Transportation across relevant states to collaborate with NIWA in areas such as training, safety campaigns, infrastructure development, and financial empowerment.
He also stressed that while the challenges are significant, they are surmountable through collective action, adding that the efforts must be complemented.
The NIWA MD expressed optimism for actionable and implementable outcomes from the forum, which he believes will contribute significantly to ensuring safer and more secure inland waterways in the country.
General
Seedstars Africa Ventures Raises $42m in First Close
By Adedapo Adesanya
Seedstars Africa Ventures I, a venture capital fund making early-stage investments in highly scalable start-ups in Africa, has achieved a first close of $42 million
The raise was led by the African Development Bank and EIB Global with the support of the European Union, under the ACP Trust Fund – EU Compartment and Boost Africa among other global investors.
The fund, with offices in Nairobi, Dakar and Paris, has further secured $50 million in commitments towards an $80 million fundraising target.
The milestone was announced at the 2024 Africa Investment Forum Market Days currently underway in Rabat, Morocco.
The fund has already deployed over $10 million to five pioneering African startups in the climate, food systems, energy access, internet connectivity, financial inclusion, and payments infrastructure sectors.
These are Beacon Power Services (Nigeria), Poa! Internet (Kenya), Xeno (Uganda), Bizao (Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, and France): and Shamba Pride (Kenya).
According to a statement, it was disclosed that these businesses serve over 60 million people, including by connecting 60,000 households to the internet, supporting 50,000 farmers, and empowering 30,000 individuals with financial inclusion services across eight African countries.
“The portfolio is also fully 2X compliant, empowering women in startups and ecosystems,” the statement added.
Both the African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank are founding partners of the Africa Investment Forum, a platform that advances transformative African projects toward financial close.
Seedstars Africa Ventures I is addressing gaps in early-stage financing across Africa through investments of up to $2 million in seed and series A rounds, with significant follow-on capacity of up to $5 million, thereby bridging available pools of capital.
By leading successive investment rounds, the fund will catalyse co-investment while offering operational support to start-ups.
The Fund was founded by Ms Maxime Bouan, Mr Tamim El Zein and Mr Bruce Nsereko Lule who have over 45 years of experience investing and working across the continent.
Seedstars Africa Ventures is a member of LBO France Group, which played a pivotal role in seeding this initiative as part of their multi-asset class African strategy, alongside other initiatives.
Speaking on this, Mr Robert Daussun, and Ms Stéphanie Casciola, Chairman and CEO respectively of LBO France said “We are delighted by Seedstars Africa Ventures’ latest milestone, and proud to have been the initial supporter of the team. The portfolio the team has built with our support is innovative and transformative, already providing significant impact and value to the continent. LBO France appreciates the opportunity SAV provides for us and our partners to be part of Africa’s growth story.”
“The African Development Bank views Seedstars Africa Ventures as a strategic opportunity to provide innovative support to Africa’s venture capital industry. It serves as a conduit to improve access to finance for youth and women while also enhancing the availability of risk capital in Francophone Africa.
“This is an area that has traditionally faced limited access to risk capital,” said Mr Ahmed Attout, African Development Bank Group Director for Financial Sector Development.
“We welcome the investment of the African Development Bank, our Boost Africa partners, in the Seedstars Africa Ventures fund,” said EIB Vice-President, Mr Ambroise Fayolle. “Accelerating digitalisation is a priority for the EIB, and we are committed to supporting African businesses as they drive innovation and prosperity on the continent.”
General
Nigeria Not Planning to Stop Fossil Fuels Soon—Oil Minister
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria has no plans to stop fossil fuels anytime soon, despite increasing calls for energy transition because the country intends to harness its oil reserves and increase oil output to fill the gap in Africa.
This submission was made by the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Mr Heineken Lokpobiri, at the 13th Practical Nigerian Content Forum organized by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa, this week.
Mr Lokpobiri explained that no country in the world will stop the production of fossil fuels when there are still markets for it, noting that Nigeria has a lot of reserves and has not utilised enough to consider stopping the use of fossil fuels, despite several calls from many quarters.
Speaking on the theme Deepening the Next Frontier for Nigerian Content Implementation, the Minister observed that even Western countries like the United Kingdom were still giving licenses for exploration.
“All these clamour about energy transition that says we should stop production of fossil fuel, we will never stop the production of fossil fuel in Nigeria, no country in the world will stop it.
“In 2023, UK which contributed 4.8 per cent of global emissions, higher than the entire OPEC countries put together, entire African continent put together and still gave over 100 licenses to new companies for new exploration.
”America is the highest producer of fossil fuel, so why should we stop, those who are telling us to stop are themselves not stopping, so we should know that is about politics.
“Let me also use the opportunity to tell the industry players that with the emergence of Donald Trump as U.S. President, the price of oil maybe battered.
”What I want us to do is to increase our own production, Africa already has enough market. We can produce enough fuel to supply the West African region and the entire Africa, but our biggest challenge is funding,” he said.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Mr Ekperikpe Ekpo, urged local businesses in the country to invest in Compressed Natural Gas (GNG) as gas will be a mainstay of the economy after the energy transition.
“Gas will be the mainstay of Nigeria’s energy shift, and we’re giving local businesses a chance to engage in gas distribution, processing and power generation.
”The probable replacement for PMS has been determined to be natural gas in the form of CNG.
“Let me reiterate this administration’s unwavering commitment to advancing local content as a cornerstone of our energy strategy, together, we have the opportunity to build an energy industry that empowers Nigerians, strengthens our economy and contributes to the sustainable future,” he said.
On his part, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Mr Felix Ogbe said the board has achieved 56 per cent in Nigerian Content level in 2024 compare to 26 per cent in 2016.
He stated that some of the achievements of the board include; Commissioning of Amal Technologies in Idu, Abuja; and the Kwale Gas Gathering facility in Delta, approval of 312 Nigerian Content Plans, and issuance of 402 Nigerian Content Compliance Certificates (NCCCs) bythe board amongst others.
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