Category: Money

By Taofik Salako

The board of directors of May & Baker Nigeria Plc has appointed Senator Daisy Danjuma as the chairman of the company. She succeeded Lt General Theophilus Danjuma who retired on September 27, 2019 after 16 years as director and chairman of board of directors of May & Baker Nigeria Plc.

Directors of the healthcare company, at their meeting on September 27, 2019, appointed Daisy Danjuma to lead the company. She was first appointed to the board of directors of the healthcare company on July 30, 1999 and retired on October 8, 2003 and was later reappointed on May 30, 2019.

She brings to the leadership of the board of the healthcare company over 42 years wealth of experience in legal, administrative and public service. A 1976 law graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, she was called to the Nigerian bar in 1977.  She was chairman board of directors,   South Atlantic Petroleum Limited between 1999 and 2003 and currently the executive vice chairman of the company.

She worked as a State Counsel   with the Lagos State Ministry of Justice in the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).  She was a pioneer legal counsel to the Legal Aid Council and later worked as the company secretary and legal adviser to the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) between 1982 and 1992.

Between 2003 and 2007 she served as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As a Senator, she was Chairman Women and Child Rights Committee of the Economic Community of West African States, (ECOWAS), Chairman Senate Committee on Women Affairs and Youth Development and a member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. She also served as a member of the Senate Committees on Health, Education, Finance and Land Transport.

An alumnus of the Lagos Business School (LBS), a member of the International Bar Association, the Nigerian Bar Association, and the International Federation of Women Lawyers, Senator Daisy Danjuma is also the Chairman of Board of Trustees of Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership, and Trustee of the H.I.D Awolowo Foundation.

Market analysts have applauded the contributions of Theophilus Danjuma to the strengthening of May & Baker Nigeria as a leading healthcare company in nearly two decades despite the challenges in the operating environment.

Danjuma, who was appointed to the board of the healthcare company in 2003, led the company to many landmarks including the construction of one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa, The Pharma Complex of May & Baker Nigeria. The Pharma Complex is certified by the World Health Organization (WHO) for Good Manufacturing Practice, one of the few African drug production companies to be so qualified.

He also led the company in pioneering expansion into crucial areas of the healthcare industry including the perfection of a joint venture with the Federal Government of Nigeria to set up West Africa’s first private vaccine production company, Biovaccines Nigeria Limited.

From a turnover of about N1 billion, Danjuma grew the company to a turnover of about N10 billion with steady profit and dividend records. Under him, May & Baker Nigeria won many national and international laurels including the National Productivity Order of Merit Award, 2018.

A retired soldier, administrator and business mogul, Danjuma had served on the boards of several companies.  He has several national and international awards including the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) and National Honours of Somalia and Poland.

A philanthropist, he is the founder and promoter of TY Danjuma Foundation, a leading philanthropic organisation focused on the wellbeing of the less privileged and the general good of the society.

By Collins Nweze

The Executive Director, Operations and Information, Fidelity Bank Plc, Gbolahan Joshua has advised data validation agencies and organisations to adopt appropriate policies that provide financial institutions with the required flexibility to utilise customer data.

He gave the counsel during a panel session at the 10th anniversary celebration of Verve in Lagos recently, explained that this would assist banks in the country drive new levels of customer engagements across digital channels and systems. He harped on the need for data generating institutions in Nigeria to explore fresh ways to collaborate with one another. Alluding to the importance of data validation as a major driver in enhancing the Know Your Customer (KYC) policy, Joshua noted that harmonization of disparate databases will accelerate lending processes by Banks.

“Digital identity is very critical in digital banking operations. Industry collaboration must be embraced by both financial institutions and database generating institutions to simplify digital banking operations” he said.

Whilst stating that the bank was not averse to data sharing, Joshua said that the lender had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Open Technology Foundation (OTF) for the adoption of a standard Application Programming Interface (API) for its operations as a financial institution.

Open Banking is a system that provides a user with a network of financial institutions’ data through the use of application programming interfaces (APIs). The Open Banking Nigeria Standard defines how financial data and services should be created, shared and accessed.

Read Also: Wema Bank, BoA Group sign multi-currency pact

By relying on networks instead of centralisation, open banking helps customers to securely share their financial data with other financial institutions.

The panel discussion was moderated by Chief Executive Officer, Verve International, Mike Ogbalu III.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Payment Processing, Interswitch, Akeem Lawal, Head, Consumer Distribution, Ecobank Nigeria, Stanley Jacob and Executive Director, Retail Bank, FCMB, Olu Akanmu also featured as panelist at the event.

Mike Ogbalu expressed gratitude to Fidelity Bank and all partners of verve that were present at the event whilst assuring them that endless possibilities awaits the digital space in Banking.

The event which offered a unique opportunity for all participants to network with the industry’s brightest, had in attendance, a number business leaders and industry experts who gave valuable insights into the latest tech trends and shared experiences.

By Collins Nweze

Wema Bank has signed a multi-country partnership agreement with Bank of Africa Group (BoA) as it looks to facilitate bilateral trade services for its customers across Africa.

The partnership agreement was executed by its Managing Director/CEO,  Ademola Adebise, and CEO of BoA Group, Amine Bouabid.

The Head Brand and Marketing Communications, Wema Bank, Mrs Funmilayo Falola and BoA Group Chairman,  Brahim Benjelloun Touimi and other executives of both banks.

Under the terms of the agreement, the two financial institutions committed to deepening the relationship between them around the Pan African trade ecosystem (trade facilitation, correspondent banking among others).

Speaking on the partnership agreement, Adebise said: “At Wema Bank, digital innovation is in our DNA and we are bringing that same creativity to our partnership with BoA. This partnership will allow us to expand and redefine the galaxy of opportunities available to our individual and corporate customers as we lead them into the African continent off the back of the new African Continental Free Trade Agreement. With this partnership, our customers will now have seamless business transactions across countries with Bank of Africa’s presence.

It is an absolute joy for us to be able to make doing business easier for our customers in partnership with the Bank of Africa.”

Read Also: N5tr AMCON debt: MDAs join recovery drive

Adebise also added that both banks will further benefit from an opportunity to promote bilateral trade services which will include Import and Export services, Bonds and Guarantees, and Structured Finance collaborations under the new partnership agreement.

On behalf of the BoA, Bouabid said: “We are very happy to conclude this partnership with Wema Bank because it is in line with our will to always offer innovative, simple and useful solutions to our customers, and in this case in particular, to the companies that trust us. I hope that the link we create between woman Bank and BoA will facilitate and therefore increase economic exchanges with this great country that is Nigeria.”

I also see it as an example of collaboration between a Francophone Africa and an Anglophone Africa that must absolutely be encouraged and duplicated. Lastly, I would like to remind you that the Group I head is present in both French and English speaking Africa and that it plays its full role as an economic integrator. “

By Collins Nweze

Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab  Ahmed has advised the management of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) led by Ahmed Kuru, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer to do everything with the powers of its newly amended Act to recover the huge debt owed the Corporation by a few individuals and organisations in the country.

Other Ministries Agencies and Departments (MDAs) including the Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mamman Ahmadu also declared their willingness to collaborate with AMCON in its quest to recover the debt, which he said will help liberate the economy as well as improve the commonwealth of the nation.

The BPP chief said the bureau has intensified its due diligence process and will ensure that those seeking contract from the government are scrutinised to establish the fact that they are not on the list of AMCON debtors before contracts are awarded.

Read Also: Fed Govt earmarks N1.4tr to settle AMCON, local contractors, others

Mrs. Ahmed spoke in Abuja during the quarterly briefing of the Ministry of Finance, attended by agencies under the supervision of the Ministry. While commending AMCON on the national assignment, she however said she expects a lot more from the Corporation especially now that President Muhammadu Buhari has signed the amended 2019 AMCON Act into law, which gives additional powers to AMCON to deal with the obligors.

“AMCON must ensure that the debts are recovered before the sunset, which is around the corner,” she said.

If AMCON at sunset AMCON fails to recover the huge bad loans, the debt will become government problem, which the government is not willing to carry. Therefore, everything must be done to ensure that AMCON recovers the debt from the obligors because it will have a huge positive impact on the economy,” the minister said.

While urging all the agencies under the ministry’s supervision to always remember the 11 priority areas of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in the discharge of their duties, the Minister added that the quarterly meeting had become critical because it creates the enabling platform for sister agencies of government to cross-fertilise ideas for improved collaboration and delivery.

 Collins Nweze

The Federal Government’s projection of N8.2 trillion revenue in 2020 is not realistic based on past budget achievements, a report by Afrinvest West Africa, an investment and research firm, has shown.

According to the report, the 2020 revenue target  is 17.1 per cent higher than N7 trillion in 2019 and more than twice the actual collection of N4 trillion last year.

The planned spending of the Federal Government at N10.3 trillion for 2020 represents a 13.2 per cent increase from the previous year’s N9.1 trillion. This is aggressive when we consider Federal Government’s recent revenue woes which is likely to persist. In the broader context, the proposed expenditure is neither large enough nor supportive of the country’s growth aspirations at 6.7 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

‘’Nigeria’s gross expenditure to GDP which we estimate at 12.2 per cent compares poorly with peer economies, such as South Africa (33.6 per cent), Egypt (29.9 per cent), Kenya (25.4 per cent) and Ghana (23.6 per cent).

It said oil revenue projection was lowered by 29.7 per cent to N2.6 trillion  as against N3.7 trillion in the year, reflecting prudent adjustments in the wake of lower for longer oil prices and weak oil production due to the slow pace of oil and gas reforms.

Afrinvest said: “Specifically, crude oil price and production assumptions were revised downward to $57 per barrel and 2.18 million barrel per day. Oil revenue would be higher if the exchange rate assumption of N305/$1 is adjusted to the market rate of $365/$1. On the other hand, non-oil revenue projections (customs & excise duties, Value Added Tax and Company Income Tax) increased by 28.6 per cent to N1.8 trillion as against N1.4 trillion in 2019 while we observed a marked 94.7 per cent surge in independent and other revenues budgeted at N3.7 trillion as against N1.9 trillion in 2019.”

It disclosed that although the recent trend in core non-oil revenue has been positive, the projected increase is steep and unlikely to be achieved. ‘’We await the full breakdown of non-oil revenue for further analysis,’’ the report added.

Credit Direct Limited has celebrated the Customer Service Week by rewarding its customers and workers.

The week-long celebration  was aimed at appreciating the importance of customer service.

Every outlet of the company across Nigeria was engaged in various activities to make the week colourful and remarkable.

The lineup for the Week included: Colleague Appreciation Day; Moments with the MD, when the Managing Director, Akinwande Ademosu called to appreciate outstanding customers and staff members of the company.

There was also Community Engagement Projects, where various corporate social responsibility initiatives were execute (Renovating 25 schools, providing seats and study materials to schools, providing pipe borne water to communities, among others) to enhance the well-being of their host communities.

The firm provided free medical checks to civil servants in select locations.

The week was rounded off with a Costume Day,  where  workers represented any tribe of choice by wearing  cultural dresses. This was done to appreciate Nigeria’s rich diversity and promote unity among staff members.

Ademosu expressed his gratitude to staff members for their commitment. He charged them on delivering excellent services. He promised to ensure that Credit Direct would provide the right environment to foster service and excellence.

Divisional Head, Customer Experience & Corporate Communications, Credit Direct Limited, Achia Tor-Agbidye said: “Credit Direct is committed to offering excellent services to our customers, both old and new. We are using this medium to appreciate and reward our customers for their continued support and preference for Credit Direct services and our customer service teams for their commendable work all year round.”

Baobab Microfinance Bank Nigeria, formerly Microcred Nigeria, has disbursed over N55 billion  loans to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in its 10 years of operation.

Managing Director of the bank,  Kazeem Olanrewaju, disclosed this at the 10th Anniversary of the bank held in Lagos.

He said the bank has over 100,000 customer base and capital base N3.5 billion which will be increased to N5 billion before the end of the first quarter of 2020.

Appraising the banks’ operations, Olanrewaju said customers with outstanding loans are about 23,000, branch network is 20, staff strength is 528.

On the Central Bank of Nigeria’s directive that banks should give 65 per cent as loans, he said this has heightened competition in the sector as the commercial banks are out to get people to lend to.

He said, “The regulation on us is zero as we have been giving more than that as loans except for the commercial banks and this can only lead to customers getting the best of service and rates.

“ The competition is expected to drive down the costs of loans in Nigeria and that is what you will see. Extending from there, you will see growth in the manufacturing sector as loans will become cheaper and people with investment will have where to go”.

He said the cost of funds and interests on loans in Nigeria has affected the capacity of people to grow business which is why we don’t see many manufacturing businesses around and this policy is very hard for some banks as they won’t comply but at the end of the day, its going to be for the good of all.

For the next 10 years and going forward, he said they have started another journey that will lead to the introduction of digital banking where people can access loans from their phones and they become a household name in the service that they provide.

Group CEO of the lender, Philip Sigwart, said he is in Nigeria to celebrate the occasion and encourage the workers as the country has the potential to be the biggest branch in Africa.

Sigwart said more technological adoption will be done as they intend to take banking to the people with their unique offerings and services that will make it easier for customers to transact business with them.