The Nation Newspaper

Category: Money

  • FITC inaugurates academy for youths

    FITC inaugurates academy for youths

    By Collins Nweze

    The Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) has launched its Future of Work Academy (FOWA).

    Its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Chizor Malize, said: “The world of work is changing rapidly, and competition for the right talent is fierce. Graduate talents have for decades been primarily identified and employed based on academic excellence, however, in the emerging world of work, creativity, innovation, and work ready skills have become the non-negotiable indicators for competitive advantage, and to evaluate capabilities.

    “It is, therefore, important for youths to build critical skills that will equip them for the requirements of the Future of Work in the ever-evolving business landscape. The value FITC FOWA is bringing to corporations at this time cannot be overemphasised. By equipping youths and creating a pool of well engaged workforce for organisations, FITC FOWA will be  strengthening the economy and the society in general.”

    Last July, FITC launched its Youth Connect Initiatives to create a platform for youths.  The 2020 Youth Connect Essay Competition,  its flagship programme, was organised for undergraduates in higher institutions of learning.

    FITC FOWA is designed to be instructor-led, with participants having access to interact with the academy’s world-class facilitators, participate in class exercises, hands-on sessions, and real-time assessments.

  • Wema Bank, MOD unveil scheme for foreign students

    Wema Bank, MOD unveil scheme for foreign students

    By Collins Nweze

    Wema Bank Plc has launched an advisory and loan scheme, the Education Advisory Service, in partnership with MOD Education for young Nigerians wishing to study abroad.

    The event held last weekend in Victoria Island, Lagos.

    Divisional Head, Retail Business, Wema Bank, Dotun Ifebogun explained that the initiative would aid Nigerians requiring support in paying for their wards in foreign schools.

    He explained that Wema Bank does not want the aspirations of Nigerians desirous of foreign education truncated, hence the support.

    Read Also: Wema Bank assures on financial fundamentals

    “We are interested in everything that concerns our customers, and education is one of them. Some parents and guardians desire a certain quality of education for their wards outside the shores of Nigeria, and we would be able to assist them with this product. Our school fees advance loan results from the requests of parents and guardians who need to get short term financial support to meet the tuition obligation of their wards irrespective of the constant increase in fees.

    “There’s nothing as heartbreaking as withdrawing a child already in a foreign university or being unable to raise the requisite forex for a child offered admission in a top-rated foreign institution of higher learning. But our school fees advance loan will take care of this problem and help secure the futures of such students – both undergraduates and postgraduates. The fact that you get counsel from the right sources at any particular time is another benefit of this product.

    Also, the Managing Director, MOD Education, Michael Dosunmu, expressed gratitude to Wema Bank for the partnership. “Wema Bank has been supportive to us as a business and it was just a natural marriage. We trust the bank enough to bank with them, and our trust is enough to recommend it to others.”

     

  • FATE Foundation marks 20th Anniversary

    FATE Foundation marks 20th Anniversary

    By Collins Nweze

    FATE Foundation has launched a report as part of activities marking its two decades of funding businesses.

    The report also covered its COVID-19 response, through the FATE Philanthropy COVID Coalition support funds.

    Also, the report chronicles FATE its journey of supporting Nigerians and their businesses from inception in March, last year, highlighting the foundation’s inception stories, programme offerings and how they have evolved over the years.

    It equally captures the  impact, entrepreneurs and initiatives supported, volunteers who have supported the foundation, partners who have collaborated, and various stakeholders who have enabled their work.

    Executive Director, FATE Foundation, Adenike Adeyemi draws attention to how the impact learnings from the report is helping the foundation envision to make more impact in the nation’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

    She shared insight on some projects inaugurated to make this a reality and to celebrate the 20 years’ milestone like the Nigerian Entrepreneurship’ Handbook Series, Ecosystem Mapping tool, The FATE Story Documentary, INSIGHTS by FATE Foundation and E-learning Platform to provide asynchronous and self-paced entrepreneurship training.

    Adeyemi further expressed that the report captures the foundation’s dedication to tackling unemployment through impact-driven enterprise development initiatives over the course of two decades and presenting entrepreneurship as a compelling alternative to paid employment for graduates.

    “I am incredibly proud that through FATE Foundation we have disseminated values of integrity and resilience, and a culture of enterprise, innovation, and solutions. FATE businesses are solutions to economic problems and gap in the market. FATE entrepreneurs are distinguished by their resilience and their sense of community.”

     

  • GTBank pays N3 dividend to shareholders

    GTBank pays N3 dividend to shareholders

    By Collins Nweze

    Shareholders of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc at the weekend endorsed the payment of a total dividend of N3 per share to shareholders for the financial year ended December 31, 2020.

    This was at the bank’s 31st Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos.

    The bank had proposed a final dividend of N2.70 per unit of ordinary share held by shareholders in addition to the interim dividend of 30k interim dividend earlier paid in June 2020.

    GTBank, according to the results presented to and applauded by shareholders at the AGM, recorded increase in performance indicators despite the challenging operating environment last year.

    A shareholder, Mr. Tunji Bamidele, commended the bank’s Board and management for sustaining profit and dividend payment in spite of the harsh and challenging economy experienced in the year 2020 as a result of the pandemic that challenged the world.

    Applauding the Managing Director’s leadership, Bamidele noted that his steering of the bank in the past 10 years has been a blessing to shareholders and the bank’s well-meaning stakeholders.

    The bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Segun Agbaje,  said: “We continue to receive positive and goodwill messages for the role we played at the height of the pandemic, especially for putting together, a 110-bed Isolation Centre, with an intensive care unit, with the Lagos State Government,” he said, citing the bank’s Excellence in Leadership in Africa Awardb which was  created by the renowned Euromoney Magazine to spotlight private institutions at the forefront of tackling the pandemic.

    Agbaje also spoke about GTBank’s solid performance in a challenging year and his confidence in the organisation’s ability to keep delivering for all its stakeholders.

    “The strength, scale and liquidity of our balance sheet, coupled with the quality of our past decisions and the efficacy of our digital-first customer-centric strategy gave us the resilience and flexibility to navigate the economic shocks and market volatility that dominated the year.”

    “Amid the many challenges that persist, we remain ardent believers in Africa’s growth potential. Our world is increasingly digital, and we see it opening new and exciting opportunities for empowering people and uplifting our communities. With our commitment to deepening customer relationships and intense focus on delivering innovative financial solutions, we enter 2021 well-positioned,” he added.

  • ‘Support women entrepreneurs’

    ‘Support women entrepreneurs’

    Governments at all levels, the Organised Private sector (OPS) and other leading businesses have been advised to increase leadership and business opportunities for women.

    Speakers at a webinar organised by the VFD Group, with the theme: “Leave no woman behind: The 50 per cent rule”, said women should be empowered to realise their potential and create value for the society.

    The event was organised to mark the International Women’s Day tagged ‘#choosetochallenge’.

    The Managing Director, Everdon Bureau De Change, a subsidiary of the VFD Group, Theresa Ezeh, however, stressed that competence should be considered above every other thing.

    Responding to a question on if today’s workplace is a safer place for women than it was a decade ago, she said: “For me, it a yes and a no answer. The yes side is that, there is more and more awareness being put out. People are becoming more aware.

    “But on the no side is the fact that the issue of tokenism to a large extent exists and on that basis you cannot genuinely say that equal opportunities are provided as it were; we cannot say that equal opportunities are provided to both males and females and based on that, it is a no.

    “But what we can do is to create more awareness, do your bit in the circle you have influence in and ensure that women are not intimidated.”

    Ezeh said: “We should provide the same opportunities and the same level playing ground, and on the basis of those evaluations, pick the woman who is best fit for the job.

    “And it will be expected in such circumstances where a woman who is best fitted for the job is not unnecessarily discriminated against in terms of expectations about the long run.”

    The founder of Lighthouse Women’s Network as well as a corporate communications specialist, Nkiru Olumide-Ojo, stressed the need for increased opportunities for women.

    According to her, it is important to ensure that women are evenly represented and provided with the right equity.

    The Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications and CSR at Oando Plc, Alero Balogun, emphasised the need for education at all levels in the country, especially among women.

  • DLM Capital acquires Links mfb

    DLM Capital acquires Links mfb

    DLM Capital Group, a leading developmental investment bank, has announced its acquisition of Links Microfinance Bank.

    The microfinance bank licence will enable DLM Capital Group to operate small scale banking and launch of its star digital lending brand, Sofri, in the second quarter of this year.

    DLM Capital Group’s acquisition of Links MFB represents an entry into new businesses and complementary enhancements to the institution’s existing subsidiaries.

    First, this prospect opens new market opportunities for the bank on the African continent. Second, the acquisition will enable the institution to exit its ‘legacy bank’ visibility and work more with the fintech community to build a ‘challenger bank’ brand that proffers innovative technological solutions for the Nigerian market.

    Read Also: App for budget execution coming

     

    The Corporate Communications Manager, DLM Capital Group, Chinwendu Ohakpougwu, stated: “We are excited about our acquisition of Links MFB and how it enhances the growth trajectory of our business. This highly strategic acquisition represents another significant milestone for us on our journey as a resilient and well-capitalised financial institution with advanced scale and capacity to deliver sustainable and best-in-class financial services within the market. We are confident that this decade will be bullish for Nigeria’s tech space and are ready to work with the fintech community in strengthening the solutions necessary to meet consumer needs.”

    DLM Capital Group prides itself as a foremost developmental investment bank in Africa and functions as sole arranger to more than 80 per cent of structured finance transactions in Nigeria with 100 per cent of  securitisation transactions.

  • App for budget execution coming

    App for budget execution coming

    The Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Clem Agba, has said the ministry will soon launch a web application called ‘Eye-Mark’ to track projects executed  with budget funds.

    Also, he said it is not true that the health and educational sector were underfunded.

    The minister made this known at the National Assembly (NASS)/Budget Office of the Federation of Nigeria (BoF) Retreat/Workshop on the Budget Process in Lagos State.

    “I don’t agree that the health sector and the educational sectors are not properly funded. What happens is that, most people who are analysing just take a look at what had been given under the ministry of health, or education. But when talking about the sector, there are fundings that are meant for those sectors that aren’t domiciled in those ministries. The Universal Basic Education (UBEC) fund, for instance, is not domiciled with ministry of education. TET-Fund is not domiciled with the ministry of education.

    “So, if you want to talk about the educational sector, you have to talk about what has been given to the ministry, TET-Fund, UBEC, and it doesn’t even stop there.  Ministry of Works is doing a lot of intervention in federal universities, doing roads and all, that is educational sector. Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning has got schools where statisticians are trained, but the funding for that does not show in Ministry of Education,” he said.

    Also, Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Jibrin Barau, said: “I have the fullest confidence that the 2021 budget will be well implemented and will go a long way to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerian people, and also bring about sound development that will take this country to the next level.’’

    On the other hand, the Chairman House Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Muktar  Betara, said: “I have the fullest confidence that the 2021 Budget will be well implemented and will go a long way to alleviate the sufferings of Nigerian people, and also bring about sound development that will take this country to the next level.’’

  • Reaching the unbanked with technology

    Reaching the unbanked with technology

    Banking the unbanked is one of the key elements of economies that want inclusive growth. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and private sector operators are taking steps to ensure that more people have access to financial services in the urban town and rural communities. MoMo Agent, one of the aunt banking platforms, is using technology to bring banking to the unbanked

     

    Imagine being in a rural area or even a local market and there appears to be no bank or an Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in sight.

    That means access to cash will be limited, and in some cases, impossible.

    This appears to be an apt description of the situation prior to the advent of agent banking in Nigeria because traditional financial institutions only provide financial services to places with huge concentration of their customers. Oftentimes, these are in highbrow areas, urban and semi-urban areas.

    With over 300,000 mobile money agents spread across the country, MoMo Agent has taken financial inclusion to underserved population.

    CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele has advised banks and other financial institutions to take steps that would bring banking closer to the people even the immense benefits it presents.

    Prior to the MoMo Agent launch in August 2019, less than 70 per cent of adults had access to basic financial services, according to Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFinA).

    MoMo Agent came to help fill this gap by providing basic financial services to the communities ignored by traditional banks. Its strategic agent coverage is extensive and majorly includes rural and semi-urban areas.

    With this, residents in these communities can have access to cash-to-cash transactions, bill payments, sending and receiving cash, and more, without having to visit a bank or an ATM.

    A GSM Association report on the state of the mobile money industry in 2019 stated that the number of agent outlets worldwide has almost tripled over the past five years.

    The report also mentioned that the reach of a mobile money agent is seven times that of ATMs and 20 times that of bank branches. This data, which also captures the mobile money market is indicative of the growth at home. There has been a proliferation of mobile money agents in rural areas and inner cities of urban areas. These mobile money agents who provide inaccessible financial services are alternatives to traditional banking systems like banks and ATMs in these communities.

    An Abuja-based financial expert, Martins Obiora, said important consideration is: “How did people in rural areas perform financial transactions before?” Typically, they had to walk miles to visit the “nearest” bank to their community.

    “This was mostly unproductive for them, so they relied on cash-to-cash transactions. After the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) introduced the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) in 2012 and subsequently the agent banking guidelines, agent banking came to the rescue. It is based on this backdrop that the Super Agent network service, MoMo Agent provides safe and accessible money transfer services in financially underserved communities,” he said.

    Continuing, he said: “How do these underserved communities perform their financial transactions now? First, they no longer have to walk those miles to banks and ATMs again. All they need do now is dial *223# on their mobile phone (any type of phone) using MTN line and locate the nearest registered MoMo Agent to them. Most times, this is just some metres away.”

    What transactions do they carry out? Due to the non-availability of banks and ATMs in these underbanked regions, people engage in cash-to-cash transactions for their daily operations. This is why MoMo Agents carry out cash transactions for their customers without an ATM card or POS machine. Some of them even receive money sent to them from their relatives in the city, while others send money to their children in the university.

    The MoMo Agent service has  been expanded to include broader means of sending and receiving money, paying utility bills and other kinds of bills, buying airtime and data, bulk payment, as well as card-less cash withdrawal from over 20 banks and 20 other financial institutions in the country.

  • Stanbic IBTC Bank launches Innovative SMS banking solution

    Stanbic IBTC Bank launches Innovative SMS banking solution

    Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, has launched its 3S (SMS/Self Service) banking solution with funds transfer and bill payment capabilities. This is unique a SMS banking solution with a bundle of functionalities.

    This service will enable customers to initiate transactional and non-transactional banking activities by sending a short message from their registered phone number to a custom number – 30909.

    Customers with feature phones and those with limited access to the internet can seamlessly initiate secure transaction requests or other general service requests to the bank.

    According to Wole Adeniyi, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, the 3S Banking Solution is one of the organization’s offerings aimed at infusing digital banking to deliver solutions to customers’ banking needs.

    He said that “Stanbic IBTC leverages on communication protocols and services available on a mobile device such as SMS to bring more convenience to its customers. The 3S Banking Solution possesses funds transfer and bill payment capabilities. It is simple to use and can be adopted by all our customers.”

    Furthermore, the Innovation & Product Manager, Solomon Ayodele, said; “Stanbic IBTC remains committed to the delivery of innovative solutions to enhance customer experience and increase financial inclusion in the country. This is one of its kind in the industry and globally, and it alludes to our commitment in ensuring we empower lives through Innovation.”

  • Access Bank funds Lagos City Marathon

    Access Bank funds Lagos City Marathon

    By Collins Nweze

    In a bid to ensure the health and safety of all runners and essential service workers amid the global COVID-19 pandemic, the title sponsors of the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, Access Bank PLC, has announced that the Lagos City Marathon will be held virtually for interested 10km runners this year.

    The marathon, scheduled for April 10, 2021 can only accommodate 300 runners in line with the guidelines provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO), World Athletics and the Lagos State Ministry of Health.

    Speaking on the development, Access Bank’s Executive Director of Retail Banking, Victor Etuokwu said, “Our primary consideration is the health and safety of participants, attendees and staff that will be a part of the Lagos City Marathon. This is why we decided to have an exclusive virtual event – that allows participants from all over the world to run the race wherever they are.

    ‘’While we regret that we can’t host the live 10km race and fanfare that have become synonymous with the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, we continue to stand with the other sponsors to preserve public health as we look forward to hosting a successful marathon. We implore all well-meaning Lagosians to please adhere to the movement guidelines put in place by the Lagos State Government to ensure that the marathon fulfills its purpose of positively placing Lagos and indeed the whole of Africa on the global map,” he concluded.

    Though audience participation may have changed, the organisers have also announced that the race route will largely remain the same. Runners will begin the race from the National Stadium, Surulere, opposite Teslim Balogun Stadium and finish at the Eko Atlantic City, Victoria Island.

    Now in its sixth edition, the Silver – Labelled Access Bank Lagos City Marathon has featured over 200,000 registered athletes from over 12 participating countries collectively covering a distance of 42,000 kilometers.