FG Targets Cutting Drug Importation to 40% to Boost Local Production

By Bliss Okperan The Bill Gates Foundation has selected nine Nigerian health startups, along with 20 others from other parts of Africa, for a $50,000 equity-free grant to boost the healthcare supply chain on the continent. The nine Nigerian small firms were chosen as part of Investing in Innovation Africa (i3), a pan-African initiative for startups in the healthcare supply chain. The Nigerian companies which make up the second cohort include Famasi, Aimcare, Afia, Drugstore Nigeria, Healthtracka, Octosoft Technologies Limited, Pharmarun, Pharmaserv Health Project Nigeria Ltd, and Wella Health. The cohort includes startups that are building online pharmacies and telemedicine

By Adedapo Adesanya The International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) and Speak Up Africa have announced the CEO of Nigeria’s healthtech startup, Mrs Teniola Adedeji, alongside Dr Ochora Moses (Uganda) as the winners of the second edition of the Africa Young Innovators for Health Award. The announcement was made at the Galien Forum Africa, which celebrates creativity and excellence in science in Africa. The Africa Young Innovators for Health Award supports pioneering young entrepreneurs with financial and in-kind opportunities they need to advance their innovations for better health outcomes in their communities. Mrs Izath Nura (Uganda) and Mr

While rhinoplasty procedures vary in complexity and expected recovery times, everyone wants to heal faster and minimise downtime after the procedure. The success of the procedure will not only depend on the skill of the surgeon but also the patient’s ability to heal properly. In the past few years, a group of molecules, known as peptides, have increasingly gained significant attention in the medical field for their incredible potential in bolstering the healing process. Simply put, they are a group of naturally occurring or synthetic amino acids that have been shown to optimise healing and recovery times. Let’s take a

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Acting Director-General of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Ms Mary Uduk, has joined the board of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). Ms Uduk was elected to the board of IOSCO as a representative of the Africa/Middle-East Regional Committee (AMERC) for a period of two years. The AMERC comprises securities regulators that are IOSCO members within the Middle East and North Africa as well as sub-Saharan African region. IOSCO is an association of organisations that regulates the world’s securities and futures markets. Members are typically primary securities and/or futures regulators in a national jurisdiction or

By Darryl Bernstein As African businesses begin to recover and build the resilience needed to successfully navigate COVID-19 disruption, a focus on Environmental Social and Governance (ESG) strategies is proving to be essential for long-term success. In order to stay competitive, organisations based in Africa are engaging meaningfully with ESG to build robust sustainability strategies that meet stakeholder expectations and enable compliance with global and domestic mandatory and voluntary ESG standards and codes. ESG encompasses a broad range of issues across the spectrum of Environmental (climate change, biodiversity, waste, water and resource use, pollution), Social (human rights, labour practices, HSE,

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, a member of Standard Bank Group, has facilitated various landmark transactions in the Nigerian financial market. The firm, through its subsidiaries, handled milestone deals for Nigerian Breweries Plc, Union Bank of Nigeria PLC, First Securities Discount House (FSDH) Merchant Bank and even the Lagos State Government, among others. The Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC subsidiaries include Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited and Stanbic IBTC Trustees Limited. These subsidiaries acted in various such as Financial Advisor, Issuing House, Bookrunner, Stockbrokers as well as the Receiving Bank and Joint Trusteeship. Stanbic IBTC assisted the Lagos State

By Dipo Olowookere That the dividend payout of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc for the 2020 fiscal year was cut is no longer news, but the rationale behind the decision will interest shareholders. A few days ago, the tier-one lender announced its financial performance last year and the key performance indicators recorded improvements, including the gross earnings and profits. However, the cash reward given to investor was lowered by over 50 per cent as the board recommended a dividend of 35 kobo, lower than the 80 kobo paid for the 2019 fiscal year. Many investors were not happy about

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Data gathered from the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS) has revealed that the value of transactions through point of sales (PoS) payments reached N651.37 billion despite the economic recession in Nigeria. This, it said, increased significantly by 65 percent in 11 months. The figure, which represents transactions from January to November 2016, almost doubles the N395.05 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2015. NIBSS data showed that with N81.15 billion, November 2016 recorded the highest value of transactions. In November 2015, a total of N40.25 billion transactions were recorded. A breakdown of the value of

By Adedapo Adesanya One of Africa’s biggest financial institutions, Access Bank, is close to finalizing a regulatory process to launch its first full banking service in Asia in the first quarter of 2024. This was disclosed by the chief executive of its holding company, Mr Herbert Wigwe, on the sidelines of the Africa Financial Industry Summit in Lomé, Togo, as per Semafor. The Nigerian lender’s plan to enter the Asian market is part of a wider global expansion target which includes a strategy to expand more deeply into Francophone Africa, build closer ties with North Africa, and across Europe where

Nigeria, despite being the largest economy in Africa, is one of the toughest places to establish small and medium scale businesses. This is because the economic environment is quite unfriendly as entrepreneurs have a potpourri of challenges to deal with. Some of these challenges include lack of power, limited capital, double taxation, unstable economic policies, and inadequate infrastructure among others. Consequently, the chances of startups and businesses surviving are very limited or minute in Nigeria Despite this, there are a handful of small businesses that are braving these harsh economic realities and have grown beyond their humble beginnings. They are

By Dipo Olowookere The skills acquisition programme organised by the Sokoto State government under its citizens’ empowerment initiative has produced an additional 350 graduands. Speaking at the graduation of the last batch of 132 trainees at the Wamakko Training Centre at the weekend, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal said the overall objective of his administration is to improve the lives of the citizenry by making them self-reliant. The programme, coordinated by the state Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, followed the recent graduation of 2000 women from another empowerment initiative meant to enhance job creation and tackle poverty. Governor Tambuwal said