Verve has celebrated 10 years of transforming the payment system in Nigeria and is now accepted in 185 countries around the world, including 22 nations in Africa.
Mr. Mitchell Elegbe, the Founder/Group Managing Director of Interswitch, owners of Verve, said the future target of Verve is to reach every country in Africa. He lamented that despite the existence of 42 million card holders in Nigeria, cards account for only 10 percent of transactions while the use of cash is still dominant in day-to-day transactions to the tune of 90 percent.
Mr. Mike Ogbalu 111, the CEO of Verve International described Verve as a unique solution from Nigeria transforming payment across the world.
He said: “Verve is a story of victory for Nigeria and Africa. It is a story of resilience and it is growing more than the competition. We see a brighter future for the next 10 years as Verve continues to serve the unserved in Nigeria, Africa and the world. The ultimate dream of Verve is to process payment and ensure better lives across Africa and the world. It is also to solve customer needs and become an international brand.”
The Verve CEO expressed satisfaction that Nigerian banks have embraced and issued the payment card to millions of their customers across the country.
During a panel discussion, stakeholders identified digital identity, access, affordability and competition as some of the challenges facing card business in Nigeria.
Nigeria has one of the highest company income tax rates globally which is a disincentive for business growth, Tax leader, PwC Nigeria, Taiwo Oyedele has said.
He spoke on Saturday at the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria, FICAN annual workshop themed “Unlocking Opportunities in Nigeria’s Non-Oil Sector.”
According to Oyedele, Nigeria is in the top 10 in the world, for highest income tax rate.
“We pay Company Income Tax, CIT 30%, education tax, 2%, whatever is left, we pay withholding tax of 10%. If you add it together, it is more that 40% already. If you now make a mistake of having a group and you say it’s a holding company, another 30%. Who does that?” he said.
Speaking further, he said: “When you start a business today, there is something called commencement rule. It is supposed to punish you during commencement, so that you pay tax twice. It does not make sense.”
To address this challenge, the tax expert advised that operators in the private sector should focus on demanding for removal of some of these disincentives that affect business operations.
“What I keep saying to government is that I can insist that I have a pot that is this small and I say I must get 60% of this pot by all means. Or I allow this pot to be big enough and then get 10% of it. Government must remove tax disincentives. One thing I am asking the business community is stop asking the government for incentives because they will think they are doing you a favour. Ask them to remove the disincentives that are not allowing us to do business,” he said.
He also called on the authorities to change their thinking about taxation as current approach has only made compliance difficult.
He said: “Our thinking around taxation is completely upside down as a country. Nigeria does not seem to understand that you need to be prosperous so that you can pay tax. So, tax does not just fall from heaven.”
“As a government, I should help you make money so that you can pay me tax. Its just common sense. Nigeria has a tax system that does not allow businesses to thrive, whether you are small or big,” he added.
He noted that “the reason Nigeria cannot make money from tax, and is not a curse, is that it continues to beat up the people at the bottom of the ladder. But they cannot give you what they don’t have. In societies where they think things logically, they focus on the top 1% who are the rich and big companies and they will get the desired tax result,” he said.
Dr. Henry Nkemadu, Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) delivering the keynote address at the Business Journal 2nd Annual Lecture/Awards last Friday in Lagos. He represented Prof Umar Danbatta, the EVC/CEO of NCC.
Professor Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says the regulator is committed towards Digital Nigeria for sustainable economic growth of the country.
Danbatta made the pledge at the Business Journal 2nd Annual Lecture held last Friday in Lagos.
Represented by Dr. Henry Nkemadu, Director of Public Affairs at NCC, Danbatta said Digital Nigeria is when the country will be able to utilise electronic devices online and offline and in which case most transactions/activities will be in digital format.
Dr. Henry Nkemadu, Director, Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) delivering the keynote address at the Business Journal 2nd Annual Lecture/Awards last Friday in Lagos. He represented Prof Umar Danbatta, the EVC/CEO of NCC.
“Our world is becoming ever more connected. Billions of intelligent devices and machines generate massive amounts of data, creating a bridge between real and virtual worlds. Turning these vast amounts of data into value is a key success factor.
In Nigeria, the number of active mobile subscriptions is over 174 million as at August 2019 and the active ICT infrastructure deployment continues to rise to support the telecommunications sector. A subscriber tele-density of 91.6 Million, Internet subscribers of over 111 million, and a broadband penetration of above 33%, Digital Nigeria has become a reality and not a myth. Having contributed 13.86% to the GDP, as at 2nd quarter of 2019, the ICT Sector in Nigeria has attained remarkable milestones in ensuring that the Sector continues to play a great role in Nigeria’s economic diversification and sustainability. This is done by consistently ensuring that the necessary policies and infrastructure are enhanced, so that the requisite technological platform for a viable economic diversification can ensue. Certainly, no economy is sustainable on a mono product.”
He added that the NCC as the telecommunications regulatory body facilitates universal access to ICT services by providing enabling regulatory interventions to stimulate competition among the industry players:
Implementation of the National Broadband Plan Initiatives.
Pervasive infrastructure support
Granting of more Spectrum Resource Licenses for the delivery of broadband wireless access service at the wholesale level, to ISP’s and other Retail Telecoms Service Providers for the provision of retail high speed internet access services.
Facilitate the Participation of Young Entrepreneurs in ITU Global ICT Competitions for SMEs, Business Start-Ups and Innovators
USPS Initiatives That Impact on Economic Growth
Industry Capacity Building and Promotion of Innovations – DBI, New Media & Information Security.
Collaboration of Other Government Agencies – CBN, Health, Agriculture, Works, etc.
“The NCC continues to promote and facilitate universal access to ICTs to ensure implementation of the following areas identified for economic diversifications needed for the Nigerian economy:
E- government
E-education
E-agriculture
Industrialization
Entrepreneurship, Youth Empowerment and SMES
E-Taxation to boost Revenues
E-Commerce
E-health
The NCC chief said the Commission will continue to promote and facilitate, through appropriate regulatory interventions, the expansion of pervasive broadband infrastructure that will stimulate the provision of e-products and e-services across Nigeria.
“The NCC will encourage the digitalization of information to be transformed into business and economic activities that drive national growth and development.The economic diversification of the Nigerian economy will give impetus for increase mobilization of all resources and increase revenues accruable to government. This will cause an exponential increase in productive activities in industry, manufacturing, infrastructure development, health, and agriculture to stimulate growth and development of the Nigerian economy. The NCC shall continue to provide the conducive regulatory environment for increased private sector investment and expansion of economic activities.”
The interventions of the NCC play a vital role in supporting the evolution of digital processes and appreciation in various sectors of the economy.
From Setting up Public Access Points and ICT Training Centres, the Digital Awareness Programme (DAP), the Advanced Digital Awareness programme for Tertiary Institutions (ADAPTI), the School Knowledge Centre (SKC), all of which have benefitted over 500 schools across the country, the educational sector in Nigeria has definitely felt the digital wand of the NCC.
The NCC continues to promote and facilitate universal access to ICT to ensure implementation of e-taxation, ecommerce and e-government financial sector areas, which were identified as the economic enhancement needed for sustainability of the Nigerian economy. Improving user (traveler) experience such as online ticketing, boarding, and check in processes; and Vehicle tracking and navigations through mobile and Internet services, are also some key examples of how telecommunications is enhancing Nigeria’s digital profile.
The deployment of Optic Fibre transmission network has been adopted in the “Open Access Model” to bridge the current digital gap and deliver fast and reliable broadband services to households and businesses and the success of this model is evident in the tremendous growth witnessed in the provision of broadband services by all major players in the industry through one technology or the other.
Presently, Nigeria has achieved 33.72% Broadband penetration, thus over 64 million Nigerians are presently connected to broadband internet services. This is an encouraging leap from the 8.5% penetration in 2015.
Six Infraco licensees are to cover Lagos, South-West, South-South, South-East, North-West and North-East regions while the process leading to the licensing of an Infraco for North-Central is on-going.
The Infraco licensees are to provide IP fiber Optic capacity, to all the 774 LGAs of the federation on an open access, price regulated basis, with a 10 Gbps Point of Access (PoA) capacity in each local government of the federation. The project is for a four- year period with the negotiated subsidies to be paid to the Infraco licensees at the attainment of agreed and verified milestones.
“Let me conclude by leaving a picture in your minds of what an enhanced digital Nigeria will look like:
Increased GDP
Increased emergence of new services and industries
L-R: Mr. Segun Bankole, DGM, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc receiving the ‘Most Innovative Insurance Retail Brand’ award on behalf of the company from Mr. Fatai Adegbenro, executive Secretary, NCRIB at the Business Journal 2nd Annual Lecture/awards in Lagos.
The journey to greatness has a lot of hard work and sense of purpose attached to it.
For Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, consistency, professionalism, integrity, creativity, an uncompromising stance for providing far-reaching retail products and services has earned the organisation another Award at the 2018 Annual Lecture/Award organised by Business Journal.
L-R: Mr. Segun Bankole, DGM, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc receiving the ‘Most Innovative Insurance Retail Brand’ award on behalf of the company from Mr. Fatai Adegbenro, executive Secretary, NCRIB at the Business Journal 2nd Annual Lecture/awards in Lagos.
In recognition of the immense contributions of the organisation to the development of retail and affordable insurance products to the insuring public, the organisers of the annual Lecture/Award through its Award Committee nominated Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc as one of the possible recipients of the award and at the end of it all, the company emerged the winner of the Award for year 2018.
The event was gracefully attended by Captains of Industries, Brand Management and Marketing Practitioners, the Media and members of the Public.
The event was chaired by the Chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association, Mr. Tope Smart and also Group Managing Director/CEO of NEM Insurance Plc.
The criteria for the Award as given by the Technical/Award Committee included, efficiency in service delivery, creativity in product development, branch network, the use of technology, media presence of the Brand, adherence to Ethics and Corporate Governance and the quality of Human Resources available to the organisation within the period of the nomination and the screening process.
According to Prince Cookey, Publisher/CEO of Business Journal, the screening process for the companies nominated for the award was carried out by a group of seasoned Brand Management and Marketing Consultants and some notable members of the Public. “
It was a very rigourous process in determining the eventual Winner for the award but at the end of the day, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc was adjudged by all as the Winner for the award category in question.”
Cookey further reiterated that insurance companies still need to do a lot of work in terms of product development that will impact positively on the lives of the average Nigerian as insurance in the country is still viewed by many as a service for only the rich.
It will be recalled that Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc launched a Personal Accident Cover with the acronym SWIS-F, (Sovereign Wellbeing Insurance Scheme for the Family with an annual premium of N1,500 for adults and N250 for children under 6-17 years with benefits to cover medical expenses for injuries sustained as a result of an accident, permanent disability compensation, burial expenses with a nationwide geographical coverage. In 2018, the company also introduced the Enhanced Third-Party Motor Insurance Policy, (E3P), a hybrid of the conventional Third-Party Cover and Comprehensive Motor Insurance with varied premium ranging between N10,000-N25,000 for the Insured to choose from depending on the range of cover he/she wants.
while receiving the Award on behalf of the organisation, the Head of Sales and Corporate Communications Mr. Segun Bankole thanked the organisers of the event for the honour they have bestowed on the organization and promised that the company will not rest on its oars in ensuring that the insurance Industry find a credible voice in the Financial Services Sector in the country and beyond.
In his words: “We will continue to provide top-of-the-range insurance products and services that will delight our customers anytime they come in contact with our Brand”. We are open to new ideas from members of the public in as much as those ideas will add value to what we do as an organization.
He also used the occasion to enjoin the gathering to embrace insurance if they have not yet been exposed to one form of insurance or the other. In his parting words, “insurance is a sure guarantee for the continued existence of any commercial enterprise and a sure mainstay for the continuous wellbeing of any individual or Family.”
The Managing Directors of Heritage Bank Limited and Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) Limited have all confirmed their attendance at the forthcoming Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) Annual workshop holding in Lagos.
The event, slated for Saturday September 21 at Golden Tulip Hotel, FESTAC Town Lagos, will have the Managing Director, NEXIM, Abubakar Bello deliver the keynote speech while Managing Director/CEO Heritage Bank Limited, Ifie Sekibo will be the guest speaker. They will be speaking on the theme: “Unlocking Opportunities in Nigeria’s Non-Oil Sector”.
A panel discussion will feature Director Corporate Communications at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Isaac Okoroafor; Head of Tax and Corporate Advisory Services, PwC Nigeria, Taiwo Oyedele and Senior Lecturer at Lagos Business School, Adi Bongo.
In a statement, FICAN said unlocking the non-oil sector requires collaborative efforts between the government and private sector, adding that opportunities in the sector have to be harnessed for effective economic growth.
“The non-oil sector is critical to Nigeria’s sustainable economic growth as it is the largest source of employment to the country’s huge young population. Before the discovery of crude oil in Nigeria in 1956, the non-oil sector, especially the agricultural sector, was the mainstay of the economy. The agricultural sector alone provided 85 per cent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings in the 60s”.
“The oil sector now provides over 95 per cent of the country’s foreign exchange earnings. The challenge is that frequent fluctuation in oil prices has made the Nigerian economy often susceptible to shocks as the economy suffers whenever prices are down. The challenge is further worsened as the world is beginning to look at life after oil in a bid to tackle climate change. It is a pointer that crude oil would become less relevant and attract fewer earnings in years to come. Successive governments have not done enough to tap into other potential non-oil sector sectors,” the statement said.
It said that government’s long term plan is seen in its launching of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) for 2017–2020 that contains critical reforms for diversifying the economy away from oil and set it on a path of sustained and inclusive growth over the medium- to long-term.
Among other things, the workshop will bring together experts from global multilateral financial institutions, public and private sector players, to highlight and examine the various options available in getting the economy fully diversified away from reliance on crude oil.
The conference will be attended by journalists covering money market, capital market and the insurance industry, from the print and electronic media.
Leading telecommunication company Vodacom Tanzania Plc and Smart Lab have today launched “Vodacom Digital Accelerator,” a program that intends to help early-stage and growth-stage technology startups become profitable and revenue generating businesses.
The new program which will run yearly aims at identifying and supporting startup entrepreneurs in mobile, telecom, fintech, media, health, education, and e-commerce will have three phases which include application, selection and acceleration.
Speaking at the launch event, Vodacom Tanzania Plc’s Managing Director, Hisham Hendi said that the partnership between Vodacom Tanzania and Smartcodes is a crucial move towards providing opportunities to startup businesses via technological paths which will result into workable business models which will benefit communities, especially scores of youth across the country. He encouraged more youth to be innovative and take advantage of this opportunity as a path to economic empowerment through solving social developmental issues in their communities.
“Vodacom always aims to create impactful sustainable change in the society where we operate in line with our strategic business focus and, the Vodacom Accelerator aims to do just that,” he added.
He further elaborated that as a company which aims at taking Tanzanians into the digital world, Vodacom Tanzania encourages technology driven ideas that bring sustainable change.
“Digital technology is not only changing the way we do business in Africa but also revolutionizing the way we perceive and solve issues of development. It is therefore with great honor that we will once again create an opportunity for such ideas to be recognized, supported and transformed to maximize social impact”, he said.
L-R: Brewery Operations Director, International Breweries Plc (IB Plc), Mr Johan Gouws; Country People Manager, IB Plc, Mrs Chinelo Obienyem; Nollywood actor and Brand Ambassador, Hero beer, Nkem Owoh; Marketing Director, IB Plc, Mrs Tolulope Adedeji; and Manager, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, IB Plc, Mr Chuma Umuma, at an event at the Onitsha Brewery of IB Plc to celebrate Monde Selection awards won by IB Plc’s Trophy and Hero lagers, recently.
L-R: Brewery Operations Director, International Breweries Plc (IB Plc), Mr Johan Gouws; Country People Manager, IB Plc, Mrs Chinelo Obienyem; Nollywood actor and Brand Ambassador, Hero beer, Nkem Owoh; Marketing Director, IB Plc, Mrs Tolulope Adedeji; and Manager, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, IB Plc, Mr Chuma Umuma, at an event at the Onitsha Brewery of IB Plc to celebrate Monde Selection awards won by IB Plc’s Trophy and Hero lagers, recently.
The Lagos Comic Con, now known as the Fearless Lagos Comic Con has for nearly a decade been the hottest platform for celebrating and promoting the best of Africa’s creativity in the form of comics, animation, film, books and gaming with thousands of young and vibrant enthusiasts, industry players and investors gathering to exhibit, interact and keep in touch with the latest trends in the industry.
This year’s event will feature exhibitions, panel discussions, workshops, competitions, pitches and cosplays. Unlike previous events, the convention will be free access to all zones. According to the Chief Event Coordinator, Ray Anyasi, ¨the fact that it is a three-day event this year has allowed for more robust programming. The activities and fun have been tripled to give the guests a time of their lives¨.
He noted that after the unbelievable crowd turn out last year, it became expedient that they expand the duration of the event, stating that they expect over 6000 guests in the three days of this year’s event. While attendance is free, guests must register online on allevents.ng to get access to the many fun activities.
The Panel sessions will have top speakers from France, USA, Japan, South Africa and Nigeria discussing key issues in the creative industry like running a viable comic business, creating content that sells, distribution for animation, the effect of digital book platforms on Africa’s reading culture among other topics.
At the master class zone, top creative professionals will facilitate classes on film making, story plotting, illustrations and many others. At the costume competition, dozens of cosplayers will compete for a grand prize of N50,000 and other gifts. There will also be exclusive screenings of groundbreaking films in animation and CGI/VFX, most notably the Malika Animation project by Youneek Studio starring Adesua Etomi.
The Board, Management & Staff of Business Journal (print & online) hereby invites the General Public to her 2nd Annual Lecture/Awards on Friday, September 20, 2019 at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja.
Time is 10 am prompt.
Please join us for a robust conversation.
The Invite is duly attached for your attention.
Thanks.
Prince Cookey
Publisher/CEO Business Journal
08023088874 [email protected]
Prof. Umar Danbatta
Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
With a large number of 3.7 billion global unconnected population out of which 1.2 billion reside in Africa, the Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, yesterday told the global community that African continent holds the ace and that 5G is the next frontier of investment.
Prof Danbatta spoke yesterday as a panelist on the topic, 5G Centre Play at the on-going Intentional Telecommunications Union (ITU Telecom World 2019 in Budapest, Hungary.
With the representatives of global ICT giants, including Nokia, Orange, and AT&T among other panelists, Danbatta said 5G will provide a very veritable and convincing investment for investors.
Prof. Umar Danbatta Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
He, however, said that government alone cannot do it hence he beckoned on the private sector to take advantage of the opportunities provided by 5G and invest in Africa which guarantees adequate returns on investment.
“We need to look at 5G usage scenarios, and there are 3 of them: The enhanced mobile broadband applications, the ultra-reliable low latency applications and the Machine to Machine applications.
In our own part of the world, we are looking closely at these key areas of usage scenarios. The one that African countries will subscribe to quickly is the enhanced mobile broadband applications. The reason is for this is that, African countries are trying to roll out broadband infrastructure for broadband applications. So this will spurs us on to ensure we put in place the necessary infrastructure,” he explained.
According to him, African nations are trying to reserve the spectrum for the roll out of broadband services. “Specifically in Nigeria we are talking about three, 26, 38 and 42 GHz. These frequencies exist and we are not licensing it for other applications. We are waiting in anticipation for the standardization process to be completed at the World Radio Communication (WRC) in Egypt and then we can see how we can go forward with the licensing processes in the 3 frequencies, Prof Danbatta added.
Addressing the audience further, the NCC boss said the other important step that African countries are taking is to address new forms of anxiety that is occasioned by this emerging technology, 5G.
“There’s also the regulatory anxiety. And therefore to do that successfully like we had done in the past with every service we deployed, we start with a proof of concept trial. And preparations are underway for this important trial to take place.”
“The whole idea behind the trial is to be able to see what these challenges are. Security challenges, levels of radiation power density, whether this is within the acceptable limits provided for by the international non-ionization radio regulatory agencies as well as to ensure whatever factors that we need to come to terms with in preparatory to commercial deployment of services are identified in readiness for commercial roll out of services using 5G.”
He further told the audience that African countries are currently exchanging information and experiences on what they are seeing, “the promise of the 5G roll out in the area of enhanced Broadband mobile services in our individual countries as well as addressing the anxiety of the citizens by giving them the information that will make them receptive to this technology that is already here.”
Stanbic IBTC Bank, a member of the Standard Bank Group has launched an integrated Marketing Campaign (IMC) on its Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) application, with the dedicated code, *909#.
The *909# USSD string affords customers the opportunity to access wallet and banking services such as inter and intra bank transfers, airtime purchase, check balance, account opening and loans, in addition to purchase of mutual funds & pensions. This reinforces Stanbic IBTC Bank’s status as Nigeria’s foremost full-service financial services group.
The *909# USSD campaign launches on Monday, September 9, 2019.However, customers will be rewarded throughout the rest of the month of September, when they transact with *909#.
Wole Adeniyi, Deputy Chief Executive at Stanbic IBTC Bank, said: “It is important for the bank to embark on an integrated marketing and communication campaign highlighting *909# as a financial freedom vehicle for all Nigerians to access seamless financial services. This campaign will be targeted at the public – it is open to every Nigerian that can legally own a bank account. It has been strategically set to break on the September 9 (9-09) to reinforce top of mind awareness with the general public.”
Some of the benefits that customers will enjoy on September 9, the launch day, include getting additional 90.9% value on airtime purchased via the *909# platform from 9.09 – 9.39am and 90.9% value when they recharge using *909# from 9.09 and 9.39pm.
Also, from September 10 to 30, customers will be rewarded with 9.09% additional airtime when they recharge with *909# from 9.09 -9.39am and pm respectively.
Wole Adeniyi added: “The *909# code is unique because it is the only USSD which covers a wide range of mobile financial transactions and is not just restricted to banking. Stanbic IBTC bank recognizes the daily complexities of living in a fast-paced digital society. The *909# code is intuitive and designed around the needs of the average Nigerian.”
Since its initial introduction in April of this year, the DHL Africa eShop app has seen its user base grow rapidly, and within the first three months of operation, it had already been rolled out to 20 countries across Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
DHL Express announced this week that the innovative mobile and desktop platform is now available in 14 additional countries across the region. This increases the platform’s reach to 34 countries across SSA.
Hennie Heymans, CEO of DHL Express Sub Saharan Africa, says that user uptake on the DHL Africa eShop app has been remarkable over the last five months, not only from the number of downloads, but just as importantly, from an order perspective. This is why we’re excited to launch DHL Africa eShop in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Ethiopia, Guinea, Lesotho, Liberia, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Sudan, and Togo.
“DHL adopted a phased approach for the rollout of the platform on the continent, with the initial launch implemented in 11 countries to test the market’s reaction. Within the first seven weeks, the response from the consumer market was so impressive, that the second phase was initiated – which added 9 more countries to the list. Now we are once again able to build on that momentum, with the biggest single rollout phase so far.”
The DHL Africa eShop app offers African consumers unprecedented access to international retailers on an easy-to-use platform, with great convenience and speed. It also enables many global brands to connect with a captive African market. The DHL Africa eShop enables African customers to shop directly from over 200 US- and UK-based online retailers, with purchases delivered to their door, by DHL Express. This solution was developed in partnership with Link Commerce – a division of Mall for Africa.
He adds that while Africa’s ecommerce market is still lagging behind the rest of the globe in terms of annual turnover, it may well make significant strides to catching up in the near future. “A report by Statista reveals that e-commerce in Africa was valued at $16.5 billion in 2017. McKinsey adds to this calculation by predicting that this value could potentially reach $75 billion by 2025.”
As the global leader in express logistics, DHL is well positioned to connect African consumers with these exciting global brands. “We are committed to driving e-commerce growth on the continent for etailers as they work to expose their brands to international markets and also for consumers, who want easy access to global brands,” concludes Heymans.
DHL is celebrating the launch of the new countries with a promotion of $20 flat rate shipping for up to 5 items from over 100 US/UK selected sites to all DHL Africa eShop countries. The promotion is limited to Clothing and Accessory items only, and buyers need to use coupon code CELEBRATE when completing their order.
Professor Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice- Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will deliver the keynote speech at the Business Journal 2nd Annual Lecture/Awards 2019 scheduled for Friday, September 20, 2019 at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.
The Lecture which has DIGITAL NIGERIA: The Path to Sustainable Economic Growth as theme.
will examine the impact (opportunities & challenges) of digital disruption on various sectors of the Nigerian economy.
The event would be chaired by Mr. Tope Smart, Chairman, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) and also Group Managing Director/CEO, NEM Insurance Plc.
The panel includes Mrs. Kola Oladejo, former Head of Research & Development, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS); Aare Ganiyu Koledoye, immediate past President/Chairman of Council, National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria; Mr. Chuddy Oduenyi, Managing Director/CEO, Compact Communications Limited; Ms. Tola Adegbayi, Executive Director, Leadway Assurance Company Limited and Mr. Jide Akintunde, Publisher, Financial Nigeria.
Commenting on the 2019 Annual Lecture, Prince Cookey, Publisher/CEO of Business Journal said:
“The Business Journal 2nd Annual Lecture/Award 2019 is indeed a rare opportunity for stakeholders and professionals to critically evaluate the opportunities and challenges of digital disruption on the various segments of the Nigerian economy ranging from banking, aviation, insurance and on such professions as marketing, PR and media. It would also offer a roadmap on how Nigeria could reap bountifully from the digital transformation era to achieve sustainable economic growth.”
Explaining the objective of the Business Journal Annual Lecture Series, Cookey added:
“The Business Journal Annual Lecture Series is a platform to examine emerging issues in the Nigerian and global economy and generate workable solutions going forward. It brings stakeholders across sectors together to review the state-of-affairs in the economy through robust conversation. This year, the focus is on digital disruption in terms of opportunities and challenges it presents to various sectors and professional groups. This is the second in the lecture series and we hope to continue to provide such platform for annual conversation on factors changing the business dynamics in our country.”
(L-R): Angela Omo - Dare, Head, Country Legal Services, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC; Hon. Alamu Airat Mojirade, Education Secretary, Alimosho LGEA; Mrs. Oluwabunmi Morenikeji Oteju, Director, State Universal Basic Education Board, Lagos State and Mrs. Elizabeth Adebola Ogunmola, Head Teacher, Abaranje Primary School, Abaranje, Lagos State; at the handover ceremony of built modern toilets, septic tank, borehole and water head tank, at Abaranje Primary School II, Abaranje, Alimosho LGA, Lagos State, on Monday, August 26, 2019.
(L-R): Angela Omo – Dare, Head, Country Legal Services, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC; Hon. Alamu Airat Mojirade, Education Secretary, Alimosho LGEA; Mrs. Oluwabunmi Morenikeji Oteju, Director, State Universal Basic Education Board, Lagos State and Mrs. Elizabeth Adebola Ogunmola, Head Teacher, Abaranje Primary School, Abaranje, Lagos State; at the handover ceremony of built modern toilets, septic tank, borehole and water head tank, at Abaranje Primary School II, Abaranje, Alimosho LGA, Lagos State, on Monday, August 26, 2019.
(L-R): Mrs. Oluwabunmi Morenikeji Oteju, Director, State Universal Basic Education Board, Lagos State; Mrs. Elizabeth Adebola Ogunmola, Head Teacher, Abaranje Primary School, Abaranje, Lagos State; Mrs. Angela Omo – Dare, Head, Country Legal Services, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC and Hon. Alamu Airat Mojirade, Education Secretary, Alimosho LGEA, Lagos State; at the handover ceremony of built modern toilets, septic tank, borehole and water head tank at Abaranje Primary School II, Abaranje, Alimosho LGA, Lagos State, on Monday, August 26, 2019.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, a member of Standard Bank Group, has donated an ultra-modern lavatory to Abaranje Primary School, located in the Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State.
The facility donated by Stanbic IBTC consists of a block of 12 modern toilets – 10 for the use of students and two for their teachers’ use. It also includes a septic tank, borehole and overhead water tank.
Speaking during the hand-over ceremony at the school premises, Angela Omo-Dare, Head, Legal Services of Stanbic IBTC, said that the donation was in line with the company’s Corporate Social Initiatives.
Giving a background to the project, Angela stated that the Legal Services Department of Stanbic IBTC decided to undertake a CSI initiative that would benefit a public primary school and also address a health challenge.
Angela said: “Some members of the team were charged with finding a suitable project. When they returned, they spoke of a school where 800 children were sharing two pit latrines. The team was unanimous in its belief that this project was the most deserving of all the interventionist measures we considered. The team was determined that the children of Abaranje Primary School II, should have access to modern toilets.”
She stated that the CSI project was funded by staff of the Legal Services Department of Stanbic IBTC, with contributions from their friends and family members. She added that Stanbic IBTC matched the funds raised by the Legal Services Department, which enabled the completion of the project.
Urging other corporate organisations to emulate Stanbic IBTC’s initiative, Angela stated: “We are grateful that we have been given the opportunity to contribute towards the comfort and health of young Nigerians. We received much joy from the evolution of this project and a sense of pride from its completion. It emphasizes Stanbic IBTC’s core value of Teamwork.”
In her welcome remarks, Mrs. Oluwabunmi Morenikeji Oteju, a Director in the State Universal Basic Education Board of Lagos State, thanked Stanbic IBTC for donating the toilet facilities and for initiating similar CSI initiatives across primary schools in Lagos State.
She said: “I want to say a very big thank you for building this befitting structure for the children because they are the future leaders. I am also aware that you have several projects relating to provision of benches and tables for children in our primary schools, building/ renovating of libraries and so much more. There are over 1,016 primary schools in Lagos and the government alone cannot cater to all their needs. A lot of stakeholders have to come in to support and Stanbic IBTC is part of the organisations offering support. Projects like these make the learning environment more conducive and the students can learn better under such conditions.”
She further pledged that the facilities provided by Stanbic IBTC would be put to effective use, assuring that the infrastructure would be properly maintained.
Mrs. Elizabeth Ogunmola Adebola, the Head Teacher,Abaranje Primary School II, expressed gratitude to the management of Stanbic IBTC. She disclosed that the school had been sharing a block of two toilets with another school when its pit toilet got destroyed three years ago.
She said: “We thank the Legal Department of Stanbic IBTC Holdings for bringing this project to this school. In fact, we were at a point where we didn’t know what to do any longer. When members of the Legal Services Department of Stanbic IBTC came, we were very happy when they said that they wanted to build a block of toilets for us. We are thankful for this beautiful toilet facility that has been provided for our pupils so that they can have a taste of good living.”
Stanbic IBTC is a Nigerian company which had its roots in Investment Banking & Trust Company PLC, formed on February 2, 1989 with Atedo Peterside as the first Chief Executive.
The company has since evolved into a full-service financial institution with 9 subsidiaries all headed by Nigerians.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC has estimated staff strength of approximately 5,000, 99.9% of whom are Nigerians. Additionally, eight of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC’s ten-member board are Nigerians.
Access Bank PLC recently released audited H1-19 numbers. The result was impressive as the bank recorded strong growth in both gross earnings and profitability.
The strong performance was underpinned by funded income growth, with non-funded income underperforming the prior year. Consequently, the bank recorded a strong PBT growth of 61.7% y/y. Finally, the bank proposed an interim dividend of NGN0.25/share, which translates to a yield of 3.9% based on the closing price on the 5th of September 2019 (NGN6.45).
According to Cordros Capital, the bank recorded interest income growth of 46.4% y/y to NGN226.1 billion in the period, which was underpinned by the strong growth recorded in gross loans and advances of 30.6% y/y to NGN2.72 trillion.
On the other hand, non-interest income declined by 28.7% y/y to NGN47.15 billion, as trading income on investment securities declined by 93.0% y/y to NGN4.15 billion.
Also, interest expense increased by 16.1% y/y to NGN117.75 billion, significantly below the growth rate in income, resulting in a significant growth in net interest income of 81.9% y/y. Consequently, the bank’s net interest margin expanded by 2.0ppts to 7.6% from the prior year, reflecting the benefits of the bank’s increased pool of low-cost liabilities.
Also, the bank’s operating expenses increased substantially during the period by 28.9% y/y to NGN123.30 billion. This was driven by a combination of increases in (1) AMCON levy (+29.4% y/y) given the expansion in the bank’s assets base (+31.0% y/y to NGN6.49 trillion), (2) Professional fees (+325.1% y/y to NGN4.84 billion) related to the business consolidation with Diamond, (3) Personnel expenses (+19.8% y/y to NGN31.5 billion) also related to the larger entity, as well as other ancillary costs. However, despite the expansion in operating expenses, the bank’s cost-to-income ratio (after accounting for LLEs) moderated to 62.5% from 68.2% in the corresponding period of the prior year.
Consequent on the growth in income relative to expenses, the bank recorded a profit before tax growth of 61.7% to NGN74.12 billion, while PAT settled 59.1% higher y/y at NGN63.02 billion. At the current run-rate the bank’s PAT for FY-19 will settle 56.1% higher, while annualized RoAE would settle at 23.5% relative to 19.0% in the prior year.
The macro-prudential ratios remained strong, save for the bank’s NPL of 6.4% which remains above the statutory level but has trended downward from the 10.0% recorded in Q1-19.
The bank’s capital adequacy ratio of 20.8% remains well above the statutory limit for D-SIBs (16.0%), while the bank’s liquidity level of 49.7% also remains well above the limit. While the bank has significant headroom to drive growth given the macro-prudential ratios, we expect more focus on the remediation to bring NPLs downwards.
