Visa Unveils Initiative to Support Women Entrepreneurs

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh Russia, the largest country in the world by area, has a population of 147.2 million, according to the population census. In the 2021 census, it was said that roughly 81% of the population were ethnic Russians, and 19% of the population were ethnic minorities. Demographers say Russia has become increasingly reliant on immigration to maintain its population. Russia’s population is increasingly decreasing since the start of its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in late February 2022. The demographic crisis has deepened primarily due to high military fatalities while simultaneously facing renewed brain drain and human capital flight

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh The 17th Toronto Global Forum was held under the theme Fostering Economic Resilience from October 11-13, 2023, in Toronto Canada. According to reports, the forum gathered over 170 speakers and more than 3,000 attendees from all over the world. The central themes at the Toronto Global Forum revolved around the global economy, infrastructure, finance, innovation, energy and sustainable development. Through its ability to foster connections and collaboration, the Toronto Global Forum stands as an exceptional and distinctive platform bringing together decision-makers from all spheres of society to tackle the most pressing issues of the changing times.

By Adedapo Adesanya The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has urged entrepreneurs in Nordic countries and Ireland to make Africa their business and investment destination. According to a statement, the call was made by the lender’s Chief Economist, Mr Kevin Chika Urama, on a spate of official visits to Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden between September 25 – 29. He said Africa’s population boom is projected to make it the world’s most populous region by the end of the century, with up to 3.4 billion people offering huge business and investment opportunities to the rest of the world. “With

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh South Africa prepares to host the African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) forum to review critical challenges and obstacles adversely impacting trade opportunities and economic cooperation between the United States and Africa. The United States first introduced the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in 2000. It is the 20th AGOA forum scheduled from November 2 to 4 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The AGOA Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum seeks to expand and deepen trade and investment relationships between the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa. It also encourages regional integration and further reaffirms Africa’s position as a

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The need for Federal Government to make use of the services of Nigerian Public Relations and Marketing consultants to frame the nation’s economic narratives has been emphasised by one of Africa’s leading economists, Dr Biodun Adedipe. Speaking at a Fireside Chat organised by the Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN) at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, recently, the economist advised President Muhammadu Buhari to tap into the expertise of Nigerian PR and Marketing Communications consultants to help the government frame its economic narratives and distil the message for better understanding of the populace. While speaking

By Dipo Olowookere Pan-African banking group, Ecobank Group, has called on fintech entrepreneurs from the continent to enter the 3rd edition of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge. The Fintech Challenge gives African start-ups the opportunity to promote their fintech solutions, and potentially partner with Ecobank to roll-out their solutions across the lender’s 33 markets in Africa as well as France. A statement issued from the bank said submissions are welcomed from all start-ups and developers in any of Africa’s 54 countries for the contest. Intending participants will have to submit their entries at https://www.Ecobank.com/Fintechchallenge on or before April 12, 2020, while

By Adedapo Adesanya The African Development Bank (AfDB) has secured $90 million in donor funds for the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) project. The SEFA fund, according to the bank, is expected to expand, make more flexible and be responsive to Africa’s fast-changing energy market, with a sharper focus on green mini-grids and green base load as well as offering a wider array of catalytic finance instruments. The SEFA fund was secured during the virtual launch event organised by the AfDB for the SEFA donors to reaffirm their support for the institutional priorities of the fund and had in

By Dipo Olowookere Investment in Nigerian stocks declined last week to N9.5 billion from N11.5 billion in the preceding week just as the All-Share Index and market capitalisation declined by 0.18 per cent to close at 38,256.95 points and N19.940 trillion respectively. Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that similarly, all other indices finished lower with the exception of premium, pension, insurance and oil/gas indices, which appreciated by 0.96 per cent, 0.16 per cent, 1.01 per cent and 0.85 per cent respectively, while the ASeM index closed flat. A total of 1.0 billion shares were traded in 17,577

By Adedapo Adesanya The Senate has passed a bill seeking to establish the National Rice Development Council as part of the federal government’s effort to cut down on rice importation and improve the country’s foreign exchange earnings. The passage of the bill followed the consideration of a report by the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. Speaking at the presentation, the Chairman of the Committee, Mr Abdullahi Adamu, said the council will support the comprehensive development of the rice sector and the organisation of rice stakeholders to enhance local production of rice in Nigeria. He explained that the organisation will

By Investors Hub The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Tuesday following the long, holiday weekend. Stocks may benefit from buying interest generated by optimism about the outlook for the markets and the economy going into the new year. Trading activity may remain somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data keeping some traders on the sidelines. After moving modestly higher over the two previous sessions, stocks moved back to the downside during trading on Friday. The major averages slid into negative territory, although selling pressure was somewhat subdued. The major averages

By Adedapo Adesanya The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) jumped by 1.83 per cent on Friday, March 25 on the back of gains posted by the duo of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc and  NASD Plc. The milk maker appreciated by N10.40 or 8.4 per cent yesterday to trade at N124.50 per share compared with Thursday’s value of N114.10 per share, while NASD Plc improved its equity price by N1.25 or 9.0 per cent to settle at N13.84 per unit in contrast to the preceding session’s N12.59 per unit. As a result of the growth posted by the two stocks, the total value

By Dipo Olowookere Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa Plc, Mr Raghunath Mandava, has hinted that the telecommunications company operating in Nigeria would soon commence offering some banking services to its customers and residents of the country. He dropped this hint while commenting on the company’s performance in the first half of 2019, where Airtel Africa reported a strong start to the financial year, in its first quarterly results since its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in June this year and its listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in July 2019. According to Mr