Author: The Nation

Ecobank has partnered with Ethiopia’s Dashen Bank to enable Ethiopians living in the diaspora, to send money instantly to any Dashen Bank account, other local bank accounts, mobile money wallet and cash pick up using Ecobank’s Rapidtransfer International app (RTI).

The cross-border remittance solution app which is available in the rest of Ecobank’s 33 countries, enables African diaspora residing in Europe to remit funds back to Ecobank countries in Africa, including Ethiopia seamlessly.

The agreement was reached by Ecobank through its representative office in Ethiopia and the immediate target was Ethiopians living in Europe.

Ecobank Ethiopia Country Representative, Dr. James Kanagwa, said Ecobank has the largest geographical footprint across Africa and it is a recognised leader in digital, mobile and borderless banking.

He said the bank was delighted to partner with Dashen Bank to empower Ethiopians living in the European-based diaspora countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Netherlands and 21 other European countries with access to Rapidtransfer International app which enables Africans in Europe to send money back home affordably, instantly and securely.

According to him, the Rapidtransfer International app is secure, easy to onboard and navigate with user-friendly features such as multi-lingual options. Users will know the transparent foreign exchange rate prior to making a transaction and can choose to send funds directly to Dashen Bank accounts, wallet, cash-pick up and same day delivery to other commercial bank accounts. 

Chief Executive Officer, Dashen Bank, Asfaw Alemu, said the partnership with Ecobank enables the bank to reach out to the Ethiopian diaspora in Europe to provide them with a new, reliable, low-cost and convenient way to send money to their families and relatives back home in Ethiopia through the Rapidtransfer International app.

Alemu said users of RTI are able to send money back home at an average fee of 1.5 per cent of the funds being remitted, making Ecobank and Dashen Bank partnership the best remittance solution for the African diaspora to send more money back home to support their loved ones, build capital and accelerate financial inclusion for inclusive prosperity

In 2017, it was estimated that the Ethiopian Diaspora comprised a significant population of at least two million individuals, primarily residing in Europe and North America.

According to Knomad, the global knowledge partnership on migration and development, remittance inflows into Ethiopia amounted to $436 million in 2021 and an estimated $327 million in 2022 – a figure that the partnership between Ecobank and Dashen Bank seeks to tap into by rolling out the Rapidtransfer International App.

Headquartered in Addis Ababa, Dashen Bank is among the biggest private Banks in Ethiopia. Dashen is regarded as a trendsetter in Ethiopia’s digital banking space, with its Amole Omni-channel digital platform gaining traction among Ethiopia’s burgeoning youthful population. The bank has pioneered a Buy Now Pay Now (BNPL) scheme called DubeAle. In partnership with Ethio Telecom, it is also providing micro savings and micro credit products, which benefited over two million Ethiopians in just a year since its launch.  

Improving family-friendly workplace policies in Nigeria, including access to quality childcare for parents, could boost private sector productivity and benefit employees, children, and businesses in the country.

A new report published by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), Investing in Childcare: A Game Changer for Businesses and the Nigerian Economy, found that only five per cent of Nigeria’s private sector employers invest in childcare despite 67 per cent of working parents reporting that they were more productive at work when they had easier access to childcare.

According to the study, investing in childcare by offering on-site or near-site childcare services, or the financial support to access childcare, presents an opportunity for employers to improve employees’ productivity, reap the efficiency improvements, and boost business outcomes.

The report estimated that by 2025, the demand for childcare services in Nigeria’s private sector is likely to increase by 10 percent. However, childcare providers face barriers to scale and meet the growing demand, especially because they lack access to formal capital and investments. The study found that 76 percent of childcare providers faced challenges in accessing formal financing, highlighting an opportunity for partnerships and investments in addressing market gaps.

The report’s research covered six commercial hubs in Nigeria: Enugu, FCT-Abuja, Kano, Lagos, Ogun, and Rivers. The report was funded by the IFC-led Nigeria2Equal Initiative, launched in 2020 in partnership with Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited to increase women’s participation in the private sector. Through the initiative, IFC and NGX are working with private sector companies listed on the Exchange to implement gender-smart solutions that reduce gender gaps across leadership, employment, and entrepreneurship.

Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange (NGX), Temi Popoola said that access to effective and affordable childcare is vital to ensuring a productive, engaged, and inclusive workforce.

“This report presents a compelling business case for stakeholders, both in the capital market and the broader private sector, to step up actions and collaborate on crucial measures to improve workplace solutions for childcare, as it will benefit companies, employees and the overall economy,’’ Popoola said.

“Childcare and family-friendly work policies are often overlooked aspects of social and economic development—but they shouldn’t be,” said Dahlia Khalifa, IFC Director for Central Africa, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. “This report reinforces the value in expanding family-friendly workplace policies in Nigeria to support social and economic development.”  

Launched on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum in Abidjan, the report assessed the needs and challenges of 7,000 stakeholders, including employees, employers, and childcare providers. Demand for childcare in Nigeria is forecast to increase rapidly along with the country’s population.

•Average return rises to 9.13%

The stock market remained bullish as investors await key appointments and policy roadmaps that will give clearer direction of the economic outlook of the new government.

With nearly two advancers for every decliner, increased bargain-hunting sustained a widespread rally at the equities market despite profit-taking transactions that greeted the N1.55 trillion capital gains recorded in the inaugural week of President Bola Tinubu.

The stock market had responded with its biggest rally since the advent of this democratic dispensation, in a sustained bullish response to the inaugural address of Tinubu. Average return for the week had closed at 5.37 per cent.  

Benchmark indices for the Nigerian equities at the weekend indicated average return of 0.20 per cent, equivalent to net capital gain of N58 billion.

The second-week rally also showed broad positive sentiments with most transactions closed at premium. Average year-to-date return for Nigerian equities rode on the back of the bullish trend to close weekend at 9.13 per cent.

The All Share Index (ASI)- the value-based common index that tracks all share prices at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), rose from its week’s opening index of 55,820.50 points to close at 55,930.97 points.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities at the NGX also increased from its week’s opening value of N30.395 trillion to close at N30.455 trillion.

With 52 gainers to 27 losers, all sectoral indices closed positive with the exception of the NGX Industrial Goods Index, which dropped by 1.31 per cent. The NGX Insurance Index led the rally with average return of 13.91 per cent. The NGX Oil and Gas Index rose by 3.39 per cent. The NGX Banking Index appreciated by 1.10 per cent. The NGX Consumer Goods Index inched up by 0.14 per cent. The NGX 30 Index- which tracks the 30 largest stocks at the Exchange, rose by 0.11 per cent. The NGX Pension Index- which tracks stocks adjudged suitable for pension funds’ investments returned 0.35 per cent. However, the NGX Lotus Islamic Index- which tracks ethical stocks that comply with Islamic principles, dipped by 0.08 per cent.

Total turnover stood at 2.196 billion shares worth N45.971 billion in 31,655 deals last week as against 2.586 billion shares valued at N46.643 billion traded in 35,122 deals two weeks ago. The financial services sector contributed nearly three-quarter of the total transactions with a turnover of 1.578 billion shares valued at N15.652 billion traded in 14,851 deals; thus contributing 71.82 per cent and 34.05 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The oil and gas sector followed with 157.221 million shares worth N1.304 billion in 3,549 deals while consumer goods sector placed third with a turnover of 101.562 million shares worth N1.939 billion in 3,944 deals.

The trio of United Bank for Africa Plc, FCMB Group Plc and NPF Microfinance Bank Plc were the most active. The three most active stocks accounted for 696.244 million shares worth N4.019 billion in 2,398 deals, contributing 31.70 per cent and 8.74 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value.

Eterna led the gainers with a gain of 45.41 per cent to close at N13.45 per share. Unity Bank followed with a gain of 44 per cent to close at 72 kobo. FTN Cocoa Processors trailed with a gain of 40.91 per cent to close at 93 kobo. Secure Electronic Technology rallied by 38.46 per cent to close at 36 kobo. Cornerstone Insurance rose by 37.35 per cent to close at N1.14 while AXA Mansard Insurance gained 25.39 per cent to close at N4 per share.

On the negative side, John Holt led the losers with a drop of 26.7 per cent to close at N1.40. R T Briscoe followed with a loss of 10.53 per cent to close at 34 kobo. SUNU Assurances Nigeria declined by 10.42 per cent to close at 43 kobo. Courteville Business Solutions dropped by 9.80 per cent to close at 46 kobo. Multiverse Mining and Exploration lost 9.54 per cent to close at N3.70 while Chellarams dipped by 9.52 per cent to close at N1.33 per cent.

Analysts at Cordros Securities said they expected the “choppy trading pattern” that played out last week to persist in the new week as investors continue to cherry-pick stocks with sound fundamentals and, at the same time, remain cautious about leaving gains in the market.

“Notwithstanding, we advise investors to take positions in only fundamentally justified stocks as the unimpressive macro story remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings,” Cordros Securities stated.

• •Bans Binance •IOSCO issues global guidelines

Nigeria’s apex capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), at the weekend cautioned Nigerians on investing in crypto-assets citing extreme risks of losing all their investments.

In a circular, SEC stated that as the regulator with the statutory mandate of investor protection, the commission was duty bound to warn Nigerians to be wary of investing in crypto-assets, and crypto-asset related financial products and services, especially if the service provider and platform are not registered or regulated by the commission.

According to the commission, Nigerian investors need to know that investing in crypto-assets is extremely risky and may result in total loss of their investment.

SEC also declared the activities of Binance in Nigeria as illegal, noting that any Nigerian trading on Binance Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of the well-known global cryptocurrency exchange Binance, is doing so at his or her own risk.

SEC stated that it had noted the website operated by Binance Nigeria Limited, soliciting the Nigerian public to trade crypto assets on its various web and mobile-enabled platforms.

“Binance Nigeria Limited is neither registered nor regulated by the Commission and its operations in Nigeria are therefore illegal. Any member of the investing public dealing with the entity is doing so at his/her own risk.

“By this circular, Binance Nigeria Limited is hereby directed to immediately stop soliciting Nigerian investors in any form whatsoever.

“The commission shall provide updates on further regulatory actions with respect to the activities of Binance Nigeria Limited, and other similar platforms and shall work with other regulators in Nigeria to provide further guidance on this matter,” SEC stated.

Meanwhile, the International Organisation of Securities Commission (IOSCO), the global standard setter for securities markets, has issued detailed recommendations to jurisdictions across the globe as to how to regulate crypto-assets.

In a major initiative designed to improve global standards of regulation of crypto-assets, IOSCO has set out how clients should be protected and how crypto trading should meet the standards that apply in public markets.

Chairperson, International Organisation of Securities Commission (IOSCO), Jean-Paul Servais said the time has come to put an end to the regulatory uncertainty that characterises crypto activities.

Jean-Paul Servais said the consultation paper on crypto regulation had received unanimous support from the IOSCO board, adding that it was the outcome of an intense period of regulatory risk analysis, information sharing and capacity building.

“As such, it will mark a turning point in addressing the very clear and proximate risks to investor protection and market integrity risks.

“With 130 members around the world regulating more than 95 per cent of the world’s securities markets, IOSCO is best positioned to deliver an effective and globally consistent set of policy recommendations.

“The strong support of the IOSCO board will ensure the timely implementation of the recommendations by all IOSCO members to limit the risk of regulatory arbitrage. Strengthened cooperation between our members while supervising these markets through a global framework will contribute to protecting investors better and to credible deterrence of non-compliant actors,” Jean-Paul Servais said.

Chairperson, IOSCO Board-Level Fintech Task Force, LIM Tuang Lee, who chaired the body set up to develop the policy recommendations, said the recommendations in IOSCO’s Consultation Report set expectations and guardrails to regulate and supervise crypto-asset markets, which are inherently cross-border in nature.

“Crypto-asset service providers need to address unacceptable conflicts of interest and take far more seriously the right of clients to have their monies and assets carefully minded and accounted for. It is time for Regulators to work together across borders and various jurisdictions to ensure that investor protection and market integrity are upheld in crypto-asset markets,” Tuang Lee said.

The recommendations cover six key areas including conflicts of interest arising from vertical integration of activities and functions, market manipulation, insider trading and fraud, cross-border risks and regulatory cooperation; custody and client asset protection, operational and technological risk, and retail access, suitability, and distribution.

IOSCO has opened a public consultation on its recommendations and aims to finalise them by the end of the year. Thereafter, it expects that jurisdictions will review their current regulatory frameworks to ensure that they comply with the standards and fix any gaps promptly.

NGX Regulation Limited, International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) of Nigeria have reiterated their commitments to championing the drive of sustainability and climatic disclosure reporting among companies to ensure investors in the Nigerian capital market are protected.

Chief Executive Officer, NGX RegCO, Ms Tinuade Awe, said NGX RegCo remains committed to promoting a fair, transparent and orderly market that thrives on full and timely information needed for the protection of investors in the Nigerian capital market.

She spoke during the opening of the three-day virtual workshop on IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards for companies as well as investors in the capital market in Lagos.

She underscored the need for investors to understand the basic concepts of the SASB standards and make effective decisions based on the standards.

“As a member of the NGX Group, our commitment towards driving sustainability and climate disclosures dates back in time and continues as we partner with organisations such as the FRC and so we are pleased to have these sessions as they are important and we look forward to having more collaborations with the FRC as well as other organisations,” Awe said.

She added that there was an adoption readiness strategy mapped out to help accountants and auditors in sustainability and climatic reporting.

“The adoption readiness working group is a creation of the FRC supported by the ISSB where basically a group of people are being put together in order to advise or help the FRC on a roadmap for getting to the adoption of these standards to work in Nigeria,” Awe said.

Executive Secretary, FRC Nigeria, Ambassador Shuaibu Adamu, said that Nigeria is the only African country that has been selected to launch the IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, adding that key to the launching of these standards has been awareness and capacity building.

“It is encouraging that African countries are coming together to collaborate in this capacity building programme because it is clear that Africa does not want to be left behind. We want to appreciate NGX RegCo for agreeing to partner with us and they have been so far worth partners in this endeavor. It is clear that ISSB wants implementation of these standards globally and they have taken time to ensure Africa is not left behind,” Adamu said.

Board Member, ISSB, Ndidi Nnoli-Edozien, said that the IFRS standards are used across 140 countries and the objective is to enable companies to provide comprehensive, decision useful sustainability and climate information to global capital markets, develop a common language of sustainability related disclosures.

“What we have done is adopt a building block approach which allows for regulators to put in place a connection between not just the IFRS standards but also existing local multi-stakeholder information needs and local standards that currently exist. All together to meet the information needs of investors globally.

The idea is to make things simpler so that on one hand, S1 and S2 is interoperable with jurisdictive requirements like you have in Europe, for example ESRS and adopted to meet broader multi-stakeholder needs that may look familiar like the GRI Standards so that essentially, a comprehensively foundation of disclosures is provided. The S2 is what will be implemented first,” Nnoli-Edozien said.