Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, a subsidiary of Standard Bank Group, has urged Nigerian investors and business owners to harness and maximise the business opportunities that are inherent in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement.

This will help boost intra-Africa trade beyond the current level of 17 per cent as well as promote industrialisation and the economic growth of the continent.

Wole Adeniyi, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, made the call at the African Continental Free Trade Area webinar organised by Stanbic IBTC themed: “AfCFTA State of Play: Understanding Potential and Maximising Opportunities for the Customer”.

Wole stated that multiple studies have shown that the increase in trade has a direct impact on reducing unemployment and poverty in societies, he noted that the AfCFTA agreement presents numerous trade opportunities that are both exciting and promising not just for the continent but for the Nigerian market.

The Chief Executive emphasised Stanbic IBTC’s readiness to leverage the trade opportunities of the AfCFTA agreement to unlock business opportunities for its clients in the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) sector as well as its corporate clients.

While delivering his keynote address on the theme of the event, the guest speaker, Bamidele Ayemibo, Lead Consultant at 3T Impex Trade Academy, pointed out that with the implementation of the AfCFTA agreement, Africa has the opportunity of becoming the largest market in the world with a population of 1.2 billion people and a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion.

Ayemibo emphasised that the goal of AfCFTA is to create a single market for Africa and encourage the free movement of goods and services thereby facilitating trade transactions.

He pointed out that Nigerian customers can take advantage of the non-sensitive list, the sensitive list and the exclusive list in the agreement while engaging in various trade transactions with other African countries.

According to him, out of about 5,000 AfCFTA codes or products in the world that fall under the non-sensitive list, 90 per cent are duty-free and Nigeria customers can take advantage of this. He added that countries can liberalise their products under the sensitive list within a period of 10 years while the exclusive list enables countries not to liberalise their products in order to protect that sector of their economy.

Ayemibo stressed that the Federal Government is currently developing a portal where Nigerian customers and investors can trade with other countries under the AfCFTA agreement. He explained that AfCFTA presents a huge potential for Nigerian manufactured products on the African continent because Nigeria produces about 90 per cent of such products that are imported by other African countries.

While appreciating Stanbic IBTC for the bold step it has taken to educate its clients and investors about the benefits of AfCFTA, Ayemibo added that information enables agreement such as the AfCFTA to thrive, lamenting that previous agreements like the Ecowas Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) collapsed due to lack of adequate information.

He added that with its vast footprint across Africa through Standard Bank, Stanbic IBTC can reach out to its numerous customers and educate them on the benefits of the AfCTFA agreement.

The African Continental Free Trade Area is a free trade area founded in 2018, with trade commencing in January 2021.

It was created by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement among 54 of the 55 African Union nations. Nigeria signed the AfCFTA in 2019, after a year’s delay, and is considered as the most recent country to ratify the agreement.

By Elvis Eromosele

Today, everyone is talking about digital loan apps. They have been branded as villains and evil entities. This is not the complete story.

Digital loan apps provide a useful financial function. They provide loans. This is an important financial inclusion service. When people talk of financial inclusion, it is usually only in the context of opening a bank account. But it should be more.

Access to funds, loans, is a huge step in driving financial inclusion. Indeed, access to funds is an indispensable ingredient for socio-economic growth and prosperity.

Why is financial inclusion important? It is an essential enabler of developmental goals in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Consider this, whether in eradicating poverty, ending hunger, achieving food security and promoting sustainable agriculture; providing health and well-being; achieving gender equality and economic empowerment of women; promoting economic growth and jobs; access to funds can make the difference between failure and success.

Access to funds leads to positive economic outcomes including increasing productivity and profits and greater investment in businesses.

Without a doubt, access to funds can boost investment, drive consumption and spur socio-economic growth. So, if access to funds is that important, why don’t banks provide this important service?

They are supposed to and in fact, claim to. The consensus, it would seem, is that the hurdles to clear to access the funds are almost insurmountable for the average person or small business. I’ll let more knowledgeable people discuss this point.

This is why the emergence of digital loan apps appear almost heaven-sent. They promise access to loans with only a few clicks and deliver spectacularly. They provide access to loans without cumbersome paper works. They provide a useful service and deserve commendation.

The problem comes when the people that collect the loans are unable to pay. Whatever the reasons they may proffer, defaulting on the loan triggers and releases “the beast” in the loan firms.

They want their money and want it quick. They resort to underhand methods that skirt the hem of decency and proper conduct. They cross the line and break the law. This precisely is the problem with these digital loan apps. They operate below the radar like they are in a jungle without laws.

Granted, many loan apps are on Google Playstore, but are they registered businesses in Nigeria? This is the critical question. If the loan apps are operating without regulation or guidelines, who do we blame? Some agencies of government have failed in their responsibility. The relevant personnel, agency, also needs to be penalized.

When a person takes a loan and defaults, they harass the contacts, blatantly invading people’s privacy, use blackmail and other underhanded tactics in seeking to get the loanee to repay the loan. Their harsh modus operandi is now their defining characteristic. The outcry against them has equally been vehement.

Why there is all sort of reasons why people may be unable to repay their loans as at when due. The loan apps must look at ways to get their monies without unduly involving and harassing other people who know absolutely nothing about the transaction. They should also be wary of unnecessary threats, harassment and intimation.

Aside from those on Playstore, others invade people’s DMS pledging with them to download the app via the link they send. To many, they have become a menace that needs to be curbed, curtailed and regulated.

It is not surprising therefore that the federal government have determined that a number of them are operating illegally in the country. The real wonder is that the FG is only just finding this out.

Now, as part of efforts to regulate the loan apps, the FG through an Inter-Agency Joint Regulatory & Enforcement Task Force of FCCPC, NITDA, ICPC recently raided some of the loan apps offices in Lagos State.

There are reports, many of them unconfirmed, of people who have taken their lives or developed high blood pressure because of the unscrupulous activities of these loan apps.

The grudge against them is numerous and grievous. The twin sins of these loan apps are defamation of character and excessive interests.

The quest to regulate the operations of the loan apps is completely in order. The way and matter the government goes about it also needs to be in order. Government agencies can’t break the law in the haste to stop a wrong. Two wrongs can never make a right.

The Head of FCCPC, Babatunde Irukera, has been quoted as saying that the activities of the digital money lenders would now fall under regulatory control. This is a good first step.

When there are guidelines, the responsible loan apps will, no doubt, work to meet and abide by them. This is the proper thing to do and this is the right way to go.

While the loan apps may well have a genuine reason for their operational method, it has been adjudged offensive, invasion of privacy and against the law. They urgently need to stop.

Furthermore, they should do proper due diligence before handing out money like confetti. Do they do KYC? Do they consider the ability to repay? Are there contingency plans in place to tackle default and defaulters?

Maybe we should even ask where do they get the funds that they disburse?

Going forward, the loan apps urgently need to clean up their act. They are performing a useful service to the economy. Providing quick and easy loans at a moment’s notice is something most banks can only dream about. They should now learn to do things the way things should be done without breaking the rules and causing offence.

On FCCPC asking Google to remove the apps from Playstore, the truth is that Google is not under any obligation to heed the FCCPC’s directive on delisting the offending loan apps from its store unless the agency can show good cause.

There are stringent rules for this sort of thing. It involves reporting through the appropriate channel, indicating the specific rules broken by the loan apps and providing evidence.

Of course, the government can in principle make representation to Google directly to help move things along smoothly.

Let’s not be hasty in knocking the digital loan apps. This should not be another case of throwing away the baby with the bathwater. There are issues, yes. But they can be resolved with appropriate action on the part of all the parties involved. Let the government agency lay down the proper rules and regulations. This is the right way to go.

Elvis Eromosele, a Corporate Communication professional and public affairs analyst lives in Lagos.

Abubakar Suleiman

CEO

Sterling Bank Plc

In a bid to improve banking experience for non-bank and other financial institutions, corporate clients, UHNIs and HNIs, Sterling Bank Plc has launched a revolutionary digital platform, named Omni X.

Omni X, an integrated investment and liquidity management platform, presents the Bank’s wide range of digital products and service offerings to users.

The novel solutions which are configured to enable businesses invest and raise seamlessly also complements Sterling’s existing corporate Internet banking platform.

Mr. Yemi Odubiyi, Executive Director, Corporate and Investment Banking, Sterling Bank, who disclosed this in a statement issued by the Bank said, “Omni X is deliberately designed to offer a simple, easy and effective platform to manage the daily liquidity needs of corporates.”

At a recently held focus group event for captains of industry, the Group Head, Client Coverage and Financial Institutions, Kashetolulope Lawal, highlighted that Omni X would provide convenience to corporate clients by expediting financing decisions, speeding up transaction processing times, automating investment processes, while minimizing the incidence of human errors associated with manual processing to improve customers’ experience and drive business productivity; dovetailing into profitability for users.

“Omni X becomes an imperative solution for corporates across various sectors to invest and raise financing simultaneously where possible due to; the nature of their businesses, the time sensitivity attached to these activities and the culminating desire for an improved solution that does the most in the shortest time possible.”

Omni X also incorporates corporate account opening and other services for seamless on-boarding and transaction processing as well as solutions for investments, liquidity management and access to advisory services.

He also hinted that the platform is designed to simplify the major banking needs of businesses, investments and financing in the financial and other allied services sectors, adding that the innovation is by far more than what any financial institution has done in Nigeria.

Lawal further added that “beyond the vanilla financial services that can be accessed, Omni X will allow organisations achieve corporate account opening, manage investment and collection services, and access financing solutions including but not limited to cash backed and trade settlement loans.”

” Omni X as we have designed it, will solve corporates’ concerns on how to invest, finance and make the most of available capital, in as close to real time as possible. It is yet another statement of commitment by Sterling Bank not just to innovative banking, but also to the Nigerian economy. Omni X will improve their productivity and offer services from the viewpoint of an industry leader,” Lawal said.

In commemoration of International Women’s Day, IWD 2022, Nigeria’s retail lender, Unity Bank Plc is partnering AltSchool Africa to sponsor female students towards the acquisition of specialist software skills – an empowerment initiative to boost the capacity of the female gender.

AltSchool Africa is a school for individuals looking to gain technical skills and kick start a career in Software Engineering. The school currently prides itself on the large enrolment of female students. Unity Bank Plc is providing funds to encourage enrolment of young female students into AltSchool who will pursue a career in Informational Technology.

The Bank said in a statement that the gesture has become imperative to #BreakTheBias against women in the emerging information technology industry, where a recent study by ONE Campaign and the Center for Global Development, showed that less than 30 per cent of technology companies in Nigeria are owned by women, even as the female members of the entire tech ecosystem workforce constituted less than 20 per cent.

Speaking on the partnership, Unity Bank’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Tomi Somefun said the initiative to extend the scholarships to the young women looking to start a career in the IT industry not only aligned with the theme of the IWD 2022, “#BreakTheBias,” but is in tandem with the Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability initiative targeting education and empowerment.

She said: “The International Women’s Day is yet another opportunity to reexamine the critical role that women continue to play in building a peaceful and prosperous society. Today, more than ever before, we are confronted by the harsh realities of gender-based exclusivity, especially in the workplace.

“I agree that some progress has been made but we must not be distracted by this momentary success because, over the next decade, the share of jobs requiring medium to digital skills would have risen to more than 50 per cent. Therefore, we must remain committed to empowering women who are courageous to make a difference in careers that have hitherto excluded the women, such as the IT industry.”.

According to Mrs. Somefun, “The advancement in technology has created a new world order that must be deliberate about inclusivity, removing biases and unlearning stereotypes. If future prosperity shall be defined by technological and requisite skills, we must not repeat the mistakes of the past by ensuring diversity, equity and inclusivity and empower our women to take an active part in creating that future.”

The International Women’s Day, IWD is a day set aside globally to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and reflect on action to accelerate gender equality. This years’ theme #BreakTheBias “imagines a gender-equal world, a world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination; a world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive; a world where difference is valued and celebrated.