Category: Money

After 30 days of rewarding agents, Quickteller, the leading consumer digital payments platform, powered by Interswitch, has announced the second and final raffle draw round from its Quickteller Paypoint Double Up promo.

Winners were selected from the Southwestern region of Nigeria, and were sorted from categories such as Silver, Gold, and Platinum under the regulatory direction of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), the Lagos State Lottery Board (LSLB), and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC).

The last round saw four agents emerge winners in the Silver category; two  in the Gold category; and one in the Platinum category. Winners in the Silver category include Olaiya Omoniyi Sunday, Benedict Agomoh of God’s Power Ventures, Akinwande Bashir, and Augustina Odudu of Tina Ventures.

The Gold winners were Asemota Mercy Itoha and Hellen Abimbola Ijimakinwa. While the Platinum winner was Eze Anya Augustine of Austine Technology, who took home the grand prize of a generator set.

Commenting on the Quickteller Paypoint Double Up Promo, the Divisional Chief Executive Officer, Interswitch Financial Inclusion services, Titilola Shogaolu, commended the efforts of the agents, highlighting their importance to the overarching goal of Quickteller, which is bringing financial services closer to Nigerians and spurring prosperity across the country.

Shogaolu said, “It is always a delight to know the number of lives we can impact through our Double Up promo. We are excited to be in business with these winners and we hope to expand our reach to ensure that more people are brought on board so as to widen our pool of partners who will benefit from such programmes.

“Our goal remains deploying technological solutions to improve Nigeria’s, and by extension Africa’s, narrative on the subject of financial inclusion. While we continue to play our part, we hope to sell the vision to more potential agents who can also create prosperity for themselves.”

The promo that commenced on February 1, 2022 and ended on March 31, 2022 is Quickteller’s way of giving back to esteemed agents for their work in driving the growth of financial inclusion across Nigeria.

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it will build  an ecosystem allowing everyone easy access and use of the  e-Naira wallet even for small transactions.

Speaking yesterday at Kairo market, Oshodi Lagos, the branch controller CBN Lagos,  Kotor Godfrey, said that

being the second Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) fully open to the public after the Bahamas Sand Dollar, the digital currency is gaining traction with the projection of its download to 10,000 in the second quarter of 2022 from the 7,300 recorded in the first quarter of the year.

He said that in order to ramp up awareness and adoption of the e-naira, the apex bank, in collaboration with Bizi Mobile and Oshodi Market Leaders commenced sensitization and activation of e-Naira Wallet.

He said: “Available data showed that consumer wallet downloads have so far been the most downloaded over the merchant wallet, but transactions between Person-to-Bank and Bank-to-Person have constituted about 90 per cent on the platform,” he said.

Godfrey said the sensitisation exercise offers business owners, market men and women the opportunity they have been waiting for to understand the technology and business of e-naira in order to enjoy its benefits.

According to him, the e-naira also known as the giant naira is the first in Africa and among the earliest in the world.

“It  was designed with you in our mind and there is now, enough room for anyone to enjoy cheap, secure and efficient banking  services. With e-naira there is no room for fraud or counterfeit.

“We give you the assurance that it is very secure and that you can do business  without receiving counterfeit. It is designed in Nigeria and can be received any where in the world,” Godfrey stated.

He further noted that  nowadays a lot of people have Phone and “with your phone you can carry out transaction from anywhere.”

In his reaction, the secretary of Oshodi Market Traders Association,  Obinna Ume applauded the CBN for the noble initiative, adding that if the e-naira is well adopted, it will boost their trade in terms of seamless transactions.

According to him, the e-naira will eliminate the challenge of failed transactions or situations where business hours are wasted because monies are transferred with evidence of debit alerts but the receiver could not see credit alert which keeps both parties waiting.

While calling on the CBN and other stakeholders to create more awareness, he expressed delight that with the e-naira, third party there is no third party involvement.

Speaking on e-naira business/agent opportunities the Cordinator, Bizi Mobile Aminu Bizi said the target at this early stage is to sensitize the market leaders because they are the ones that will bring all their colleagues in for wider adoption.

According him, the sensitization exercise will continue in other markets in Lagos, thereafter, it will be extended to other zones in the country.

VFD Group Plc, the investment holding group that recently bought the single largest equity stake in Nigerian Exchange (NGX), plans to acquire a commercial banking licence and take a major stake in an insurance underwriting firm as part of an ambitious medium-term plan.

Speaking at a breakfast meeting with strategic stakeholders in Lagos, Group Managing Director, VFD Group Plc, Mr. Nonso Okpala, said the group remained focused on implementing a medium-term plan that would leverage its balance sheet to more than N500 billion.

VFD Group owns a microfinance bank-VFD Microfinance Bank and loan-investment firm – VFD Bridge as well as strategic investments in a mortgage bank- Abbey Mortgage Bank. It also has strategic investment in an insurance brokerage firm-Atiat Insurance Broker among others.

He outlined that the group will be scaling up its direct participation in the banking sector through acquisition of a commercial banking licence and acquire strategic stake in an insurance underwriter as part of efforts to build an African global one-stop financial services powerhouse.

According to him, the group plans to enhance its global status by opening operations in four additional countries over the medium term.

He added that one of the group’s ambitions is to own a strategic stake in an Exchange, which allows the group to bring its bespoke managerial and governance model to bear on such Exchange.

Okpala said the group would have over the medium term acquired enough global recognition to enable it list its shares on major across the world.

He noted that the group is building an investment holding firm with a whole ecosystem that benefits several value chains across countries and continents.

According to him, VFD Group is symbolically a diverse array of businesses presenting diverse opportunity for partnerships and collaboration.

“The investments we have made underline our commitment towards creating innovative and accessible solutions for the everyday Nigerian and entrepreneur,” OKpala said.

He outlined that the group’s investment consideration for any business is guided by a strict set of predetermined objectives including profit, high leverage, ecosystem fit and cash flow.

“We will focus on investing in businesses that have a proven track record and can guarantee a steady income. We will focus on investing in businesses that have high leverage capabilities, and whose balance sheet can provide benefit across the ecosystem.

We will focus on investing in businesses that complement our ecosystem, thereby maximizing overall synergy. We will focus on investing in businesses that would give us access to long-term cash flow, Okpala said.

He said the group has started replicating its business VFD model across selected geographies guided by a defined strategy driven by innovation and market expansion.

“We have began establishing our footprint outside of the market and we will continue to explore offshore investments that align with our ecosystem build,” Okpala said.

He outlined that the group with presence in United Kingdom, Nigeria and Ghana, plans to establish operations in United States, Netherlands, Kenya, Zambia and South Africa over the medium term.

According to him, founded in 2009, VFD Group is building a sustainable ecosystem by exploring new markets and businesses that will aggregate viable investment for its partners, consistently collaborating and improving its capital market businesses through its portfolio companies, expanding cross-border investments and partnerships to gain significant foothold beyond the Nigerian market and by establishing presence in every sector of the financial services across – banking, insurance, asset management and investment banking among others.

“We are a proprietary investment company focused on building positive and socially conscious ecosystems by aggregating potentially viable businesses with the objective of creating innovative products and solutions

“Our business model allows us to operate in major sectors of the economy through our portfolio, providing financial advisory, asset management, currency, real estate, debt services and private funds management services, taking deposits and providing loans at very competitive rates.

“Looking ahead, our investment focus will center around five pillars= banking, infrastructure and energy, real estate and hospitality, technology and capital market,” Okpala stated.

VFD Group was recently named as ‘2021 Most Innovative Investment Company in Nigeria’ by the International Finance Magazine (IFM).

IFM, a business and finance magazine published in the United Kingdom, awarded VFD Group at the 2021 International Finance Award held in Dubai. VFD Group was chosen as the winner over three other major nominees.

According to IFM, the award recognised the VFD Group’s industry talent, leadership skills, industry net worth, and capability on an international scale, as well as the VFD Group’s previous accomplishments.

With this award, VFD Group joins the list of previous award winners from Nigeria, which included Zenith Bank, FBN Insurance, Stanbic IBTC, GTBank, and other leading companies and players in the country’s financial sector.

Director, International Finance Magazine, Sunil Bhat said VFD Group was chosen after considering nominations by a research team, based on VFD Group’s strength of application, accomplishments, innovation, and good governance.

The Nation had reported exclusively that VFD Group Plc, an indigenous investment group, had acquired the largest equity stake of 5.17 per cent in NGX Group, the holding company for Nigeria’s main securities exchange, Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited and the leading clearing house, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc.

VFD Group described the acquisition of the single largest equity stake in NGX Group as a strategic decision to be a key player in the securities exchange business.

Okpala had said the acquisition was in alignment with the investment group’s strategic vision of building Africa’s first diverse business ecosystem.

According to him, the investment in the pioneer exchange company of Nigeria was a strategic play in the group’s ecosystem build, an investment philosophy that ensures the group drives global prosperity by investing in businesses that have potential, helping them maximise their potential and supporting the platform that can help portray them to the world.

He said the investment in the NGX Group as the exchange company of choice was due to the wide range of services offered and how the NGX has been positioned for growth.

He noted that the NGX Group is a leading integrated market infrastructure in Africa, that services the largest economy in Africa and is strengthening the competitiveness of African economies to achieve global prosperity.

He added that as a key player in the continent’s financial markets, NGX plays an active role in shaping the future of the markets through its investment in business innovation and technology.

“Our interest in the NGX is borne out of our desire to be a key player within the exchange business in Nigeria, contribute to the deepening of the Nigerian capital market and be a catalyst for capital formation within the Nigerian economy.

“With over a decade of operations, VFD Group has carved a niche for itself with over N50 billion in equities invested in over40 businesses without bias for sector or geography and we believe that our stake in the NGX will improve investor confidence in our country, drive capital appreciation and diversify our asset class,” Okpala said.

NGX Group provides a wide range of services including listing and trading securities, licensing, market data solutions, ancillary technology, regulation and real estate among others. It has three wholly-owned subsidiaries – NGX Exchange, NGX REGCO, and NGX RELCO. NGX Group also has controlling stake in CSCS and substantial stakes in other securities exchanges including FMDQ and NASD Plc.

Access Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and Abbey Mortgage Bank are some of the financial institutions working with Park101,  a luxury water front property in Ibeju-Lekki axis, Lagos on structured funding for property buyers.

Speaking during Park101 Real Estate conference in Lagos, Group Chief Operating Officer, Park101, Kayode Adegoye, said the financial institutions will be supporting prospective property buyers to secure funding.

He said the banks were waiting to finance property purchase for interested buyers.

Adegoye said buyers can go for the category of investment that suit their income.

“We are working with a lot of market providers that have indicated interest to finance buyers. So, funding is not a problem for prospective buyers. We also have vehicles that will support those that would want to invest in the project. The plan starts from N1 million upwards,” he said.

Adegoye added that  activities  are gradually picking up in the axis, with the planned take-off of  the Dangote Fertiliser Plant, Dangote Refinery, and Deep Sea Port,  within the Ibeju-Lekki axis.

“We are confident that when these activities pick up fully, the investment will be a good buy for investors,” he said.

“In this estate, there are about 175 units, 20 builders,  four service buildings, hotel and resort as well as a shopping mall,” he stated.

Adegoye said  early bird discounts involve three months flexible payment without interest to buyers of the several properties on sale.

He said buyers can spread payment over a longer period of time, and enjoy different payment plan depending on cashflow situation.

He said a group of people could buy a single or multiple units.

“They can spread payment over a longer period, divide the unit cost across a group of people buying the unit together and allow different payment plan depending on cashflow situation,” he said.

He said the PARK 101 is located in the emerging industrial hub at Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State. “Kissed by the sun with picturesque views, the property offers tastefuly finished, affordable luxury, high-end penthouses, duplexes and apartments overlooking nature.

“We are confident that the surge in the demand for temporary accommodations around the area by professionals could be met by apartments at Park101.

“Offering exclusivity, Park 101 residents enjoy stunning views, direct access to a private beach, swimming pools, private cinema, gym, landscaped gardens, kids play area, 24-hour security among other comforts.

“Built to high standards with luxury finish specifications, all bedrooms are en-suite and have large terraces to enjoy al-fresco entertaining of the resort,” he said.

Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, a member of Standard Bank Group, has awarded scholarships to 100  youths  who excelled in University Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and  gained admission for the 2021-2022  academic session.

The grants, which would provide the students with the financial aid needed to fulfill their educational needs and pursue their dreams, demonstrated the financial institution’s commitment towards the growth of the Nigerian education sector.

Each of the candidates, who had gained admission into universities, would receive scholarships worth N400,000. The grants would be disbursed in tranches of N100,000 across four academic years.

The financial institution stated that it focused on empowering the bright-minded individuals with the capacity to gain adequate knowledge needed to become great men and women in life.

The initiative which commenced in 2019 now has had almost 200  recipients. The beneficiaries were chosen across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria through fair screening processes.

According to Demola Sogunle, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, the scholarship was borne out of the need to empower hardworking and diligent young undergraduates, who aspired to pursue their tertiary education in any state or federal university in Nigeria.

AFEX, a commodities market player has secured first place in the  Financial Times (FT) ranking of Africa’s fastest growing companies – Agriculture & Commodities category 2022.

Despite the challenging business conditions, the company topped the list by demonstrating its revenue growth. AFEX added over 350,000 digital farmers to their WorkBench platform and announced the first Asset-Backed Commercial Paper listed on a Commodities Exchange in Africa.

The FT’s Africa Fastest Growing Companies list comprises innovative, modern and fast-growing companies that are the driving force of the international economy in the 21st century. Only 75 companies are featured on the list from thousands of entrants. In collaboration with Statista, the FT ranks the companies that had the strongest revenue growth in Africa between 2017 and 2020. AFEX also came in first place in the list of fastest-growing companies in Nigeria and third place in the overall list of fastest-growing companies in Africa.

AFEX has supported farmers across major grain growing states in the country.The company has over 126 warehouses in Nigeria, and Kenya, with a storage capacity of 120,000MT.

CEO, AFEX, Ayodeji Balogun said: “We’re delighted to have come top of the FT’s Africa’s fastest-growing Agriculture & Commodities list. It is a significant accomplishment and recognises the work we have been doing over the past eight years. Although the global pandemic has proved challenging over the past two years, we’ve worked extremely hard to improve Africa’s commodity market.”

Ecobank Nigeria has concluded arrangements to hold a consumer-focused and investment-oriented webinar entitled: “Today’s Opportunities for Your Money; Making the Best of the Moment”.

The webinar, slated for  Friday, by 11am is in commemoration of Workers’ Day and it will feature a panel of speakers, notably, Jimi Ogbobine; Head of Agusto Consulting, business experts from the bank’s Treasury and Consumer Products teams, as well as Ecobank Development Corporation (EDC), the bespoke investment arm of the Ecobank Group.

Head, Consumer Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Korede Demola-Adeniyi, said the webinar would focus on the investment opportunities available to customers and non customers considering macro-economic realities, adding that it will also provide a guide to investment in key sectors and the banks offerings to help them get the best out of today’s financial landscape.

“The purely virtual webinar is designed for workers,  salary earners, business owners and open to everyone. A consumer banking webinar of this magnitude is one of the numerous ways we retain our leading position as a Pan-African Bank and our customers’ preferred financial partner and this year’s Workers’ Day celebration gives us another opportunity to provide them value that goes beyond banking.”

She explained: “In putting together this webinar, our goal is to provide every individual; irrespective of their location, class or income range, the right financial advice to help them unlock maximum value for their money. People work hard for their money and they deserve to acquire the insights that will help them put their money to work. We believe this webinar will help them achieve that.”

 

Slum Art Foundation has unveiled the first-of-its-kind polyethylene terephthalate (P.E.T) bottle-built school for slum children in the Ijora Badia community to allow access to art education.

The project was funded by World Connect, a global initiative that invests in the ideas of local leaders to drive self-sustaining development in their communities. This funding has allowed Slum Art Foundation to continue shaping a new set of young art enthusiasts.

The project, which started in 2019, provides access to learning, mentorship, and training in a creatively conducive environment to underserved children in Nigeria. By providing access to education, these children will learn the skill sets needed to become valuable members of society.

As a not-for-profit organisation, Slum Art Foundation, which provides support to the Ijora Badia community by training, mentoring, and reforming mindsets of the children living in the slum continues to help in grooming a new set of young art enthusiast.

Co-founder, Slum Art Foundation, Adetunwase Adenle expressed his excitement on completing the school building project for the community. He said the school would provide a haven for children to enjoy the experience of learning art in a convenient space.

He further stated that the launch had brought relief to the tutors and youths as it came during the rainy season, and provides a shelter where learning could continue regardless of the weather.

Adenle reiterated that the rationale behind the use of plastic bottles in the construction of the school was aimed at showcasing the artistic use of potential waste materials that litter across the society, educating the children in the slum on the impact on the community if not properly disposed or recycled.

He expressed the organisation’s  gratitude to the World Connect initiative, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), and Oluwaseun Dania International Foundation, for their  support to the project and other empowerment initiatives in empowering young people within the Ijora Badia community.

Africa’s first Digital Bank, ALAT By Wema, has unveiled its #BeAudacious campaign, as part of activities commemorating its fifth anniversary.

The campaign, led by the Brand Ambassador and one of Africa’s leading music icons, Davido, saw ALAT’s targetting the opening of one million new accounts in 24 hours that was also an attempt at putting Nigeria into the Guinness Book of World Records for another first, in the financial services sector.

The initiative went viral and had the global audience shaken as financial analysts, marketers, brand specialists, social and lifestyle influencers across social media platforms engaged in various discussions on the move that was executed with Guinness World Record officials as observers.

Apart from the attempt at the world record, the campaign was also a reward scheme to appreciate customers for their loyalty to ALAT in its five years. Thus, participants got rewarded with  prizes, including data and airtime.

The campaign had started two days earlier when mysterious Red Boxes with QR Codes sprang up in various parts of the country, with an invitation  to take the step and scan the QR codes with the #SpotTheRedBoxes and win  freebies.

The Chief Digital Officer, Wema Bank, Segun Adeniyi, said: “We are thankful to our customers for this milestone. We appreciate their belief and the unprecedented acceptance of ALAT, our flagship digital bank that improves lives and enhances lifestyles away from the in-branch banking experience. It is our special way of giving back to our customers nationwide and celebrating youthfulness, innovation, and evolution of the ALAT By Wema brand, which has played a starring role in Nigeria’s digital banking ecosystem.”.

Adeniyi added that the successes of ALAT in the past five years were a win for Nigerians as it reaffirms its innovation and that comfort and accessibility for customers would remain the core.

Launched in 2017 by Wema Bank, ALAT is Nigeria’s and Africa’s first digital bank that enables modern lifestyle banking without being at a bank. These include account opening, funding, seamless bill payment, transactions, and money transfer, saving goals, free card delivery, instant loan, goal-based loan, and device-based loan. It is available for download on Android, iOS, and web apps.

Access Bank Plc has announced the promotion of 800 employees following  a robust performance management review in line with global best practices.

This announcement comes as the financial giant shores up its transition to a Holding Company (Holdco) starting May 1, 2022. The bank’s growth over the years has been due to the immeasurable effort and sacrifice of its employees.

The beneficiaries of the performance review spanned the bank’s senior, middle, and junior management levels. The management strives to put employees in the best position to grow and be successful in today’s highly competitive work environment, the bank said.

Access Bank has demonstrated that employee performance and rewards remain a critical pillar of the bank’s business. It has provided adequate resources to deepen core job skills while entrenching a culture of high performance amongst employees.

The bank’s penchant for rewarding high performance is, particularly, highlighted by the yearly CEO Awards, one of the programmes under its ‘We Clap Initiative’ designed to support the development of a culture of excellence as well as motivate employees and teams for superior performance.

Recently, Access Bank was named the best institution to work in Nigeria by global professional network company, LinkedIn, having assessed data across seven pillars that serve as identifiers of career progression, namely: the ability to advance, skills growth, company stability, external opportunity, company affinity, gender diversity and spread of educational backgrounds.