The Nation Newspaper

Tag: SSA

  • Deutsche Bank appoints new trade finance head for SSA

    Deutsche Bank has announced the appointment of Andreas Voss as Head of Trade Finance for Financial Institutions (TFFI) in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

    Voss will combine his new role with his portfolio as Head of Global Transaction Banking West Africa and Chief Representative of Deutsche Bank AG’s Lagos Representative Office.

    Based in Lagos, Voss will be responsible for driving the development and execution of Deutsche Bank’s TFFI growth strategy in Sub-Saharan Africa for Trade Finance business directly originated from financial institutions. He will also support Deutsche Bank’s corporate teams to promote trade financing in the region.

    Commenting on the appointment, Jamal Al Kishi, Chief Executive Officer Middle East & Africa (MEA), said: “Andreas has led our franchise in Nigeria admirably since joining Deutsche Bank a few years ago. This promotion is a fitting recognition of his leadership and contributions. His expertise and broader involvement will help us to grow and further develop our Financial Institutions business in general and the TFFI sector in particular.”

    Ulf-Peter Noetzel, Deutsche Bank’s Global Head of TFFI remarked, “This appointment highlights the importance of Africa, and in particular Nigeria, to Deutsche Bank’s trade finance business. The bank is looking to further develop its business with select African clients and through Andreas’ expanded role we aim to enhance our focus on supporting Financial Institutions on a broader base in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

    Voss has been with Deutsche Bank since October 2015. He joined Deutsche Bank from Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG) and brings more than 14 years of experience in the financial sector.

    Prior to DEG, Andreas worked in the corporate and project finance industries with German commercial banks. Until the end of 2014, Andreas was based in Ghana as Regional Director of DEG’s office in Western Africa.

    Deutsche Bank first established a presence in Nigeria in 1978. The representative office in Lagos supports and assists Deutsche Bank’s correspondent banking activities, which it offers to many Nigerian Financial Institutions. Deutsche Bank has also played key roles in various financial advisory and restructuring projects and in helping Nigerian counterparts raise finance.

  • Buhari appoints Orelope-Adefulire as SSA on SDGs

    Buhari appoints Orelope-Adefulire as SSA on SDGs

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire as his Senior Special Assistant on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    Mrs. Orelope-Adefulire, who served as Lagos State Deputy-Governor of in the administration of Babatunde Fashola, according to a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, is an accomplished politician with many years of experience in public service.

    She has also served as commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in Lagos State.

  • Buhari appoints Abike Dabiri SSA Foreign Affairs

    Buhari appoints Abike Dabiri SSA Foreign Affairs

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday approved the appointment of a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, as Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora.

    She was the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Media and Publicity between 2003 and 2007 and later chaired the House Committee on Diaspora Affairs between 2007 and 2015.

    She was at the Presidential Villa on Monday to receive her letter and carry out other necessary documentation.

    But no official statement concerning the appointment has been issued as at the time of filing this report.

  • Bello appoints The Nation man as SSA

    •Jide Orintunsin
    •Jide Orintunsin

    Niger State governor Abubakar Bello has appointed Mr. Jide Orintunsin of The Nation newspapers as  his Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity.

    The appointment, which takes immediate effect, was contained in a letter by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Shehu Danyaya.

    A graduate of Ogun State Polytechnic, Abeokuta Ogun State and Federal University of Technology Minna, the new appointee is the current Niger State Correspondent of The Nation newspapers.

    The new SSA started his journalism career with Ogun State Broadcasting Corporation (OGBC) before joining the defunct Concord Press of Nigeria as a reporter.

    He rose to the rank of Senior Assistant News Editor at Concord Newspapers.

    Orintunsin also worked with This Day  newspaper and had a brief stint with The Guardian newspaper before joining The Nation.  

  • ‘African SMEs have boundless opportunities’

    The growth in sub-Saharan Africa offers African small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) opportunities in 2014, as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects economic growth in the region to be slightly higher than of that in 2013, at six per cent.

    This is coupled with more than one billion consumers on the continent who spend $600 billion yearly, with the fastest growing middle class in the world and the significant opportunities in connecting with the world.

    Managing Director, DHL Express SSA, Charles Brewer, said that SMEs are the growth engine for Africa and the critical driver for sustainable economic growth.

    “According to Deloitte, Africa’s middle class has tripled over the last 30 years, and the current trajectory suggests that the African middle class will grow to 1.1 billion in 2060.

    As African economies are some of the fastest growing in the world, the outlook for the continent is very positive going forward.

    “Manufacturing, on a large scale, is still somewhat embryonic in Africa and as such, there is a definite opportunity for SMEs to fill the gaps which are not being serviced by these large global companies. As important, a growing SME base will create hundreds and thousands of new jobs, which is an absolute must for this ever growing continent.”

    Brewer said other than the usual challenges that SMEs are likely to face in Africa, such as infrastructure challenges, customs regulations and controls, access to finance may be an obstacle going forward.

    “The Institute of International Finance reported that due to many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa struggling with controlling price pressures, central banks have tended to keep monetary policy fairly tight. Despite this challenge, we expect SMEs to create growth opportunities through increased consumer spending power and expansion into untapped markets.

    “The growing internet user penetration in Africa also provides a sizeable opportunity for SMEs, and as Africa continues to adopt e-commerce as a way of life, businesses are able to leverage this online market, while reducing traditional customer acquisition costs.” World Wide Worx’s 2012 Internet Matters report reveals that the local e-commerce market is growing at a rate of about 30 per cent a year and shows no signs of slowing down.

    The findings of the 2013 National Small Business Survey, conducted by the National Small Business Chamber (NSBC) revealed that the key need expressed by SMEs includes expanding customer base, increasing sales and going global.

    “Accessing new markets by trading across borders is the key to growth and competitiveness and the key driver for small and medium enterprises in South Africa,” says Mike Anderson, NSBC founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

    Brewer said the more an SME can tap into global opportunities and the more it can look into global expansion, the better the chances for growth become.

    “When it comes to global opportunities the key to success for many SMEs is knowledge. Knowing which markets to target, how to market their product, how to identify customers, how to get paid and critically, how to ship globally. We have 25,000 SMEs who work with us across Africa and every day we work on understanding their needs better and help them to go global. DHL is well-positioned to partnering with African SMEs and helping them to connect with the world – so I ask you, what are you waiting for?” Brewer added.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • World Bank forecasts Africa’s growth

    World Bank forecasts Africa’s growth

    The World Bank has forecast a 4.9 per cent economic growth for Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

    According to the bank, almost a third of the countries in the region are growing at 6 per cent and more. It said African countries were now routinely among the fastest-growing countries in the world.

    This is contained in the bank’s new Africa’s Pulse, a twice-yearly analysis of the issues shaping Africa’s economic prospects.

    Sub-Saharan African growth, the report said, was buoyed by rising private investment in the region and remittances now worth US$33 billion a year.

    The report said: “Supporting household incomes gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Africa will continue to rise and pick up to 5.3 per cent in 2014 and 5.5 per cent in 2015.”

    Strong government investments and higher production in the mineral resources, agriculture and service sectors, the report said “are supporting the bulk of the economic growth.”

    As Africa’s growth rates continue to surge with the region increasingly a magnet for investment and tourism, the report said poverty and inequality remained “unacceptably high and the pace of reduction unacceptably slow.”

    Makhtar Diop, the World Bank Group’s Vice President for Africa, said “Sustaining Africa’s strong growth over the longer term while significantly reducing poverty and strengthening people’s resilience to adversity may prove difficult because of the many internal and external uncertainties African countries face.”

  • Mimiko dissolves cabinet

    Mimiko dissolves cabinet

    Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, on Monday announced the dissolution of the state executive council.

    The dissolution also affected all non statutory boards and parastatals.

    It came less than 24 hours after he took oath of office for another term.

    Mimiko thanked the outgoing cabinet members and other political office holders for their selfless service to the state in the last four years.

    He said, “I have always said that the good work we have been able to achieve has been as a result of the synergy and team effort put in by all of us at the cabinet as well as in other positions of responsibilities we have found ourselves since we came on board.

    “Through our collective efforts, rich debates, engaging arguments, agreements sometimes disagreements; we have provided responsible and dedicated leadership to the people. Diligence has been our watchword and for this I am very grateful to all of you.”

    He listed the affected office holders as commissioners, chairmen and members of boards and parastatals; Senior Special Assistants, Special Assistants and others who have served in positions other than statutory commissions.

    Mimiko added that they cease to hold such political office, after the announcement.

    He said the dissolution however excludes all appointees whose tenures are not tied to the expiration of his government’s first term.