Writing in his latest annual “Gates Notes” letter, Microsoft Founder and Philanthropist, Bill Gates highlighted the digital banking sector and observed that smartphones and mobile technology would define banking in Africa, especially in those communities where the cost of banking and a lack of infrastructure remain major barriers to entry.
MTN to Sack Hundreds over Prolonged Strike
Africa’s biggest mobile operator MTN, which is grappling with an eight-week strike at its South African operations, plans to cut hundreds of jobs, a local newspaper said on Monday.
Fitch Affirms Helios Towers Nigeria at ‘B’; Outlook Stable
Fitch Ratings has affirmed telecom infrastructure group, Helios Towers Nigeria Limited’s (HTN) Long term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘B’ with a Stable Outlook.
Oil Prices Driving Lower Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa
Latest report by the World Bank Group suggests that low oil prices have considerably reduced growth in commodity-exporting countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in Nigeria and Angola etc. and have also slowed activity in non-oil sectors.
CBN Defends Forex Ban Policy
Mr. Moses Tule, Director of Monetary Policy, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has stoutly defended the recent restrictions placed on forex by the apex bank, saying it is a move to stem gradual erosion of value of the Naira.
BUHARINOMICS: Charting Path to Sustainable Economic Renaissance
The presidential election was over on Saturday, March 28, 2015. It is now a historical document for academic research and street political analysis.
The N714bn Bailout: Matters Arising
It was good news the other morning when news filtered out that the federal government has graciously given cash-strapped states a bailout of approximately N714 billion to settle outstanding salaries and other forms of wages to workers in their states.
1bn Women Worldwide Lack Access to Financial System
$300bn Financing Gap Between Men & Women.
Financial exclusion remains a major constraint for women, particularly in developing countries. More than one billion women still do not use or have access to the financial system, according to the World Bank Group’s latest Global Findex Report.
Firm to Develop Affordable Homes for Calabar Residents
An indigenous firm, Turn – Over Plus Limited, is set to develop a housing estate, Green City Estate, Calabar, Cross River State, in an effort to boost the housing stock in the state.
West Africa Needs Advanced Mobile Infrastructure, says IBM Nigeria Boss
Increased investments in relevant new technologies like mobile, cloud and big data analytics that offer advanced solutions and services are essential for West Africa’s socio-economic development.
Nigeria Must Rethink Forex Policy to Spur Investment
There is need for Nigeria to seriously rethink her Forex policy to spur investment and quicker economic recovery. At the same time, the country recorded growth of only 3.96% y/y in Q1, 2015, down from 5.9% in Q4-2014, according to Razia Khan, Economist at Standard Chartered Bank, London.
She said Nigeria’s oil sector contracted by 8% y/y in Q1, following growth of 1% in the previous quarter. “Decelerating growth was seen across most sectors in Q1, with the exception of crop production. Q2 growth may be slower still, reflecting a slowdown in activity around the elections, and the transition to a new government.”
She said the severity of fuel shortages in May, culminating in a shortfall in imported diesel for generators, had a more pronounced impact on the services sector than is typically the case, just as growing queue for foreign exchange, as Nigeria’s ‘order matching’ FX system fails to meet all demand, may result in a further delay to corporate investment plans, potentially postponing recovery.
Khan also projects slow growth in the first half of 2015, with some recovery in the second half of the year. “However, downside risks
to our full-year forecast of 4.5% GDP growth still predominate. We are constructive on the outlook for oil in H2-2015. We expect oil prices to rebound to c.USD 80-90/bbl. Higher oil earnings should provide some boost to activity. “
She advised that Nigeria’s changing economic fundamentals call for a rethink of foreign excahnge policy, in order to better absorb external shocks. “We see Nigeria’s current account surplus moving to a deficit, both in 2015 and in the years ahead. The pace of accumulation of new FX reserves will not easily support a fixed exchange rate system.
With a fixed exchange rate, FX reserves rather than the NGN bear the brunt of any external shock, hurting Nigeria’s creditworthiness, and potentially raising the cost of any external borrowing. Near-term, constrained FX availability also exerts a cost on the real economy, adding to uncertainty and delaying investment activity.
The risk is that the longer it takes to re-open the FX market, the greater.”
U.S. Banks Plan $16.6bn Digital Transformation in 2015
Retail banks (including thrifts and credit unions) in the U.S. will spend nearly $16.6 billion on hardware, software, services, and internal IT staff in order to develop and implement digital transformation initiatives in 2015.
NNPC: An Ugly, Dirty Story!
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is a Bad Story. Today, right thinking members of the Nigerian society are asking just one question: What is wrong with NNPC?
Win it Like Buhari: 5 Start-up Lessons to Take Away from Nigerian Elections
March 28 was a historic date in Nigeria’s history as it marked the first time the opposition defeated the ruling party in democratic elections in Africa’s most populous country and biggest economy.
Muhammadu Buhari, a former military leader who had ruled Nigeria for a 20-month period in the early 1980s, campaigned as a born-again democrat and saw the tide of public opinion turn in his favor. Here, CNN’s African Start-Up examines Buhari’s campaign strategy and reveals the key business lessons entrepreneurs can adapt for startup success.
• If at First You Don’t Succeed… Keep Going
This wasn’t the first time Buhari had run for the highest political office in Nigeria– in fact, it was his fourth attempt. He could have quit on several occasions, but didn’t, and his persistence was rewarded at last march’s polls.
Buhari’s endurance and perseverance in the face of setbacks is a key lesson young entrepreneurs can take heed of, says Femi Longe, Co-founder and Programmes Director at CcHub, a tech innovation space in Lagos. “The reality is that starting a business is everyday slog,” explains Longe, who is an expert in social entrepreneurship.
“A huge chunk of start-ups is just surviving to see the next day. You don’t know when the big break will come.”
• Learn from Mistakes and Don’t be Afraid to Re-brand
Another area for entrepreneurs to take into consideration is Buhari’s readiness to learn from the previous unsuccessful bids and make changes to the way he communicated his message.
“He was willing to smile a bit more, was willing to dress in the outfits of the different tribes, he was willing this time to actually campaign extensively across the country to change the image that people had of him,” says Longe. “There was a lot of work to make him more presentable.”
Similarly, startups need to be flexible and be able to adapt their campaigns to meet the needs of their target markets. Longe explains: “At the end of the day, it’s about your customers, it’s about your users. And you need to think about how does my business appeal to each of their individual needs and concerns while not losing my core essence.”
• Focus on Setting the Right Agenda
Buhari has also been praised for reading the ground reality accurately and delivering a focused and consistent message. Lazarus Apir, Programme Manager of Transition Monitoring Group, a not-for-profit organisation that helped monitor and corroborate official results, explains that even in Buhari’s failed attempts in previous elections, he showed an unwavering focus on his outlook for the country.
“Focus is very crucial,” he says. “Buhari said security, he said corruption, he said infrastructure — all of these problems have continued in Nigeria and today, they are only at their worst. “He has kept the focus of things that he is seeing. If anyone wants to build a business empire for themselves, it is very important that they maintain focus.
There is a temptation to be overly dynamic but then (entrepreneurs) lose focus.”
• Find the Right Team
Many experts have hailed Buhari’s choice of Yemi Osinbajo as running mate as part of the election success story — a cue entrepreneurs can take in their business plans, says Longe.
“The last time (Buhari) ran, he didn’t have the appeal across the country. And this time he had an alliance that gives him appeal across the country. He has people that helped with improving the image of the areas where people had worries about his personality. He was able to work through all of them,” he continues.
“We are not judging him as an individual but the collective capabilities of the team around him. The focus is not on one man but the team. Where the man himself has a weakness, the rest of the team can cover that and you need to have your A-players in charge.”
• Embrace Social Media and Use it Properly
Social media has globally become one of the most important tools for candidates during election campaigns– and Nigeria’s race was no exception.
Cynthia Mbamalu, Programmes Manager at Nigerian youth charity YIAGA, said platforms like Twitter and Facebook helped the Buhari campaign to reach population pockets that they could have otherwise missed.
“Social media provided the opportunity to connect with Nigerians, especially young people,” she explains. “For the first time in a long while there were tweets targeted mainly at promoting the person of General Buhari and the party’s vision for Nigeria.”
Mbamalu says the main selling point or start-ups to incorporate social media into their on-going strategies is that it allows businesses to enter a vibrant marketplace and engage with customers.
“Customer satisfaction is vital in every business endeavor; people are more open to a system that guarantees that their opinions are important. Social media provides the right amount of buzz a viable business idea may need.” But she adds: “Businesses need to understand intrigue, trends and interplay on social media to strategically carve its niche.”