Category: Small Business and Entreprenuership

FOR many decades, farmers in Onicha-Ugbo and neighbouring communities in Aniocha Local Government Area (LGA) of Delta State have either sold their yields at give-away prices or helplessly watched them perish.

From freshly harvested fruits, vegetables, legumes, plantains and even yams; motorists who ply the ever-busy Asaba-Benin Road have enjoyed restocking their supplies at below market prices from these farmers who market their produce by sampling them along lonely paths seeking urgent buyers.

But fate seems to have smiled on them with the siting of the multi-billion agro processing factory, the largest in Africa, estimated to commence operations by January, next year.

The $1.6 billion agro processing factory whose groundbreaking ceremony was done earlier this year, is being constructed by Tingo Foods International Holdings Incorporation.

It was, therefore, not surprising the excitement that greeted the news of the agro processing factory located at Ishiekpe village in Onicha-Ugbo among farming communities in Issele-Uku, Idumuje-Unor, Igbodo, Obior, Idumuje-Ugboko, Ewohinmi and Ubulu-Uku, all communities sharing boundaries with Onicha-Ugbo.

The reason for their excitement is not farfetched. Aside that these farmers would have the option of selling their yields directly to the company that seeks to serve the African and global markets quality, thus leading to price increment; as many of them that want to venture into Small and Medium Scale processing will be able to do so with the help of solar energy Tingo plans to introduce.

Explaining why he chose the community as the site for the factory, Tingo Foods founder, Dozy Mmobuosi, a native of Onicha-Ugbo, said it was his way of giving back to his people.

According to him, the project was expected to save Africa from paying foreign exchange to import finished food products, adding that it would also improve the exportation of Made in Africa foods to the world, enhance inter-Africa commerce through the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, as well as sell high quality and nutritious food products in Nigeria.

The goal of the project said to have the capacity of providing over 12,000 direct employment,  Mmobuosi said, was to revolutionise the African Food Industry, boost Nigeria’s economy and contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) eight and two- decent work and economic growth; zero hunger-.

Mmobuosi noted that the facility is the first phase of a multi-billion dollar investment that the company plans to make in the African food industry.

“The company will decongest the labour market with the creation of no fewer than 12,000 direct employment with the setting up of its food processing facility in Delta State.

“In recent times, the African food processing industry has thrived at a snail pace, with low productivity and poor usage of human capital,” he said.

Making reference to a recently released World Bank’s report, Mmobuosi said Africa’s farmers and agri-businesses could create N1 trillion dollar food market by 2030 if they can expand their access to more capital, electricity, better technology and irrigated land to grow high-value nutritious foods; and if the governments  can work more closely with agri businesses to feed the region’s fast-growing urban population.

He said the factory would allow the company to expand its  product range of rice, pasta, noodles, other staple foods, to new areas like tea, coffee, cereals, chocolate, biscuits, cooking oils, non-dairy milks, carbonated drinks and mineral water

Already, the businessman said Tingo Foods had entered into partnership with Evtec Energy, to build a $150 million net zero carbon emission solar plant to provide a sustainable and low-cost energy source for the factory.

“Our partnership with Evtec Energy is a significant step toward establishing a sustainable and innovative future for Nigeria’s and Africa’s agro-industrial sectors.

“Our commitment to create jobs and boost economic growth is unwavering and through our collaboration with leading technology experts we can realise our vision of a green and prosperous future for Africa.

“This is just the beginning of our journey into the sustainable energy sector, and we look forward to exploring new possibilities for collaboration and innovation in the future,” he said.

Moved to upgrade the building sector, a firm, Atlantic Exhibition, is to hold an exhibition.

Tagged the BUILDMACEX Exhibition, it will hold from March 21 to 23  at the Eko Hotel Convention Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The exhibition organiser, Mr. Ayodeji Olugbade, stated this, according to a statement by the Media Consultant, Mr. Olalekan Otun.

According to Olugbade, “5,000 participants, 200 exhibitors, 15 countries, 20 speakers and 10 sponsors have confirmed to attend the three-day eighth edition of BUILDMACEX 2023 “

Olugbade said: “BUILDMACEX is an international exhibition and conference focused on transforming the building, construction, and machinery industry in Nigeria and other part of West Africa countries.”

He said the Business-to-Business (B2B) event is aimed at driving and supporting changes in architectural design, building construction, and machinery, through the use of modern technologies in the industry.

Olugbade added: “There are masterclasses sessions focused on fire safety and protection session, building interior innovation, bim and digital construction session, supply chain and logistics session , financing session, real estate revolution session and building,  construction and machine innovation session.

“Buildmacex exhibition would showcase technological innovation in the building industry and meeting with key distributors from different countries in West Africa.”

“Key players in the building, construction, and machinery industry are attending the BUILDMACEX 2023, West Africa’s largest expo on building,  construction, and machinery industry, to learn new skills to push their businesses, deepen market penetration, reinforce brand building to reach  their target audience, interconnect industry skilled and unskilled professionals, buyers and visitors from the West Africa region.”

THE Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and International Trade Centre (ITC) are empowering women to explore the huge cash in exports.

 Under its SheTrades Initiative, ITC launched the second phase of its programme: “Empowering women and boosting livelihoods through agricultural trade: Leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).”

Spanning four countries – Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria and South Africa –, the programme was developed in 2021 to promote women’s participation in the AfCFTA and increase their access to capacity building and higher-productivity activities, capitalising on the new opportunities in regional trade created by the AfCFTA agreement.

As the programme transitions into its second phase, two new countries will be targeted – Senegal and the United Republic of Tanzania – while a component on women’s access to finance will be piloted in Ghana and Nigeria.

“We are excited to see the programme’s growth and how it is reaching out to more women’s organisations and decision-makers in different countries and at different levels. The programme is a great demonstration of our technical efforts to support inclusive agribusiness development in collaboration with regional partners and the AfCFTA Secretariat,” said the Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa, FAO, Abebe Haile-Gabriel.

“The AfCFTA has the potential to transform African economies and the livelihoods of millions of people – if it is accessible to everyone.To deliver on its promise, the voices of women, particularly those in the agrifood sector, must be reflected in every step of implementation.’’

 Now in its second phase, the programme is designed to deliver on this transformational agenda by harnessing the expertise of FAO and ITC,” said Executive Director, ITC, Pamela Coke-Hamilton. 

Throughout its first phase, the programme focused on mapping and analysing priority regional value chains, developing and disseminating policy recommendations and building the capacity of formal and informal women producers, processors, entrepreneurs and traders. Attending three in-person trainings, 160 women from the agrifood sector in Malawi, Ghana and Nigeria gained valuable skills on tools and resources for simpler trade under the AfCFTA, rights of traders when using border posts, gender-based violence, harassment and corruption in cross-border trade.

• To groom digital agro entrepreneurs

OCP Africa, a subsidiary of Moroccan phosphate and fertiliser giant, OCP Group, is partnering Microsoft’s Africa Transformation Office, to groom digital agro entrepreneurs to strengthen food security in Africa.

Announcing this at the fifth United Nations conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in Doha, Qatar, the comanies said the partnership will support smallholder farmers and other agri-stakeholders across the continent by 2025.

OCP Africa will work with the technology company to scale up its digital agriculture platform by integrating innovative technologies, including the cloud and Agri data platform. 

The platform will help improve farmer productivity while helping them manage their businesses. It will also ensure their access to products and Agri-services and facilitate their communication with stakeholders.

In addition, the collaboration will afford OCP Africa the opportunity to explore the use of big data, machine learning, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

“We believe that precision farming, driven by the adoption of advanced technologies in agriculture, will revolutionise food production and help end hunger and poverty in Africa,” said the General Manager, Microsoft Africa Cluster, Wael Elkabbany.

 For Elkabbany, technology is the “key factor to enabling and increasing access to finance, equipment, and sustainability for rural farmers, empowering local farmers in Africa.”

He believes that OCP Africa and Microsoft’s partnership will have a direct positive impact on smallholder farmers, as well as improve agricultural production.

African agriculture is witnessing a “moment of transformation,” said the Chief Executive, OCP Africa Mohamed Anouar Jamali, stressing the valuable opportunities that farmers, and the industry as a whole, have.

 The digitisation of agricultural practices will help smallholder farmers optimise their decision-making, he explained, arguing that it would, in turn, optimise production.

 “The partnership between OCP Africa and Microsoft will allow us to increase the services provided and scale up our digital platform, expand our reach, and have an even bigger impact on food security across the continent,” Jamali added.

The Lagos State Government has been training some people to strengthen the management of its social safety net programmes, promote more-effective coverage and facilitate access to employment for the most-vulnerable populations. DANIEL ESSIET reports

THE Lagos State Government aims to reduce poverty by protecting vulnerable populations through cash transfers and other measures that will help improve the state’s human capital indicators.

It will also promote opportunities through access to productive inclusion initiatives and jobs.

The Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mrs. Yetunde Arobieke, said the government is prioritising empowerment activities for women and youths to strengthen community resilience and promote inclusive growth.

One of these is through NG-CARES, the initiative of the Federal Government alongside the 36 states’ governments, in collaboration with the World Bank.

The Lagos State COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (LG-CARES), the social safety net support project, is an outgrowth of the larger programme meant to reduce poverty, and improve the poor.

LG CARES Programme seeks to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic at the state-level, by protecting the livelihoods of the poor and vulnerable households and supporting the recovery of local economic activity, especially among Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

As the state transitions to a mega status, she indicated that the government is revamping its social protection system to meet the rapidly-changing needs of growth such as urbanisation and others.

So far, the government has built the capacity of facilitators to go to the field for validation, and enrollment of beneficiaries using the state social register.

However, the  kick off of NG-Cares Social Transfer (DLII.I ), which was meant for last  Thursday had been suspended, according to the Commissioner to mourn the victims of train and bus accident that occurred in the early hours of that day in Ikeja.

She, however, appealed to the beneficiaries of the  NG-Cares Social Transfer initiative to join the state government in the mourning.

Seed investments in Israeli startups grew by 22 per cent  last year compared to 2021, from S1.3 billion to S1.6 billion, Start-Up Nation Central, has said.

Some of the increase in seed investments was  as a result of a shift to earlier stage investments by investors who had traditionally invested only in later stages.

According to its analysis of the investors in the Israeli high-tech industry since 2014, 17 investors, who until 2021, had invested only in A rounds and above, participated in 22 seed rounds last year.

While there are several reasons for prioritising seed investments over later stage rounds, the report noted that the  main reason appears to be the extremely high valuations in the later stage rounds.

The average number of investors in each early-stage round, it added, is  on the rise, and the trend is especially prominent in the seed rounds.

Between 2019 and last year, the  organisation maintained that  the average number of investors in each seed round nearly doubled. The most significant increase occurred last year, when an average of one additional investor was added to each round compared to the 2021 average.

The total volume of investments in 2022 plummeted by almost one-half – from an unprecedented $27 billion in 2021 to some U$ 15.5 billion in the past year. The overall number of funding rounds in 2022 also declined to 826 compared to 1,103 rounds in the previous year.

Start-Up Nation Central’s Chief Executive, Avi Hasson noted: “A multi-year perspective shows that 2021 and not 2022 was the exceptional year in the Israeli high tech industry.”

The unrealistic quantum leap in investments, market cap, and transaction multiples in 2021 corrected itself in 2022, and alongside global macroeconomic trends, there was a markedly significant decline in investments, particularly in the second half-year of 2022. Nevertheless, the investments, exits, and high levels of demand continue.”