Absa, a leading pan-African Corporate and Investment Bank that offers its clients innovative advisory and financing solutions across multiple economic sectors, is fully aligned with the Federal Government of Nigeria’s aspiration of economic growth and development opportunity associated with the advent of launch of 5G technology in Nigeria.

According to the financial services institution, there are impressive, transformative economic growth opportunities inherent in the adoption of 5G technology as underlined by the Nigerian government’s approval of the National Policy on 5G Networks on September 8, 2021.

Following this approval, the federal government officially launched the policy as the driver of its digital economy agenda in Abuja on January 25, 2022.

The government sees the adoption of 5G networks as an opening to create jobs in the economy, improve operational transparency, drive sectoral productivity and expand the fight against insecurity.

Following a series of trials and exhaustive stakeholders’ engagements eliminating the perceived health risks associated with the 5G technology, President Muhammad Buhari, officially leading proceedings at the launch event, assured investors that as the rollout of the advanced network technology begins in earnest, the federal government will provide an enabling environment that supports robust investment in digital infrastructure.

Meanwhile, the leading pan-African Corporate and Investment Bank has expressed excitement at the launch of the national policy on 5G networks.

Sadiq Abu, the Chief Executive Officer, Absa Nigeria, said the policy would fast track the growth of the country’s digital economy.

“The race to keep pace with the rest of the globe demands urgent policy actions. Therefore, the launch of the national policy on 5G networks is laudable as it provides a fitting platform to drive the rollout of the 5G network on a national scale. Of course, this policy effort will make a difference in how sectors such as education, retail, health, manufacturing, and banking sectors are run with great implications on productivity, job creation, and revenue levels across sectors”, he explained.

He added, “Absa as a growth partner will leverage its global experience and robust investment network in the sector and beyond to support investors in maximising market opportunities with the potential to drive growth in the economy.”

Technology is a key driver of innovation. Innovation heralds changes that foster improved standard of living on a larger scale. The introduction of the 5G technology is poised to change sectoral operations, create new jobs in the digital space while impacting operations across every line of human endeavours.

5G technology is an advanced upgrade of previously existing wireless interconnectivity infrastructure such as the 2G, 3G and 4G. It is generally tagged as the fifth generation of wireless technology. The technology offers a high-speed, low-latency virtual reality world, as well as ultra-high-speed streaming which will grandly impact society in terms of how people commute, communicate, shop, bank, and produce the goods they consume.

A report by PwC forecasted that the advanced tech infrastructure will likely contribute $13.2 trillion worth of goods and services to the global economy by 2035.

According to the report, the tech infrastructure has the potential to create or transform up to 16 million jobs across all sectors of the economy, which includes full-time, part-time, and temporary jobs. It will also lead to the creation of industries not yet imagined leading to the emergence of extensive opportunities for the local population.

And, going by the disclosure made at the last Global Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF) held in Dubai, over 500 million subscribers presently have access to commercial 5G networks in 176 countries. South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Hong Kong, the United States and Thailand top the list of countries where the new tech infrastructure has the widest coverage, revealed Statista.

Although the deployment of the tech infrastructure is at an experimental phase in most markets, the experiential impacts are already being felt. From the feedback at the MBBF, 5G technology is starting to empower different segments of the global economy.

It is, however, a matter of time before the ripple effects of 5G networks are felt in every corner of the world. This is why Nigeria’s launch of a national policy on the 5G network is a welcome development.

The opening month of 2022 revealed a solid expansion in Nigeria’s private sector. Output continued to rise at a robust pace thanks to larger workforces as well as supportive domestic and international demand conditions.

However, cash shortages weighed on new orders, which rose at the softest rate for a year-and-a-half. Nevertheless, firms remained committed to raising output and stockpiled inputs accordingly, while sentiment improved to an 11-month high. Cost pressures remained sharp in January, but purchase price inflation eased notably from December’s previous peak.

The headline figure derived from the survey is the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI). Stanbic IBTC Bank noted that readings above 50.0 signal an improvement in business conditions on the previous month, while readings below 50.0 show a deterioration. At 53.7 in January, down from 56.4 in December, the latest expansion pointed to a softer, yet solid, improvement in business conditions.

Expansions have now been seen in each of the last 19 months, with the latest uptick the softest since September. Central to the moderation was a notable slowdown in new order growth. Total new business rose at the softest pace in 18 months with panel comments mentioning that cash shortages and high prices weighed on new order growth.

With new order growth easing in January, firms raised their output levels at a softer pace. The rate of growth was still robust, however, and above the long-run series average. Sub-sector data revealed expansions across the board, although agriculture recorded by far the strongest increase. Manufacturing, wholesale & retail and services followed, respectively. Sentiment improved to an 11-month high during the month amid plans to expand operations.

As a result, firms raised their headcounts marginally which contributed to a sharp reduction in backlogs. Lead times continued to improve in January, but to the weakest extent since April 2020. The resurgence of COVID-19 cases and tighter restrictions in international markets were often mentioned as factors that weighed on vendor performance.

Meanwhile, a sustained period of output and new order growth encouraged advance ordering strategies. There was also an indication that firms added to stockpiles to protect against future price hikes. Both purchasing activity and input inventories rose at robust, albeit softer rates.

Rising wage and raw material prices led to another increase in overall input costs. Unfavorable exchange rate movements also drove up expenses. Consequently, firms increased selling charges, but the rate of increase moderated notably.

The race to rebuild the global economy after the lockdowns is gathering pace. The spike in inflationary trends, disturbing food insecurity levels, failing channel management systems, the sharp increase in the number of businesses going bust, and alarming infrastructure deficit form the recent consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Hence, development agencies and state economic managers on global and regional scales have sprung into action to revive the hailing economies. Recovery aids, financing instruments are being sourced to balance up the intervention policies developed across markets to stimulate quick recovery from the various shocks of the viral outbreak.

Africa, home to over 1.2 billion people, is striving hard to meet its obligations of catering to the food needs of the burgeoning population as well as closing the massive infrastructure deficit evidenced by the inconsistent supplies of electricity, decaying road transport systems, low internet penetration level, growing unemployment rate and faulty municipalities across its 30.3 million km² surface areas.

According to the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), the lockdown rules that were implemented across the African continent led to drastic short-term income losses for informal workers as very few of the workers had access to social security protection.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) also dropped drastically as trade declined dramatically on the continent while the government capacity to keep the economy active ebbed leaving little or no means of support for the state managers.

A swift rebound from the deep deficits on the continent would require strong public-private partnerships on a socioeconomic level. The private sector which provides as much as 90% of the employment in the economies and plays active roles in implementing key growth policies are a strong driver of national and regional economic agenda. It is hard to imagine a faster post lockdown recovery on a large scale without effectively engaging the private sectors.

Absa, a pan Africa financial institution is spearheading the private sector’s interventions to stimulate swifter recovery in trade, investment and infrastructure development. The bank is deploying its wider operating capability, well-tailored offerings and experience on a global scale to support the various post lockdown recovery efforts embarked upon by some state actors.

One of the recent moves made by Absa to shore up efforts to rebuild the African economy is a collaborative agreement with Proparco, a French development finance institute, to help corporate SMEs recover from the lockdown’s shocks.

The collaborative economic support agreement aims to source and disburse $20 million to SMEs operating in sectors such as construction, manufacturing, tourism, retail, which have been badly hit by the Covid-19 crisis especially in South Africa.

By helping the SMEs segment stay afloat through the provision of accessible loan instruments, Absa is addressing a critical issue on the continent.

Of course, the African SMEs segment played a significant role in the continent’s impressive 5% average growth in the past decade. The segment has been a fitting lever pulled to attract investment to the continent over the years. It also topped other segments in generating employment for the population and tax revenue for various governments.

Therefore, by providing a support framework for the segment through collaborative efforts, Absa is leveraging its impressive developmental network to strengthen a key locus of economic recovery in the post-lockdown operating environment.

Speaking about the collaborative agreement between Proparco and Absa, Parin Gokaldas, Group Treasurer at Absa, said:

“The agreement further enables Absa to provide financial support to corporate SMEs, a vital component of the local economy, as it recovers from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are particularly pleased with the agreement as we view the relationship with Proparco, a significant development finance institution in Africa, as strategically important.”

For Emmanuel Haye, deputy head of the Financial Institutions Debt Group, covering Africa and Middle East, at Proparco: “…We are delighted to start this partnership with Absa Bank, a key player with a strong pan-African presence and to be part of a much-needed counter-cyclical role.”

In the same vein, Absa was recently involved in raising a $400 million syndicated loan for the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), a leading infrastructure solutions provider, which targets critical infrastructure development on the continent. The pan African bank, through its Corporate and Investment Banking division, along with a few other global banks, acted as a bookrunner and mandated lead arranger to help the AFC secure the development loan.

The involvement in the syndicate loan arrangement to boost infrastructure development in Africa is another significant intervention effort that speaks to the development focus of the bank.

Banji Fehintola, Senior Director & Treasurer at the AFC, explained: “This loan will be instrumental in working towards plugging the infrastructure gap we are facing on this continent, especially following the damaging effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. We remain committed to partnering with experienced, like-minded organisations to provide sustainable finance for infrastructure development in Africa while achieving the lowest borrowing costs of any institution on the continent.”

Precisely, robust investment in infrastructure development enables trade and creates a vibrant environment that powers businesses. It provides millions of jobs each year in building and maintenance for the local population.

According to a statement released by the AFC recently, the syndicated loan will support Africa’s post-pandemic recovery “through critical development of infrastructure.” Africa no doubt is in need of strong infrastructure development support in raising the standards of road and freight networks, broadband penetration levels, and the upgrading of the continent’s electric power facilities.

Sadiq Abu, Chief Executive Officer, Absa Nigeria said: “As a pan-African financial institution committed to deepen growth and create shared value, Absa is consistently deploying its vast knowledge of the operating environment to support both public and private development actors in stimulating faster post-lockdown economic recovery on the continent.”

As a socially responsible organisation, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC is big on positively impacting lives within its host communities in Nigeria through its Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives.

Stanbic IBTC’s CSI is hinged on three core pillars: education, health, and economic empowerment, and aims to meaningfully contribute to enhancing the wellbeing of Nigerian communities, especially at the grassroots.

One of such is the Together4ALimb initiative, where the company provides support to enhance the quality of life of children with missing limbs. Through the provision of prosthetics and educational trust funds worth millions of naira, Stanbic IBTC ensures these young people can live a normal and productive life like their counterparts.

The organisation understands the need to make an impact in the lives of children living with missing limbs, either by birth or via accidents, and is determined to do so through its signature CSI. It is important to give these children hope for the future, and enable them see the endless possibilities for greatness in life, irrespective of societal prejudices they face owing to their circumstances, which could pose a threat to the achievement of their dreams and aspirations.

The educational trust support provides a platform for young people to access quality education needed to enable them maximise their potential and become whatever they want to be.

The signature CSI comes with an awareness drive, “Together4ALimb charity walk”, which is designed to draw attention to this health challenge and hopefully garner financial and government support for survivors.

The annual Together4ALimb walk has recorded over 5,000 participants since inception.

Stanbic IBTC reiterates its commitment to empowering and creating better narratives for communities in Nigeria. In 2021, the organisation took on several value-driven charitable initiatives such as school renovations, orphanage, nursing homes and special needs centre visitations, all targeted at empowering and enriching the lives of less privileged Nigerians.

A memorable CSI initiative taken on last year by the organisation was a visit to the Ketu Special Children Centre, where the organisation presented medical and physiotherapy equipment to the facility. The donations made will go a long way to help improve the wellbeing of children living with cerebral palsy, a condition which causes other health issues like vision impairment, hearing and speech problems, and learning disabilities.

Other CSI initiatives taken on by Stanbic IBTC last year include the presentation of hospital equipment to Batagarawa Primary Health Care, Katsina; presentation of a CT Scan room and other medical facilities to Mother and Child Hospital, Kano State; the donation of medical items to Mother and Child Hospital, Ebonyi State; the commissioning of a borehole donated to the LEA Primary School FCT Abuja; renovation of the Antenatal Care Unit at General Hospital, Mushin, Lagos, as well as empowering young people via financial knowledge on the World Savings Day in various schools nationwide and mentoring sessions for students at Estate Senior Grammar School, Ilupeju, amongst others

Stanbic IBTC is focused on delivering relevant and impactful CSI projects in communities where development is most needed. In 2022, Stanbic IBTC promises to deliver more social and economic initiatives to facilitate growth and improve the welfare of the Nigerian communities, especially those in rural areas.