The Nation Newspaper

Tag: firm

  • Firm acquires coating machine

  • Firm to create 7000 jobs

    JUNO Food, an indigenous food processing company in Edo State, has signed a management agreement with Italy-based renowned management and consulting outfit, Stillwater Consults, to boast its production.

    In the agreement  signed by Head, Stillwater Consult, Mr Francis Onabis and Chairman Juno Foods Senator Victor Kassim Oyofo in Edo State, the firm targets about 7000 jobs in the next two years.

    Under the new management, JUNO Food will expand its product line from the conventional tropic cornflakes to include beans flour, yam flour, corn flour, cassava flour, wheat flour, and custard powder.

    Onabis said with the new agreement, the food firm will employ over 500 workers  at its  factory  on the Benin-Okene road, Agbede in Etsako West Local Government Area, Edo State.

    He added that another 3000 indirect jobs would be created with the restructuring of the food firm, while 5000 hectares of farm land will be cultivated for raw materials.

    Oyofo said the new partnership was to reposition the brand to be major manufacturer of corn flakes and staples flours in the south.

  • Firm unveils edutainment toys

    Toys are meant for the  entertainment of babies, toddlers and kids. They are mainly purchased by parents for their entertainment values.

    But, there is a changing trend to this, as toys serve dual purpose, thereby improving value for money.

    Last week, Ethan and Harriet, an educational toys manufacturing firm, took steps to up the ante in toys manufacturing when it launched a new range of toys with entertainment as well as educational values – ‘Lift n Learn Magnetic Puzzle’ and ‘Family Floor Nigeria Puzzle’

    The firm, which prides itself as Nigeria’s leading educational toy manufacturing company, hopes that with this unveiling, it will give a new appeal to children, and champion  the promotion and preservation of African culture through educational toys and games.

    Speaking at the event,  former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, praised the Ethan & Harriet founder/CEO, Mrs Bunmi Williams for rejigging cultural transmission to younger generation in a creative manner .

    He noted that adults would benefit from the new products.

    Obasanjo, who lamented the growing neglect of history among the crop of the younger generation, likened a man that knows nothing about his history to a man that has lost his memory.

    The former President said it was unfortunate that history is no longer taught in schools; hence, the lack of understanding by most younger generation of the country. “I came from the Mambila Plateau few days ago, and when I told people that I was at the Mambila Plateau, they asked what country it was in. Mambila Plateau is in Taraba State,” he said.

    He expressed hope that the new product would impact everybody, assuring that it would teach them what they need to know about their country and state, what they produce or  are known for.

    Mrs Williams said she was inspired to create the puzzles to preserve Nigeria’s heritage.

    “We created this to bridge the gap – as a fun way to teach our values. We have spotted a disconnect between many Africans and their heritage and a lack of knowledge as it pertains to African history being passed on to children. Ethan & Harriet intend to bridge this gap by educating children through toys, which would in turn impart knowledge about African history in an engaging and appealing manner.”

    The Product reviewer, a former governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke, also lamented the relegation of history in schools, adding the product was good.

    Duke said Ethan & Harriet’s intervention to bridge this knowledge gap should be lauded as it has come to resuscitate our culture and heritage which are dying gradually.

    Also, former Osun State deputy governor, Erelu Olusola Obada, charged parents to be conscious about their children’s learning tools.

    The event was graced by the creme-de-la-creme of the society.

    They include fashion icon, Abba Folawiyo; Barclays Ayakoroma, who represented Lai Mohammed, Minister for Information; Chief S. K. Onafowokan, former president, Lagos State Chamber of Commerce and Industries; Mrs. Ronke Soyombo, Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Lagos State Ministry of Education,and Dr Femi Ogunsanya, President, Association of Private Educators in Nigeria (APEN).

     

  • Firm to raise N300m for low cost schools

    An educational firm Head High International has unveiled plans to build new low cost private schools for less privileged families as well as invest heavily in curriculum technology and teacher trainings.

    The firm will be raising N300 million by selling N1.00 a share through a mortgage bank in order to support this cause.

    Its Co-chairman, Prof James Tooley, an international expert on low cost private schools, said at the launch of the initiative last Thursday at the Centre for Values and Leadership (CVL) centre, Victoria Island that it was birthed to satisfy the desire of the less privileged families who crave quality but affordable education for their wards.

    Tooley, who is the International Patron of the Association of Formidable and Educational Development (AFED) said: “This new chain has the potential to transform low cost private education in Nigeria. It is an honour to be associated with AFED, which is committed to serving low income families with high quality, affordable educational opportunities.”

    Also speaking at the event, Prof Pat Utomi who is the national patron of AFED said:”AFED and Head High International will provide the opportunity for social impact investment through which good returns can come and social transformation come from investing. This offer provides a remarkable opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.”

  • Military/Shi’ite clash report: ‘President must be firm’

    •Group faults police’s killing of protesting workers in Nasarawa 

    A group, Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE-Nigeria), has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to be transparent, truthful and decisive in handling reports of enquiry into the last military/Shiite clash in Kaduna State.

    CURE-Nigeria, in a statement by its Executive Director, Sylvester Uhaa, said the way Buhari handles the report will impact “on the rule of law and protection of human rights, especially the protection of the right to life.”

    The group’s position followed President Buhari’s assurance that the Federal Government would respond appropriately to findings in the report.

    Uhaa faulted the killing by policemen of two workers in Nasarawa State, who were among those protesting the state’s planned reduction in wages.

    He described the incident as “barbaric, cruel and unlawful.”

    Uhaa hailed the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for its decision to probe the Nasarawa killings, and urged it to this to other killings, such as pro-Biafra supporters in Onitsha last June.

    The executive director, an expert in international human rights law, urged the Federal Government to enact an adequate domestic framework on the use of force by law officers.

    He said the government should provide law personnel with less lethal weapons and train them on managing  assembly to reduce the use of lethal weapons to prevent the continued arbitrary and unlawful use of lethal force against unarmed citizens.

    “A situation where police officers are provided with only two weapons – a firearm and a baton is unacceptable, as it encourages the use of firearms,” Uhaa said.

    He faulted the practice where citizens obtain police permission before engaging in protest, saying “the right to peaceful assembly is a right and not a privilege.”

    Uhaa argued that such request could only be justified where it is required “for the purpose of facilitating the enjoyment of this right and to ensure that other citizens enjoy their rights as well.

    “Therefore, failure to notify authorities does not render an assembly unlawful and should not form any basis for dispersal. And shooting into the crowd is prohibited.

    “Also, the right to peaceful assembly is an individual right, and not a group right, meaning that the violent actions of some participants cannot be used as an excuse to employ lethal force to disperse those whose intention and actions remain peaceful.

    “Also, organisers of peaceful assembly should not be held civilly, criminally and administratively accountable for organising or participating in a peaceful assembly.

    “In addition, participants in peaceful assembly require the protection and enjoyment of a broad range of rights, including the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, expression, association and belief, participation, bodily integrity, which includes the right to security, dignity, privacy, freedom from torture, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment as well as the right to an effective remedy, should any of these rights are violated.

    “Even if participants in an assembly are not peaceful and as such lose their right to peaceful assembly, other rights remain intact, only subject to normal limitations.

    “The right to peaceful assembly places an obligation on the state to protect, respect and fulfil this right, and when those trusted with the responsibility to respect, protect and fulfil this right become its violators, they must be held accountable, as failure to do so in itself constitutes a violation of this right,” Uhaa said.

  • Firm restates commitment to CSR

    Firm restates commitment to CSR

    Mantrac Nigeria Limited, the sole dealer of Caterpillar products and services in the country, has restated its commitment to investing in corporate social responsibility (CSR).

    The company’s CSR initiative focuses on boosting the skills of young engineers. It has created e-learning website for engineering graduates, who plan to become technicians in Nigeria and other African countries.

    The website is leveraging on Caterpillar’s state-of-the-art e-learning solutions and making them available to those interesed in becoming a career as a heavy equipment technician. It is expected to bridge the gap that exists between human labour and required skills.

    Three  of the candidates, who completed the Caterpillar e-learning modules were honoured and given their certificates and Caterpillar kits by the company at its head office in Lagos.

    Its Managing Director, Edmund Martin-Lawson, who described the initiative as “giving back to society,”said: “the training would help the beneficiaries to upgrade their skills and foundation knowledge of Cat products and their operations”.

    Martin-Lawson said the company also provides Caterpillar engines and generators for the oil sector and industrial users, as well as the small range of generators for small –scale industries and residential applications.

    Technical Training Manager, Lateef Adenle said the free, e-learning curriculum contained 18 modules of easy-to-understand, technical insights into safety and basic fundamental systems like electrical, hydraulics and power train.

    He said Caterpillar recognised the technicians by giving them certificates of completion, adding that the first five persons, who completed the modules were equipped with Caterpillar special tools to aid their work in future, adding that their experiences would be shared on Caterpillar’s website.

    Earlier, the training manager had conducted the participants round the various departments of the company in the country, including the workshop, re-building section and generator assembly plant, to acquaint them with the operational logistics of the company.

    Echoing similar sentiments, the Company’s Service Operation Manager, Ahmed Ragab, said access to the basic Caterpillar Technician curriculum was free. He said those who registered for the curriculum had the opportunity to upgrade their knowledge and upon successful completion of the curriculum, would be given their certificates of completion to support their chances of getting jobs.

    One of the participants, Adebowale Olorunlana, an engineering graduate from the Lagos State University (LASU), while thanking the company for the opportunity, said the training was capable of upgrading his skill and urged the company to extend the opportunity to other engineering graduates across the country.

  • Firm launches e-learning portal for engineers, technicians

    Caterpillar has introduced technicians for Africa project, an e-learning website for engineering graduates, who desire to become technicians in Nigeria and other African countries.

    The website leverages Caterpillar’s  e-learning solutions and makes them available for anyone that has the interest to develop a career as a heavy equipment technician. It is expected to bridge the gap that exists between human labour and required skills.

    In Nigeria, three of the candidates, who successfully completed the Caterpillar e-learning modules, were honoured and given their certificates and Caterpillar kits by the company at their head office in Lagos.

    The Managing Director of Mantrac Nigeria Limited, Edmund Martin-Lawson, who described the initiative as giving back to the society, said the training would help the “beneficiaries to upgrade their skills and foundation knowledge of Cat products and their operations”.

    He said two other candidates, who successfully participated in the scheme in Port Harcourt, would also be honoured. Mantrac Nigeria Limited, he stated, was the sole authorised dealer for Caterpillar products and services in the country. According to him, the company supplies and supports machines for a wide and varied application in infrastructural, agricultural and mining development sectors as well as range of Forklift Trucks for material handling.

    He also told The Nation that the company also provides Caterpillar engines and generators for the oil and gas industry, industrial users as well as small range of generators for small scale industries and residential application.

    He congratulated the participants on being part of the pilot phase of the Caterpillar’s corporate social responsibility initiative.

    Technical Training Manager, Lateef Adenle said the free e-learning curriculum contained 18 modules of easy-to-understand, technical insights into safety and basic fundamental systems like electrical, hydraulics and power train.

    He said Caterpillar recognised the technicians by giving them certificates of completion, adding that the first five persons, who completed the modules, were equipped with Caterpillar special tools to aid their work in future. Their experiences would be shared on Caterpillar’s website, he added.

  • Firm unveils first online auction platform

    One Naira Integrated Resources Ltd, owners of i-naira.com brand, has launched the first online auctioning platform in Nigeria.

    The firm is a wholly owned Nigerian company with speciality in consumer sales promotion. It was established to deliver  value bargains to under-served consumers across the country. Speaking on the innovative platform, Hillary Nwaukor, CEO, i-naira.com, said it was founded to fill a yawning gap in the market, which is delivery of value bargains to consumers.

    He noted that the company through its auctioning platform will act as a middle man between merchants/vendors and consumers seeking for value bargains online. “Our goal is to help companies reach a broader consumer base across the country beyond their traditional audience and channels.

    “Our robust self-aware intelligent platform, i-naira.com, offers bargain merchandise in categories that include fashion, electronics, household items, automobiles and real estate, using promotions and auctioning as tools,” Nwaukor said.

    He pointed out that in auctioning, prices can start at zero but an auction will only close at a price within the agreeable terms between i-naira.com and the vendor that provided the item for sale. He emphasised that “some auctions are absolute while others are reserved”. Effectively, what this means is that an absolute auction can start and close at any amount and the last bidder wins the item but a reserved bid can start at any amount but must close at a reserved price acceptable by the vendor or at an amount higher before a winner can emerge.

    All deals on i-naira.com starts at N5000 only. Hillary Nwaukor disclosed that  i-naira.com have also been recognised and encouraged by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the recent invitation to share its innovation story with start-up companies and investors at a forum organised in Abuja in July by the Office for ICT Innovation & Entrepreneurship (OIIE) under the auspices of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). The company also signed a major deal that gives i-naira.com the exclusive rights to auction Austin Jay-Jay Okocha’s memorabilia for his foundation, the Jay-Jay Okocha Foundation the same month.

    When asked on abuse of the system by those who may bid for items and refuse to pay for them, he highlighted that there are measures in place to mitigate against such occurrence.  For instance, to use the platform, there is  one-time registration fee of N2, 000. This deters unserious customers from using the platform. Secondly, when a bid is won and bidder refuses to pay, the account is suspended until a mandatory 15per cent penalty calculated from the final bid on the item is paid.

    After unveiling its pre-launch campaign in February, i-naira.com has successfully collated over 300,000 re-marketable data from Nigerians interested in wares auctioned and has recorded  an average monthly hit of three million visitors to its website. The company’s micro-blogging handle is also verified by Twitter.

    A member of Certified Institute of Auctioneers, Nigeria (CIAN), i-naira.com is adjudged the first technologically driven auction platform in Nigeria by the Certified Institute of Auctioneers, Nigeria.

  • Firm rates Lagos as most expensive African City in 2016

    Firm rates Lagos as most expensive African City in 2016

    •Projects increase in malls development

    Irrespective of drop in rents and increasing number of vacant houses, Lagos has been rated as the most expensive city in 2016 in the entire African continent.

    In the latest report published by a real estate firm, Savills, the firm noted that “Lagos has seen both a downward movement in office rent at -20 per cent and the effect of currency devaluation by the government -30 per cent. The amplification effect here significantly improves the city’s affordability for dollar-denominated companies.” This affirms that the impact of economic meltdown engendered by foreign exchange scarcity and drop in global oil revenue has also affected the real estate sector.

    The report further submitted that despite remaining one of the most expensive cities in the world, decline in Lagos rents implies that the city now “looks 27 per cent more affordable for international occupiers.”

    Yolande Barnes, director, Savills World Research, said: “Office-based businesses operating in major cities will spend one-third of their total operating costs on accommodation through a combination of commercial rents, paid directly to landlords, and demands on salaries created by the cost of employees’ living accommodation. Fluctuations in these costs will therefore have a significant bearing on how competitive a city is to employers.”

    The Savills “live-work index”, which measures the yearly per person cost of renting and occupying home and office per employee and their household) in 12 world cities, also noted that London, which has maintained the position of the most expensive city in the world for the past two and the half years, was overtaken by the city of New York. This is believed to be an effect of the referendum that saw the United Kingdom (UK) vote to leave the European Union. Since the referendum, prices of properties in the UK have been on the downward slope with little signs of recovery.

    In a similar development, the seeming retail revolution in some countries in Africa, particularly Nigeria, has not gone unnoticed. Going by a report from Sagaci Research, a market intelligence firm dedicated to African markets, by 2018, 223 new shopping centres are expected to be opened on the African continent.

    A breakdown of this shows that Nigeria only trails Egypt in the pecking order of mall development. While the country is predicted to have an additional 25 malls built by the period in study, the North African country of Egypt will have 40; Kenya is 20; 15 in Ghana, 14 in Angola and 13 in Morocco. By 2018, the firm predicts that the total surface area of malls would reach 10 million square metres.

    The latest “Shop Africa 2016” report ranked Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, as the leading shopping mall developer in sub-Saharan Africa. Knight Frank, a real estate consultancy firm, however rated Nigeria third, while Angola was second, followed by Tanzania and Mozambique. Nigeria has over 100,000 square meters of leasable area in modern format shopping centers and will be adding another 180,000 square meters of retail space this year, Nairobi alone has a mall space of 391,000 square metres.

    Yet, another research firm, Real Estate Information Centre, powered by Pison Housing Company, in its report, listed Africa’s top five cities as Luanda in Angola, which is second, Lagos, has the third largest mall pipeline, and then Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and finally Maputo in Mozambique completing the top five hotspots for mall space development in sub-Saharan Africa. The report said that these five cities were large, fast growing in economies, seen rapid expansion and being targeted by investors in Africa. Currently, Lagos and Abuja have about 10 commercial and office complexes, totaling over N100 billion, that are due for completion this year. Ongoing projects scheduled for delivery in 2016 are Madina Tower, The Wings Tower, Eden Heights, Alliance Place, Heritage Place, all in Lagos, while in Abuja it is the World Trade Centre.

  • UK firm to certify agric exports

    A United Kingdom-based GLOBALGAP Licensed Farm Assurer, Best Produce International (UK) Limited, has launched a programme to facilitate the certification of agricultural exports under the Global Good Agricultural Practices (GLOBALGAP Standard).

    GLOBALGAP standard, formerly known as Eurepgap, is an integrated farm assurance process used in EU countries, United States and other parts of the international markets to serve as a business to business tool and it is a private commercial certification process for export of agricultural produce to EU countries. It is a producer export tool to suppling to top supermarkets throughout Europe and Walmart Group in USA.

    Best Produce International (UK) Limited, the GLOBALGAP Licensed Farm Assurer for Nigeria is collaborating with 3T Impex Consulting, Africa’s  trade and commerce consulting and training firm, to train and capacity build Nigerian farmers, farmers groups and exporters in Nigeria in GLOBALGAP certification processes to change the face of Nigerian agricultural exports.

    While several African countries boast of GLOBALGAP Certification of their agricultural produce for export, Nigeria oddly is the only major African market without such certification. There is no farmer or exporter in Nigeria with such certification whereas other African nations from the last count, could boast of at least 1,846 GLOBALGAP-certified companies in Kenya, 1,797 in South Africa, 355 in Cote d’Ivoire, 124 in Ghana, 9 in Cameroun, 146 in Burkina Faso and 671 companies in Egypt.

    The EU recently decided on a three-year extension of the ban on Nigeria’s dried beans. Nigeria has also witnessed continuously large rejection of its agricultural exports.

    The  GLOBALGAP Standard is designed as a practical tool to reassure consumers about how their food products are produced from farm to processing and to their tables.  It also offers small scale farmers and exporters who go through the certification process, the” passport” to export their produce to international markets.  It is a business-to-business tool that reassures the large scale retailers and consumers that their agricultural produce are produced in line with international standards.

    Managing Director, Best Produce International (UK) Limited, Mrs Patricia Obichukwu FRSA, said the certification of agricultural produce for exports  will enable producers and exporters to freely export their products directly to the EU supermarkets.

    Lead Consultant, 3T Impex Consulting, Mr. Bamidele Ayemibo, said the collaboration with Best Produce International (UK)would help to stem the tide of international rejection and enhance the competitiveness of Nigerian agricultural exports in the  global markets.

    Obichukwu noted that when Nigeria focuses on agriculture as the main plank of its economic diversification,  establishing local gap and, ultimately, Nigeria GAP at long run for the process of certification will create massive employment opportunities for the country, enhance foreign exchange generation, create wider access to regional and international markets, enhance the development of  businesses through advanced quality control management while ensuring food safety and food security for the country.