AfCFTA: Afreximbank, ITC to Train Small Business Owners

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh It all began in March 2023 with an ear-deafening applause during the inter-parliamentary conference under the theme ‘Russia-Africa in a Multipolar World’ that was held in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered what was then referred to as ‘no-cost deliveries’ of grains to six African countries. This unique promise was consolidated and renewed during the second Russia-Africa summit held in St. Petersburg. Russian media, with its highest public-oriented reports and propaganda narratives, keeps on informing its public that Russia feeds Africa and its 1.4 population. Under the auspices of the State Duma of the Russian Federal

By Precious Olisa The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has established a circular economy committee that will develop a national strategy for the efficient use of resources and reducing waste in the country. A statement disclosed that the team would focus on the circular economy principles of reducing, reusing and recycling materials to minimize environmental impact and save resources. The new circular economy committee comprises public and private sector members, who will promote investments in circularity and accelerate the adoption of circular economy practices. Last year, the UAE announced the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative, a national drive to

By Adedapo Adesanya The Nobel Committee has awarded the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize to jailed Iranian activist, Ms Narges Mohammadi, for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all. In a statement announced on Friday, Ms Mohammadi was recognised for her brave struggle which has seen her arrested 13 times, convicted five times, and sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes. As of the moment of her recognition for the prize, Ms Mohammadi is still in prison after her role in the largest

By Dipo Olowookere Lagos-based industrial engineering company, Interlinked Technologies Plc, has appointed a banker as its new Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The firm, which has its headquarters in Ikeja, the city’s capital, announced this week that it has chosen Mr Christopher Okoro to pilot its affairs, with the appointment effective from July 1, 2019. This followed the retirement of the former occupier of the position, Mr Olusegun Layode. The new CEO, according to a statement from Interlinked Technologies, was the Head of Retail Sales at Keystone Bank Limited before his new appointment. “Interlinked Technologies Plc wishes to inform the

By Investors Hub European stocks have moved to the downside on Friday amid concerns about the U.S. government shutdown, a Brexit impasse and the lack of any clear resolution to the U.S-China trade talks. While the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index has fallen by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are sliding by 0.7 percent and 0.8 percent, respectively. Data from the Office for National Statistics showed the U.K. economy grew 0.2 percent in November versus expectations for 0.1 percent growth. However, growth slowed to 0.3 percent in the three months through November from 0.4 percent in

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The Deputy Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank), Mrs Cathy Echeozo, has quit the financial institution. Mrs Echeozo quit her position after she announced her retirement from the Pan-African banking group. Her retirement was made known to the public and shareholder via a statement signed by the firm’s Secretary, Erhi Obebeduo. With her retirement, Mrs Echeozo, who was appointed as the Deputy Managing Director of GTBank in October 2011, will leave the Board of Directors of the bank. It was disclosed in the statement that Mrs Echeozo, during her time in office, worked tirelessly for

By Nonye Mpho Omotola With a South African mother and Nigerian father, I am in the fortunate position of being exposed to the best of both countries and cultures. As such, I can clearly envision the benefits of the two nations coming together and working towards shared common goals. South Africa and Nigeria each have rich cultures and a wealth of human talent, skills and resources in their own right. And both can only grow stronger and progress at a faster rate should these diverse nations join together to work towards mutual goals. The aim should be to leverage off

By Modupe Gbadeyanka A winner has emerged in the season VIII of the Lagos State Schools Governor’s Quiz competition held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium in Alausa, Ikeja. At the end of the contest, Lagos State Model College, Kankon, emerged the best school in the grand finale, beating Alimosho Senior Grammar School and Jubilee Model Senior Grammar School to the second and third positions respectively. The Junior Secondary and Primary Schools categories were won by Eko Junior College and Darocha Primary Schools respectively. Speaking at the occasion, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, who was represented by the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka Major elections in Nigeria are now over and winners and losers in the exercise, which kicked off with the presidential and National Assembly elections on February 23, 2019 and ended with the governorship and state houses of assembly polls on March 9, 2019, have emerged. With the elections gone, investors will begin to take position and see how they can gain more from their investments in the nation’s capital market. Analysts at Meristem Research have highlighted four equities to look out for in this trading week. One of the stocks is Dangote Cement, which traded at N195

By Ashemiriogwa Emmanuel At the end of The Next Titan Season 8, Nigeria’s foremost business reality TV show, the most talented youth with outstanding entrepreneurial acumen will go home with the sum of N15 million, the organisers have promised. The programme, which is tagged The Uncaged, is a 10-week competition where entrepreneurs from across the country will carry out weekly business tasks and challenges as teams or individuals with weekly evictions in the boardroom by the judges. Chiefly sponsored by Heritage Bank, this season saw entries from more than 20,000 participants, but only 75 made it through auditions in Abuja,

By Modupe Gbadeyanka GSMA has shortlisted Yabx, a fintech venture in digital lending, for the GLOMO 4YFN (4 Years From Now) Impact Awards 2021. Yabx is the only Indian startup to be featured among the finalists for the 2021 edition. The company was incubated by Comviva Technologies, the global leader in mobile financial services and one of the largest mobile wallet technology providers in the world. Its vision is to simplify financial access to the over two billion unbanked populations in the emerging markets of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It leverages technology and analytics to reduce the cost of