Google Brings Generative AI to Search in Africa

By Adedapo Adesanya Nigerian wireless internet service provider, Tizeti, has announced the securing of an unnamed senior debt facility from Chapel Hill Denham’s Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund that will be used to finance the rollout of its state-of-the art broadband network across 15 states in Nigeria. In a statement seen by Business Post, the company said it has been granted long-term financing by the investment company’s fund and will deploy the debt to build new internet infrastructure and purchase additional equipment to expand its services to Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Abia, Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Abuja, Kano, and Kaduna. Tizeti

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, has announced a N1 billion partnership between the ministry and IHS Towers, one of the largest independent communications infrastructure firms in the world, to establish the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) Learning Community. The ministry earlier this month released a 31-page policy document titled Accelerating our Collective Prosperity through Technical Efficiency which outlined plans to boost the country’s economy through the use of technology. It said it would collaborate with other ministries and parastatals, including private sector stakeholders to drive opportunities for startups to facilitate the

By Kehinde Ogundare In recent years, the global economy has faced and continues to face numerous challenges, including a pandemic, war, climate change, and inflation. Businesses have had to adapt and find new ways of working to tackle these challenges. Nigeria is no exception. According to the National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria, the annual inflation rate accelerated to 24.08% in July 2023, the highest since September 2005. This has affected everything from electricity tariffs to transportation, all crucial to the performance of Nigerian enterprises. Fortunately, by adopting the right technologies and using them the right way, enterprises can ensure that they’re

By Adedapo Adesanya The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, has revealed that plans to onboard three million tech talents in Nigeria will be done in phases, starting with the training of 30,000 persons in the next three months. Appearing as one of the lead guests at Moonshoot by TechCabal, a two-day event organised by the tech publication in Lagos on Wednesday, he said his ministry would apply a 1-10-100 model, which by definition is a three-phase model. “We are using a 1-10-100-model. We are starting with 1 per cent of our 3 million target, and

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The process of issuing state of origin certificate individuals would soon be reviewed, the Lagos State government has said. This, according to the Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, Mr Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, is because of “verified reports that non-indigenes procure state of origin documents from different unauthorised sources in Lagos, sometimes at the Local Government level or even from some traditional rulers as attested to by the Federal Character Commission.” The Commissioner described this as “unfortunate,” wondering how “people can descend so low to commit such despicable acts.” He said in the new process to be

By Adedapo Adesanya Lagos State generated a sum of N753.46 billion, about 39.7 per cent of the total internally generated revenue (IGR) of Nigeria in 2021, according to the latest data on states’ IGR released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The total IGR recorded by the 36 states of the federation rose beyond pre-pandemic levels after it dipped in 2020 due to the lockdown measures put in place by the federal government to curb the spread of the pandemic. The NBS said the states, and the federal capital territory, generated N1.89 trillion as IGR in 2021, about 21.5

By Adedapo Adesanya The Naira depreciated against the United States Dollar and other foreign currencies at the parallel market and the Investors and Exporters (I&E) segment of the foreign exchange (FX) market on Friday, May 21. At the black market, the local currency lost N1 against the US currency as it was sold for N485/$1 in contrast to N484/$1 it traded at the previous session. Also, the Nigerian currency depreciated by N5 against the Pound Sterling at the unregulated FX market segment to close at N685/£1 compared with N680/£1 it was sold on Thursday. In the same vein, the domestic

By Dipo Olowookere The secondary market for treasury bills in Nigeria closed bullish on Friday as traders took interest in debt instrument, mopping up some of the maturities amid liquidity ease. For most of the tenors tracked by Business Post during the trading session yesterday, yields closed in the red territory, with the six-month maturity posting the heaviest depreciation. The 180-day bill suffered a 0.08 percent decline in yield on Friday to close at 12.89 percent from 12.96 percent in the previous trading session. Yield on the 90-day tenor went down by 0.06 percent to 12.61 percent from 12.67 percent,

By Dipo Olowookere Sustained bargain hunting activity on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) pushed the market indices higher by 0.81 percent on Friday. This left investors N97 billion richer as the market wrapped up for what was supposed to be the last trading day before the presidential election. Unfortunately, the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in the early hours of Saturday (today), announced the postponement of the polls till next Saturday. The All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated yesterday by 261.51 points to settle at 32,715.20 points, while the market capitalisation increased by N97 billion to

By Aduragbemi Omiyale The N13.7 billion 5-year Series 1 fixed rate senior unsecured bond issued by Emzor Pharmaceuticals has been exclusively listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited. The paper, which is due in 2026, was issued to investors under the company’s N50 billion debt issuance programme. Business Post reports that the note was sold on January 20, 2021, at a coupon rate of 10.00 per cent per annum, with solid interest from a diverse pool of institutional investors. According to Emzor, which listed the bond on the exchange on Wednesday, April 21, 2021, proceeds from the exercise would be

By Modupe Gbadeyanka One of the things that have had a huge effect on the way human life is technology. It is one tool human has used to make life easier. From the comfort of one’s home or office, items can be bought on the internet and payments made without having to go to a bank to withdraw cash for the is one of the purchase. But despite this convenience technology offers, there are some persons who still do things the traditional way and they cannot be blamed. In this interview, the Divisional CEO of Payments Processing at Interswitch, Mr

By Aduragbemi Omiyale One of the most innovative service providers in Nigeria, Heritage Bank Plc, has praised itself for doing everything within its power to address the country’s food insecurity. According to the Managing Director of the bank, Mr Akinola George-Taylor, the company has continued to support farmers in the country through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). In November 2015, President Muhammadu launched the ABP, an initiative designed to boost agricultural production, improve foreign exchange and reverse Nigeria’s negative balance of trade on food. Since its inception, more than 4.8 million farmers have