Michael OSUNNUYI, Author at Business Bells — Page 6 of 7

Business Bells

Author: Michael OSUNNUYI

  • Amber Energy Drink Announces Top 20 Finalists for the Energy In Your Hustle Challenge

    Amber Energy Drink Announces Top 20 Finalists for the Energy In Your Hustle Challenge

    Twenty participants have advanced to the next phase of the #EnergyInYourHustle challenge, a social media challenge that had participants creatively showcase their everyday hustle with Amber Energy Drink.

     

    The shortlisted finalists, Soji Ayoola, Nuel Davidson Emmanuel, Jumah Kudus, Certified Photography, Xter Berry, Stephanie Mozimo, Fasanmi Afolabi, Grace Oduokene, Annabel Gift Nwoko, Naomi, David Okemiri, Iyke Divine, Oluwadara Oluyemi Ooreofe, Wordiet, Nkana Mma, T9 Grafix, Lotanna Odiyi, Chinaza Ezeani, Lawrence Okeke and Babatunde Taiwo Ipaye were selected based on their ability to capture their hustle in a compelling way.

     

    Speaking on the challenge, the General Manager, Amber Drinks Limited, Lola Adedeji had this to say, “We decided to introduce this challenge to support the different hustles of young Nigerians and we are super excited at the impressive entries we received. It is evident that Nigerians are diligent and progressively dog-headed to make lemonade out of the lemons life offers them. It really is a commendable  attribute for we Nigerians. This is why we just had to show our support”

     

    The shortlisted finalists will be posted on the brand’s social media pages for an online voting process where the top three finalists will emerge. Voting starts the 20th of January and ends on the 30th of January, 2021. Winners will be rewarded with N1,000,000.00, N500,000.00 and N300,000.00 for the first, second and third place respectively.

  • CNN’s Inside Africa meets Nigeria’s Techpreneurs

    CNN’s Inside Africa meets Nigeria’s Techpreneurs

    On this week’s Inside Africa, CNN International showcases Nigeria’s entrepreneurial spirit, meeting four start-up stars who are improving the world from Africa’s largest tech hub.

     

    Firstly, the programme meets Olatunbosun “Bosun” Tijani, the brains behind one of Africa’s biggest networks of tech talent. Tijani founded the Co-Creation (CC) Hub in 2010 as a meeting place for innovators in the heart of Lagos. He speaks about his inspiration, “Science and technology can leapfrog development across Africa and there are so many smart people on this continent, we just need to build a platform that will enable them to create.”

     

    Some of CC Hub’s successful partnerships include a healthcare logistics company that delivers lifesaving blood, a digital security platform promoting internet safety, and Google-sponsored ‘Pitch Drives’ that help introduce African start-ups to Asia. Tijani discusses the Hub’s strategy, “I believe that Africa is going to be a lot stronger if we start to see the continent as one. How do we leverage the expertise and resources that you may find in a country like Kenya and lay eyes on the creativity and energy that you find in Nigeria?”

     

    Tijani’s latest venture is the STEM café, an imaginative space dedicated solely to children. He tells CNN about the project, “I want to help build a generation of people in Africa with a strong belief in science, people that are comfortable in science, that can apply science to change things. So, it’s a maker space for kids. It’s a space where we don’t use curriculums. It’s a nonlinear way of teaching so we actually don’t teach but we encourage kids to build.”

     

    Featured next is Odun Eweniyi one of the founders of PiggyVest, a financial technology company that is teaching young people the value of their money, by helping them to save it. Eweniyi explains the business, “PiggyVest is an automated savings and investment platform that helps young Nigerians put aside little amounts of money daily, weekly or monthly towards their targets or their responsibilities and eventually gives them access to micro-investments to get competency returns.”

     

    According to Eweniyi, PiggyVest now has more than two million registered users. Despite the coronavirus shutdown and the disruptions it has caused, Eweniyi says she remains committed to her original mission of helping people save small in order to achieve big results, “Whether we’re in a crisis or out of a crisis the mission remains the same, to get them to a place where they are financially free with the power to continue to manage their finances.”

     

    The third techpreneur is Chika Madubuko, the co-founder and CEO of Greymate Care. This healthcare start-up is a pioneer in providing on-demand care in Nigeria and Madubuko details the concept, “Before Greymate Care was launched, you would normally find someone who was a caregiver or an auxiliary nurse signing up with the hospital or an agency, but then they stayed for so long without jobs. With Greymate Care they got more jobs quickly, and they got the appropriate jobs that matched the kind of services they could provide.”

     

    Madubuko’s company is one of many start-ups revolutionising the healthcare industry. She speaks about differentiating her product, “I knew we had to be very innovative, we have to make our processes different, we have to differentiate ourselves in the market. We added a training curriculum, which was the best in Africa, training our caregivers to make sure that they can provide adequate care to our service users.  Running background checks on our caregivers to make sure that service users feel safe letting them through their door.”

     

    Finally, Inside Africa meets documentary filmmaker Joel “Kachi” Benson. As the founder and CEO of VR 360 Stories, Benson works as a virtual reality storyteller. He speaks about his first time using the technology, “I think it was February 2018 that I wore a headset for the first time. And my experience was a Coldplay concert. It was like I was there. And I remembered what the guy was trying to tell me two years before about putting viewers in the midst of the action. All I could see was the IDP camps that I’ve been filming in northeast Nigeria, the places that I had been to, and that I felt I did not properly express with my 2D camera. You know, what a tool for storytelling.”

     

    Benson’s 360-degree immersion into the lives of internally displaced people was a first for a Nigerian filmmaker and it influenced another project focusing on the families of the Chibok schoolgirls. He recalls the aims of the film, “With the Daughters of Chibok, what I wanted to do was to take people to Chibok and show them this reality that was almost unreal. It’s so far away, so distance, we’re so detached from the story. I wanted to put people in that space. But I also wanted to amplify the voices of these women that I saw.”

     

    Nigeria’s techpreneurs are innovators across multiple fields of industry and are putting in the hard work to build businesses that both help and inspire.

     

  • NSE Admits 2.64 Billion Shares Of Transcorp Hotel

    NSE Admits 2.64 Billion Shares Of Transcorp Hotel

    The Nigerian Stock Exchange has listed 2.64bn ordinary shares of Transcorp Hotel Plc on the Daily Official List of the Exchange.

     

    According to a report obtained from the Exchange, the additional shares listed on the Exchange arose from the company’s rights issue of 2.66bn ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N3.76 kobo per share on the basis of seven new ordinary shares for 20 ordinary shares held as at July 13, 2020.

     

    The rights issue was 99.34 per cent subscribed. With this listing of the additional 2.64 billion ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of Transcorp Hotel has now increased from 7.60 billion to 10.24 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each.

     

    Shareholders of Transcorp Hotels, owners of Transcorp Hilton Abuja and Transcorp Hotels Calabar, had recently authorised the Board of Directors to raise N10bn in its proposed rights issue to fortify its balance sheet.

     

    The approval given at the Extraordinary General Meeting of the company was to issue 2.66 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each by way of a rights issue to the shareholders based on seven new ordinary shares for every 20 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each held at a price of N3.76 per share.

  • Flour Mills Lists N29.8bn Bond on NSE

    Flour Mills Lists N29.8bn Bond on NSE

    Flour Mills Nigeria Plc has listed its tranche A and tranche B bonds on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

     

    The listing was commemorated with a digital Closing Gong ceremony at the NSE.

     

    The Divisional Head, Listings Business, NSE, Mr Olumide Bolumole, said, “It has been a positive start to the Nigerian capital market in the new year and we are pleased to commemorate the listing of Flour Mills’ N29.8bn Tranche A and Tranche B Bond Issue, the final series under its N70bn Bond Issuance Programme.

     

    “As is our custom to celebrate significant milestones and accomplishments of our issuers, we also applaud and recognise the contributions of Mr Paul Gbededo who recently retired after 38 years of meritorious service and congratulate Mr (Boye) Olusanya on his appointment as the Group MD/Chief Executive Officer at the NSE, we remain committed to supporting the strategic objectives of our issuers, providing a platform for raising capital even in the toughest of times.”

     

    Olusanya stated, “We thank the NSE for hosting us at this virtual Closing Gong ceremony today and we are excited about the role The Exchange is playing in deepening secondary market activities in the Nigerian market in line with international best practice.

     

    “The issuance of the N29.8bn tranche A and B bond coincides happily with the 60th anniversary of Flour Mills Plc and fully utilises the N70bn programme registered in 2018. We will continue to explore opportunities to raise funds via the capital market as this has allowed us to diversify our funding sources whilst playing a critical role in the development of our market.”

  • AMCON Seizes Inducon Nigeria’s Assets Over N1.3bn Debt

    AMCON Seizes Inducon Nigeria’s Assets Over N1.3bn Debt

    The Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON said it has taken over an asset belonging to the Chief Promoter of Inducon Nigeria Limited, Dr. John Abebe, over N1.3bn debt.

     

    In a statement on Sunday from the Head, Corporate Communications Department, AMCON, Jude Nwauzor, titled ‘N1.3bn debt: AMCON takes over assets of Inducon Nigeria Limited’ it said this followed the order of Honourable Justice Aikawa of the Federal High Court, Lagos.

     

    “In compliance with the enforcement order, AMCON at the weekend took effective possession of the property situate at Plot12, Block 108, Lekki Peninsula Residential Scheme, Lagos, through its debt recovery agent – Ogunsola Shonibare L.P.

     

    “The court also ordered that the bank accounts of the company and its directors, Dr. John Abebe, Mr Olawole Fatimilehin and Ademola Buraimoh, be frozen pending the final determination of the suit.”

     

    AMCON stated that the case of Inducon Nigeria Limited and its promoters had been interminable shortly after the loan was purchased by AMCON during the first phase of Eligible Bank Asset purchases from the defunct FinBank (now FCMB) since 2011.

     

    Since the purchase, AMCON said it had offered the obligor several concessions and explored all avenues to resolve the debt harmoniously, but the obligor and his company had remained recalcitrant and unenthusiastic to repay the huge debt to AMCON.

     

    They had consistently reneged on several promises they made in the past during negotiations, it stated.

     

    It said that this prompted the debt recovery agency to evoke the corporation’s asset tracing powers granted it under the AMCON (Amendment No. 2) Act, 2019.

     

     

     

    Nwauzor confirmed the success of the enforcement exercise over the weekend but added that all avenues of peaceful resolution were explored to no avail before the hard decision was taken.

     

    He emphasised that the enforcement option was usually the last resort for the corporation whenever a recalcitrant obligor decided to be unreasonable.

  • FG To Pay N71bn Counterpart Funding For Six Railway Projects

    FG To Pay N71bn Counterpart Funding For Six Railway Projects

    The Federal Government is to partly fund six rail projects connecting virtually all regions of the country with a counterpart funding of N71.15bn this year.

     

    Also, N15.1bn will be spent on the development of safety and security critical projects, airport certification, runway construction, terminal building, among others in the aviation sector in 2021.

     

    A report on selected projects in the 2021 budget obtained by our correspondent from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning in Abuja showed that in the rail sector, the government had mapped out six projects that it would partly fund this year.

     

    The government stated that the N71.15bn would serve as counterpart funding for railway projects including the Lagos-Kano rail line (ongoing), Calabar-Lagos (ongoing), and Ajaokuta-Itakpe-Aladja (Warri), which was also described as an ongoing project.

     

    Others are the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri railway, the new Kano-Katsina-Jibiya-Maradi line in Niger Republic and the Abuja-Itakpe and Aladja-Warri Port and refinery/Warri new harbour.

     

    Construction work is currently ongoing on some of the rail projects, while others are new projects, as physical construction work had yet to start on them.

     

    Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, had explained that the Lagos-Kano line (ongoing), which would be connected from the Ibadan end of the Lagos-Ibadan railway, would cost about $5.3bn.

     

    On January 9, 2021, Amaechi declared that the construction of the Ibadan to Kano line would commence once the Chinese government approved its $5.3bn loan to Nigeria, as the Federal Government had given approval for the contract.

     

    “We are waiting for the Chinese government and bank to approve the $5.3bn to construct the Ibadan-Kano. What was approved a year ago was the contract,” the minister said.

     

    He added, “The moment I announced that the Federal Government had awarded a contract of $5.3bn to CCECC (China Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation) to construct Ibadan-Kano, people assumed the money had come in; no.

     

    “We have not got the money, which is a year after we applied for the loan. We have almost finished the one of Lagos-Ibadan. If we don’t get the loan now, we can’t commence.”

     

    Meanwhile, a few of the rail projects had come under criticism, as many Nigerians and groups had faulted the locations where the projects were sited.

     

    An example is the Kano-Katsina-Jibiya-Maradi in Niger Republic, which on January 11, 2021, the Federal Government announced that it signed a $1.96bn Memorandum of Understanding with Mota-Engil Group for the construction of the standard gauge rail project.

     

    Amaechi signed on behalf of the Federal Government, while the Managing Director, Mota-Engil, Antonio Gvoea, signed on behalf of the contracting firm.

     

    The $1.96bn rail line connects Nigeria and Niger Republic, as the new railway corridor, located in Northern Nigeria, would run through three states.

     

    The states include Kano, Jigawa and Katsina and the 283.75km rail line would go through the territory of Niger Republic as far as Maradi.

     

    This particular project had been greeted by widespread criticism. The Pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organisation, Afenifere, for instance, said many Nigerians were against the move by government to construct the rail line.

     

    Afenifere’s Publicity Secretary, Yinka Odumakin, told The PUNCH that it was unfortunate that President Muhammadu Buhari was more interested in constructing a project outside Nigeria than in developing bad roads within Nigeria.

     

    Odumakin said, “It is an unfortunate development. We know the state of Nigerian roads. We know that our roads are in a very bad shape; for instance, look at the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the roads to the East, to Port Harcourt and the rest of them.

     

    “They are not Buhari’s priority; rather his priority now is the line to Maradi in Niger Republic. They are more interested in their kings and kins who are Fulanis outside Nigeria than in Nigeria itself.”

     

    He added, “It is unfortunate. So the Afenifere and many other Nigerians out there are not in support of this initiative. In fact, how can we support it?”

     

    Meanwhile, aside from rail infrastructure, the report on selected projects in the 2021 budget listed other projects to be developed in the aviation sector, among others.

     

    In the aviation sector, it stated that N3bn was for safety and security critical projects and airport certification nationwide.

     

    “N10bn is for the construction of a second runway at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja,” it stated.

     

    The report added, “N900m is for extension and asphalt overlay of MMIA (Murtala Muhammed International Airport) runway. N1bn for construction of new terminal building in Enugu.

     

    “N200m is for construction of Abeokuta airstrip.”

     

    Some selected projects in the power sector were also mentioned as infrastructure to be funded by the government this year.

     

    A total of N1.3bn was earmarked for rural electrification access programme in federal universities.

     

    Also, N160.83bn was for multilateral and bilateral funded projects such as the Zungeru power project, Abuja power feeding scheme, transmission access project, etc.

     

    A N200m counterpart fund was named as part of the money to be provided by government for the development of the Mambilla Hydro Power project.

     

    In the report, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said the government was optimistic that there would be significant improvement in macroeconomic performance by the second quarter of 2021.

     

    This, according to her, was because the Federal Government was already implementing several measures to overcome the country’s fiscal constraints.

     

    Ahmed said, “In addition to the Strategic Revenue Growth Initiatives, we are leveraging technology and automation, plugging fiscal drainers and ensuring more effective independent revenue monitoring.”

     

    She, however, noted that the Federal Government remained mindful of the need to provide safety nets to cushion the impact of reform measures on the vulnerable segments of the population.

     

    The minister explained that the goal of fiscal interventions would be to keep the economy active through carefully calibrated regulatory/policy measures designed to boost domestic value-addition.

     

    Ahmed said this would de-risk the enterprise environment, attract external investment and sources of funding, among others.

  • CBN To Stop Exporters With Unrepatriated Proceeds From Banking Services

    CBN To Stop Exporters With Unrepatriated Proceeds From Banking Services

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks to deny exporters with unrepatriated export proceeds from accessing all banking services by January 31.

     

    The apex bank issued this directive in a circular sent to banks in the country.

     

    Affected exporters are expected to comply with this directive before the specified date. Some banks have already issued a statement directing exporters to comply with the directive.

     

    In August 2020, CBN had instructed banks to submit the names, addresses and bank verification numbers (BVN) of exporters that have defaulted in repatriating their exports proceeds, for further action.

     

    Bloomberg quotes Osita Nwanisobi, CBN acting director of corporate communications, as saying that the new directive applies to exports up until June 2020.

     

    “Proceeds for oil is to be repatriated within 90 days and non-oil within 180 days,” he said.

     

    The news agency noted that the measure is part of an effort to defend the country’s currency by targeting importers and exporters with tougher regulations.

     

    Global decline of crude oil prices coupled with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to the scarcity of foreign exchange in Nigeria.

     

    This resulted in a significant difference between the official exchange rate and the parallel market rate.

     

    It added that the differential of about 25 percent has induced exporters to divert forex earnings to unofficial channels.

  • KLM Sacks 6,000 Workers In Seven Months

    KLM Sacks 6,000 Workers In Seven Months

    Dutch carrier, KLM, has sacked a total of 6,000 staff members in seven months.

     

    A statement by the firm titled, ‘KLM to further restructure organisation’ dated January 21, announced the airline’s decision to sack 1000 workers.

     

    The airline blamed the loss of jobs on the new variant of the COVID-19 pandemic which has threatened the airline in addition to newer travel restrictions.

     

    The current restructuring will mean that the airline has reduced capacity by at least 6,000 after sacking 5,000 staff last year due to the impact of the virus.

     

    Speaking about the job loss, KLM CEO, Pieter Elbers, said, “In July 2020, we announced that 5,000 of our colleagues would have to leave KLM, after which we engaged with intensive consultation and cooperation with all social partners.

     

    “The further downsizing of our organisation does not yet encompass the latest measures announced by the Dutch government in the past 48 hours.”

     

    He added that the new measures were, however, in line with the restrictions and dynamics the airline had to contend with since the start of the pandemic.

  • Hero Motocorp Surpasses Monumental 100 Million Cumulative Production Milestones

    Hero Motocorp Surpasses Monumental 100 Million Cumulative Production Milestones

    Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, on Thursday surpassed the significant milestone of 100 Million (10 Crores) units in cumulative production.

     

    The 100 millionth bike, the Xtreme 160R, was rolled-out of the Company’s manufacturing facility in Haridwar, in the northern Indian hill state of Uttarakhand.

     

    This is also the 20th consecutive year that Hero MotoCorp has retained the coveted title of the world’s largest manufacturer of two-wheelers.

     

    Hero MotoCorp’s achievement of this landmark is one of the fastest global achievements of the 100 million cumulative production mark, with the last 50 Million units coming in a span of just seven years.

     

    Focused on Sustainable Growth, Hero MotoCorp has been building value for communities across the globe and acting as an economic multiplier with its sales, R&D and manufacturing ecosystems. It also continuously works towards the progress of the societies it operates in.

     

    To mark the occasion, Dr Pawan Munjal,  Chairman & CEO, Hero MotoCorp unveiled six special celebration edition models at the Company’s manufacturing facility at Gurugram, located in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi.

     

    The six celebration edition models include Splendor+, Xtreme 160R, Passion Pro, Glamour (motorcycles) and Destini 125, Maestro Edge 110 (scooters) – that will go on sale from February 2021.

     

    Addressing a global audience including customers, dealers, distributors, investors, suppliers, employees, customers and the media, Dr. Munjal also outlined Hero MotoCorp’s plans and vision for the next five years.

     

    Dr Pawan Munjal, Chairman & CEO, Hero MotoCorp and Shahrukh Khan, Global Movie Icon

    During this timeframe, the Company will aim to further consolidate its leadership position, expand its global footprint, launch exciting and relevant products and also work on new innovative product concepts.

     

    As part of the next five-year plan, Hero MotoCorp will introduce over 10 products – including variants, refreshes and upgrades – every year.

     

    “Hero MotoCorp has been at the fore-front of providing mobility to the aspirations of millions around the world and the achievement of this milestone is the success of evolving engineering, operational excellence and sustainable practices. It is also the success of the holistic ecosystem built on trust and belief that has grown along with this company. Most importantly, this is a celebration of the customers who continue to shower their love and faith on Hero.

     

    “This significant landmark is also an affirmation of the inherent capabilities in India and Hero’s Brand appeal. We have been making in India, for the world – and this milestone is an acknowledgment of the customers’ preference for Hero across geographies, demographics and generations.

     

    “We are going to continue to ride our growth journey. In keeping with our Vision to ‘Be the Future of Mobility’ we will be launching a host of new motorcycles & scooters over the next five years, in addition to expanding our global footprint. We will also continue to invest in R&D and focus on new mobility solutions,” Munjal submitted.

     

    Hero MotoCorp also has a steep growth target for its markets outside India. It will continue to grow its operations in these markets and also enter key markets in new geographies.

     

    Hero MotoCorp will continue to reduce its carbon footprint through its green facilities and fuel-efficient products. The Company will also continue to work towards the propagation of new mobility solutions both through its internal programs and by supporting the larger external ecosystem.

  • How Food Prices Rose In December — NBS

    How Food Prices Rose In December — NBS

    Food prices rose in the country in December, the National Bureau of Statistics disclosed in its ‘Selected food price watch’ for December 2020.

     

    Part of the report obtained on Friday stated, “Selected food price watch data for December 2020 reflected that the average price of one dozen of agric eggs medium size increased year-on-year by 9.12 per cent and month-on month by 0.98 per cent to N499.55 in December 2020 from N494.72 in November 2020 while the average price of piece of agric eggs medium size (price of one) increased year-on-year by 11.49 per cent and month-on-month by 1.43 per cent to N45.40 in December 2020 from N44.75 in November 2020.

     

    “The average price of 1kg of tomato increased year-on-year by 17.51 per cent and decreased month-on-month by 1.92 per cent to N310.10 in December 2020 from N316.16 in November 2020.

     

    “The average price of 1kg of rice (imported high quality sold loose) increased year-on-year by 19.80 per cent and month-on-month by 0.17 per cent to N550.94 in December 2020 from N549.98 in November 2020.”

     

    It added that the average price of 1kg of yam tuber increased year-on-year by 12.89 per cent and decreased month on month by 1.17 per cent to N233.48 in December 2020 from N236.25 in November 2020.

     

    The NBS also disclosed that the consumer price index, which measures inflation increased by 15.75 per cent (year-on-year) in December 2020.

     

    This was 0.86 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in November 2020 (14.89) per cent.

     

    On month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.61 per cent in December 2020.

     

    This is 0.01 per cent rate higher than the rate recorded in November 2020 (1.60 per cent).

     

    The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve months period ending December 2020 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve months period was 13.25 per cent, representing a 0.33 per cent point increase over 12.92 per cent recorded in November 2020.

     

    The urban inflation rate increased by 16.33 per cent (year-on-year) in December 2020 from 15.47 per cent recorded in November 2020, while the rural inflation rate increased by 15.20 per cent in December 2020 from 14.33 per cent in November 2020.

     

    On a month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 1.65 per cent in December 2020, same as the rate recorded in November 2020, while the rural index also rose by 1.58 per cent in December 2020, up by 0.02 per cent above the rate that was recorded in November 2020 (1.56 per cent).