Sterling Bank Plc has launched a new and innovative digital product, known as the Imperium Platform, in a bid to connect consumers and providers of renewable energy (solar solutions) as a viable solution to Nigeria’s electricity crisis.

The Imperium Platform was launched following the unveiling of the Nigerian electricity industry report entitled, “Powering Nigeria: How Solar Energy Can Become a Sustainable Electricity Alternative.”

The report was produced by Sterling Bank in partnership with Stears, a digital information company.

Dele Faseemo, Group Head, Renewable Energy at Sterling Bank, said in a statement issued by the bank that the Imperium Platform seeks to provide clean and affordable energy solutions to interested customers while providing different financing options to customers purchasing the solution outright or paying for the installation and operation of the solution.

Faseemo explained that Sterling Bank, in partnership with Stears Data, the data collection, analytics, and data access division of Stears, embarked on the study to tackle the problem of providing solar energy in the country.

The report showed that despite the privatization of Nigeria’s electricity industry, the country still has one of the lowest electrification rates in the world, as 43 percent of its population has no access to grid electricity, an indication that 85 million Nigerians are not connected to – and cannot receive electricity from – the Nigerian transmission grid.

He said the Imperium would provide a range of purchase options to consumers because solar energy solutions are not one-size-fits-all, so purchasing options should not be either.

According to him, Sterling Bank employs several purchase models to provide renewable energy solutions for its customers. This ensures that customers with different needs and purchase abilities can access solar energy solutions.

He listed the options to include outright purchase, lease to own, and power as a service. Using outright purchase as an example, he said that energy consumers could purchase products directly from vendors via the Imperium Platform, a dedicated e-commerce platform hosted by Sterling Bank.

In lease to own, Imperium provides financing at competitive interest rates for consumers with good credit scores or clean credit checks who are keen to own the assets. Under power as a service, Imperium offers fixed monthly energy-charge options to consumers, but the underlying assets are owned by Imperium as it (Imperium) purchases and owns the assets.

This saves clients huge capital outlay and maintenance worries, while the monthly energy charge is based on the capacity deployed.

In this regard, the bank has recently partnered with the Nike Art Gallery to install solar panels at the gallery via the bank’s Imperium outlet as part of its commitment to a renewable energy-powered Nigeria and the development of the nation’s tourism sector.

The development is a sequel to recent partnerships with the gallery to drive an appreciation and spotlight the investment opportunities available in Nigeria’s arts and tourism sectors.

The Nike Art Gallery, owned by Chief Nike Okundaye, is one of the largest of its kind in the West African sub-region, with a collection of about 8,000 diverse artworks from various Nigerian artists.

FBN Holdings Plc recently announced its audited results for the financial year ended 31 December 2021.

Highlighting revenue and profitability, the Group delivered a stellar performance growing gross revenue by 28.2% to ₦757.3 billion and profit before tax by 99.1% to ₦166.7 billion.

The 30.0% growth in loans and advances to ₦2.9 trillion and 16.2% growth in total asset to ₦8.9 trillion reaffirms our commitment to drive revenue and profitability as we complete the balance sheet clean-up.

Commenting on the results, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, Chief Executive Officer of FirstBank Group said:

“Following years of strategic restructuring of the Bank’s balance sheet and operations, the Commercial Banking business is beginning to transition into a sustained growth phase delivering performance commensurate to the size of our business and capabilities of our people. Profit before tax is up 77.9%, gross earnings 30.3%, total assets 15.9% and customer deposits up 19.5%.

Gross earnings grew by 28.2% to ₦757.3 billion (Dec 2020: ₦590.7 billion). Interest income remained challenged given the moderated interest rate environment negatively impacting yields; as a result, interest income declined 4.1% to ₦369.0 billion (Dec 2020: ₦384.8 billion).

In 2021, FBNH operated in a challenging operating environment that was pressured by high inflation and currency devaluation, the effect of which increased operating expenses by 14.2% to ₦334.2 billion (Dec 2020: ₦292.5 billion). However, this 14.2% is below the inflation level (Dec 2020: 15.6%) whilst regulatory cost also rose during the period, up 23.2% y-o-y.

Despite the inflationary push factors, operating income grew 35.5% to ₦592.8 billion (Dec 2020: ₦437.6 billion), resulting in an improvement in cost to income ratio to 56.4% (Dec 2020: 66.8%).

Going forward, we will sustain our focus towards further improving efficiency by containing cost and increasing revenue.

Stanbic IBTC continued to champion the job creation drive in Nigeria through initiatives such as its graduate trainee programme and various entrepreneurial programmes, which had created job opportunities for Nigerians.

Dr. Demola Sogunle, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC commented on the financial institutions’ role as a job provider in Nigeria. He said the financial services provider was always at the forefront in bridging Nigeria’s unemployment deficit through its various programmes and provided necessary tools for its graduands to navigate through the 21st century job environment.

“As a financial institution that placed much value on job creation, Stanbic IBTC continued to provide various employment opportunities geared at bridging the nation’s unemployment gap. Through our various graduate trainee programmes, we had ushered successful candidates out of the despair of unemployment and economic instability. Unemployment figure released by the National Bureau of Statistics was quite high, at 33.3 per cent.” Demola said.

“Graduates under our trainee programmes were exposed to seasoned subject experts in artificial intelligence and machine learning, financial management, data, cloud and blockchain technology. Stanbic IBTC has enabled numerous graduates to be prepared for the future,” he added.

The Chief Executive noted that Stanbic IBTC would continue to provide opportunities for Nigerians to achieve their dreams and contribute to bridging the nation’s unemployment deficit.

“At Stanbic IBTC, we strongly believe in the dreams and aspirations of every Nigerian and we remain committed to providing avenues for fulfilling these aspirations,” Demola said.

Funke Amobi, Country Head, People and Culture, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC commented on the role Stanbic IBTC played in bridging Nigeria’s unemployment deficit. She said the financial services provider had taken the lead to provide job opportunities for Nigerian youths despite the economic challenges that plagued business organisations.

“The importance of job opportunities cannot be overemphasised in Nigeria. As a corporate entity, we have lived up to these responsibilities, and have provided opportunities to Nigerians through our trainee programmes. Also, our entrepreneurial programmes are geared at equipping beneficiaries with the required skills to run successful businesses, and thus enhancing employment generation.,” Funke said.

She further assured Nigerians that the organisation would continue to provide opportunities for citizens to achieve their aspirations.

The first international Global Crypto bank, Xend Finance, just made another great stride in providing users in developing countries the opportunity to live above inflation. It announced the addition of the Kenyan shilling and Ghanaian Cedi to the list of currencies for transactions on its mobile app.

This addition advances its mission of helping people live above inflation, despite the constant devaluation of their local currency. Previously, Xend Finance has taken Nigeria by storm, becoming one of the top downloaded crypto apps in the country before expanding to Ghana and Kenya.

Developing economies are no strangers to the plague called inflation.

For instance, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) recently revealed that Ghana experienced a 23.6% inflation surge in April 2022, the highest since 2009.

With inflation affecting the lives of countless citizens in Ghana, the addition of Cedis to the Xend Finance app ushers in a feeling of relief, especially with the realization that their funds can be unaffected by the devaluation of their fiat currency and the resulting inflation surge.

Thanks to this update, Kenyans and Ghanaians can easily convert their fiat currency into stable cryptocurrencies like BUSD. Furthermore, it allows citizens in those countries to save in stable cryptocurrencies and earn up to 15% annual interest, compounded daily.

The mobile app, which was released in December 2021, serves as a mobile wallet for carrying out daily transactions. With the support of activities like payment for deliveries, sending money to loved ones, and many more, users can carry out seamless transactions for even the most basic aspects of their lives.

The addition of these currencies to the mobile app was done alongside the company’s expansion into Ghana and Kenya. In an interview at Joy 99.7 FM, a radio station in Ghana, Mercy Emmanuel, Head of Growth Xend Finance, stated that the company seeks to help Ghanaians and Africans in Africa, “save value by saving your money in stable cryptocurrencies.” She further explained that saving value means saving the value of your funds such that they do not depreciate over time. And that is only possible when savings are made in stable currencies.

“As a global crypto bank, we are leveraging decentralized finance and blockchain technology to combat the menace of inflation in Africa. Inflation is a wealth killer in Africa but with the Xend Finance platform, we are able to help people hedge against inflation and moreso, make it work in your favour,” Chima Abafor, Chief Technology Officer, Xend Finance.

He goes on to say. “The addition of Cedis and Shillings to the app follows our commitment to solve the problems facing everyday Africans, living and earning in Africa.”

Xend Finance’s goal is to provide blockchain solutions to everyday financial problems. This move is just one of many strategies the company has put in place to achieve this goal. Many more products will be announced before the end of 2022.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved the sum of $1.5 billion to support African countries to avert an impending food crisis on the continent as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group said: “Food aid cannot feed Africa. Africa does not need bowls in hand. Africa needs seeds in the ground, and mechanical harvesters to harvest bountiful food produced locally. Africa will feed itself with pride for there is no dignity in begging for food…”

According to the Bank, the $1.5 billion strategy will lead to the production of 11 million tons of wheat; 18 million tons of maize; 6 million tons of rice; and 2.5 million tons of soybeans.

Dr. Beth Dunford, the African Development Bank’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, said: “The Africa Emergency Food Production Facility builds on lessons learned from the African Development Bank’s Feed Africa Response to Covid-19 program. That program has provided a strategic roadmap to support Africa’s agriculture sector and safeguard food security against the pandemic’s impact.”