Eleven finalists in the second edition of the Zenith Tech Fair have received N53 million prize money won at the hackathon session of the programme, held in Lagos.

Some of the winners also got mentorship with Seedstars, a company dedicated to implementing high-quality capacity-building programmes for entrepreneurs in emerging markets.

The event, with theme “Future Forward 2.0” had over 500 contestants, which saw  Ecotutu, a cleantech company making cooling affordable and accessible for businesses, especially in the agricultural sector, emerge as the overall winner. The company received the grand prize of N20 million and mentorship programme offer with Seedstars.

The first runner-up, Foris Labs, an app-based platform that allows students to conduct science experiments individually and in groups interactively via their mobile phones, won N15 million and a mentorship programme with Seedstars.

The second runner-up, Finva, a start-up which helps creditors offer credits at low risk, won N10 million as well as a mentorship programme with Seedstars. Other finalists who took home N1 million each include Sanwo, Itinu -Ev, Eduvacity, Green Bii, Zion Robotics, Sono Care, Base, and I grow Africa.

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Speaking during the presentation of the prize monies, the Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, congratulated all the finalists for coming this far in the competition. He reiterated the bank’s readiness to provide all that is necessary to make the budding entrepreneurs succeed.

According to him, “all finalists would be enlisted into our incubation lab for grooming and mentorship. Our expectation is that we are going to scale and grow them just like the zenith brand. So, looking at what we have gone through, I can tell you that so much iron has been loaded on fire. The only thing left is to activate the digital talents, tech skills and entrepreneurship that would culminate in a new digital economy for Nigeria”.

Described as a huge success by participants, the two-day Tech Fair featured presentations on the leading technological innovations that cut across different aspects of life, such as Artificial Intelligence, Computing, Machine Learning, Blockchain, Robotics, Big Data, FinTech, Augmented Reality, Data Analytics, 5G and Communication Technologies, with the keynote address, “The Future of Banking: Digital Transformation Journey”, delivered by Brett King, the renowned futurist, bestselling author, award-winning speaker, Founder of Moven and Author of Bank 4.0.

The event also featured a goodwill message by Jim Ovia, Founder and Chairman of Zenith Bank and opening remarks by Ebenezer Onyeagwu, Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc and Chairman of Body of Banks’ CEOs, Nigeria. Other eminent IT practitioners from top global brands who also made presentations include; Tarik Alatovic, Senior Partner, McKinsey; Juliet Ehimuan, West Africa Director, Google; Ola Williams, Country Manager, Microsoft Inc.; Andrew Uaboi, Vice President/Head, Visa West Africa; Mrs Rakiya Mohammed, Director of Information Technology, CBN; Chris Lu, Managing Director, Huawei Technologies Nigeria, and Dame  Adaora Umeoji, Deputy Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc, amongst others.

The fair featured three panel sessions. The first panel, which examined “The future of payments: what next and how can we get there”, had Prof. Yinka David West of Lagos Business School as the host, with four discussants, including Agada Apochi, Managing Director, UPSL; Olu Akanmu, Managing Director, Opay; Premier Oiwoh, Managing Director, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBBS); and Kari Tukur, Vice President & Head of Products East/West Africa, MasterCard.

The second panel explored the theme “What are the main challenges of digital transformation in the financial industry? How do we solve them?”. It was hosted by Brett King and had four discussants, including Tosin Eniolorunda, Managing Director, TeamApt; Obi Emetarom, Managing Director, Appzone; Dr. Babatunde Obrimah, Chief Operating Officer, FintechNGR; and Olugbenga Agboola, Founder/CEO, Flutterwave.

The third panel discussion, titled “Driving the global trade revolution with technology: current transformation trends”, was hosted by Samuel Eze, Founder/CEO, Ourpass, and had five discussants, including Mike Ogbalu III, Managing Director, PAPSS; Akeem Lawal, Divisional CEO, Interswitch; Massimiliano Spalazzi, Country Manager, Jumia; and Dr. Ozoemena Nnaji, Director of Trade & Exchange, Central Bank of Nigeria.

The naira yesterday appreciated against the dollar trading at N785/$1 at the parallel market from N795/$ at last week’s close.

The naira pickup against the dollar came after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) lifted interest rates by one percentage point to 16.5 per cent in a bid to cut inflation. The inflation hit hit a 17-year high of 21.1 per cent in October.

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele said it will continue raising rates until inflation starts coming down.

Forex Trader with AZA Finance, Ikenga Kalu, said the apex bank has now hiked rates by five percentage points since May.

“Despite the Naira’s rate-induced bump, we expect weakness to resume in the coming days as forex demand picks up on the parallel market,” he said in emailed note to investors.

Read Also; CBN disburses N41.02b to farmers through Anchor Borrowers Programme

Global Chief Economist at Renaissance Capital (RenCap), Charles Robertson, said Nigeria is in a difficult position and needs to increase its dollar earnings and other revenue to support the naira.

He said Nigeria should hike taxes, raise more revenue as the country’s current position is so bad, that it has never been witnessed in the last three decades.

Robertson, who is also RenCap’s Head Macro-strategy Unit, added: ”Things are not looking pretty good for Nigeria and other emerging markets. Oil production in Nigeria has fallen so badly in the last few years and oil prices is also about falling more. We are going to see disinflationary policies coming because we are approaching recession,” he said.

Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, said the naira is falling on the back of heightened forex demand compared to limited forex supply.

He said: “Nigerian consumers, businesses and individuals alike are facing challenges and headwinds and are reeling in an atmosphere of hopelessness. This is because of a myriad of factors.”

“Notably, the precipitous fall of the naira in the forex market, the power supply shortage and now the almost unaffordable price of diesel. In spite of the hike in interest rates, we are witnessing what some analysts fear may become a bout of runaway inflation.  Inflation is not just domestic but global.”

Managing Director, Cowry Asset Management Limited, Johnson Chukwu, said that to save the naira, Nigeria needs to build an economy that is net exporter of valuable goods and services to earn more dollars.

A new report from Africa’s foremost digital economy consultancy, TechCabal Insights has revealed that acquisitions have become more frequent in Africa’s tech ecosystem, showing signs of a maturing market. According to the report, 2021 saw 32 acquisition deals on the continent.

At the end of third quarter of 2022, there were about 43 acquisition deals, signaling a consolidation trend.

After two years of continuous growth in VC investment, funding announcements have hit a plateau. Startups have resorted to cutting costs to extend their runway, and acquisition deals have become necessary for survival, particularly with startups operating in the same market. The number of acquisitions between startups operating in the same market increased from 31 per cent in second quarter to 52 per cent in third quarter 2022.

The State of Tech in Africa Report compiled by TechCabal Insights, also found that the average seed ticket size remained stable at $2.5 million in second quarter and $2.7 million in third quarter.

A new narrative has emerged in Africa in recent years, embodied by the exponential growth of funding for technology startups. Investment in African startups grew 18 times between 2015 and 2021 and twice faster than global rates between 2020 and 2021. However, beyond the funding stories, there are the quieter tales of exits. By the end of first half of 2022, African-focused private capital investors had already made 22 full exits, representing about a 29 per cent increase compared to the 15 exits made in 2021 first half.

Commenting on the ?ndings of the report, Head of TechCabal Insights, Olanrewaju Odunowo, said “When it comes to Africa’s evolving tech ecosystem, appropriate context and nuances must be taken into account. Data without context is imbalanced and misleading and can lead to the wrong outcomes. Beyond crunching the numbers, we have gathered robust insights drawn from primary interviews with leading industry experts. Our aim with this report is to present easy-to-digest insights and data points that anyone – from founders to investors will find valuable.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) disbursed N41.02 billion to farmers through Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) between September and October this year.

A report released by the apex bank disclosed that under the ABP  the apex bank disbursed N41.02 billion to several agricultural projects, bringing the cumulative disbursement under the Programme to N1.06 trillion to over 4.6 million smallholder farmers cultivating 21 commodities across the country.

The bank also disbursed N0.30 billion to finance large-scale agricultural projects under the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS). Consequently, the total disbursement under the Scheme for agro-production and agro-processing stands at N745.31 billion for 680 projects.

“In addition, the Bank released the sum of N48.30 billion under the N1.0 trillion Real Sector Facility to seven new real sector projects in agriculture, manufacturing, and services. Cumulative disbursement under this Facility currently stands at N2.15 trillion to 437 projects across the country, comprising projects in manufacturing (240), agriculture (91), services (93) and mining sector (13). Furthermore, under the 100 for 100 Policy on Production and Productivity (PPP),” it said.

The bank also disbursed the sum of N20.78 billion to nine projects in healthcare, manufacturing, and services. The cumulative disbursement under the Facility therefore, amounted to N114.17 billion in 71 projects. Moreover, the Bank disbursed N4.00 billion under the Intervention Facility for the National Gas Expansion Programme (IFNGEP) to promote the adoption of compressed natural gas (CNG) for transportation and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking.

In support of the resilience of the healthcare sector, the Bank also disbursed N5.02 billion to four (4) healthcare projects under the Healthcare Sector Intervention Facility (HSIF), bringing the cumulative disbursement to N135.56 billion for 135 projects in pharmaceuticals (33), hospitals (60) and other services (42).

Also, under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, the Bank provided support for entrepreneurship development with the disbursement of N1.33 billion and N10.00 million under the Agribusiness/Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme (AgSMEIS) and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (MSMEDF), respectively. Hence, the total disbursement under these interventions amounted to N150.22 billion and N96.08 billion, respectively. Under the Export Facilitation Initiative (EFI), the Bank provided support for export-oriented projects to the tune of N5.34 billion, such that the cumulative disbursement under this intervention stands at N44.58 billion.

According to the ABP guidelines, loans granted to the farmers are repaid with the harvested produce that are mandatorily delivered to the anchor at designated collection center in line with the provisions of the agreement signed.

The produce to be delivered covers the loan principal and interest. The benefiting smallholder farmers are those engaged in the production of rice, maize, wheat, cotton, cassava, potatoes, yam, ginger, oil palm, cocoa, rubber tomatoes, fishes, poultry, among others.

Also, the input suppliers submit expression of interest letter to the office of the Project Management Team (PMT) for consideration and issuance of local purchase orders.

The Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) provide insurance cover to the projects under the Programme,  ensure timely processing and settlement of claims serve as member of the PMT.

According to CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele,  the ABP, launched in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi state capital, in 2015 was meant to ensure easy loan access to farmers.

Under the ABP, farm inputs are provided in cash and kind to smallholder farmers (SHF), thus guaranteeing input supply to agro-processors.

During harvest, the farmer supplies produce to the agro-processors (anchors) who then pay the cash equivalent to the farmer. Rice, a major commodity under the ABP, is the third-most consumed staple food in Nigeria — after maize and cassava — and has become a food security crop due to its increased significance in the country.

The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has reiterated its critical role in contributing to the objectives of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) through the provision of deposit insurance coverage to depositors of licensed banks.

The NDIC’s activities, through the supervision of banks, not only enhances depositors’ confidence in the financial system, but also serves as incentive to the unbanked to access financial services of the licensed banks.

In a statement, NDIC Director, Communication and Public Affairs Department, Bashir A. Nuhu, said the Corporation has also been at the forefront of the implementation of the NFIS in Nigeria as a member of the National Financial Inclusion Governance Committee headed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Read Also: NDIC to pay 20 failed banks’ customers insured deposits 

The corporation said it is also part of the efforts to further enhance the attainment of national financial inclusion targets as the National Financial Inclusion Governance Committee sets to host the maiden International Financial Inclusion Conference 2022 scheduled to take place between November 24 and 25, 2022 in Abuja.

With the theme, ‘Financial Inclusion for all: Scaling Innovative Digital Models,’ the conference is the first to be held since the launch of the NFIS in 2012. The NFIS set the target of reducing the percentage of adult Nigerians that do not have access to financial services from 46.3 per cent in 2010 to 20.0 per cent in 2020.

“Since the launch of the NFIS, stakeholders have achieved great strides in achieving financial inclusion objectives which has resulted in the exclusion rate dropping from 46.3 per cent in 2010 to 35.9 per cent in 2020.

“The Corporation has contributed significantly to the nation’s financial inclusion objectives through provision of deposit protection to all licensed deposit taking institutions via its deposit insurance.

The World Bank Group has announced a Global Shield Financing Facility to help developing countries access more financing for recovery from natural disasters and climate shocks.

This facility will support the Global Shield Against Climate Risks, a joint initiative launched today at COP27 by the G7 and V20 to better protect poor and vulnerable people from disasters by pre-arranging more financing before disasters strike.

World Bank Managing Director of Operations, Axel van Trotsenburg, said: “We estimate that by 2040, over 130 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty by climate change”.

“Access to disaster risk finance and insurance solutions for low-income countries is part of the World Bank’s strategy for helping them adapt to the growing risks of natural disasters. We will contribute to the Global Shield initiative through our analytical and advisory work, policy dialogue and country lending operations,” he said.

Read Also: World Bank urges Fed Govt on fiscal adjustments

The Global Shield Financing Facility will channel grants to developing countries through World Bank projects or through projects prepared by other participating partners, including UN agencies and multilateral development banks. It will also work closely with key stakeholders, such as civil society organisations, risk pools, private sector and humanitarian partners.

The Global Shield Financing Facility will finance integrated financial protection packages that offer coordinated and consolidated financial support to those vulnerable to climate shocks and disasters. These financial packages will complement investments in climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

Such packages will also enable and mobilise private capital for improved financial resilience, by offering private financial solutions, including insurance and other risk transfer instruments such as catastrophe bonds.

The World Bank has been a longstanding partner to Germany and the U.K. in risk finance and has brought strong experience to the development of the Global Shield Against Climate Risks.

The Global Shield Financing Facility builds on the earlier Global Risk Financing Facility, established in 2018, which has supported country operations in Africa, Asia, and Small Island Developing States. The program has been paired with $3 billion in World Bank lending and helped to mobilize more than $1 billion in private sector capital.

UPDC Plc, a property development, management and investment company, has advised investors on ways to  maximise investment opportunities in Nigeria’s booming but volatile real estate sector.

The company made the disclosure at a summit to mark its 25th anniversary tagged, “Housing Development Imperatives for Nigeria; Prospects and Challenges”.

The summit provided an outlook of the real estate industry as the country steers towards the general elections in 2023.

UPDC Chairman and founder, Custodian Investment Plc, Wole Oshin, said raised N16 billion in a rights issue in June 2020, and has continued to restructure after the recapitalisation.

Also in 2020, the facility division of the company became a separate business – UPDC facilities Management Ltd. In 2021, Custodian Investment Ltd became the major shareholder in UPDC. The company has experienced a turnaround since then, increasing efficiency and expanding its business.

“As UPDC shifts from recapitalisation to maximising growth and opportunities, we continue to look forward, focusing on achieving profitability in the short to medium term, embarking on projects that increase profit and expand the company’s impact,” Oshin said.

Read Also: Nigeria needs tripled investment to achieve global sanitation targets –  Osinbajo

Its CEO, Odunayo Ojo, noted that “UPDC was the first real estate company to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange; and it offers the most-diversified portfolio of residential, commercial, retail and hospitality assets.”

He also noted that UPDC’s Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), a vehicle that offers opportunities for members of the public to contribute into an investment pool, was the largest real estate investment trust in Africa.

During the panel session, real estate expert, Senior Partner, Knight Frank Nigeria, Frank Okosun, spoke on the serious housing deficit in Nigeria, identifying some of the major challenges in the sector to include high cost of building materials, poor mortgage penetration and problems with land administration.

“There is a significant gap between the stock we have and the quality of houses that meet international standards as well as affordable ones,” said Okosun.

“Property ownership in Nigeria is still an elitist engagement. There should be a strategy for the big real estate firms to make home ownership affordable for lower income earners,” he added

Alan Davies, an architect, spoke on trends in the housing sector. He noted that Nigeria’s rising young population had led to higher demand in the one room and two-room apartments. He also noted the return to environmentally-responsible design in building.

“It is unfortunate that everything comes down to cost; not just the cost of building but also of maintenance. Reducing these costs is more critical than ever.” Mr. Alan said.

“Growth and access to finance for real estate projects will increasingly depend on creativity, innovation and adoption of technology amongst other factors. Today, there are global funds available for sustainability-oriented projects that meet Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals,” said Head of Property (Nigeria&West Africa), Standard Chartered Bank, Ann Ribu, who spoke on financing.

Ribu noted the various opportunities available for real estate financing in the country. She called for collaborations across various players in the value chain, with a strong emphasis on sustainability.

Surveyor-General of Lagos State Olutomi Sangowawa spoke on the legal and political framework for developing property. He also examined how Public-Private  Partnerships (PPP) could help solve the mass housing challenges.

The Inclusion for All Initiative, an advocacy programme that seeks to remove barriers that prevent the financial and economic inclusion of Nigeria’s poorest and most vulnerable communities, says women are less likely to have Identity Cards (IDs) needed for financial services.

The research identified the specific communities and groups that are most likely to be excluded from Nigeria’s identity system by analysing data from the 2020 Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access to Finance Survey.

The group’s recent research findings through an open-source data visualisation platform shows that women are less likely to have identity cards than men.

Read Also: UK launches $100m direct funding for women entrepreneurs

The report says that women over the age of 39 are progressively less likely to own identity card  than their male counterparts and the gender gap expands as respondents age increases.

This indicates that the older a woman is, the less likely she is to have and identity card.

The Inclusion for All platform allows interested stakeholders to navigate rich data-sets on inclusion that help the user understand the issues and challenges for themselves. The findings and platform, were launched recently.

Inclusion for All research has previously demonstrated that the poorer you are, the less likely you are to have identity card.

“The latest research sought to identify the specific communities and groups that are most likely to be excluded from Nigeria’s identity system, by analysing data from the 2020 Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access to Finance Survey. Some of the key findings are summarised below, and a wider selection of insights can be found by visiting the Inclusion for all website,” it said.

The Financial Markets Dealers Association of Nigeria (FMDA) has called for stable monetary and fiscal policy implementation to boost investment inflows to the economy.

The group also advocated stronger financial sector regulatory frameworks in a communique issued at the end of its 2022 financial markets conference in Lagos.

The keynote address themed: “Impact of Monetary Policy Framework and Liquid Markets on the Economy” was delivered by Chairman, Coronation Capital Limited, and FMDA Board of Trustees (BOT) Chairman Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.

The consensus among other participants from banks, regulatory institutions, non-bank financial institutions, small-scale entrepreneurs and other stakeholders was the need for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to bring down inflation rates to tolerable and target levels and curtail foreign exchange rate volatility.

“The need to note that financial markets only do not help economic growth but collective decision of the political and economic leaders of a nation creates desired growth. The relevance of the global Gross Domestic Product and global population on economic policies and its impact on economic growth needs to be studied by all financial market participants,” the group said.

Read Also: Interest rate hike, fiscal collaboration needful to tame inflation 

According to FMDA, financial sector regulators need to follow the multidimensional index to assess the quality of Monetary Policy Framework via the Accountability, Independence, Policy Operational Strategy and Communications (AIPOC).

The group highlighted the role of financial markets from the monetary point of view, international monetary funds function as a driver of fiscal policies and the influence of monetary pricing to economic growth.

It called for active collaboration between the CBN and the market, in ultimately instituting a rule-based regulatory framework for sustainable domestic growth.

The FMDA also called for pre-and post-Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)  interactive sessions with the CBN to strengthen trust between markets and regulators, contingency planning in anticipation of economic volatility improve inter-bank trading, liquidity, risk management and deepen financial products benefits.

The group said there was a need to attain price stability in the general price level of the domestic economy to foster sustainable economic growth.

CBN Director, Financial Markets Department (FMD), Mrs. Angela Sere-Ejembi, was represented by Deputy Director, Aderinola Shonekan.

Her presentation was on “Regulatory Framework and its effect on Liquid Markets”.

The CEO, Economic Associates,  Ayo Teriba, presented a paper on “National Economic Outlook and Essential tools for participation in Global Financial Markets”.

The Managing Director/CEO, FSDH Merchant Bank Limited, Mrs. Bukola Smith, delivered a paper on “Risk Management as Effective Tool to Drive Liquidity and Transparency” while Femi Okulaja of Bloomberg presented a paper on “Market Infrastructural Development: A Tools for Financial Markets Deepening and Recovery”.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) which are at the centre of economic development for people at the grassroots, will be achieved through the support of technology, analysts at the 2022 Sustainability Table Series have said.

Convener, Sustainability Table Series, Kayode Olaniyan, said there is need to leverage technology as a strategic tool and accelerator for collaboration, leapfrogging and establishing connections that support the economy.

The event, organized by Avant-Garde  Innovation and Technology Services with theme: Exploring the theme: Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)- Opportunities for growth in a circular economy, chart pathways for accelerated growth and sustainable development in Nigeria.

“Nigeria’s description as a big growth market has persisted for years. Despite such optimism, the country’s growth trajectory perpetuates a reversion of its potential in the wake of the fourth industrial revolution. Recent trends portray that the true acceleration of potential of the country lies in rapid digitisation, which will leapfrog Nigeria in its economic development and prosperity.”

In his keynote address,  Vice President, GICL, Kazeem Oladepo, said: “We have become a connected world. Within Nigeria, there is over 6,000km of fibre cable infrastructure connecting people. Despite this, 32-36 million Nigerians are currently unconnected, with communities that lack telephony and data access. Compounding this, there is a deficit in the mid-access network, the home access network and essential infrastructure, making it impossible for the nation to leapfrog from the third industrial revolution to the fourth industrial revolution and harness the potential of evolving technologies.”