WHO Regional Chief Knocks Western Omicron-induced Ban on Africa

By Professor Maurice Okoli Amid heightened criticisms and intense debates over several significant global issues including new financial architecture, economic diversification, growing debts and reforms, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, on October 15 wrapped up their week-long annual meetings held under the theme “Global Action, Global Impact” in Marrakesh, Morocco in North Africa. With the rapid geopolitical changes, it featured prominently finance ministers and central bank governors from 190 countries in desperate search of comprehensive mechanisms and suitable approaches to address the prevailing economic crisis across the globe. The coordinated annual meetings also reviewed its scope

By Adedapo Adesanya The SBM Intelligence African Country Instability Risk Report Index (ACIRI) has ranked Nigeria as a stable African country based on select macro indicators benchmarks. The report which was published on Monday assesses the political, economic and social factors contributing to Sub-Saharan Africa’s political instability. It provides a framework for assessing the risk of coups d’état using factors such as ethnic tension, the country’s history of coups, dominant ethnic groups, economic concentration, ageing leaders and monoproduct, bi-product or multi-product economies. The 47 Sub-Saharan sub-region of Africa’s 55 countries were ranked on four benchmarks – leadership and governance, geopolitics,

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 The World Bank has approved a $1 billion loan to support South Africa’s energy sector which is currently experiencing worse conditions including inadequate funds for overhauling, renovation and upgrading. Energy experts believe that the World Bank’s loan, which seems the last resort, would pull South Africa out of its persistent energy crisis that has adversely hit industrial production. The energy problem has forced the country to lean on its highly polluting coal-fired power stations and consistent difficulties of generating enough electricity for its 62 million people. The state-run power utility, Eskom, generates approximately 80% of the

By Modupe Gbadeyanka The 5th Africa Business Forum & Trade Expo has been scheduled to hold on Wednesday, March 1, 2017 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. However, before the D-day, there would be an Africa Business Forum B2B Investment Meeting, on Wednesday, January 25, 2017 by 6:30pm at the Dubai World Trade Center Tower, 33rd Floor Sheikh Rashid Tower, Dubai UAE. The Africa Business Forum, which organises the event, focuses on offering international companies considerable opportunities to enter and become successful in one of the fastest growing economies in the world in the areas of ICT, Agriculture & Mining, Finance &

By Adedapo Adesanya The federal government has said it will intensify efforts to eliminate the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in Nigeria as it pursues the realisation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) 2030. This was disclosed by the Minister of Women Affairs, Ms Dame Tallen, at the launch of the Movement For Good To End FGM in Nigeria organised by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs in collaboration with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF). Ms Tallen noted that the procedure of FGM has no health benefit for girls and women. FGM involves partial or total removal of

By Cordros Research The Q2-18 PAT of N710 million announced by PZ yesterday beat the N590 million we estimated. Driving the outperformance were higher revenue and lower operating expenses, compared to our estimates, which more than offset the surprise net finance cost and higher effective tax rate. Overall, the result was impressive, consistent with management’s guidance, following a bumpy start to the year. Continued revenue growth was one of the assumptions backing our positive outlook for PZ’s earnings in 2018F. Indeed, top-line increased by 34% during the review period, compared to the 26% growth we estimated. We continue to argue

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the postponement of the Q1 Capital Market Committee (CMC) meeting earlier scheduled for April 23, 2020. The apex capital market regulatory agency, in furtherance of its role, has also issued an advisory that would mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on capital market operations. In a circular to capital market stakeholders on COVID-19, the SEC released a number of market-focused adjustments to be adopted in the interim in response to the effects of COVID-19 which includes filing and processing of applications electronically, extension of deadline on 2019 annual reports and Q1 2020 reports.

By Adedapo Adesanya The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has encouraged insurance companies to reduce their environmental footprint through internal operations and business activities. This call was made by the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, at the recent 2022 Insurance Directors’ Conference organised by the College of Insurance and Financial Management (CIFM) and NAICOM in Lagos. He added that this has become necessary as insurance remains the industry that ensures the survival of other industries. He noted that the world is going through rapid changes economically, socially, and environmentally and this has spurred the need to bring directors of insurance

By Adedapo Adesanya The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has said that the worst is over following the contraction that led to Nigeria’s economy entering into another recession. On a Saturday, Business Post reported that Nigeria’s economy contracted by 3.62 per cent in the third quarter of the year after 6.1 per cent decline in the second quarter of the year, which the chamber considered as not surprising. Reacting to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) quarterly report, the Director-General of LCCI, Mr Muda Yusuf, noted that the latest numbers, which revealed that the nation’s Gross Domestic Product

By Dipo Olowookere Sugarmade has announced the signing of a new contract to become the exclusive manufacturer of the SmelPro cannabis transport system, which enables nearly smell proof and discrete shipping of cannabis. Additionally, the firm has acquired an option to purchase the company marketing the innovative product. The SmelPro product is a significant improvement over currently available transport units used in the cannabis sector. SmelPro utilizes the proprietary polyamide sandwiched tri-liners developed for Sugarmades CannaShroud product, combined with active carbon filtration to virtually eliminate all odors. The units are designed to be easy to carry, or to be worn

By Adedapo Adesanya CryptoLocally has announced that Dogecoin (DOGE) will be available to trade on its decentralized peer-to-peer (P2P) trading platform, giving Nigerian cryptocurrency traders ease of transactions. DOGE, the cryptocurrency that started as a joke, has become a poster child of the entire industry. Now, users will be able to take advantage of Dogecoin’s bullish market trend. In a press release, the company stated that as part of efforts to offer the very best P2P trading experience to its customers, there is no better way than by offering one of the hottest cryptocurrencies out in the market today. “Our