The Nation Newspaper

Tag: invests

  • AfDB invests in green energy

    AfDB invests in green energy

    The African Development Bank has achieved a 100 per cent investment in renewable energy in 2017, a major landmark in its commitment to clean energy and efficiency.

    Power generation projects with a cumulative 1,400 megawatts exclusively from renewables were approved during the year, with plans to increase support for renewable energy projects in 2018 under the New Deal on Energy for Africa.

    AfDB President, Akinwumi Adesina said: “We are clearly leading on renewable energy. We will help Africa unlock its full energy potential, while developing a balanced energy mix to support industrialisation. Our commitment is to ensure 100 per cent climate screening for all Bank financed projects.’’

    The share of renewable energy projects as a portion of the Bank’s portfolio of power generation investments increased from 14 per cent in 2007 to 2011, to 64 per cent in 2012 to 2016.

    The Africa Renewable Energy Initiative (AREI) whose goal is to deliver 300 Gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy in 2030 and 10 GW by 2020, is now based within the Bank, as requested by African Heads of State and Government. The G7 has promised to commit US$10 billion to support the initiative, which came out of COP21 and subsequently approved by the African Union.

    On November 8, 2017, the African Bank Group approved its Second Climate Change Action Plan, 2016-2020 (CCAP2) as a clear message of its commitment to helping African countries mobilise resources to support the implementation of the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions of Regional Member Countries, in ways that will not hinder development.

  • ‘Lagos invests millions in human capacity’

    The Lagos State government has invested millions of naira in training its workforce.The huge investment in human capacity  development  has  resulted in effective policy execution and articulation, Commissioner for Establishment, Training and Pension, Dr. Akintola, Benson, has said.

    He made this known in a keynote address delivered at the training facilitated by Valueline Consultants on the topic, “Policy Analysis, Development and Implementation for Policy Analysts and Developers in the Lagos State Public Service in Lagos.

    The commissioner said the governor has performed tremendously in infrastructural renewal, road maintenance, massive renovations of public schools, health among others.

    He said the governor is trying to consolidate on the achievement so that the entire public service which he believes is the real engine room will also consolidate on it and enable Governor Ambode’s administration to continue to perform.

    Benson urged the Directors from the state Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) including Education, Health, Housing to be good policy analysts and developers as required by global best practice.

    He said: ” Governor Ambode has made it clear to the Ministry of Establishments, Training, and Pensions that the mandate to train and re-train officers of the public service must not only be executed but must also be dynamically executed in such a fashion as to ensure that officers of the Lagos State Public Service are equipped with the most current skills and knowledge necessary to assist the government in the discharge of its sacred constitutional and democratic duties.

    “Without doubt, those involved in the public policy process need to possess strong analytical skills and the ability to apply a variety of research and evaluation methods within a complex political and economic environment. The objectives of training and re-training represent the indices now regarded, as a matter of global best practice, as essential knowledge and practice for public sector policy experts.

    “The value to be derived from them are not quantifiable. But, as always, we must take great pains to carefully domesticate them both institutionally and individually, taking care to avoid importing practices that are not workable under our local circumstances. Beyond this, however, we must be challenged to aspire to the highest standards of governance and administration that the citizens expect from the government”, he added.

  • CBS invests in TVC, Radio Continental

    In line with its ongoing restructuring, the management of Continental Broadcasting Services (CBS) has announced their commitment to increase investments in the television and radio businesses aimed at improving the viewing and listening experience of its esteemed audience.

    The investment objectives also include shooting the stations to a pole-position in the media industry rankings, thus making them the first choice for advertisers in Nigeria.

    The investments will cut across CBS three major properties,  which are: TVC Entertainment; TVC News and Radio Continental.

    The CBS CEO, Andrew Hanlon, said viewers, listeners and advertisers on the channels should be ready for exciting times as the execution of the plan takes with immediate effect.

    “I am delighted to confirm today (yesterday) that substantial investments will be made in programming and content across our TV and radio stations to improve viewers and advertisers’ appeal in the CBS Group offering.

    “This will involve a substantial spend on technology and transmission equipment. The plan, which was recently approved by the CBS Board, will also lead to improved general working conditions for our 350 staff who will be at the heart of everything we do” Hanlon said.

  • World Bank invests $70m in Nigerian varsities

    The World Bank has invested $70m in 10 universities to promote Science and Technology in Nigeria.

    The beneficiaries include: Redeemers University, Mowe; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; University of Jos; University of Benin, Benin; and African University of Science and Technology, Abuja.

    Others are:  University of Port-Harcourt; Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife; Bayero University, Kano; Benue State University, Makurdi; and Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.

    This gesture is in line with the bank’s African Centre for Excellence (ACE) project aimed at making the African region competitive with regard to science and technology.

    World Bank Lead Economist Global Practice Education, Andreas Blom, made this known at the opening of a three-day Regional Workshop of the Africa Centres of Excellence (ACE) held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island,Lagos, last week.

    Bloom said of the $165m WB deposited for 22 ACEs project around the African region, $70m has been invested in 10 universities in Nigeria to boost science and technology, which according to him, is now competitive around the world.

    He said Nigeria being the biggest country in the African Region, has strong universities that have little or no recognition outside the country.

    Said Blom: “Nigeria has strong universities but they are not well recognised outside. They are very few regional students coming into Nigeria. So the quality needs to be raised.

    “A lot of Nigerians are going outside, spending lot of money on quality education. Nigerian talents can remain in Nigeria and be educated in Nigeria but we need better universities. We need good teachers, curriculum and laboratories. For Nigeria, we are funding several areas of science. For instance, we are on infectious diseases.

    “In particular, there is the Centre of Excellence for infectious diseases at Redeemers University. That was the testing site for the Ebola crises in Nigeria. They were able to test and turn around the result within six hours. It was critical information and scientific centre that confirmed it was Ebola and allowed the government to very quickly respond and hence contained the virus.

    “The other area we are funding is post-harvest technologies. Around 40 per cent of crops and foods are wasted due to poor storage, transportation and loss. Imagine all that food that would have been available for the hungry if we had the right technologies and knowledge among the people handling the food. Also the reproductive health is another area, more practical science around oil sector. Nigeria is the largest oil producing country in the region but a lot of experts, foreigners come in to take up jobs in these areas, but we are trying to educate Nigerian engineers, chemical engineers, petroleum engineers that can take up well positioned places and have value added in the Nigerian oil industry.”

    He noted that the WB African Centre for Excellence project, which started in 2014, would elapse in 2019. However, Blom said WB might consider postponing the deadline.

    The Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, said the commission, which hosted the event, is impressed with the project having gone round the ACEs and is committed to achieving its aims.

    He said: ‘’NUC has completed programme resource verification and national accreditation of the programmes of the centre. We are glad to report that almost all the programmes, I think about 96 per cent of them got full accreditation. We would like to see the ACEs and NUC working in close partnership with research institutes to address developmental challenges. NUC would be working closely with the Ministry of Science and Technology as well as relevant stakeholders, to ensure the achievement of project goals”’’he added.

    Minister of State for Education Prof Anthony Gozie Anwukah, said Federal Government is proud of the ACE project and satisfied with progress made. He said the Federal Government through ACE engagement is revolutionising higher education in areas of research and post graduate training, and would ensure sustainability of the project beyond the World Bank 2019 intervention deadline.

  • FrieslandCampina invests N4b in dairy devt

    FrieslandCampina invests N4b in dairy devt

    FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, dairy producer, said it has so far invested over N4 billion in its Dairy Development Programme (DDP), an initiative aimed at developing the local dairy industry.

    The firm, which is currently the only dairy manufacturer sourcing part of its raw milk requirement locally for production, does this by creating a sustainable raw milk value-chain that contributes to food security via provision of quality dairy nutrition to Nigerians as well as providing jobs.

    Its Corporate Affairs Director, Ore Famurewa, said the firm believes in supporting local content wherever it operates, adding that it has made significant progress in the development of local milk production.

    She said the company’s target was to achieve 10 per cent local content in raw milk production every five years, it is currently doing three per cent. “Dairy development is a gradual thing. You can’t compare milk development to crop development. For us, it is slow and steady, but we will surely get there,” she assured.

    Famurewa spoke on Tuesday while conducting newsmen and two visiting professors from The Netherlands round its dairy development facilities in Oyo State. The facilities include a Milk Bulking Centre in Iseyin and four functional Milk Collection Centres (MCCs) in Fasola, Alaga, Maya and Iseyin, all in Oyo State.

    The two professors: Imke de Boer, a Professor of Animal Science, Wageningen University, The Netherlands, and Managing Director, Wageningen Academy, Janine Luten were in Nigeria at the behest of FrieslandCampina for cooperation talks with the University of Ibadan (UI) in the areas of knowledge sharing and exchange programme with Nigerian dairy farmers.

    Famurewa explained that when the company started its DDP in August 2010, it was buying milk from Zimbabwean farmers in Shonga, Kwara State and bringing to its factory for production. But the company, she said, realised that this was not enough; it was better to get Nigerians, the local Fulani farmers to milk cows for it.

  • Sahel fund invests in poultry farm

    Sahel Capital is investing in the modernisation of Dayntee Farms Limited, a commercial poultry farm in Kwara State.

    This is to help the company increase the supply of more hygienic produce for consumers.

    Sahel Capital is the fund manager for Fund for Agricultural Finance in Nigeria ( FAFIN), an agribusiness focused SME private equity fund.

    It manages a multimillion investment fund for agribusiness in Nigeria, with particular focus on SMEs.

    Sahel Capital Managing Partner, Mezuo Nwuneli  said the amount invested and stake is confidential.

    Founded in 2011, Dayntee Farms produces various poultry products, including table eggs, day old chicks and point of lay birds, which it supplies to customers across the country. Its Managing Director is Ayodele Alade, who has led the company’s steady growth from inception.

    Dayntee Farms is strategically located between the large poultry market of the Southwest and the grain producing regions of the North, which enables it to source raw materials at relatively low cost and sell its products at competitive prices.

    According to Alade, “Sahel Capital has come in at a time Dayntee Farms is ready to move to the next stage of its growth. They are the right kind of partner for us because they share our vision for the company and have the expertise and resources to help us realise it.”

    A Partner at Sahel Capital, Mr. Olumide Lawson, noted: “We decided to invest in Dayntee Farms after a thorough analysis of the opportunities in the poultry sector. We are, particularly, excited that Dayntee Farms is the latest addition to our portfolio and have full confidence in its management team.

  • Olam invests $275m in wheat, pasta milling

    Olam Nigeria has announced plans to produce wheat and pasta in Nigeria with an investment about $275 million.

    The company’s Singapore-based holding company, Olam International Limited has acquired Amber Foods Limited, which through its 100 per cent owned subsidiary, Quintessential Foods Nigeria Limited, owns the wheat milling and pasta manufacturing assets of the BUA Group in Nigeria, for a total enterprise value of $275 million.

    According to the firm, the new enterprise is estimated at $275 million and hopes to leverage on BUA Group, a diversified foods and infrastructure business group in Nigerian, to actualise the ambition.

    The group is among the top five wheat millers in the country with wheat milling and pasta manufacturing capacities of 3,760 and 700 metric tonnes per day (TPD) respectively.

    The assets to be acquired include two wheat mills and a pasta manufacturing facility in Lagos, a mill in Kano, and a wheat mill and a pasta manufacturing plant under construction in Port Harcourt.

    The company said the wheat milling sector in sub-Saharan Africa has been an area of investment focus for Olam since 2010 when it acquired Crown Flour Mills (CFM) in Nigeria.

    Since then, Olam has expanded Crown Flour Mills capacity and set up milling operations in Ghana, Senegal and Cameroon.

    The acquisition is expected to strengthen Crown Flour Mill’s position as the number two wheat miller by sales volume and make it a leading pasta player in Nigeria.

    Following the acquisition, Crow Flour Mill’s total wheat milling capacity in the country is expected to increase from its current 2,380 TPD to 6,140 TPD once the facilities in Port Harcourt are completed in June 2016, the company said.

    Speaking on the development, Country Head, Olam Nigeria, Mukul Mathur, said: “We are confident about the growth prospects in Nigeria, so expanding our participation here is a logical step to capitalise on the opportunity. Our value-added export business in the country puts us in a strong position to generate the much required foreign exchange and actively support the produce-add-value-export (PAVE) initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria.”

  • Oando invests $400m in lubricants production

    Oando invests $400m in lubricants production

    Oando Marketing Plc has  invested  $400million to produce a wide range of lubricants. It has also introduced a new lubricant, called Oleum SYN into the automobile market.

    Speaking at the unveiling of the synthetic lubricant, Oleum SYN, in Lagos, its Chief Operating Officer, Mrs. Williams Olaposi, said the product was introduced to meet the needs of users of top-of-the-range cars.

    Oando’s decision to produce synthetic lubricant, she said, was informed by the need to satisfy various layers or users of automobiles.

    She said: “The firm believes in meeting the yearnings of various users of automobiles in Nigeria. For years, the country has been using fairly used cars otherwise known as Tokunbo, and Oando has lubricants for people driving such cars.

    “In recent times, there has been a paradigm shift from the use of Tokunbo to new cars. Nigerians are now driving new and highly sophisticated vehicles, and the only way to satisfy people in that segment was to produce synthetic lubricant.”

    She said every litre of Oleum SYN comprises top quality base oil and additives, noting that the product has been certified internationally.

    Olaposi said Oando conducted several years of research before coming out with

  • Benue State invests N87m in rice production

    Benue State invests N87m in rice production

    As part of efforts to boost local production and marketing of rice and cassava, Benue State Government has released the sum of N87 million as counterpart fund to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) funded Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP).

    The VCDP is a Federal Government of Nigeria and IFAD initiative that focuses on supporting cassava and rice value chains for smallholder farmers in six states of Benue Anambra, Ebonyi, Niger, Ogun and Taraba.

    While  receiving the team from IFAD at the Government House in Makurdi, the state capitalm  Governor Samuel Ortom said the state is committed to pursuing its agricultural agenda and partnership with IFAD would contribute to actualising the vision of transforming Benue from “food basket” of the nation to food basket of Africa.

    He said: “We are known as the food basket of the nation and we intend to translate that into reality. The potential is there, we have what it takes to feed Nigeria, feed Africa and even export to other parts of the world.”

    The governor expressed commitment of the state to sustain collaboration with IFAD. “We are happy you are partnering with us. We believe with your experience and technical assistance we can get to that level. Benue is focusing on agriculture, it is our main agenda, which was why against all odds we provided the counterpart fund, we are serious and will do our best for our farmers,”

    He said Benue has comparative advantage in agriculture especially rice and cassava and that was why the state recently launched an agricultural agenda to woo investors to come and invest in the state.

    Ortom, who also disclosed that the state was seriously considering dry season farming, said the state would explore the advantage of the two rivers (Rivers Benue and Kastina Ala) in the next dry season for that purpose.

    In her remarks, IFAD Nigeria Country Programme Manager, Ms Atsuko Toda thanked the state government for paying its counterpart fund.

    “With the payment of your N87million counterpart fund, we are prepared to match that fund by four to five times each year and would ensure due diligence in utilising of your funds so that Benue farmers can enjoy improvement in their value chainm,” she said.

    The IFAD boss stated that Benue farmers and indeed, the entire state stands to benefit immensely from the programme, saying all that was required is the continuous commitment of the state government and cooperation of stakeholders to ensure better earnings for farmers.

    The VCDP,Toda further explained,  hopes to target 7,500 farmer households in four local government areas of the state,  including Guma, Gwer, Okpokwu and Logo both in skills set among other capacity building.

  • Osun invests N1.7b in LAUTECH

    Acting Chief Medical Director, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Prof. Akeem Lasisi, has said the Osun State government had invested N1.7 billion in capital projects in the hospital.

    Lasisi told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Osogbo that the amount was spent on the projects in the hospital in the last four years.

    He, however, said that in spite of the huge investment, most of the projects had remained undone and uncompleted.

    The Acting CMD said one of the projects, a laboratory complex, was without furniture.

    Lasisi, who assumed office, last month, said the hospital was “comatose”.

    He added that forensic examiners were scrutinising the books to check details of finances of the institution ‘’in the last four years and come up with recommendations’’.

    “Aside the investigation on financial transactions, the forensic experts will also probe the sudden upsurge in the number of staff between 2012 and now,” he added.

    According to him, the investigation became necessary in the face of acute shortage of core clinical staff in the hospital.

    “When I assumed office three weeks ago, I met a comatose hospital; resident doctors were on strike and there was total paralysis.

    “More so, documented evidence shows that government has invested N1.7 billion as capital project in this hospital.

    “In spite of that, there are many projects that are undone or not properly done. One of these is the new laboratory complex; the building is there but there is no furniture,” Lasisi said.