The Nation Newspaper

Tag: $100m

  • Oduduru is a world beater in 100m, 200m

    Nigeria’s sprint sensation Divine Oduduru broke his Personal Best Stadium Record and set a World Leading time of 9.95s and 19.76s, to win 100m and 200m at the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco, Texas.

    Oduduru, running for Texas Tech, beat his personal best by over a tenth of a second and is officially the fastest man in the world this year.

    The Delta State-born sprinter becomes the first Nigerian to break the sub 10s barrier since Olusoji Fasuba almost did so 13 years ago and he also broke Francis Obikwelu’s 20-year-old 200m National record of 19.84s.

    Oduduru, 22, said after the race: “I worked for it and I got it”

    “In my 35 years of coaching, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Tech coach Wes Kittley said after Oduduru recorded the double wins in the 100m and 200m events.

    “To run that 9.94 and then 40 minutes later, ran the 200m. This was a really tight schedule and pretty spectacular performances that close together.”

    Oduduru won the 200 metres at the past two NCAA championships — the outdoor last June in Eugene, Oregon, and the indoor in March at Birmingham, Alabama.

    He broke the Clyde Hart Stadium records of 10.02 and 20.30, both set by then-Baylor star Trayvon Bromell, who won the 2016 World Championships gold medal in the 60 meters.

    Oduduru also broke his previous school records: 10.10s that he ran last April, also at the Michael Johnson Invitational, and 20.13 that he ran last May at the Big 12 meet in Waco.

    Oduduru has the 200m fastest indoor time – 20.08s and 3rd fastest 60m indoor time at 6.52s.

    Oduduru is a five-time African Junior Champion and won the Silver medal at the 2014 World Junior Championships in Athletics in Eugene, USA. He also won the Silver medal at the 2015 African Games in Congo-Brazzaville.

  • Fidelity seals $100m trade deals

    Fidelity Bank Plc sealed about $105 million in trade deals  at the ongoing Intra-Africa Trade Fair in Cairo, Egypt, its Executive Director, Nneka Onyeali-Ikpe, has said.

    She said the bank successfully midwifed and secured the financial deals for its customers, adding that the bank came into the the fair with 20 exporters.

    She said the bank is leveraging on its high retail banking base and buoyed by an increasing Small and  Medium enterprises’ clientele base, closing the  deals with various trade partners within this exhibition period in Cairo, adding that the  bank’s export financing has jumped from about $10 million to $105 million. The bank export initiative is driven by advisory services, capacity building and market access.

    Onyeali-Ikpe, who spoke at the bank’s stand said these transactions are some of the highest volume of deals closed by any Nigerian bank at the trade exhibition, adding that the volume could rise before the close of the fair. It was also observed that the bank is the  only Nigerian bank with a strong presence at the fair, apart from development finance institutions, that sponsored about ten of its customers to the fair with the aim of further empowering them psychologically to  begin to look into the global  trade space as a prelude to growing their business skills.

    According to Onyeali-kpe, governments in Africa have tried to facilitate this exhibition but must strive to enliven more serious infrastructure through which trade can flourish in the region.

    She noted that because technology drives trade, it is more important that relevant facilities must be put in place. She noted that an effective transformation of Africa must be achieved when a strong and structured trade opportunities involving huge amount of money.

  • Google, Accel and Jay Z invest in life insurance start-up Ethos valued over $100m

    Ethos has raised $35 million in a funding round led by Accel and backed by Google Ventures.

    That investment has been valued at more than $100 million, a CNBC report said..

    Ethos has seen a more than 400 per cent jump in revenue, customers and applications in the last four months.

    It is a start-up, which can process life insurance applications in a matter of minutes, and  has raised $35 million in a funding round led by Accel and backed by Google’s venture capital arm.

    The latest investment raises the San Francisco-based firm’s total funding to over $46 million, and  the firm is now valued at more than $100 million.

    The deal, which marks Ethos’ second major round of investment, saw Accel’s partner, Nate Niparko, join the firm’s board of directors, while Google Ventures General partner, Tyson Clark, will act as an advisor to the board.

    Existing investors, Sequoia Capital and Arrive, the venture fund of United States’ rapper Jay Z’s entertainment firm, Roc Nation, also  participated in the funding round.

    Accel’s Niparko said the insurance sector is a $1 trillion industry that is still largely dependent on pen and paper, pushy salespeople, doctor office visits, and legacy systems.

    He said this is why “we believe there is a tremendous opportunity to simplify the process through technology and that’s exactly what Ethos has built”.

    He highlighted other bets the firm has made on insurance technology start-ups like Shift Technology, which uses artificial intelligence to detect fraudulent insurance claims, and The Zebra, a car insurance marketplace.

    “We believe that Ethos is the first player in the life insurance space that’s truly poised to make a difference in how Americans purchase and interact with their insurance provider,” Niparko added.

    Ethos, which uses data analytics to predict a person’s life expectancy, said it is able to cut the time normally taken to apply for life insurance policies from 10 weeks to just 10 minutes, and that insurance claims are paid out “within weeks.” It also claims that more than 99 per cent of its customers do not require a medical examination or blood test in order to get a policy.

  • $100m cassava plant coming to Kwara community

    Residents of Edidi, Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State have rolled out the drums to welcome American investors and their Nigerian partners in their community. The partners plan to build a $100m cassava production and processing plant there.

    The residents beat their talking drum and fired celebratory gunshots into the air to express their joyous mood. One of the American visitors also broke into a dance, drawing admiration from the locals.

    The event took place at the palace of Eledidi of Edidi land, Oba Gabriel Aboyeji.

    Receiving the visitors, Oba Aboyeji assured that the investors would not regret investing in his domain, adding,”there will be no hindrance of any form.

    “I urge you, therefore, to consider first indigenes of the community as soon as the project kicks-off. We are assuring you of our cooperation as the community is peaceful.”

    The two American investors, Ecotech-rab and Tranfeed Group along with their Nigerian partner, Satco Global Group promised to, in the next 18 months, establish cassava production and processing factories in the community.

    The factories which will be sited in Edidi, Irepodun Local Government Area of the state are expected to gulp a sum of $100 million

    The factories when completed are expected to create about 2,500 jobs, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Satco Global Group, Femi D Philips said.

    Mr. Philips said, “We are the sponsors of this project and it is going to cost us about $100 million. We intend to complete it in the next 18 months. The project is expected to gulp about five thousand hectares of land. The first phase will about two streams of 120 tons per day and there will be an upgrade of 48 tons per day; giving us about 168 tons per day for a stream.

    “We are going to bring our expertise into planting cassava in a manner that will allow for optimum yield. So we are bringing our species from outside Nigeria and blend with the local species in Nigeria. We are looking at working with IITA in this area.

    “We are going to be producing starch powder, ethanol and production of feeds for livestock and others. It is an agro-business kind of.”