Author: The Nation

Global platform for mobility and urban services that has recently expanded its footprint in Africa to seven countries, inDrive, has raised $150 million from General Catalyst in an innovative hybrid instrument to fund marketing spend.

 This includes user acquisition and retention costs.   inDrive will benefit from increased financial flexibility thanks to this new funding, which will also help the business to continue its rapid expansion.

  Earlier, in 2021, General Catalyst took part in inDrive’s $150 million Series C investment round, headed by Insight Partners.

Arsen Tomsky, inDrive founder and CEO, said: “We are pleased that General Catalyst has again invested in inDrive, enabling us to maintain our high double-digit growth rates, improve the quality of our offering, and develop new business verticals. inDrive is in a strong financial position and has a choice of financing instruments that best suit its requirements. I believe that this financing reflects General Catalyst’s conviction in our ability to continue to successfully expand into new communities and new business verticals in the coming years.

General Catalyst said in a statement: “General Catalyst is optimistic inDrive is set for sustained growth, and we are excited to back a business that we believe has a strong mission and benefits so many communities around the world. It’s important to us that the investments we make have a positive impact, and inDrive is well placed to do so.”

inDrive continued its rapid growth last year despite a challenging global macro environment, with an 88per cent year-on-year increase in gross revenue serving as solid evidence of the business’s resilience. The number of countries where the company operates reached 47, up from 37 in 2021. inDrive expanded its team to 2,700 employees spread across 17 offices worldwide, with 1,000 newcomers in 2022.

inDrive was the world’s fastest growing international ride-hailing app in 2022, according to data.ai (formerly App Annie). The app saw a 45per cent increase in downloads year-on-year, climbing from 42.6 million in 2021 to 61.8 million in 2022 to become the 2nd most downloaded ride-hailing app worldwide based on Google Play and App Store data (China is App Store only).

In 2022, the company launched several new verticals, expanding its offering from passenger and cargo transportation, delivery, and handymen services to include job classifieds and group buying services. The company recently rebranded from inDriver (Independent Drivers) to inDrive (Inner Drive) to reflect its ambitious mission of Challenging Injustice.

• To inaugurate 30 infrastructure projects

The Director-General, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Joseph Ari said the Fund paid N9.4 billion to 322 companies as reimbursement and N574, 112 as bank charges last year.

He explained that the collaborations and partnerships between the ITF, and other national and international relevant bodies have yielded positive gains towards training and acquisition of skills among apprentice across the country.

Ari also said the agency will inaugurate about 30 infrastructural projects at its training centers across the country before the end of 2023.

He said: “It was the intention of the management under my leadership to reduce the infrastructural deficit in ITF. To expand access for Nigerians desirous of skills acquisition and in line with the Federal Government’s efforts to reduce infrastructure deficits, ITF completed and commissioned several projects, which had been abandoned for years.”

He spoke shortly after receiving an award of excellence from the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ), Plateau State.

According to him, the Fund also ensures prompt payment of students and supervisory allowances, which amounted to N1.3 billion.

He said: “As part of our mandate and in line with the ITF Act, the Fund reimburses contributing employers up to fifty per cent of the statutory annual training contributions remitted by them if the Fund’s Governing Council is satisfied that the training programs of the employer were in accordance with the Fund’s reimbursement scheme.”

“In the year under review, a total of N9,394,973,610.98 was paid to 322 companies as reimbursement, and a total of N574,112 was paid as bank charges. We equally organized several reimbursement workshops to apprise employers of the processes involved in the reimbursement scheme.”

He explained that ITF implemented a number of skills intervention programs that equipped over 50,000 Nigerians, especially the youth, with skills for employability and entrepreneurship.

“Our partnership and collaborative ventures with the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, the MSMEs Survival Fund, NECA, and skills for prosperity also significantly contributed to the equipping of Nigerians with the requisite skills,” he added.

He noted that the ITF collaborated through partnerships with relevant organizations to actualize its mandate in the fight against poverty and unemployment in the country.

“We are currently in active partnerships with the German Dual Vocational Training (DVT); Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN); Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA); United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN); and Bank of Industry (BoI), among others.

He noted that the ITF disbursed housing and car loans to 76 workers and promoted 850 others whose arrears were fully paid and 846 others were sponsored on various long- and short-term development programs within and outside Nigeria.

He noted that with the sharp rise in population, there was every need that the youths are equipped with various training skills in order to cater for the needs of the country; instead of allowing the youths to rely on foreign risky employments.

According to him, these collaborations has led to the “establishment of the Model Skills Training Centre, Abuja, Acquisition of Mobile training vans, and the conduct of Skills Gap Survey with UNIDO, among others.

Speaking on the projects, he said: “Some of the projects include, the Mechatronics Workshop and Administrative Block at the Kano Centre, Katsina Area Office Complex with an Administrative and Vocational Wing, Lagos Island Area Office Complex, e-Library Complex and Stores in the Headquarters and Classroom Blocks at the ITF Staff School.

“Others are Intro-tech Laboratory at the ITF Staff School, Acquired three mobile training Vans, Purchased former Jossy Royal Hotel in Jos for training in vocational and culinary skills.

“The Fund also completed several projects, which are waiting commissioning including Gusau Area Office Complex and Vocational Wing, Minna Area Office Complex and Vocational Wing, Aba Area Office Complex and Vocational Wing, Awka Area Office Complex and Vocational Wing as well as Abakiliki Area Office Complex and Vocational Wing and Maiduguri Area Office Complex and Vocational Wing and several others.

Ari said: “All these projects will be completed and commissioned before the end of the year. In addition, to train Nigerians along the Agricultural Value Chain, the Fund has also completed the construction of six greenhouses in the Six Geopolitical zones of the country, which are being used for the implementation of the Fund’s Agri-preneurship Skills Empowerment Programme (AGSEP)”

The DG also disclosed that with its massive skill acquisition program in the last six years, the nation is already exporting skills to developed and developing nations across the world.

Earlier in a welcome address, chairman of the Correspondent Chapel Gyang Bere said the DG has provided exemplary leadership qualities to deserve recognition by the chapel.

MDXi Appolonia, the data centre subsidiary of MainOne, an Equinix company, has received its Tier III Constructed Facility certification (TCCF) from the Uptime Institute.

With this new milestone, MDXi Appolonia becomes the leading data centre provider in Ghana with the top four certifications in the industry; the Tier III Constructed Facility certification, TCCF; the PCI-DSS certification which certifies the Data centre to process payment card information; ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certifications which assures information security and quality management at the MDXi Appolonia Data Centre, and further reinforces MDXi’s position as the leading data center provider in West Africa.

The MDXi Appolonia facility receives this TCCF following onsite testing by the Uptime team and is a progression from the Tier Certification of Design Documents (TCCD) that was issued by uptime following the review of designs of the facility during construction.

Country Manager, MainOne Ghana, Emmanuel Kwarteng, said: “MDXi Appolonia Data Centre receiving this certification just a year after launch provides assurance of the quality of the data center infrastructure and ability to manage disruptions even under unprecedented circumstances.”

The data center which features private data center suites, enterprise-grade 24×7 multi-level security and video surveillance, precision cooling, safety and fire suppression systems with multiple redundancies built into the power, cooling and security infrastructure has maintained 100per cent uptime since launch, and is managed by highly trained, best-in-class engineers operating from a state-of-the-art Operations Center matching international standards.

MDXi Appolonia data center offers open access connectivity options to all the leading telecom networks in Ghana and direct access to MainOne and other submarine cable systems. It offers access to various Internet Exchanges including the GIX (Ghana), IXPN (Nigeria), LINX (London), DECIX (Frankfurt/Lisbon), and Cote d’Ivoire Internet Exchange (CIVIX), as well as the West Africa Internet Exchange (WAF-IX).

Operators in the mortgage sector are targeting at least 10 per cent contribution to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as against 0.5 per cent.

The Managing Director of Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank, Mr Sunday Olumorin,  stated this yesterday in Abuja during a forum by the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN).

Delivering a paper entitled: “Mortgage Financing in Nigeria: Impact on economy and financial inclusion”, Olumorin noted that achieving the feat would require the creation of more resilient housing finance systems; therefore, channelling long-term capital into housing remains has become a major priority of the mortgage sector.

Represented by Mrs. Ngozi Chukwu, the Group head, business development at the bank Olumorin stated: “Mobilising finance for housing delivery remains crucial to the development of the country and for sustainable recovery from the economic recession.”

He said there was an ongoing engagement with the Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria on the critical need for Intervention/Matching Fund for the sub-sector to stimulate mortgage financing for home ownership.

 A good starting point, she said, is to ensure increased access to mortgages by Nigerians, especially in the informal sector, which represents about 70 per cent of the economy, but is excluded from formal financial services, as well as the low and middle income earners, who need housing finance the most.

A well-functioning housing finance system Olumorin and Chukwu insisted “is imperative for a prosperous nation as it indeed plays an important role in stimulating economic growth and creating the much-needed jobs within an economy”.

Olumorin added that “the limited availability of land with clear Titles provides the impetus for investment in and development of innovations, while high cost of raw materials has the potential to foster the development of alternative building technologies.

 “Any government that seeks to be close to its citizens should prioritize it. This is because the availability and non-availability of shelter affects the psyche of people and the economy of any country.

 “The affordability of shelter provides psychological satisfaction, strengthens human dignity, respect, guarantees better health of citizens, generates employment and enhances productivity amongst others.

“Mortgage financing is the de-facto form of housing finance all over the world. It is generally enhanced by availability of long-term funds often linked to the capital markets to aid refinancing and securitization. Low interest rates, regardless of its nature i.e. variable, or fixed, also boosts mortgage financing”

“All these serve to ensure that loan tenure is elongated, usually spanning a minimum of 20 years. In addition, it is promoted by an enabling legislature that confers strong property rights and aids quick foreclosure/eviction among other necessary legal issues. Mortgage financing also thrives where the business environment and operating model aid short loan origination period.”

Also speaking at the event, the Director General of the National Pension Commission, Mrs. Aisha Dahiru-Umar said the Commission has recognized the relevance of mortgage financing which is why the Commission recently released a mortgage policy to assist Nigerians own their own homes.

The DG who was represented by the Head, Corporate Communications Department at PenCom, Mr. Abdulqadir Dahiru said “the Commission recently released a guideline for Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders to access 25 per cent of their balance for mortgage as a way of complimenting efforts of the federal government in that regard”.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the re-issuance and release of old N500 and N1000 notes as legal tender in the country.

The CBN said in line with the directives of the President, only N200 old notes are to be reissued and to circulate concurrently with the new notes.

The apex bank advised members of the public to ignore, what it termed “this fake news”, saying the CBN is working with the law enforcement agencies to investigate, apprehend and prosecute the purveyors of this fake news.”

• Pipeline protection contract lifts production by 100%

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said the Federal Government would hold authorities responsible for loss of crude oil.

He described the menace as an affront on the integrity of the government.

He listed various factors responsible for the theft, stressing that the government cannot continue to entertain excuses from the authorities in the management and security of the hydrocarbon resource.

He spoke in Abuja during the “Stakeholders’ Conference on Oil theft and losses in Nigeria.”

The Vice President said: “It has been attributed to non-production, metering error and many other factors. It is an affront to our sovereignty to our collective wellbeing.

“We must hold authorities responsible for what is going on. Our public and personal reputations are at stake.”

Meanwhile, the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) Administrator, Major-General Barry Ndiomu (rtd) said owing to pipeline protection contract model to curb crude oil theft, its production has increased by 100 per cent.

Gen. Ndiomu, who is also the Chairman, Special Investigative Panel on Oil Theft/Losses in Nigeria, said the approach of the pipeline protection could be improved upon to achieve lasting and sustainable results.

He noted: “For example, we can draw from the already working pipeline protection contract model employed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), which have had the attendant outcome of an almost 100per cent increase in oil production in the few short months since commencement.”

The NNPCL Group said oil production had risen above 1.6million barrels daily.

Its Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, represented by the company’s  Chief Upstream Investment Officer, Bala Wunti, highlighted that the rectangular approach comprising NNPC & partners, regulators, government security operators and the communities underpinned by the adoption of technology ensured the recovery of production from an all-time low of sub-one million barrels of crude oil production per day last July 2022, to the current production figure of 1.67 million barrels per day.

He added that the implementation of the 3DR strategy [Detect, Deter, Destroy, and Recover], the establishment of the Central Command and Control Centre for effective monitoring and coordination, the launching of the Whistle-Blowers Portal and the Crude Oil Validation Portal, and the deployment of some of the best-in-class surveillance tools and technology have been a game changer in the fight against crude oil theft and vandalism.

Kyari said “a key element of the collaboration has been the onboarding the Private Security Contractors from the host communities, which were hitherto isolated.

“Their in-depth knowledge of the terrain and modus operandi of the criminals have led to massive discoveries of illegal connections and interception of vessels ferrying stolen crude oil.”

The NNPCL was upbeat that with

 the current sustained efforts, facilities that have been shut down have reopened, and injection of crude oil into major trunklines for evacuation to the terminals is being ramped up. Nigeria’s crude oil production output is steadily growing to hit the 1.8 million barrels per day OPEC quota.

He said this production growth implies significant economic benefits for the Country and all stakeholders.

In the bid to arrest the crude oil theft menace, National Security Adviser (NSA), Maj General Babagana Monguno (rtd) disclosed that between August 2018 and January 2023, security operatives have facilitated the prosecution of over 200 vessels involved in maritime criminality with Nigeria’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to the Republic of Togo.

He added that 83 oil tankers involved in various crude oil and product theft have been arrested while the theft of over three million barrels of crude oil was prevented and 11 million litres of petrol and Diesel were recovered.

 His words: ” Let me add me quickly add that the security agencies particularly the Nigerian Navy have been embarked on series of intelligence driven maritime security operations to curb the issues of oil theft and illegal oil bunkering particularly in the Niger Delta area.

“They have also been closely supported by JTF Operation Delta Safe, NSCDC, NIMASA and EFCC amongst other agencies.

I have also directed that the Falcon Eye System – a high tech real-time intelligence Maritime Domain Awareness facility domiciled with the National Security Adviser to be fully committed to address this emerging concern.

“The facility has between August 2018 and January 2023 facilitated the prosecution of over 200 vessels involved in maritime criminality within Nigeria’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) up to the Republic of Togo”

He said technology remains a major force multiplier for any integrated solution or framework to address security concern of this nature.

The Africa Go Green Fund (AGG) has raised $87million to advance climate resilience in Africa

AGGF is managed by LHGP Asset Management, which invests in projects in Africa that mitigate or reduce greenhouse gas emissions .This followed  its successful second fundraising close from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Nordic Development Fund (NDF), and the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA).

The funding totalling $47 million in equity and an additional $40 million in debt, will allow AGGF to broaden its financing for climate-friendly projects in Africa, including purchasing high-efficiency appliances and industrial equipment, retrofitting existing buildings and new green buildings, and installing rooftop solar and battery storage for residential, commercial, and industrial consumers.  IFC provided $17 million in equity, which includes financing from the IDA20 Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility. In addition to equity, IFC committed $30 million debt to the fund, providing AGGF with long-term capital to complete the second close fundraise. AfDB, NDF and SEFA each invested $10 million equity in the fund. An additional $10 million in debt from Calvert Impact Capital was closed in December 2022.

Launched by KfW, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in early 2021 and managed by LHGP Asset Management, AGGF is the first structured debt fund in Africa focused on energy efficiency solutions. The fund targets reaching between $230 million and $250 million at final close with the current fundraising round, total funding stands at $138 million, demonstrating that the fund is getting traction to reach its full scale. 

AGGF is accompanied by a technical assistance facility of $3.3 million provided by KFW on behalf of BMZ, which supports project development and market studies, and provides transaction advisory and capacity building to stakeholders. 

Fully operational since 2021, AGGF has provided financing to AktivCo, a telecom energy services company, to develop clean energy solutions for powering telecommunication towers in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire and Niger, and to BBOXX, a pay-as-you-go solar-powered solutions provider, to accelerate access to clean cooking solutions for millions of Africans. AGGF has also more recently closed the Solarise transaction investing in energy-efficient appliances in Kenya, South Africa and Mauritius, and upsized both the AktivCo and BBOXX transactions.

“KfW is glad to welcome the new investors to the Africa GoGreen Fund, which was initiated with seed capital from the German Government. We hope that more like-minded investors will follow. This successful second fundraising demonstrates that the fund is on track to play a crucial part in the just energy transition in Africa” said Head of Division at KfW, Johannes Scholl.

“IFC is partnering with AfricaGoGreen because its innovative energy efficiency-focus is making critical capital available to businesses that are supporting the region’s energy transformation while also expanding access to electricity, green building, and e-mobility solutions,” said, IFC Regional Industry Director in Africa for Manufacturing, Agribusiness, and Services, Henrik Elschner Pedersen.

The African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) has reiterated its commitment not to renege on its promise of transforming farmers’ livelihood through innovative agricultural technologies that will improve incomes, food, and nutrition security in Sub-Saharan Africa.

AATF Director, Programme Development and Commercialization, Dr Emmanuel Okogbenin,  restated the commitment during the training programme organised to equip seed companies with necessary skills to undertake dry season cowpea production in Kaduna.

Dr Okogbenin said that AATF will continue to promote agricultural innovation through public-private partnerships and advised the seed companies to take advantage of dry season production to complement wet season production which will ensure adequate supply of PBR cowpea seed to farmers.

He also noted that farmers have been educated on the benefits of the product and they are waiting anxiously for more certified PBR cowpea seed from seed companies.

He expressed appreciation to Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR) for the collaboration which produced the PBR cowpea.

Also speaking, Executive Director, IAR, Zaria, Prof. Ishiyaku Mohammed, commended the collaboration with AATF that led to the development and release of Nigeria’s first genetically modified crop.

“Nigeria is now a reference point in areas of biotechnology products in Africa and we must continue to scale up production of this technology to make it available to farmers.

The Pod Borer Resistant Cowpea is a classic example of how technology can provide solutions to one of the major challenges confronting cowpea farming,” he said.

Prof. Mohammed noted that for many years plant breeders tried without success to find a solution to the ravaging attacks of Maruca but the “collaboration between AATF and IAR led to the development of this great technology.”

He said, seed companies were pivotal to the commercialization of the PBR cowpea project and there is need for constant capacity building.

“The PBR cowpea is a huge success in the biotechnology space in Nigeria and more seed companies are eager to take up the product. There are testimonies from farmers in terms of high yield, resistance to pod borer, improved income because of planting the PBR cowpea.”

He enjoined the participants to fully take advantage of the training which will build their capacity in PBR seed production. He also encouraged the participants to always contact AATF/IAR for further questions/clarifications.

All the nine seed companies licensed to market the PBR cowpea attended the training which saw a presentation from Dr Seydou Traore, Regional Energy Advisor, United States African Development Foundation, amongst others.

About 5,000 youths in Imo State are set to graduate from a digital empowerment programme put in place by the Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma.

Already, the Minister, Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, is scheduled to attend the event being organised by the first state in the federation to align its Information Communications Technology (ICT) development drive with the Federal Government’s digital economy policy.

Tagged SkillUpImo Project, it is being implemented by the state’s Ministry of Digital Economy & E-government has the aim of equipping the citizens of Imo with top digital skills for the new world ecosystem pivoted on knowledge economy.

The SkillUpImo Project has the target of upskilling, reskilling and training of 300, 000 Imo youths to acquire the fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) skill-set needed to align with the evolving world.

The initiative is in line with the Imo Digital Economy Agenda (IDEA), which is mapped to last 2022-2026 with the aim of not only making Imo the digital-skills hub of Africa but also curbing the snag of unemployment in the state.

In line with the first Pillar of the IDEA anchored on “Digital Literacy and Skills”, the Project has the vision to graduate employable youths to the society as well as youths who are self-employable and productive to the society and the world at large.

Speaking at the planned graduation of the Imo youths, scheduled to take place tomorrow, the state Commissioner for Digital Economy and E-Government, Dr. Amadi Chimezie, expressed satisfaction that the programme has started yielding its intended positive results.

According to him, the scheme is poised to address one of the critical challenges with respect to youth unemployment, which the country is facing, adding that Imo State has positioned itself to join hands with the Federal Government towards tackling the snag through the State’s digital skill acquisition scheme.

“So, it is gratifying to the state government that our graduands – who came in with little or no experience in digital technology have been equipped with skills in Digital Marketing, Web and App Development, Content Creation, Basic data analytics, Graphics design, Phone and other digital devices repairs, programming, cyber security, among others and they are now set to graduate to begin to utilize their acquired skills for their personal economic growth and that of the society,” he said.

A statement by the Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Digital Economy & E-Government, Imo State, Sandra Opara, explained that the commissioner further commended the state governor for his passion for digital empowerment of the youths with the objective of positioning Imo as Africa’s Digital Skills hub, through massive training of Imolites to enable them to obtain digital literacy skills free.

The Commissioner called on graduands to make the best use of the skills learnt towards transforming Imo State and by extension, the entire country, into bedrock of technological advancement in Africa.

“We won’t rest on our oars until the target of training 300,000 Imolites is achieved in line with the vision of our people-centric executive governor, Sen Hope Uzodimma,” he added.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says the average retail price paid by consumers for Petrol increased from N166.40 in January 2022 to N257.12 in January 2023.

This is according to the NBS Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) Price Watch for January 2023 released in Abuja yesterday.

The report said the January 2023 price represented a 54.52 per cent increase when compared to the value recorded in January 2022 at N166.40.

“Comparing the average price value with the previous month of December 2022, the average retail price increased by 24.70 per cent from N206.19.

It said on state profiles analysis, Imo paid the highest average retail price for petrol at N332.14, followed by Rivers and Akwa Ibom at N327.14 and N319.00, respectively.

Conversely, Sokoto state paid the lowest average retail prices for petrol, at N191.43, followed by Plateau at 192.14 and Borno at 193.91

Analysis by zone showed that the South-East recorded the highest average retail price in January 2023 at N307.85, while the Northcentral recorded the lowest at N217.15.

The NBS also revealed in its Automotive Gas Oil (Diesel) Price Watch Report for January 2023, that the average retail price paid for diesel by consumers was N828.82 per litre.

It said the January 2023 price amounted to a 187.69 per cent increase from the N288.09 per litre recorded in January 2022.

“While on a month-on-month basis, the price increased by 1.34 per cent from N817.86 per litre reported in December 2022.”

On state profile analysis, the report said the highest average price of diesel in January 2023 was recorded in Bauchi at N900.00, followed by Benue at N885.71, and Adamawa at N866.67.

On the other hand, the lowest price was recorded in Bayelsa at N768.75, followed by Edo at N788.00 and Akwa Ibom at N788.75.

In addition, the analysis by zone showed that the South-West had the highest price at N845.59, while the Southsouth recorded the lowest price at N800.49.