Nigeria: Real Estate Sector Declines 5.27% in 2ndQtr 2016

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19/10/2016

A report ‘Understanding Nigeria’s Housing Finance Market’ by the Centre for Africa Housing Finance (CAHF) states that the real sector in Nigeria declined by 5.2% in the second quarter of 2016.

Reproduced below is the full report:

In 2015, the World Bank estimated Nigeria’s population to be 182.2 million, accounting for approximately 47 percent of West Africa’s population. Nigeria is rapidly urbanising: almost half of the population already lives in cities and this is anticipated to increase to 75 percent by 2050.

According to the United Nations, 64 percent of Nigeria’s population lives below the poverty line. Poverty remains highest in rural areas, remote communities and among female headed households.

During the month of August, Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics confirmed that the country had officially slipped into a recession.

The economy declined by 2.1 percent year on year in the second quarter of 2016, compared to a 0.36 percent drop in the previous period. The Naira has lost more than one third of its value since 20 June 2016, when the Central Bank of Nigeria removed a 197 – 199 Naira peg against the dollar.

Additionally, the UN reports that Nigeria’s revenue has fallen by 33 percent. In 2015, it was reported that there was 8.7 percent growth in Nigeria’s real estate sector, but much of this was ultimately cancelled out by the 5.27 decline in the sector during the second quarter of 2016.

Most recently, the cost of cement has increased by about 40 percent. Cement which sold for N1 500 – N1 600 (US$4.7 – US$5) has now increased to N2 200 – N2 400 (US$7 – US$7.6).

Anthony Chiejina, Group Head of Corporate Communications at Dangote, indicated that the increase is largely due to the acute shortage of forex, devaluation of the Naira, and an increase in the energy price of gas.

Nigeria’s Bureau of Statistics counted 28 197 085 households in 2006. As at 2006, 51 percent of these households lived in free standing permanent houses, 14 percent in traditional/hut structures, 10 percent in flats, nine percent in semi-detached houses, 14 percent rented a room in someone’s house, and one percent lived in informal houses.

Eighty three percent of Nigerians owned the houses in which they lived, while 11.04 percent rented, 3.01 occupied rent free, 2.01 percent owned but had not yet fully paid off, and 0.52 percent squatted. No subsequent housing census has been conducted since.

The Nigerian Government continues to make strides towards decreasing its housing deficit, which is currently estimated to be 17 million units.

Some efforts in this regard include the Presidency’s recent announcement of an affordable housing scheme which will allow low income earners to acquire housing and land at an affordable rate. The Presidency has allocated N74 billion (US$ 235 million) to this initiative.

The State of Lagos, in partnership with the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation have also announced the formation of the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) Programme, which will provide affordable homes to Federal and Lagos State civil servants. And, in August, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, BabatundeFashola, announced that 24 states had donated land for mass housing initiatives to the Federal Government.

The minister also noted in his 2016 budget, that N35 billion (US$ 111 million) had been allocated to housing initiatives.

In his address to the September AUHF conference, Minister Fasholaemphasised the importance of the housing and housing finance sectors, and the need for increased collaboration between the public and private sectors.

This note covers a broad overview of housing and housing finance markets in Nigeria. The Housing Finance in Africa Yearbook 2016 (7th Edition) was launched at the AUHF Conference and AGM, and this year it covers 51 countries and five regions across the continent.

The full Nigeria profile was written for CAHF by DolapoAdejuyigbe and DiekoyeOyeyinka.

Nigeria Seeks $500m to Develop Mining Sector

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19/10/2016

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Nigeria says it is in advanced negotiations with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) for a $500 million investment to develop its mining sector.

“We want this to be private sector driven so we have been in discussions withNSIA, the Nigerian sovereign investment authority and we are looking at a $500 million fund from their side which will primarily focus on exploration (to attract foreign investors),” said Mining Minister, KayodeFayemi.

The investment sought by the government falls in line with a project to diversify and revive Nigeria’s economy, whose growth has for long been pulled by oil. The country now wishes for mining to represent 10% of its GDP in the next decade, up from 0.3% presently.

Nigeria has multiple unexploited deposits containing 44 types of ores of which gold, iron ore, coal, zinc, and tin, spread across more than 500 sites. The only major foreign investor in Nigeria’s mining sector is Kogi Iron which operates at the Agbaja iron ore project.

–Louis-Nino Kansoun

Access Bank Ghana Opens IPO for Expansion

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19/10/2016

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Access Bank Ghana wants to raise funds to support expansion projects.

“We are seeking to expand our operations by making new investments in branch expansion, robust technology and other infrastructure,” said DolapoOgundimu, Managing Director of Access Bank Ghana.

For the 2015 fiscal year ended in September, the bank cumulated a net profit of 80 million Ghana cedis ($20 million). However, this net profit does not translate into an equivalent increase of the treasury. Between January and December 2015, surplus in treasury stood at 41 million cedis, against more than 250 million cedis in 2014.

The firm will raise the funds it needs by offering 19% of its capital which could be 32% in case the demand exceeds supply. Investors have until November 11 to subscribe to the operation.

Overall, Access Bank Ghana hopes to raise 142 million cedis.

After the IPO, the bank should list on the Ghana Stock Exchange, thus joining groups such as Ghana Commercial Bank, Société Générale Ghana, Standard Chartered Bank Ghana, and Ecobank Ghana and Holding.

—Idriss Linge

Africa Projects303mAir Passengers Annually by 2035

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19/10/2016

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) expects 7.2 billion passengers to travel in 2035, a near doubling of the 3.8 billion air travelers in 2016. The prediction is based on a 3.7% annual Compound Average Growth Rate (CAGR) noted in the release of the latest update to the association’s 20-Year Air Passenger Forecast.

“People want to fly. Demand for air travel over the next two decades is set to double. Enabling people and nations to trade, explore, and share the benefits of innovation and economic prosperity makes our world a better place,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

Eastward shift, developing market focus

The forecast for passenger growth confirms that the biggest driver of demand will be the Asia-Pacific region. It is expected to be the source of more than half the new passengers over the next 20 years.

China will displace the US as the world’s largest aviation market (defined by traffic to, from and within the country) around 2029.

India will displace the UK for third place in 2026, while Indonesia enters the top ten at the expense of Italy. Growth will also increasingly be driven within developing markets.

Over the past decade the developing world’s share of total passenger traffic has risen from 24% to nearly 40%, and this trend is set to continue.

Risks, Challenges and Opportunities

The 20-year forecast puts forward three scenarios. The central scenario foresees a doubling of passengers with a 3.7% annual CAGR. If trade liberalization gathers pace, demand could triple the 2015 level. Conversely, if the current trend towards trade protectionism gathers strength, growth could cool to 2.5% annual CAGR which would see passenger numbers reach 5.8 billion by 2035.

“Economic growth is the only durable solution for the world’s current economic woes. Yet we see governments raising barriers to trade rather than making it easier. If this continues in the long-term, it will mean slower growth and the world will be poorer for it. For aviation, the protectionist scenario could see growth slowing to as low as 2.5% annually. Not only will that mean fewer new aviation jobs, it will mean that instead of 7.2 billion travelers in 2035, we will have 5.8 billion. The economic impact of that will be broad and hard-felt,” said de Juniac.

Whatever scenario is eventually realised, growth will put pressure on infrastructure that is already struggling to cope with demand.

“Runways, terminals, security and baggage systems, air traffic control, and a whole raft of other elements need to be expanded to be ready for the growing number of flyers. It cannot be done by the industry alone. Planning for change requires governments, communities and the industry working together in partnership,” said de Juniac.

The industry will also need to be able to grow sustainably. Earlier this month airlines supported the establishment of a Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). This landmark agreement—the first among governments to manage the emissions growth of an entire global industrial sector—aims to cap net emissions with carbon neutral growth from 2020.

“Aviation is at the forefront of industries in managing its carbon footprint. Along with offsetting emissions through CORSIA, airlines are working with partners in industry and government to advance technology, improve operations and generate more efficiencies in infrastructure,” said de Juniac.

Fast-Growing Markets

The five fastest-growing markets in terms of additional passengers per year over the forecast period will beChina (817 million new passengers for a total of 1.3 billion), US (484 million new passengers for a total of 1.1 billion), India (322 million new passengers for a total of 442 million), Indonesia (135 million new passengers for a total of 242 million), Vietnam (112 million new passengers for a total of 150 million).

The top ten fastest-growing markets in percentage terms will be in Africa: Sierra Leone, Guinea, Central African Republic, Benin, Mali, Rwanda, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Madagascar. Each of these markets is expected to grow by more than 8% each year on average over the next 20 years, doubling in size each decade.

Regional Growth

Routes to, from and within Asia-Pacific will see an extra 1.8 billion annual passengers by 2035, for an overall market size of 3.1 billion. Its annual average growth rate of 4.7% will be the second-highest, behind the Middle East.
The North American region will grow by 2.8% annually and in 2035 will carry a total of 1.3 billion passengers, an additional 536 million passengers per year.
Europe will have the slowest growth rate, 2.5%, but will still add an additional 570 million passengers a year. The total market will be 1.5 billion passengers.
Latin American markets will grow by 3.8%, serving a total of 658 million passengers, an additional 345 million passengers annually compared to today.
The Middle East will grow strongly (5.0%) and will see an extra 258 million passengers a year on routes to, from and within the region by 2035. The UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia will all enjoy strong growth of 6.3%, 4.7%, and 4.1% respectively. The total market size will be 414 million passengers.
Africa will grow by 5.1%. By 2035, it will see an extra 192 million passengers a year for a total market of 303 million passengers.

The Future of Digital Insurance Conference 2016

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19/10/2016

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The insurance industry is undergoing vast transformation and the need for digitalizing is fundamental to insurers as it drives deeper customer relationships and ultimately profitability. In the technology driven business environment where social, mobile, cloud, and big data rule, the traditional brick and mortar model is certainly being challenged

Amabhubesi’s Digital Future of Insurance Africa, themed “Driving innovative strategies: A game plan for 2016 and beyond uncovers the new technological advancements shaping the industry, new business models driving customer centric approaches, leading case studies exploring the opportunities and challenges amongst digital innovations.

Conference Highlights

Technology Frontiers:

A strategy framework for digital transformation: Discuss how to apply digital thinking and associated technologies in an Africa set up
How consumers, competitors and technologies are reshaping the industry

Compliance-Policies – Regulations

Why leading insurers are shifting their focus from policies to customers
How new partner strategies are helping insurers align with today’s digital business

Fraud Prevention and Cyber crime

Deliberate on how best to improve Data protection and fraud prevention

The future of Digital Insurance

Insurance Telematics: the future of insurance models?
Digital Disruption in Insurance – Responding to Opportunity

Participating Organiations

LONDON MARKET GROUP, CLIENTELE LIFE, STANLIB, TOMTOM, VUM, BrandsEye, PWC, BCG, RAHEJA QBE, Masterdata, TransUnion, Digital Path, MiWay, HEPSTAR, TIA TECH, J2, SAP, THE BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP.

Target Audience:

Big Data, Data Engineering/Analytics, Data Science. Business Analytics, Data Analytics, Customer Relationship Management, Customer Experience/Engagement Management.

Encouraged to Attend:

Heads of Operations, Heads of Technology, Actuaries and Predictive Analytics (applying predictive analytics to inform business decisions), Digital Marketing, Heads of Digital, HR Directors, CEOs, Managing Directors Visionary and Innovative Decision Makers.

Africa Renewable Energy Forum: The $19bn Africa Fund

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19/10/2016

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At COP 21, it was determined that approximately $19 billion of finance will be provided annually by developed countries for Africa’s renewable programme by 2020.

In addition, Japan announced $10billion per year in public and private finance also to reach Africa by 2020. New pledges to climate funds, including the Adaptation Fund, Least Developed Countries Fund, and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), added up to more than $1.5billion.

In addition, all multilateral development banks have pledged to scale up climate finance in developing countries by 2020, to more than $30 billion per year.

The availability of these funds will significantly hasten the pace of decisions being made by energy ministers and governments attending the Africa Renewable Energy Forum to implement renewable projects, IPP Programmes and diversify their energy mix to attract as much capital as possible into their banking and clean energy sector.

The protagonists of these policies and the alchemist’s of such funding including; JBIC, AFD, Renewable Energy Initiative, Africa50, AfDB, DBSA, World Bank, IFC and the governments of South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, as well as ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) and more will gather to promote new projects and share success stories from across the continent in a collaborative format that will showcase only the most relevant and proactive partners.

Some of the developers contributing include:

Mustapha Bakkoury, Chief Executive Officer, Masen

BadisDerradji, Regional Managing Director, ACWA Power

Amine HommanLudiye, Regional Manager, Northern Africa, ENGIE

Linda Thompson, Head of development, Africa, Mainstream

Christopher Hornor, President and Chief Executive Officer, Powerhive

Richard Avery, Regional Manager, West Africa, eleQtra

Michele Porri, Head of Business Development, ENEL Green Power

Nabil Saimi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Platinum Power

Some of the investors contributing include:

Jiwoo Choi, Head (Acting) , Green Climate Fund

Kohei Toyoda, Director of IPP/IWPPs EMEA, Japan Bank for International Cooperation

Alain Ebobissé, Chief Executive Officer, Africa50

Fabrice Juquois, Head of Energy Projects, TED Division, Department of Sustainable Development, French Development Agency (AFD)

Lucy Chege, General Manager, Energy Unit, Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA)

Yasser Charafi, Principal Investment Officer, International Finance Corporation

HajeSchutte, Head of Division, Development Co-operation Directorate, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

Ahmed Baroudi, Director General, Société d’InvestissementsEnergetiques

FOR THE RECORD: Unlocking The Potential of Tourism Industry in Africa

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19/10/2016

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By Memory Dube

Tuesday, September 27, 2016 marks World Tourism Day, organised by the World Tourism Organisation which is a special United Nations agency dedicated to the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. World Tourism Day 2016 will be celebrated under the theme, “Tourism for All: Promoting Universal Accessibility”.

The theme for this year could not have been more apt, given the various sub-themes that it incorporates and what it means to actually ensure universal accessibility of tourism – and particularly, from an African perspective.

It is about getting the tourists to the attraction destination, but, on the flip side, it should also be about ensuring the participation and economic engagement of local communities in the tourism industry.

Looking at the tourism value chain, the potential and opportunities in tourism are endless as this is a very dynamic sector. However, harnessing the potential requires an awareness of the economic linkages and willingness to undertake the necessary policy actions and/or reforms to realize the opportunities.

The African Economic Outlook 2014 notes that tourism is among the three service sectors (together with financial intermediation and business services as well as retail – both of which are have linkages with tourism) in Africa that have massive potential for upgrading in both regional and global value chains. Despite the growth potential, the World Travel and Tourism Council reports that tourism in Africa is already contributing significantly to the economy, with travel and tourism accounting for 8.1% of the GDP in 2015 at USD 180.0 billion, at the same time generating 9,083,000 jobs directly in 2015, which accounted for 3.0% of total employment on the continent.

The graduation of countries like Botswana and Cape Verde from Least Developed Country (LDC) status to developing country, is argued to have been mainly facilitated by the growth and development of the tourism sector.

In considering the economic significance of the tourism sector in Africa, the following can be observed: it is a fast-growing and generally labour-intensive sector, with plenty of opportunities both for skilled and unskilled workers, and especially for women and the youth.

It is also a sector with massive linkage potential with other economic sectors, which, if realized, would encourage diversification of other economic sectors while ensuring the retention of tourism revenue, thus reducing leakage in the sector.

The tourism sector puts African countries at an advantage, particularly when considering Africa’s endowment with natural resources as well as its rich cultural heritage. The cultural heritage creates opportunities for small and medium enterprise (SME) development in small and rural communities.

The development of tourist towns can turn otherwise remote and isolated areas into commercial centres, competing with light manufacturing and attendant service sector development, thus creating more opportunities for local communities.

The sectoral linkages in the tourism value chain are very wide and diverse, for both direct and indirect linkages.

The figure below sets out in detail the various linkages, but, looking at the most basic and most direct linkages, the economic benefits of developing the tourism sector are very clear.

Transport infrastructure development, telecommunications, finance and energy are crucial as these facilitate backbone services for any sector, and are especially essential in the tourism sector to expand both regional and global value chains as well as reduce the costs of access to tourist destinations and services.

Looking at the accommodation aspect of the tourism industry, such industries as construction and manufacturing, agriculture, and food processing play a huge role as suppliers to the tourism industry. Add to that list the utilities, entertainment and art and craft industry. These are but some of the examples of the inter-industry linkages. It is quite clear that tourism is a low-hanging fruit when it comes to economic growth, employment creation and the improvement of social welfare, particularly as Africa struggles with industrialisation and other development challenges.

Accessing this low-hanging fruit has been challenged by a number of factors and a few will be highlighted here.

In its Doing Business 2016 report, the World Bank has given Sub-Saharan economies an average ranking of 143 out of 189 and this has to be improved. In the tourism sector, a conducive business environment is a catalyst for value chain participation and investment.

A difficult business environment punctuated by very high operational costs is partly responsible for keeping the African tourism sector relatively captive and producer driven, with the sector dominated by a few large developed country travel agencies.

Political instability, combined with the regional spillover effects of unrest is another challenge, although the region has made significant progress over the past few years, it still remains fragile. Poor infrastructure and limited connectivity is another issue, especially when it comes to backbone service sectors.

Linked to this, the high costs of road and air transport in Africa, mostly due to market restrictions, are particularly problematic and estimates are that even a moderate opening of the markets could lead to a 25% increase in the number of flights. ICT development is another challenge – access to information technology could assist with such functions and services as marketing, distribution, professional services and various other logistical arrangements that African service providers could undertake and which are currently dominated by international players.

The African Economic Outlook 2014 reports that a higher population of tourists to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) use tour operators from other parts of the world because of the complexities involved in making travel arrangements to Africa. Complex visa arrangements, as distinct from, and in addition to, high visa costs, is another barrier to growth in the tourism industry.

Dealing with the challenges above and others will ensure the development of the tourism sector and associated industries in Africa.

However, as stated above, such development also depends to a large part on governments taking the lead in developing the sector and particularly from a policy perspective. African governments need to deal with the regulatory barriers to services trade in their countries, particularly in the key service sectors of transport, communications and business services.

These services are integral to the development of the tourism value chains as well as to investment in the sector.Air transport restrictions in particular are a course for concern. Countries need to implement the Yamoussoukro Decision of 1999 which sought to liberalise air transport in Africa.

Liberalisation of the movement of people is another policy imperative, making it easier for skill to operate across borders as well as for tourists to travel. Some African countries, such as Zambia and Zimbabwe when it comes to the Victoria Falls, have a shared natural asset that is also a tourist attraction.

The importance of harmonised policies cannot be over-emphasised. Africa’s regional economic initiatives are an important vehicle for the achievement of harmonized policies and regulations.

Investment is another important element and governments need to work on policies and strategies that attract investment into the right economic activities and sectors, including the tourism sector, but also in other sectors that feed the growth and development of tourism.

To conclude, most of the interventions above could be seen to support the establishment of large business in tourism that could keep the sector captive. Making tourism sustainable and accessible to all is also about ensuring that the economic benefits trickle down to the communities and also have them involved in the tourism sector.

In Cape Verde, for example, even though tourism accounted for 20% of its GDP in 2014 and managed to integrate into global tourism value chains, there are gaps in the linkages between resort style-hotels and the local economy, which limits the benefits for the locals.

In addition, the World Bank estimates that by 2021, 75% of travelers in SSA will be from Africa. Translating this into a reality involves developing the tourism sector in a manner that is structured by the appropriate policies and regulations, with the improvement of the general welfare of the African people at its heart

Nigeria, 7 Others Plan Special Micro-Insurance Policies

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17/10/2016

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Nigeria and seven other African countries are considering some special policies for micro-insurance in order to speed up its development.

The other countries are Ethiopia, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Zambia.

Professor Festus Epetimehin, an insurance expert said at the 6th Inaugural lecture of Joseph Ayo Babalola University that some African countries are already making efforts to roll out measures and policies that will speed up the wide acceptance of micro-insurance.

Epetimehin whose lecture anchored on ‘Small but Big: Micro-insurance and the Reduction of Social Risk of Poverty’ said: “Currently, some African governments, such as those of Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Zambia, are in the process of considering special policies and regulatory frameworks to spur micro-insurance market development.”

Epetimehin further tasked African governments to learn from policy approaches at the global level, “Across the globe, many governments particularly finance ministries, financial sector regulators and insurance supervisors have recognised that expanding the insurance sector to include broader population segments can spur economic development and welfare.”

He said “the creation of a financial sector characterized by competition, market efficiency and outreach is on the development agenda of numerous governments in Africa. Enabling policies and regulations, along with effective supervision, facilitate the growth of private-sector involvement and enhance the distribution and quality of micro-insurance, he expatiated.”

He said South Africa is the only one so far that has taken definite steps to develop a special policy approach that has helped to improve access to insurance while a good number of governments are yet to take steps towards integrating the poor into the formal insurance sector.

He said the role of governments in insurance provision has undergone a fundamental change in the past decade. For years, governments were direct providers of insurance in many developing and emerging market countries.

Governments in the continent, he put forward should provide enabling environment which he defined as “the set of conditions that promote a sustainable trajectory of market development”

The conditions with which micro-insurance can thrive better, he mentioned, are factors that impact the operation of the market in a country, including the regulatory environment, infrastructure, and availability of information.

“The role of micro insurance as intervention which reduces poverty and the vulnerability of the community ex-post in the event of disaster becomes crucial. Micro insurance as a tool for risk transfer for the poorest community faces a lot of challenges which includes the literacy level of the community to understand and appreciate the importance of micro insurance.”

Governments, he added have increasingly regarded market-led micro-insurance as a serious option for making insurance markets more inclusive and extending their reach to low-income households.

“In many countries, areas such as health coverage for the destitute and agricultural insurance or pensions for the elderly poor are still covered by the government through social assistance such as cash transfers, direct public provision (public healthcare) or subsidised insurance schemes where the market does not reach (often the case with agricultural insurance.”

“The new paradigm is based on a shift towards the government serving as a facilitator of market development, including a clear development mandate for the insurance supervisor based on his role as a facilitator of financial access.”

Insurance regulators, he said, has a lot to do in providing an active balance of stability, soundness and market development that will ensure consumer protection and inclusion

At the same time, he asserted that stakeholders from both the private and public sectors should confirm that good policy solutions are significant in helping to spur and sustain growth while at the same time protecting consumers.

He said with the growing markets and new players coming in, sound regulatory responses to protect micro-insurance consumers that allow valuable and innovative growth are of utmost importance in market development.

SMILE Targets Innovation, Service Excellence to Drive Growth

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17/10/2016

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Dr. Ernest Azudiala-Obiejesi Chairman Smile Communications

Smile Communications Nigeria Limited has reaffirmed its unflinching commitment to innovation, value creation and service excellence.

In line with its service orientation and innovative streak, the company has launched a new SIM proposition on the 0702SMIlLE 4G LTE range as well as unveiled its first Brand Ambassador Steve Onu popularly known as Yaw.

Speaking at the event, the Chairman of Smile Nigeria, Dr. Ernest Azudialu-Obiejesi, stated that Smile Communications is Nigeria’s leading telecommunications network and service provider that is dedicated to providing high-quality, reliable, superfast Broadband access, voice and SMS using the 4G LTE technology. He observed that Smile Nigeria has gone ahead to distinguish itself through innovation, value-creation and service excellence.

Staking Smile’s claim to innovative practices and pioneering efforts in 4G LTE, Azudialu-Obiejesi remarked that Smile, which was the first to introduce 4G LTE technology in Nigeria, came to redefine service quality and standard in the Nigerian telecommunication sector.

“Our goal was to make Nigerians get and gain more from telecommunication services. This inspired our deployment of the 4G LTE, which revolutionised the way Nigerians access the internet and communicate with families and friends, home and abroad.”

Azudialu-Obiejesi stated that in just three years of operation, the company has acquired a reputation as an innovative organization, and one devoted to greater appreciation of its customers ‘pain points’. He enthused that insights gained from positive institutional orientation have helped in scaling up the company’s innovation and creativity.

For instance, Smile Communications Limited provided a reliable connection for web surfing, online movie and music downloads, HD Video streaming and super clear voice calls at the lowest call rate across all networks, which hitherto was a challenge.

As a customer-focused company, Azudialu-Obiejesi said that the company is always desirous to offer the best service at the most appropriate price. Smile Communications is the only telecommunications service provider in Nigeria that offers voice calls and SMS from one data plan. Our call rate is as low as 8kobo per second, on the SmileVoice only plan and lowest call rate when our customers make calls home from anywhere in the world. These propositions further reaffirm our status as a customer-centric organisation”, he noted.

To make the benefits of Smile’s industry-defining service reach a broader segment of the Nigerian population, Azudialu-Obiejesi disclosed that the company has commenced an aggressive network expansion drive which will see it cover all cities in a very short period thereby ensuring that more Nigerians will have access to Smile’s superfast and super reliable 4th Generation Long-Term Evolution (4G LTE) Broadband services.

Commonwealth Candidate, Masambu, Elected DG of ITSO

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17/10/2016

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Commonwealth Candidate, Masambu, Elected DG

Patrick Masambu, a Uganda citizen and former chairman of the Council of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) has been elected director-general of the US-based International Telecommunications Satellite Organisation (ITSO).

Mr. Masambu was the only Commonwealth candidate for the position. A former communications regulator for Uganda, he brings to the role over 30 years of experience, including over six years as ITSO’s current deputy director-general and director of technical affairs. He is the first sub-Saharan African to be elected to the position.

During his time as chairman of the CTO Council on behalf of Uganda, Masambu presided over important transformations to turn the CTO into a more member-centric organisation.

“The election was exciting with three strong candidates. I am delighted to see Patrick elected. He brings tremendous experience to ITSO and I look forward to working with him,” said the CTO’s secretary-general Shola Taylor shortly after Masambu’s election.

Shola Taylor (right), secretary-general of CTO congratulating Patick Masambu (left), director-general of ITSO

In his acceptance remarks, Masambu thanked all ITSO members for their support and looked forward to partnerships with international and regional organisations, including the CTO, in areas such as capacity building, to achieve the objectives of ITSO.

The Honourable Frank Tumwebaze, Uganda’s Minister of Information Technology & Communications equally thanked all the member states and also Mr. Taylor SG for the excellent support given to Uganda to improve the ICT sector in Uganda.

ITSO’s mission is to:

Ensure the performance of Core Principles for the provision of international public telecommunications services, with high reliability and quality
Promote international public telecommunications services to meet the needs of the information and communication society
Protect the ITSO Parties’ Common Heritage

For the CTO, it is important that Commonwealth values and shared interests are represented at the highest level in international forums, in order to strengthen the position of the Commonwealth.

Housing Finance in Africa Yearbook 2016 | A Country Overview of Housing Finance Markets in Nigeria

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17/10/2016

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The Nigerian banking sector has grown tremendously over the past few years, both in volume of activity and sophistication.

The commercial banking sector assets, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria, experienced growth of 13 percent between 2013 and 2014. There has also been on-going acquisition of banks within the sector, contributing to continued consolidation and the increase in competition among players.

In its stability report for 2015, the Central Bank noted an increase in the number of Other Financial Institutions, from 3 734 in June 2015 to 3 905 end December 2015. Included in this, is one Mortgage Refinance Company (the Nigeria Mortgage Refinance Company or NMRC), six development finance institutions, 35 primary mortgage banks, 66 finance companies, 19 registered banks which also offer mortgages, and 958 microfinance banks. However, provisional total assets of this sub-sector, as at end December 2015, decreased by 2.52 percent to N1 841.64 billion (US$ 5.9 billion). And, total loans and advances decreased by 9.31 percent to N1 078.81 billion (US$ 3.4 billion).

Much of the decline can be attributed to a primary mortgage bank which converted to a commercial bank, and the licences of some microfinance banks and finance companies being revoked. The total assets of primary mortgage banks decreased by 6.78 percent to N389.73 billion (US$ 1.24 billion).

Additionally, total loans and advances, aggregate reserves and shareholders‘ funds increased by 12.10, 16.43 and 2.09 percentage points to N168.96 billion (US$ 536 million), N26.51 billion (US$ 84 million) and N138.92 billion (US$ 441 million), respectively.

In 2012, 39.2 million adult Nigerians were financially excluded, of which 54.4 percent were women, 73.8 percent less than 45 years old, and 34 percent had no formal education, while 80.4 percent lived in rural areas. In the same period, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reported that Nigeria had 21 banks where individuals could deposit money, with 6 000 branches and about 10 000 ATMS.

And, in 2011 it was reported that Microfinance Banks collectively had 3.2 million clients, 65 percent of which using savings products, 14 percent used credit products and four percent used ATM cards.

In its 2012 Financial Inclusion Strategy, the CBN reported that it aims to decrease the number of Nigerians that are excluded from financial services to 20 percent of the population by 2020, and the number of those included in the formal sector to 70 percent, also by 2020.

According to Global Findex (2014), between 2011 and 2014, access to finance grew from 30 percent to 44 percent. The increase has been driven by growth in payments; however there has been a significant lag in the impact on access to bank loans – two percent in 2011 to five percent in 2014.

Mortgage finance is still a small percentage of Nigeria’s GDP, at approximately 0.58 percent.

NCC, ATCON Endorse 2nd Nigeria ICT Festival 2016

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17/10/2016

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) have proudly endorsed the 2^nd Nigeria ICT Festival & Exhibition 2016 slated for Thursday, November 24, 2016 at Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja (Lagos).

The theme of the Festival is: ICT: Platform for Growth in a Depressed Economy.

Commenting on the event, Prince Cookey, Chief Executive of the 2^nd Nigeria ICT Festival & Exhibition 2016 said:

“The 2nd edition of the Festival is primed to build on the huge success of the 1st Nigeria ICT Festival & Exhibition held on Thursday, November 27, 2014 at Protea Hotel, Ikeja (Lagos). The 2nd Nigeria ICT Festival & Exhibition 2016 promises to be the single largest gathering of ICT and allied professionals, corporate organisations, consumers of ICT products/services and regulators under ONE PLATFORM to deliberate on the State of the Industry, generate Strategic Plan of Action for future growth in a depressed economy and offer operators a unique opportunity to showcase latest products and services to existing and prospective customers.”

He listed the strategic objectives of the Festival as follows:

Platform for Industry Evaluation & Projection
To Generate Industry Plan of Action
To Showcase Latest ICT Products & Services
Opportunity for Professional Networking

Evaluate Impact of New Technologies

Cookey said the endorsement of the Festival by NCC and ATCON represents a huge testament to the value and importance of the event in the ICT calendar in Nigeria.

“This event presents a unique platform for ICT industry players (professionals and operators) in Nigeria and around the world to meet, assess developments in the sector, plan for tomorrow and showcase their latest cutting-edge products and services,” Cookey added.

He added that the theme (ICT: Platform for Growth in a Depressed Economy), captures the emerging essence of ICT as development-enabler in many economies around the world, in terms of sustainable contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), provision of jobs and rapid development of home-grown technologies for national development.

The high-level speakers expected at the event include:

Umar Danbatta: Executive Vice-Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission
OlusolaTeniola: President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria
Ferdi Moolman: CEO, MTN Nigeria
SegunOgunsanya: CEO, Airtel Nigeria
Mathew Willsher: CEO, Etisalat Nigeria
Joseph Tegbe:Partner, KPMG Nigeria

The final deadline for Expression of Interest to participate at the Festival is Monday, October 31, 2016.

The 2^nd Nigeria ICT Festival & Exhibition is Proudly organised by Business Journal newspaper (Print & Online). www.businessjournalng.com.

CONTACT: Prince Cookey, +234-8023088874, [email protected]

SMILE Unveils 0702SMILE 4GLTE SIM, Brand Ambassador

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Business Journal

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13/10/2016

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Godfrey Efeurhobo MD/CEO Smile Communications

Smile Communications Nigeria limited has further pushed the notch of differentiation by giving practical expression to its status as an innovative full telecommunications services provider.

The company which has always had a valid number range and can do voice just like any other Mobile Network Operator has been misconceived by some as an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

However, Smile is the first Telecommunications service provider in West Africa to deploy the 4G LTE that enables it to provide the most advanced telecommunications technologies and standards available anywhere in the world using the 4G LTE network technology.

Its launch of the true 4G LTE network in Nigeria and indeed in West Africa in 2013 revolutionized the way Nigerians access the Internet.

Smile Nigeria, as noted by Godfrey Efeurhobo, the company’s Managing Director, in the recent past has unveiled a number of innovative Voice and Data services and is reinforcing its 0702 number range with the recent introduction of the lowest call tariff that allows its customers to make calls at 8kobo per second to any network from within and outside the country at the same rate, using SmileVoice App on any Smart Phone, and its 4G LTE SIM on Voice over LTE compatible handset. Smile, Efeurhobo stated ‘offers the best value proposition and experience to customers in Nigeria.

He stated that there are multiple benefits of using a Smile 4G LTE sim in the latest phones. “The Nigerian consumers” he stated, “can put their Smile 4G LTE Sim in the LTE handset, use their handset to make calls locally and to anywhere in the world, for Internet, video/music streaming/downloads and SMSs, all using one Smile bundle plan, which is a first in this market.

Beyond innovative practices driven by technology, Smile has also taken another bold step by way of a series of brand building initiatives, the latest of which is the adoption of Brand Ambassadors.

The first to be signed on as a Brand Ambassador for Smile is the versatile Radio/TV personality Mr. Steve Onu popularly known as Yaw. The choice of Yaw as brand ambassador for Smile Nigeria is coherent with Smile’s values for innovation, creativity, versatility and values of reliability, respect and service.

Efeurhobo stated that the new brand-positioning proposition accentuates Smile’s quest to expand its scope of operations, provide its customers with unrivaled quality service and contribute meaningfully to the growth and development of mobile broadband penetration in Nigeria.

These initiatives of Smile are designed to further entrench its position among the leading telecommunications companies in Nigeria. He also added that Smile remains the only telecom provider that allowed Voice calls and sms from a data package and the benefits include 8k / sec from home and abroad on the SmileVoice Only plan, free calls from aboard on the SmileVoice app which is available on the IOS and Google play store and many more and this gives Smile the unique positioning of offering bespoke and affordable propositions for Nigerians.

A multiple award-winning firm, the company is present in key Nigerian cities including Ibadan, Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Benin, Kaduna, Asaba and Onitsha.

Smile Nigeria was founded in 2008 with the transformative objective of using the best and most innovative technologies to provide its customers with high quality, easy to use and affordable communication services. Its vision and mission is to be the Broadband provider of choice in Nigeria and enable its customers to fully benefit from the Internet world.

Since it launched West Africa’s first true 4G LTE network in Ibadan in 2013, Smile has received accolades for its pioneering and innovative works. In October 2015, Smile became the first operator in West Africa to offer its customers Voice over LTE services thereby ensuring for them access to the growing global standard for voice and video calling.

Recently, the company was adjudged the Best Premium Quality Super Fast 4GLTE Mobile Broadband Service Provider of The Year 2016. This latest award followed in quick succession the earlier recognition of Smile Nigeria as ‘The Most Innovative Broadband Service Provider of the Year’ at the 2016 Titans of Tech Awards.

Adeosun:‘Commitment to Accountability, Transparency Non-Negotiable’

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Business Journal

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13/10/2016

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The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun has challenged members of the accounting profession to join forces with the current administration in its bid to promote accountability and transparency in governance.

The Minister gave the charge on the day two of the 46th Annual Accountants Conference organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Abuja on Tuesday.

The theme of the conference is Accountability. Now, Nigeria, and it was attended by dignitaries including the Vice President, Mr. Yemi Osinbajo, Gombe State Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, Ogun State Governor, Senator IbikunleAmosun and former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, among others.

The Minister explained that the accounting body now has greater roles to play in the current dispensation, saying that the era when accountants just offered suggestions was over.

The Minister stated, “When things go wrong in the private sector, it affects just one company, but when things go wrong in the public sector, it affects the whole nation and that is why we must raise the bar for public financial management.

“The days when ICAN stayed in the background are gone. That is why I’m challenging ICAN to move from the background to the forefront. We need more accountants at all tiers of government and I think they have a very big role to play.”

She disclosed that the finance ministry under her watch has begun capacity building for the nation’s accountants by ensuring that larger firms partner with smaller and medium scale firms for any assignment.

“We need to build capacity within the smaller and medium-sized practices. In the Ministry of Finance, we have resolved that a large firm must partner with smaller firms for any assignment and the practice has started.”

She stated that one of the measures put in place by the current administration was to ensure that the nation’s public finance management was better enhanced. According to her, a lot of lessons have been learnt from past mistakes; hence the implementation of a set of robust public finances management policies.

“One of the things we have done since we came to the office was to ensure that our public finance management is better enhanced. We didn’t really have early warning signals from where we were headed. I think if we had better data, we wouldn’t be here today.”

The Federal Government of Nigeria was one of the few countries without risk based independent internal audit. We started with the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit. On assuming office, we found there were little controls, no audit and no reconciliation.

These are the basic tools for reconciling expenditure with payroll. As a, result, we found thousands of payroll entries of people who are not supposed to be there. We therefore have to move the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit into formal independent-risk based internal audit.

We also set up the Efficiency Unit and I have to thank ICAN for its support. We have been able to drive down our costs considerably. The savings are creating head room clearly needed to be invested to fund capital projects which will grow the economy,” the Minister stated.

Red Star Express Marks 24th Anniversary

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Business Journal

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13/10/2016

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Group Managing Director of Red Star Express Plc, Sola Obabori has praised the foresight of those who built the Red Star brand from the scratch saying their tenacity has brought the company to its present state of growth.

Speaking on the 24th year anniversary of the company on 12th October 2016, Obabori stated that the unique vision of Dr. Mohammed H. Koguna, Mazi, Sonny Allison, Mr. Patrick Nwosu, Olorogun Eddy Olafeso and other investors who took the risk to start this company, has survived several seasons and cycles. He also thanked all the tireless efforts of all staff who have served the company both past and present, for the commitment, resilience, passion for excellence and enthusiasm for growth.

“Our focus at this time, despite the challenging business environment, is to build Red Star Express from a Good To Great Company, positively impacting lives and businesses, within and outside the shores of Nigeria”, he said.

He noted that “we must refuse to rest on our oars as there are yet many grounds to conquer and together we would improve our processes in line with global best standards, innovate new products and services to delight and exceed customers’ expectations and invest not only in ourselves but also in this great Company for the future”.

In a related development, TNT has selected Red Star Express as a new service provider in Nigeria as of October 7, 2016, for its international range of services to and from more than 200 countries worldwide. This has also been approved by the management of TNT (Bahrain) E.C effective from October 7, 2016, after assessment of TNT’s existing operations and future market requirements.

“This means that Red Star Express will now offer TNT’s international range of services to and from more than 200 countries worldwide” according to CyrilleGibot, TNT External Communication Manager.

Sola Obabori stated that the appointment has provided a bigger platform that will boost the logistics industry especially in Nigeria because the TNT team members bring 70 years of diverse experience, which, combined with that of Red Star Express with its well-grounded road network will make the selection a success story.

Already, the TNT sales, operational and technological systems integration with that of Red Star Express have been concluded and this has allowed TNT clients in the country to continue to enjoy TNT’s high valued delivery services and at the same time benefit from Red Star Express’ partnership with FedEx that has lasted over 20 years.

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