Sahara Foundation, the personal and corporate social responsibility vehicle for Sahara Group, in collaboration with LEAP Africa, Ford Foundation, and Impact Investors Foundation have celebrated its 2021-2022 Sahara Impact Fund (SIF) Fellows whose businesses are set to promote sustainable development across Africa.

The Fellows were honoured at the LEAP Africa Social Innovators Programme & Awards (SIPA), which held in Lagos.

Event themed: ”Reawaken, Redesign and Re-emerge: Africa Beyond Potential’, drew speakers and panelists from across Africa, Europe, and North America to discuss challenges that impede Africa’s growth and development with a keen focus on social entrepreneurship while providing novel strategies to enable the much-desired transformation.

Read Also: Interswitch Group CEO: 85% transactions in sub-Saharan Africa cash-based 

Executive Director at Sahara Foundation, Pearl Uzokwe, said: “We are excited to be part of this transformative partnership that is committed to bringing sustainable change to the African continent. We are also proud of our Fellows who have risen above the structural limitations and social barriers to solve societal problems. I urge you to put your training to good use, think beyond the profit and focus on doing good and doing well.”

Those who received their awards were 11 SIF Fellows from across seven African countries.  They include Aminu Moses Rex, Michael Osumune, Olawale Thompson, Aliyara Assurance Oluchi, and Oluwamayowa Salu, from Nigeria. Also awarded were James Thuch Madhier from South Sudan; Ligare Allan Muliru from Kenya; Siwelwa Lazarous from Zambia; Lamin Ceesay from The Gambia; Gadi Banda from Malawi; and Albert Moghomaye from Cameroon.

Founder, LEAP Africa, Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, said: “We recognise that youth leadership and inclusion are critical to wealth creation and development across the continent”.

Nwuneli commended the African youth for leveraging their entrepreneurial abilities and innovation to solve Africa’s social problems, adding: “LEAP Africa will continue to raise and empower a movement of young African social entrepreneurs and enterprises capable of transforming Africa into the Africa of our dreams.”

Activities in the manufacturing sector experienced a fall in output last month as the productivity of the  private sector reduced marginally over rising inflation, a report by the Stanbic IBTC Bank’s Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) for August, has stated.

It said the headline PMI was 52.3 for the month, down from 53.2 the previous month, implying that the rate of growth was lower by 0.9 per cent during the month under review than the long-run series average.

It said: “Private sector output of firms rose in August for the second month running, although the pace of growth eased slightly from July. Firms reported that an uplift in demand supported output growth. However, the rate of expansion was weaker than the long-run series average.

“Sub-sector data indicated agriculture firms recorded the strongest expansion, followed by wholesale and retail, and services. However, manufacturers recorded a decline in activity.”

The report also stated that the inflationary pressure witnessed its highest upsurge in the month when compared to previous records since last November.

Read Also; Why CBN is losing inflation battle

It attributed the escalation experienced in the prices of goods and services in Nigeria during the month under review to “unfavourable exchange rate movements and higher commodity prices,” as about 61 per cent of firms recorded a rise in purchase costs while 38 per cent left them unchanged.

The PMI report said: “On the price front, higher commodity and transportation expenses exerted upward pressures on purchase costs. At the same time, firms raised their staff wages to motivate their workforces and in light of higher living expenses. The overall rate of input price inflation was the second-fastest in the survey’s history, surpassed only by that seen in November 2021.”

It added: “Latest data revealed another robust increase in purchase prices faced by private sector firms. Moreover, the rate of inflation quickened and reached a five-month high in August. Unfavourable exchange rate movements and higher commodity prices led to the increase.”

“Private sector firms in Nigeria sought to share higher cost burdens with their clients during August. Output prices have risen in each month since January 2016, with the latest uptick marked and much quicker than the long-run series average.”

However, the report showed that private sector firms continued to maintain an optimistic view towards output in the year-ahead.

Wema Bank Plc has for years emerged a leader in the e-payment space. Its New Quick Response (NQR) Code by ALAT, the ALAT digital banking platform developed by the bank, shows more play ground for e-payment and efficient services in the industry. Assistant Business Editor COLLINS NWEZE writes.

Technology is at the centre of banking. Gone are the days when it was restricted to locations, specific time and accessible/understandable to the educated class.

Today, provision of financial services can occur anywhere, with technologically-inclined financial institutions taking the lead.

Wema Bank is taking the lead in technological banking with its ALAT digital platforms. Its new New Quick Response (NQR) Code by ALAT also opens more payment opportunities to e-payment customers.

Obviously, technology or digital innovation, seen by many as disruptive, also come with challenges to open doors for more future opportunities.

Analysts explained that given the impact of disruptive technology, the financial services sector in Nigeria has also undergone and significant transformations with banks moving away from traditional over-the-counter transactions to smart, tech-driven digital services and products.

With technology virtually taking over businesses and social activities in the 21st Century, the banking sector as a critical enabler of socio-economic growth is not an exemption from the innovation orchestrated by this phenomenon.

The NQR code-based payments and collections solution by Wema Bank’s ALAT, typifies how banks in Nigeria are ramping up technology innovations to disrupt the banking ecosystem in positive ways.

In a report, Wema Bank Plc, led by it Managing Director/CEO, Ademola Adebise, explained that the new feature on ALAT, provides fast, easy, secure, reliable, contactless, and account-based options to receive and pay for goods and services.

“With the payment solution, merchants, business owners and individuals once they display the QR Codes generated on ALAT, instantly receive payments at their locations for goods and services with ease without having to make any physical contact.

“Payers/customers select the NQR option on their bank’s mobile application and scan the displayed NQR Codes to make payment to the merchant. Merchants/business owners and payers get instant notification of payment made,” the bank stated.

According to the bank, the benefits of the NQR on ALAT include simplicity of use, easy setup, zero cost of acquisition, and a merchant on-boarding. Other benefits are super-fast deployment, instant payment and settlement, and fast and secured payment.

“Much more, the level of transaction that can be done using the new feature is also determined by the payer’s bank, which means customers can negotiate more. However, transactions below N250 would attract 50 kobo, while those between N25 and N999.99 would be charged N1.Transactions ranging between N1,000 and N4,999.99 will attract N5, just as those between N5,000 and above would pay the applicable fee of N25. The icing on the cake is that ALAT payment platform offers the lowest service fees in the industry,” it said.

Transactions and information exchange on the platform are secure. “NQR on ALAT is safe, as the exchange of information via the QR code ensures that any transmitted data on the technology is encrypted, thus making the payment secure. Also, NQR is built around the universal EMVCO Security Standards. In addition, payers are protected by a secret four-digit PIN used to consummate transactions and known to only the payer,” the bank further explained.

On-boarding on the payment platform has also been made easy. Customers can set up NQR on ALAT by first updating ALAT app on their mobile devices to the latest version before login into the ALAT app as a payer.Then select payment, and QR payment to scan a code directly or from their galleries.

Merchants and receivers are also to log in to the ALAT app and select payments, and QR payments and then create merchant and sub-merchant display the QR code to receive payment.

Continuing, the bank said the deployment of QR payments solutions by merchants, customers, and issuers, including banks, mobile money operators, payment service providers and other financial institutions, was enabled by the release of the Framework for QR Code payments in Nigeria by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in January, last year.

The framework aimed to promote the use and adoption of electronic payments, foster innovation in the payments system, and strengthen the institutional framework for economic and financial industry stability in the country. Besides specifying the regulatory guidance, the framework also aimed to ensure the adoption of appropriate QR Code standards for safe and efficient payment services.

Findings showed that the CBN also permitted banks to use any other QR Code Standard provided they meet the prescribed security requirements, demonstrate interoperability with other implementations in the industry and/or offer cost benefits to end users (merchants and customers).

On the threshold of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), a concept brought about by the rapid transformation of every aspect of our socio-economic life because of increasing interconnectivity and smart automation, banks in Nigeria have been migrating from analogue operations to digital platforms. Massive investment in ICT infrastructure resulted in the deployment of Automated Teller Machines (ATM), mobile banking, electronic fund transfers, and the development of mobile applications and digital products/channels.

Their quest to further explore opportunities offered by technology innovation buoyed the introduction of digital or virtual payment solutions and digital banking platforms such as the flagship ALAT by Wema Bank.

Without a doubt, technological innovation has made it easier for banks to do real-time banking while customers access services faster and with ease. Customers are not only able to monitor their bank accounts and transactions from the comfort of their homes; they can order goods and make payments on their mobile devices and receive orders without physical contact.

As banks increase investment in ICT and the development of digital solutions, the adoption of cash-lite economy policy of the government is up-scaling, broadband utilisation is increasing; people’s quality of life is improving, and the banks are also up-scaling service efficiency and profitability.

Heritage Bank Plc has announced the appointment of Akinola George-Taylor as its acting Managing Director. He replaces Ifie Sekibo who has served his 10-year tenure.

The new bank chief’s appointment has been approved by Board of Directors of Heritage Bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria.

George-Taylor will be overseeing Heritage’s banking operations across Nigeria.

As an experienced banker with over two decades working in the banking and financial services sector, George-Taylor has a proven track record in managing multi-billion Naira operations.

He started his banking career in 1993 with GTBank where George-Taylor rose to the position of Executive Director in charge of Public Sector Group, Abuja & Northcentral. Whilst at the Bank, he has held various positions in the business sector.

He was also the Managing Director of GTBank in Sierra Leone between 2005 and 2009.

The bank has also appointed Osepiribo Ben-Willie and George Oko-Oboh as Executive Directors.

Osepiribo Ben-Willie is an accomplished banker with over two decades’ experience of which she has been leading business transformation initiatives at various levels within the financial service space. Ben-Willie is currently the Directorate Head Southsouth, Southeast & Private Wealth Management Team in Heritage Bank.

George Oko-Oboh currently heads the Abuja and North Directorate Business of Heritage Bank Plc where he plays a pivotal role in the business growth and daily operations of all businesses and transactions as it relates to his area of supervision.

The newly appointed Acting Managing Director and his team of Executive Directors commenced their respective tenors yesterday.

No further reduce dependency on cash transactions, stimulate innovation and drive the growth of digital payments in Nigeria, ProvidusBank with Mastercard, Interswitch and Thales Group,  have  introduced a new Tap-to-Pay service.

The service allows cardholders to make fast, secure, and convenient in-store payments by tapping their NFC enabled smart device at any contactless-enabled payment terminal.

The solution works by enabling a connected device such as a smartphone or wearable device to act as a safe and secure payment method in the same way as a physical card.

Leveraging Mastercard’s Digital Enablement Service (MDES), and Interswitch’s tokenisation capability, ProvidusBank customers can enjoy a new level of convenience, no longer needing a card or a physical wallet during shopping trips.

For each transaction, Mastercard’s tokenisation and digitisation technology replaces primary account numbers (PANs) with tokens to provide a faster, more secure, and seamless checkout experience while rendering card numbers useless to fraudsters.

Managing Director, Interswitch Purepay, Akeem Lawal,  said: “With the increasing adoption of digital payments, there has been the corresponding need for players in the payments ecosystem to heighten the safety and security of payment platforms and channels.’’

This notion is the underpinning rationale behind Interswitch’s collaboration with Providus Bank, Thales Group and Mastercard to deliver the tokenisation technology, providing an added security layer and ensuring safer and more seamless payment transactions.

“At Interswitch, we continue to leverage key partnerships that push the boundaries of innovation.”

An Executive Director, NOVA Merchant Bank, Mrs. Funke Okoya, has been appointed Chairperson, Women’s Empowerment Commission of the Women in Finance Nigeria.

Okoya’s appointment was announced along with four others at the signing of the International Partnership/Affiliation with the Women Working for Change.

The Women Working for Change is an organ of the African CEO Forum, the largest international forum of the African private sector.

The newly appointed exco members were selected from committed Senior Executive members of the organisation and have been charged with the specific duty of chairing the association’s five new Commission.

Mrs. Okoya’s appointment is a major push for the capacity development of women in Nigeria and it is expected to drive initiatives that advance women’s cause, pursuit of financial literacy and inclusion for women while promoting gender parity.

The Chairperson, Women in Finance Nigeria, Mrs. Toyin Sanni, said: “We are very excited about the launch of these important commissions under the leadership of these dynamic senior executives as well as the election of our new national secretary all of whom served creditably, over time at WIFNG.”

Mrs. Okoya, who expressed excitement at the appointment said: “This appointment is designed to speak to the yearnings of women in Nigeria and further enrich the conversation around capacity building, provide access to finance, broaden value realisation, add relevance, recognition and network for women.”

She added that the expanded executive committee demonstrates the association’s commitment to supporting women across the country by providing leadership and sustainable professional development for women, through creative coalition and partnerships with international women organizations like Women Working for Change.

Funke is an Executive Director, Investment Banking and Subsidiaries at NOVA Merchant Bank, and has been driving key initiatives that are transforming the Bank into leadership position.

While congratulating Mrs Okoya on her appointment, the Chairman of NOVA Merchant Bank, Mr Phillips Oduoza, said Funke has been at the forefront of gender diversity, sustainability and female inclusion  adding, “As a board, we are glad for the recognition which will elevate the commission to the next level under her chairmanship.”

Leap Africa has reiterated its commitment to entrepreneurship and recognition for social innovators in Africa as it marks its two decades of operation.

The event, held in Lagos,  was an opportunity for  LEAP Africa to also celebrate the 10th Social Innovators Programme and Awards (SIPA) during which over 1,500 people, including partners and other dignitaries, from various sectors across over 10 countries were recognised.

Delivering the keynote address entitled “Scaling an Organisation; Secret to growth in the organisation’’, Managing Partner of Sovereign’s Capital, Henry Kaestner, emphasised three key elements to note when starting a business – Mission and vision, Resources, and the right people.

He admonished the social entrepreneurs  to focus on doing the work and says, money only comes in when the mission, passion and fruit of the labour are well communicated.

 Also speaking in the Speed Talk session, Director of Global Prosperity at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, Efosa Ojomo, described the major problem most

entrepreneurs face as the inability to approach social issues to a conclusive end consistently.

Speaking on the prosperity paradox, he shared that fixing visible signs of poverty does not create prosperity. He further disclosed the need to employ core mechanisms to ensure social solutions become sustainable.

Co-founder, GirlTrek, Vannesa Garrison advanced the historical dimension of social innovation. She shared how African women pioneered the most disruptive innovations that have stood the test of time. She encouraged more women to be their own most significant cause and encouraged them to prioritise their lives.

A panel session which was moderated by a LEAP Board member, Michelin Ntiru, featured S.I.P. Alumni Damilola Ashaleye, Isaac Damian, Akorfa Dawson and a guest panelist, Saeed Jumah from The Smile Shop Dental Clinic, all shared their unique social entrepreneurship journies, the challenges and what they have learnt in the process.

At the conference, 23 fellows were honoured and received certificates of completion, while three Fellows were recognized in three award categories: The Innocent Chukwuma Award for

Youth and Gender Empowerment in South-Eastern Nigeria, The Seyi Bikersteth Award for Financial Integrity and Accountability as well as the Outstanding Fellow Award. Amanda Obidike, Evelyn Odeh, Idris Ola and Akorfa Dawson won these awards in different categories.

The Social Innovators Programme (S.I.P.) supports creative young Africans (ages 18 to 35) from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Cameroon, Burundi, Uganda, and Tanzania with ideas and initiatives to proffer practical solutions to identified challenges in local communities on the continent.

The initiatives of these Fellows cover various aspects of society, such as Agriculture, Youth Empowerment, Education, Science & Technology, Health, Law, and Human Rights, among others. S.I.P. is a one-year fellowship which provides fellows with skills and tools to aid the growth and sustainability of their social enterprise, such as mentoring, one-on-one coaching, learning and funding. At the end of the fellowship year, LEAP Africa and partners – Union Bank, Sahara Foundation, and Ford Foundation honours deserving Fellows with various awards in different categories.

A non-governmental  organisation (NGO) based in Lagos, Ladies Helpline Initiative, in collaboration with African Entrepreneurship and Mentorship, has organised a training entitled:  “Female CEOs Grants Accessibility”, for women entrepreneurs in the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), NGOs and social enterprise.

The programme, which was held at the Lagos State Chamber of Commerce & Industries (LCCI), Victoria Island, was attended by women from various sectors.

Its convener, Mrs Hannah Agunkejoye, noted that funding had been a major challenge for most female entrepreneurs and as such her  NGO had decided to bridge this gap by sharing knowledge and solutions to enable women to access funding.

The programne, which is in different cohorts, had in attendance online and onsite women founders and CEOs.

A co-partner of the programme, Julie Obi, stated that the training was organised to empower women to have access to a wide range of resources on grants for women.

A facilitator, Alero Thompson, emphasised the need for women to work as a team to accessibility to funding easily.

In her words:“Women should avoid pitfalls to grant accessibility and be consistent in their applications.”

Agunkejoye added: “We are excited about this project and look forward to having more female CEOs participate in the programme, which will be held in several parts of Nigeria – Lagos, Kaduna and Owerri and Africa.’’

A group, Barry Callebaut Nigeria, has kickstarted an initiative to reward and celebrate farmers who have demonstrated a high-level commitment in supporting sustainable cocoa farming.

Under the programme, Barry Callebaut is giving out N17 million for cocoa supplied in the 2021/2022 season in Ondo and Cross River states.

This initiative is in line with Cocoa Horizon objectives aimed at improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their communities through the promotion of sustainable, entrepreneurial farming, improved productivity, and community development.

Through Cocoa Horizons, Barry Calebaut says, it continues to relate with farmers on how to improve their yields, shun cocoa farming in protected areas and support “Zero Child Labour” programmes.

Recently over 1,000 farmers were sensitised on critical issues surrounding Child Labour to let farmers know that they have a moral responsibility to stop children from working in cocoa plantations.

Managing Director, Barry Callebaut in Nigeria, Adriaan Verbeke, affirmed the company’s commitment to continue supporting cocoa farmers in every region where families’ well-being is based on their cocoa activities.

“We are very appreciative of the farmers who have engaged in our Cocoa Horizons program and look forward to supporting them further to improve their livelihoods and their communities. We plan to extend the Cocoa Horizons programme to farmers in other regions of Nigeria in the coming 2022/2023 season starting in October 2022.

“Barry Callebaut is demonstrating its long-term commitment to the Nigerian cocoa sector, its farmers and local buying agents through this program. Together we can grow the sector and improve the livelihoods of the farmers and other stakeholders in the cocoa supply chain,” he said.

The group’s initiatives of premium and farm input distribution to farmers are part of the strategy to make sustainable chocolate the norm by 2025 and help ensure future supplies of cocoa and improve farmer livelihoods.

Barry Callebaut had trained over 1,500 cocoa farmers in Akure, the Ondo State capital and Ikom, Cross Rivers on good agricultural practices with strategic plans of measuring the impact of the training.

Certificates, farm input such as spraying machines, rain boots, cutlasses, wheelbarrows – and more would be given to the farmers who excel during the training.