Category: Money

Ecobank Nigeria has announced the 100 winners of the Super Rewards Season 3 campaign. Each got N50,000.

The campaign is designed to reward customers’ loyalty.

Season 3 will reward 200 customers, while two customers will go home with N1 million each at the end of the Season. The two-month campaign kicked off on June 20 and would end August 21.

Announcing the first winners in Lagos, the Head, Consumer Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Korede Demola-Adeniyi said the campaign is open to their customers. She urged them to be part of the second set of winners later this month.

“Now is the time to open an account with us or reactivate and fund your dormant account. The Super Reward campaign, which was initiated by Ecobank in March 2021, was designed to promote a healthy savings culture among Nigerians and reward customer loyalty to Ecobank. The success of Seasons 1 and 2 campaigns followed by customers’ demand led to the introduction of Season 3. Both Seasons 1 and 2 have produced eight millionaires and 1,600 customers who received N25,000 weekly in batches of  50 per week,” she stated.

Also, Head, Consumer Products, Ecobank Nigeria, Daberechi Effiong, said the conditions to qualify for the campaign are simple and easy.

“New customers only need to open an account with a minimum of N5,000 while existing customers should make minimum deposits of N5,000 into their accounts. Customers with dormant accounts will qualify when they reactivate and fund their account with a minimum of N5,000,” he said.

She added: “The rewards are done monthly, and 200 customers would have been rewarded with N50,000 at the end of the campaign. There will also be two grand prize rewards of N1 million each at the end of the campaign. I enjoin those that are yet to open an account with the bank to do so to enjoy the bouquet of products and services.”

Nigeria’s $100 billion yearly infrastructure shortfall can be addressed by committing $33.4 billion pension assets to its financing. This Coronation Asset Management insight describes how Nigeria can marshal domestic pensions, rather than global debt, for national development, unlocking sustainable growth by leveraging the country’s risk-managed long-term funds, reports Assistant Business Editor COLLINS NWEZE.

Coronation Asset Management has detailed how the $33.4 billion pension assets can be channelled into funding national infrastructure.

In a report, it said the assets position was as at last March, represented 19 per cent of the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

These funds, it said, if well-invested, could address its $100 billion yearly infrastructure shortfall.

Despite the recent review of the law pension fund allocation to allow a broader range of investments,  pension fund administrators continue to make only limited allocations to infrastructure funds.

Even combined with private equity and real estate investments, recent allocations to infrastructure hovers between 1.5 per cent and 2.1 per cent of assets under management. By contrast, pension fund administrators in Australia, Canada, Japan, Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States allocate well in excess of 26 per cent of funds to real estate, private equity and infrastructure.

It explained that a combination of poorly understood regulation, limited knowledge of alternative assets, and the perceived risk-free returns offered by fixed income investments have kept Nigerian pension fund administrators away from alternatives in general, and infrastructure in particular.

“To date, the allocation of pensions investment to fixed income instruments (issued by Nigeria’s Federal and state governments) has averaged 67 per cent over the last 10 years, in line with government borrowing supported by monetary policy decisions in a volatile environment. Just as historically, the sizeable allocation to government instruments was regulatory driven, so too is the recent introduction of a multi-fund structure, a welcome legislative attempt to redress the concentration of fixed income investment in government securities,” it said.

It said the preponderance of fixed income investment in Nigeria’s pension funds produces mixed results. While Nigeria’s top-five pension fund administrators delivered positive inflation-adjusted returns in 2019 and 2020 (averaging between 1.6 per cent and three per cent), real returns in 2018 were negative 7.2 per cent.

Last year, average returns across the top five pension fund administrators were 9.9 per cent lower than inflation, underlining the fact that average returns over the last four years have been largely negative, when adjusted for inflation, across the top five pension fund administrators.

“With this in mind, it is surprising that more pension fund administrators have not taken the opportunity to increase their allocation to the power, transportation, communication, real estate and clean water investment opportunities that abound. These domestic opportunities provide a hedge against a volatile global macro-environment by offering the potential to deliver consistent, long-term positive domestic returns,” it said.

The most recent changes to Nigerian pension fund legislation allows fund administrators to group age and risk profiles, allocating investment across four levels of risk and return appetite. Fund One, for example, is an optional fund, requiring contributors to opt in – in writing – to the fund. This fund caps alternative investment at 20 per cent, depending on the composition of assets.

Also, Fund Two (with a cap of 10 per cent), on the other hand, caters for younger pension contributors, below 49, with greater risk appetites. As such, amongst this segment, and in line with what one sees globally, one would expect higher levels of investment in higher income-generating alternatives.

“Instead, if pension fund administrators use recent legislation to invest differentially for different age and risk profiles groups, as the legislation allows, they can channel more of their pension fund investments into potentially higher-earning domestic infrastructure investment.”

This, the report said, would provide Nigerians under 49 the opportunity to earn more during their younger, more risk-resilient, years. It also represents a huge opportunity for Nigeria to actively leverage its large pool of pension fund assets to address the country’s infrastructure backlog.

Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, has announced the first-of-its-kind partnership with Bento Africa, to offer more value to Nigerian businesses of all sizes.

Bento Africa is a payroll and Human Resource Management (HRM) company with a mission to meet work wherever it happens, expand broader access to a wider range of financial services and drive inclusion across the continent.

Speaking on the rationale behind the partnership, the Chief Executive of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Wole Adeniyi, stated that the bank was committed to delivering more digitalised value-added services to businesses and SMEs. Every business we serve pays salaries and has employees – The provision of a world-class technology platform that enhances how they relate with our bank, drove this strategic partnership.

He said: “We are delighted to partner with Bento Africa, who currently serve over 1,000 businesses in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Rwanda, with plans to roll out to an additional 10 countries by the end of the year. Bento Africa is modernising the payroll and HRM market in Africa which has traditionally relied on laborious, manual processes to handle payroll. The start-up helps businesses of all sizes to automate the disbursement of salaries and other statutory remittances, including taxes and pensions with a single click.

“Stanbic IBTC customers can access Bento’s services through our digital platforms, including payroll and HRM services, detailed financial data analytics, and seamless payment of employees in both the formal and informal sector, while staying compliant to local laws,” Adeniyi said.

He went on to explain that the Bento platform is embedded in the Stanbic IBTC SME internet banking portal, where customers can access the website and get registered. “Customers can access the Bento platform by clicking the Bento digital icon on our SME internet banking, which will redirect them to the Bento web portal for registration,” he added.

The service will be free for Stanbic IBTC customers for the first three months and is a welcome development for businesses who spend hours each month manually processing payroll and calculating and submitting statutory remittances, which is not only laborious but often leads to errors and the problem of “ghost workers”.

Speaking on behalf of the Bento team, founders Ebun Okubanjo and Chidozie David Okonkwo said “We see this as the beginning of much deeper partnerships with established institutions and start-ups’’.

Paramount Global has appointed Pamela Kaufman as the President and CEO of International Markets, Global Consumer Products & Experiences, effective immediately.

This newly created position reports to Bob Bakish, President and CEO of Paramount, and reflects Paramount’s ongoing strategy of globalising its operations.

She was previously the President of Global Consumer Products and Experiences.

Raffaele Annecchino has decided to leave the company in his role as President and CEO of Paramount International Networks, Studios and Streaming.

In her expanded role, Kaufman will be responsible for driving the continued growth of Paramount’s international business and ensuring the strength of the company’s international operations across six continents, including broadcast and cable networks, streaming and studios, and the company’s commercial capabilities. She will work closely with Paramount’s international leadership team, as well as the global content and streaming organisation to do so, including helping to guide the continued international rollout of Paramount+ and Pluto TV. Kaufman will maintain her current responsibilities overseeing the global multi-billion-dollar consumer products and experiences organisation.

“Pam has been the strategic force behind growing and expanding some of the most iconic global franchises and properties in entertainment,” said Bakish. “She is a proven and trusted, visionary leader who has transformed our consumer products organisation by driving innovation and operating as a global business. Pam is uniquely qualified to lead our international business as we expand and diversify our worldwide footprint and accelerate Paramount’s transformation to operating with a truly global approach.”

Bakish added, “I want to extend my thanks to Raffaele Annecchino for the critical role he has played in building Paramount’s international business and expanding our global footprint. I am grateful for the dedication he has shown throughout his 25 years at Paramount and wish him well in the future.

“I am honoured to take on this role at such a pivotal time for Paramount’s international business,” said Kaufman. “I know firsthand the global strength of our brand portfolio, and I look forward to working with Bob and the incredible International team as we continue pursuing our global growth strategy, investing in key partnerships, furthering our push into mobile and digital platforms in new markets, and operating as one team globally.”

In November 2021, Kaufman assumed the role of President of Global Consumer Products and Experiences for Paramount, overseeing worldwide product and business development, marketing, franchise planning, creative strategy, retail sales and consumer insights for all brands in the portfolio.

In less than a year, Kaufman has led the transformation of the consumer products business, unifying the organization by placing the full power of the Paramount ecosystem behind its most valuable IP.

Her commitment to transformation, innovation and brand building has led to some of the most groundbreaking partnerships in the company’s history, including cutting-edge co-branded collaborations with the biggest names in social media. Kaufman was also responsible for Viacom’s first direct-to-consumer e-commerce site in 2019 – The SpongeBob Shop – and has since led the expansion to additional online direct-to-consumer business for merchandise tied to various top CBS and Showtime programming, including similar standalone initiatives for brands such as Star Trek, South Park and MTV.

Prior to being named the President of Global Consumer Products and Experiences, Kaufman served as President of Consumer Products & Chief Marketing Officer for Nickelodeon where she was responsible for building some of Nickelodeon’s most memorable franchises ranging from PAW Patrol to SpongeBob SquarePants, shepherding them through important tentpole campaigns and milestone celebrations.

Before joining Nickelodeon in 1997, Kaufman held positions at Turner International, Equity Marketing and Grey Advertising. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Public Communication from The American University in Washington D.C. and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from The American University in 2019. A committed advocate for gender equality and diversity and inclusion, Kaufman serves on the board of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, as well as Bottomless Closet, a nonprofit that prepares women for workplace success, and the Pace Women’s Justice Center.

A return to growth in output and stronger inflows of new orders helped underpin a further improvement in operating conditions in the Nigerian private sector during July, the Purchasing managers’ Index report has shown.

The report showed that businesses increased their purchasing activity at the strongest rate for five months while stocks increased sharply. Despite stronger inflows of new work, employment growth eased and was marginal amid elevated costs and subsequent pressures on profits.

Purchase and output price inflation accelerated to four-month highs in July, with unfavourable exchange rate movements and higher fuel costs behind the latest round of inflation.

Nevertheless, sentiment improved from June, and firms reported hopes of securing greater business investments.

“The headline figure derived from the survey is the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI¨). Readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions on the previous month, while readings below 50.0 show a deterioration. The headline PMI registered at 53.2 in July, up from 50.9 in June, signalling an improvement in business conditions in Nigeria’s private sector. The latest figure rose from June’s 17-month low but was still muted compared to the historical average,” the report showed.

A renewed increase in output supported the latest improvement in business conditions in July. Output rose solidly, albeit at a rate that was weak by historical standards. Agriculture recorded the strongest uplift in output during July, followed closely by manufacturing. Services and wholesale & retail followed, where rates of growth quickened from those seen in June. Stronger client demand was behind the uplift in output with new orders rising sharply across all four sectors in July.

To support higher output, companies increased their purchasing activity for the 25th month in a row. Consequently, stocks of purchases rose markedly as firms intensified efforts to build up their inventories. Moreover, the rate of growth was the steepest for seven months.

Vendor performance improved in July, but to the least extent for over two years amid reports of busier road conditions.

Outstanding business fell at the softest rate since August 2020 in July. Sufficient capacity combined with rising costs led firms to raise their headcounts at the slowest pace for seven months.

Global Credit Rating (GCR) has affirmed NOVA Merchant Bank Limited’s national scale long and short-term ratings of BBB(NG) and A3(NG) respectively, with a stable outlook.

The ratings agency explained that NOVA was rated on the basis of its strong capital base as well as its financial position, adding, “The ratings of NOVA Merchant Bank Limited reflect its sound capitalisation and good risk position, as characterised by minimal non-performing loans and credit losses.

Citing the rationale for the ratings, GCR said; “NOVA Merchant Bank operates within the Nigerian merchant banking sub-sector and continues to drive the evolution of its market position through the launch of bespoke customer-centric products/solutions and innovations to improve value propositions and meet the specific needs of its clients.”

“The bank’s capitalisation is considered sound, with capital adequacy ratio maintained above regulatory threshold of 10 per cent” as at December 2021, reinforcing the headroom for risk asset growth and overall balance sheet capacity,” the report noted.

NOVA Merchant Bank maintains stable funding and adequate liquidity. According to GCR, NOVA MB’s funding structure is predominantly made up of deposits. At 2021 financial year, total deposits accounted for 95 per cent of the funding base as against 93.1 per cent in the preceding year.

Customer deposits also increased by 30.4 per cent during the year, on the back of improved deposits mobilisation capacity.

NOVA’s Managing Director/CEO, Nath Ude, who commented on the ratings said, “GCR’s affirmations of NOVA’s investment grade ratings and stable outlook, are instructive. The rating rationale succinctly reflects the sound governance, robust risk management and unrivalled record of asset quality. More importantly, the ratings construct underscores the strong credibility of the Bank, as highlighted by the adequate liquidity and stable funding metrics.

“With continuous investment in people and technology, and more importantly innovative partnerships with credible clients, NOVA is primed to positively disrupt the merchant banking space, with the vision to unlock opportunities for our clients across the key growth sectors of the Nigerian economy,” Ude said.

The Chairman of the Bank, Phillips Oduoza, noted that given the challenging macroeconomic environment, the ratings demonstrate the efficiency of the governance structures put in place to ensure long term sustainability of the Bank.

LagosRide has stressed its commitment to quality service delivery in meeting its client’s expectations.

In a statement, the company said it prides itself on excellent service delivery and will continually invest the required resources in ensuring they deliver the best service.  “We hold our drivers to the highest standard in mobility solutions and we have in place a detailed internal process for adhering to these standards and compliance is a priority for the organisation,” the company said.

“LagosRide believes in accountability and transparency, and therefore holds itself accountable to both captains and riders in ensuring they have a smooth experience while in transit. The company is a mobility solution that allows users with similar transit patterns, to book and share the cost of a ride around Lagos,” it said.

To assure clients of its commitment to quality service delivery,  LagosRide captain was dismissed from fulfilling service as a driver on the LagosRide platform after violating the company’s standard operating protocols.

“A rider had complained about poor service received while on a trip. After further investigation from the footage of the dashcam in the car, it was discovered that the driver was taking offline trips, which is not allowed. It was also discovered that the driver accepted a Class A ride request; a premium service for one user while he had other riders in his car,” the company said.

“The driver also refused to drop the Class A rider at his preferred location and was verbally abusive after the rider was angrily dropped off by the roadside. The rider threatened to report the erring driver, but the driver dared him to go ahead saying “nothing can be done to me,” it added.

“The driver was immediately suspended within 24-hour of receiving this complaint and reviewing the footage from the vehicle by LagosRide. We reached out to the rider to offer its apologies and accept responsibility for the poor service he experienced,” it added.

Stakeholders in Blockchain Association of Nigeria (SiBAN)  will be holding its inaugural Peer-to-Peer (P2P) conference in Lagos.

The event, which holds at the  at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, this Saturday,  will attract key stakeholders in the industry.

President of SiBAN, Senator Ihenyen said the conference, which would be a hybrid event, is part of the association’s commitment to educating users and members of the public about blockchain technology, promoting its adoption by both private and public bodies, ensuring consumer protection and helping them safeguard against scams, while also working with regulators to help maximise the untapped potential of blockchain technology.

“Blockchain is one of the biggest opportunities for Africa in the Fourth Industrial Age. Nigeria is Africa’s biggest country and one of the biggest players on the globe. We understand the challenges in this ecosystem as well as opportunities for Nigerians. That is why we have lined up a rich crop of experienced and successful leaders in this space to speak on the theme, ‘CeFi, DeFi & TradFi: Is there a need for Convergence in the Current Divergence.

“With this theme, we wish to have an open conversation about the emergence of blockchain technology, its application across the spectrum of CeFi, DeFi, and TradFi, and consider whether a convergence of these three is the better way to go for innovators and regulators,” Ihenyen said.

Among the speakers is Channels Television’s crypto market analyst and founder, CryptoPreacher Blockchain Academy, CPBA, Rume Ophi.

Chairman, Organising Committee for the conference, Jude Ozinegbe  said the conference would be targeting about 5000 participants.

“The conference will provide participants with networking opportunities while serving as a vehicle to drive awareness of the economic value of what we do.  Participants will also enjoy access to conference talks, workshops, and other learning opportunities and get to network with speakers, guests, and other conference participants,” he revealed.

Ozinegbe, who is also the convener of Cyberchain, added that the conference is free.

A non-governmental organisation, WeForGood International, has disbursed N104 million to viable eco-friendly sustainable enterprises owned by young African entrepreneurs between 18 and 35. 

The Chief Executive Officer of WeForGood, Ms. Temitayo Ade-Peters, stated this during the Sustainable Solutions Africa Project Conference to mark the United Nations’ World Youth Skills Day.

The event had as its theme: “Promoting Eco-Focused Solutions Africa’s Pathway to Sustainable Growth.”

Ms Ade-Peters said: “In the past three years, through our fellowship programme, we have supported close to 60 African startups with training and coaching and facilitated over $250,000 to promote sustainable solutions on the continent.

“We’ve reached about 1,400 youths and entrepreneurs exploring skills for impact to further scale their reach. The start-ups we support run for-profit and not-for-profit businesses addressing one or more areas of the SDGs.”

She said the conference was focused on innovative solutions that addressed SDG-focused environmental challenges and to provide strategies that would help youths to harness and maximise their skills and talents in response to the increasing call for climate actions, adding: “Every young person will leave this conference well-inspired to embrace and explore opportunities to build a sustainable Africa.”

She said enterprises that qualified for funding from the organisation must be economically viable and have eco-solutions projects that would enhance environmental sustainability.

She also said “through the support of IHS Nigeria, we have opportunity for young people to get up to N3 million to support their individual projects” that could be used to create sustainable solutions to solve Africa’s problems. 

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said the participation of youths in the advocacy for a real shift is essential in order to combat climate change.

Orelepe-Adefulire said: “The government, private sector and civil society, must look towards young people, as we aim to strengthen both formal and informal education on climate change and viable lifestyles. In addition, sustainable production and consumption patterns must be promoted and supported by the youth as environmental champions in their local communities.”

She added: “We are partnering  UNDP to launch six SDG Innovation Hubs across the country which will prioritise the engagement of young people as catalysts for innovative technical, technological and business solutions to help us accelerate the achievement of the SDGs.”

A panelist during the conference, who is also a Human Resources Consultant, Mrs. Sandra Iheanacho, said that education is very essential to produce young Nigerian entrepreneurs that would become job creators.

Iheanacho said: “To take care of tomorrow we have to prepare by taking care of the education of our youths that are capable to create jobs.”

The Chief Executive Officer of The Illuminator’s Academy, Ms. Yejide Aina, who was among the panelists during the conference, said that Nigerian youths need quality educational curriculum that would equip them with innovative and entrepreneurial capacity to create economic opportunities in the country’s economy.

Another panelist who is the Head, Startups, Lagos Innovates LSETF, Ms. Ireayo Oladunjoye, tasked young entrepreneurs to acquire skills that would imbue them with leadership skills to influence their environment.

The Director, Corporate Excellence and Programme Management at IHS Nigeria, Ms. Oluwatoyin Aralepo, advised the young entrepreneurs to base their entrepreneurial development on three leadership ladders of personal vision, higher standard and influence.

Aralepo said: “Leadership has to be strategic and patient to be able to carry all members of the team along to achieve the group’s objectives.”

Apart from the intellectual discussions that gave participants a rich time of learning and networking opportunities, the conference, anchored by the delectable Woli Arole, also featured other side attractions such as entertainment, quizzes and raffle draws with amazing gifts such as laptops, home gadgets among others won by attendees.

The Covid-19 pandemic has put a stop on a lot of economic progress over the last three years, with over 1.4 billion adults still unbanked globally, the World Bank has said.

The affected people, which cut across races and regions are more commonly women, poorer, less educated, and living in rural areas.

While digitalizing government and other payments is the way to go, much more is needed, the bank said governments, private employers and financial service providers, including fintechs, should work together to lower barriers to access and improving physical, data and financial infrastructure.

“To reach them, governments and the private sector will need to work hand-in-hand to forge the policies and practices needed to build trust in financial service providers, confidence in using financial products, new tailored product designs, as well as a strong and enforceable consumer protection framework,” Lead Economist in Development Economics Vice Presidency and main author of the Global Findex, Leora Klapper said.

The bank explained that despite this continued growth in account ownership, only about half of adults in developing economies report that they could reliably access extra funds within 30 days if faced with an unexpected expense.  And about two-thirds of adults are very worried about at least one area of financial stress, whether it’s paying for medical bills, paying for school fees, paying for regular monthly bills, having enough money for old age.

“The report is showing us that digitalization of financial services is changing the game, which is very inspiring for those financially included – and for Bank staff working on these issues,” Global Director for Finance in the Finance, Competitiveness & Innovation (FCI) Global Practice, Jean Pesme said.

“Much more is needed. We need to focus on countries that have made least progress and redouble our efforts to reach the most vulnerable, notably women. This is key to fostering inclusion and increasing resilience.”

The bank said that in developing countries, 71 per cent of people have an account, up from 42 per cent a decade ago.?Globally, 76 per cent of adults around the world have an account today, up from 51 per cent a decade ago.

The World Bank explained that the  expansion created new economic opportunities, narrowing the gender gap in account ownership, and building households’ resilience to better manage financial shocks.

The bank said that in developing economies, 36 per cent of adults received a payment into an account, such as private or public sector wage payments, government transfer or pension payments, payments for the sale of agricultural products or domestic remittances.

Of those 36 per cent who received a payment into an account, 83 per cent also make a digital payment, about two thirds use the account to store money for cash management, and about 40 per cent tell us they use their account to save or to borrow money.

“Financial inclusion matters and is the cornerstone of development. When people have a financial account, it enables them to take advantage of other financial services like saving, making payments, accessing credit,” it said.

The bank said that these tremendous gains are also now more evenly distributed and come from a greater number of countries than ever before.

The biggest growth has been in the use of digital payments, which surged during COVID-19 mobility restrictions and when cash was perceived as unsanitary.

It said that two-thirds of adults worldwide now make or receive a digital payment.  In developing countries, excluding China where digital payments are widespread, some 40 per cent of people who made a digital payment from their account (to a merchant or for a utility service) did so for the very first time since the start of the pandemic.

“Digital payments are typically safer and more convenient, and can be an entry to using other financial services. Findex data show that adults who receive a payment into an account in developing economies make use of financial services more than the average adult,” the bank said.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the fundamental role that digital infrastructure can play in rapidly delivering services and social assistance to people. Integration of digital ID, digital payments, and trusted data sharing platforms is critical for serving the poor at scale and connecting communities to opportunities,” Global Director for Digital Development Global Practice, Christine Zhenwei Qiang said.

  “This report underscores that for many developing country consumers, the gateway to innovative financial services is mobile money, supported by improvements in coverage, affordability and reliability of digital infrastructure.” The gender gap in account ownership has also shrunk, narrowing from nine to six percentage points in developing countries. The data now find that 74 per cent of men but only 68 per cent of women in developing economies had an account.