In line with its commitment to investing in and amplifying African music, Audiomack has teamed up with leading entertainment provider, Ziiki Media.
This partnership will see Audiomack propel the craft of artists across Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Africa through a couple of marketing campaigns.
Through this partnership, Audiomack will have access to artistes under Ziiki Media’s platform while offering them an opportunity to amplify their music to millions of fans through Out-Of-Home advertising (billboards, posters, bus branding) and live event activations for their music projects.
Speaking about the initiative, Charlotte Bwana, Head of Business Development and Media Partnerships for Audiomack Africa said, “At Audiomack, we constantly work to identify challenges that exist in the music industry and pull our resources to overcome these challenges. We recognize the need for artistes to reach existing and potential fans within their region and beyond through impactful marketing tactics, making this initiative a good step in the right direction. With this partnership, we aim to support the growth of the African music industry and we look forward to spearheading similar initiatives that propel the region’s music ecosystem.”
Also commenting, Arun Nagar, Chief Executive Officer of Ziiki Media said, “Ziiki Media is home to prominent artistes across sub-Saharan Africa and we are excited to combine efforts with Audiomack to help provide exposure and support to these talents. We believe that Ziiki Media and Audiomack’s shared value in spotlighting and elevating local talent will drive positive tangible change to the region’s music industry.”
This partnership will kick off in July 2021.
With a presence in all 54 African countries, Audiomack remains committed to moving music forward and connecting with its African audience by investing resources into the region’s culture and communities.
Sub-Saharan Africa’s leading technology, lifestyle, and solutions distribution giant, TD Africa, has again blazed the trail, beating other multinationals in the West African region to obtain the much-coveted Huawei Enterprise Business Group (EBG) 4-Star Certified Service Partner (CSP) Certification for Internet Protocol (IP) and Information Technology Networking.
With the certification, TD Africa has become the first and only technology distribution company to obtain the certification in West Africa, especially in Nigeria and Ghana, West Africa’s leading technology markets.
The certification comes with lots of good news for TD partners in the region, says the company’s Head of Marketing, Foluso Olulade, who explained that TD Africa is already working assiduously to obtain the Huawei EBG 5-Star CSP certification, the zenith of the certification sphere.
TD Africa Becomes First In West Africa To Obtain Huawei EBG 4-Star CSP Certification-Brand Spur Nigeria
“Our aim is to attain a 5-Star CSP in IT, IP and Cloud Collaboration. So far, we have attained 4-Star CSP for IP network and IT, while we have a 3-Star CSP for Cloud Collaboration,” Olulade said.
Huawei Business Enterprise Unit Manager at TD Africa, Mr. Kenneth Ogugua, hinted that with the new certification, TD Africa has been empowered to offer a 360-degree bouquet of services to partners, starting from sales to implementation and maintenance of IP and IT networking protocols.
Ogugua said: “This certification means that TD Africa is qualified to carry out some implementations on onsite. This is applicable to co-care, which simply means services sold by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as Huawei, but implemented by technology distribution companies, represented by TD Africa in this instance. Therefore, our engineers can go to sites to install servers, networking systems, among other solutions for our plethora of partners.
“The importance of this certification is that it gives TD Africa an edge over other distributors. When it comes to quotations for co-care services, TD Africa can definitely count on more discounts from Huawei, which will surely rub off on our partners. Therefore, our 4-Star status improves our service orientation.
‘‘It is a plus for TD Africa, our partners, as well as the IP and IT networking markets in the West African sub-region. TD Africa boasts further leverage with a functional post-sales team, which others can hardly muster.
“Equally important, this certification represents a boost for TD partners. It means they do not need to sublet their implementation services to third-parties. TD Africa can do a full a bouquet, meaning if our partners want the equipment, we can deliver these, and if they want installations, we will gladly do so and even maintain such installations, for the next three years, if they so desire.
“Please note also that this scenario will save our partners the stress of searching for partners to play in these three stages of solution orientations. In fact, it will save our partners from the temptation of utilizing the services of their competitors to maintain their installations.
“For us at TD Africa, this is a win-win situation for our partners, as many of them have been looking forward to this day, when a single technology company, with the might of TD Africa, will have the bandwidth to take up entire projects from supplying solutions to installing and maintaining such solutions, thereby saving our partners the headache and risks associated with using non-trusted sources,” he disclosed.
With over two decades of sterling performance to its name, TD Africa remains the leading tech distribution giant in Sub-Saharan Africa. The company, which pioneered the current four-tier market structure which brought sanity to the industry, has won a number of local and international awards for its outstanding leadership.
Based on our market survey and time series analysis, we are projecting that headline inflation for June will likely creep back up to 18.1%, a level last seen in March 2021. This could represent a point of inflexion on the trend line of declining inflation which started in April 2021.
Some sceptical analysts had questioned the basis for a decline in the rate of inflation at a time when global food prices and other causative factors of inflation were moving in the opposite direction. One of the key catalysts of price inflation in Nigeria has been the pass-through effect of exchange rate adjustments on domestic prices.
One reason why there has been a delayed impact of the recent depreciation of the naira on the domestic price level is the outside lag effect. It was only on May 24, 2021, that the CBN moved the exchange rate. Therefore, the impact will only be felt in June and July. Other causative factors include higher logistics costs, insecurity, and planting season effect.
FDC
Commodity price movement in Lagos
The FDC survey is Lagos-specific and much narrower sample size than the NBS nationwide survey. Statistically, a narrow sample size may not be reflective of the entire market.
However, since Lagos is believed to contribute about 40% of Nigeria’s GDP and transactions, the weight of Lagos in a national survey cannot be underestimated. This is validated by Lagos ranking of 18 out of 36 states of the federation in May, making it to be the median.
Kogi State and Bauchi state had the highest rate of inflation in May. That being the case, there is a high probability that the outcome of a Lagos survey is more likely to influence the national empirical findings.
Based on our market survey, commodities prices have remained stubbornly high. The average price of food commodities jumped by 93% from Jun’20 – Jun’21 while it increased by an average of 28% from Jun’19 – Jun’20.
The table and graph below shows the price movement of commodities in Lagos state
The impact of seasonality and rising global commodity prices on food Inflation
Food inflation is projected to rise to 23.4% in June after falling for two consecutive months. Rising commodity prices are being amplified by the impact of seasonality and rising global commodity prices.
The impact of delayed rainfalls and seasonality also came to play as we saw food prices surged in June. Seasonality could have been responsible for a spike in the prices of some agricultural commodities such as tomatoes, pepper, onions, etc. The relative price inelasticity of these commodities (no close substitute) has made the demand remain unchanged.
When imported commodity prices rise and become unaffordable the switch in demand of local substitutes leads to higher prices (cross elasticity of demand). Imported commodities increase as the global food index climbed to a record high of 124.6 points in June.
Photo by Eva Blue
Higher logistics costs and exchange rate pressures to keep core inflation elevated
The question on the lips of analysts is likely to be “Why this reversal of the trend? Whilst some analysts expressed scepticism as to the sustainability of the trend, our understanding of the change in direction is because the base year effects of 2020 have since waned and that a new impetus of price momentum is at play again.
For example, it was only on May 24th that the CBN moved on the exchange rate adjustment from N379/$to N411/$ at the IE window. In the parallel market, the Naira fell by 3.9% to N505/$ because there was not a corresponding increase in forex supply to the market. The impact of the currency pass-through to domestic prices only began in June and July.
In addition, the price of diesel, the principal fuel for logistics and distribution spiked 23.95% to N295 per liter. These factors were mainly responsible for pushing both food and other prices against the expected direction.
Month-on-month to increase despite weak consumer demand
Despite the weak aggregate demand, month-on-month inflation is estimated to increase at a faster pace to 1.36% (17.61% annualized) in June from 1.01% (12.82% annualized) in May. This is because manufacturers continue to pass on the increase in production costs to consumers.
Investor & Market Reaction
If the NBS announces an increase in inflation, investors and the market would not be surprised and will take it in stride. This is because the markets were just as surprised as analysts when inflation supposedly moderated.
The stock market which technically has an inverse relationship with interest rates has already lost 2.04% since June. This is because investors have already priced in an increase in the general level of interest rates. The real estate market where vacancy factors are on the increase is not any different.
Sub-Saharan Africa: Ghana bucked the regional inflation trend
It appears that the inflation trend in Sub-Saharan Africa is moving in the same direction as the global trend.
Of the peer countries under consideration, only Ghana recorded lower inflation. Higher energy costs especially oil ($76.4pb) and base year effects are the major factors responsible for driving this rise in inflation across the SSA region.
Monetary policy responses have varied across Africa. Ghana and Uganda reduced their benchmark interest rate at their last meeting to support economic recovery while Angola increased its policy rate by 4.5% to curb inflationary pressures. Other countries maintained the status quo.
FDC
Inflation outlook – policy impact
The Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled to meet on July 26/27 to decide the monetary policy stance. A one-month increase in the inflation rate is unlikely to force the hand of committee meetings in 2 weeks to make any change. They are more likely to adopt a wait-and-see approach this time around.
One of the major issues affecting Nigeria and its metropolitan areas is a disposable waste. In a country where about 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste is disposed of every year, a collaborative effort between the government and the private sector is paramount to the fight against plastic pollution and improved financial inclusion.
For this reason, The Coca-Cola Company, along with the leadership team of the Coca-Cola System in Nigeria, recently paid a visit to the Honorable Minister of Environment, Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, and the Director-General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Professor Aliyu Jauro.
L-R: Public Affairs & Communications Director, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, Ekuma Eze; Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Africa, The Coca-Cola Company, Patricia Obozuwa; Honourable Minister Of Environment, Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar; Director, Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability, Coca-Cola Nigeria, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe; and Government & Regulatory Affairs Manager, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, Vivian Ikem; during a recent courtesy visit by the Coca-Cola System to the Honourable Minister Of Environment in Abuja | www.brandspurng.com
Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Africa, The Coca-Cola Company, Patricia Obozuwa and the Honourable Minister Of Environment, Dr. Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, during a recent courtesy visit by the Coca-Cola System to the Honourable Minister Of Environment in Abuja | www.brandspurng.comL-R: Government & Regulatory Affairs Manager, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, Vivian Ikem; Director, Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability, Coca-Cola Nigeria, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe; Director General/CEO, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Professor Aliyu Jauro; Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Africa, The Coca-Cola Company, Patricia Obozuwa; and Public Affairs & Communications Director, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, Ekuma Eze; during a recent courtesy visit by the Coca-Cola System to the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in Abuja | www.brandspurng.comL-R: Director General/CEO, National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Professor Aliyu Jauro; and Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Africa, The Coca-Cola Company, Patricia Obozuwa during a recent courtesy visit by the Coca-Cola System to the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in Abuja. | www.brandspurng.com
Food and beverage giant, PepsiCo, home to popular brands like Pepsi, Mountain Dew has reported a 20.5% increase in net revenue in its second-quarter results and raised its full-year guidance for organic revenue growth. The return of restaurants and other activities away from the home was a big boon to PepsiCo, which reported a huge jump in revenue in its drinks and snacks businesses in the second quarter.
The company has posted net revenues of $19.22 billion, compared with the $15.95 billion recorded for the same period last year. Meanwhile, PepsiCo’s operating profit for Q2 came in at $3.13 billion.
Africa, Middle East and South Asia’s net revenue went up 63% with PepsiCo’s Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region segment recording the second-highest increase of 41%. In Latin America, net revenue rose by 26% and in Europe by 21%.
Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta commented,
“We are pleased with our second-quarter results as we delivered very strong double-digit net revenue and earnings per share growth. Given the strength of our results, we now expect our full-year organic revenue to increase 6 percent and core constant currency earnings per share to increase 11 percent.
Our results give us confidence that the investments behind our Faster, Stronger and Better framework are working – as we invest in our brands, supply chain and go-to-market systems, manufacturing capacity, capabilities and culture, and our society by integrating purpose into everything we do.
Moving forward, we remain focused on winning in the marketplace and building competitive advantages that will position us well as consumer habits and preferences evolve over time.”
In its Q1 results, PepsiCo reported organic revenue growth of 2.4% and said that it expected this to accelerate in the second quarter.
The company has now reported organic revenue growth of 12.8% for Q2 and announced that it is raising its financial guidance for the full year from mid-single-digit to 6% organic revenue growth.
The easing of pandemic-related restrictions and closures compared with the year-ago quarter helped boost net revenue for PepsiCo’s foodservice business and drive up beverage sales.
Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer, NGX, Mr. Temi Popoola, CFA stated,
“We are excited to welcome GTCO Plc and to congratulate the Board and Management on a successful restructuring. Given the recent completion of demutualisation of The Exchange and the emergence of our new structure, we see many similarities between our organisations, particularly our outlook on the use of technology to advance business operations; the burgeoning opportunities in the retail market; and the importance of good governance in the corporate space.
L-R: Mrs. Cathy Echeozo, Chairperson, NGX Regulation Ltd; Mr. Hezekiah Oyinlola, Non-Executive Director, GTBank Nigeria; Ibrahim Hassan, Non-Executive Director, GTBank Nigeria; Mr. Segun Agbaje, Group Chief Executive Officer, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) Plc; Mr. Temi Popoola,CFA Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited; Mrs. Osaretin Demuren, Outgoing Chairman, GTBank Nigeria; Mrs. Miriam Olusanya, Executive Director, GTBank Nigeria; Mr. Seyi Osunkeye, Non- Executive Director, NGX Ltd and other NGX Ltd Executives during the Closing Gong Ceremony to mark the listing of GTCO Plc on the NGX yesterday in Lagos | www.brandspurng.com
Today, we reiterate our commitment to being a trusted partner to GTCO and other listed companies and issuers as we continue to build a platform that allows our listed companies, investors and other stakeholders to maximise value in our market.”
On his part, the Group Chief Executive Officer, GTCO Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, noted that,
“On behalf of the Board and Management of GTBank and the newly formed GTCO, I must thank NGX for its unwavering support in listing GTCO on The Exchange. At GTCO, we are very excited about the opportunities that have opened up to us with this restructuring, particularly because diversifying our income base has always been a major priority.
As we venture into this new phase, we look forward to leveraging technology and introducing new business lines – including payments, asset management and more – that go beyond the needs of institutional or wholesale clients to improve retail clients’ access to the financial markets.”
Also, present on the trading floor of NGX to sound the gong and bring the day’s trading to a close were:
Mr. Babajide Okuntola, Executive Director, GTBank Nigeria;
Mr. Seyi Osunkeye, Non-Executive Director, NGX Limited;
Mr. Kamarudeen Kareem Oladosu, Non-Executive Director, NGX Limited;
Mr. Yomi Adeyemi, Non-Executive Director, NGX Limited and
Mr. Jude Chiemeka, Divisional Head, Trading Business, NGX Limited.
It would be recalled that GTCO officially listed its shares on NGX on 28 June 2021 following the restructuring of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) Plc. At the time, the shares of GTB were officially delisted from the market, and GT HoldCo’s entire issued share capital of 29,431,179,224 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each were listed on the bourse.
Ipsos has again emerged as the Number One Most Innovative Market Research Company by GreenBook’s GRIT report for the third consecutive year.
Released by GreenBook, The GRIT Report’s rankings serve as a good proxy for business footprint and growth and have become a key metric for companies to understand their competitive position in the marketplace. The 2021 GRIT Top 50 Most Innovative Suppliers were selected using an aggregate of responses from market research suppliers, clients, and insights professionals.
Brand Spur learnt that Ipsos is considered the most innovative company in the world by GRIT respondents for the third year in a row ad the company continues to be recognized for their efforts to embrace new business models and launch new products to edge out their main competitors.
The GRIT respondents noted that“We see signs that Ipsos may very well retain this leadership rank based on how their large competitors are now positioning themselves in the market.”
Ipsos is relatively unchallenged by several of their traditional competitors (GfK and Nielsen) as those firms seek to differentiate themselves in a variety of ways that create distance between themselves and our traditional view of insights suppliers in the past.
In addition, Ipsos has been steadily rolling out a suite of technology-driven products to compete with many emerging tech players, further cementing their brand awareness as it relates to being considered innovative.
Brand Spur observed that Kantar was close on the heels of Ipsos with only 17 mentions separating them and a jump up of three spots from number 5 in 2020; much of what the respondents observe about Ipsos is true for Kantar as well, and with Bain Capital now backing them, the team expects to see significant investments in both organic innovation and acquired innovation over the coming months to further challenge Ipsos as the industry heads into 2022.
Ipsos Retains Rank as the Number One Most Innovative Research Company
Despite coronavirus pandemic-related impacts, which hit the global energy industry hard, renewable energy continued to grow, but renewable energy alone will be insufficient to replace coal globally, experts said July 12.
Spencer Dale, BP’s chief economist, said this is the 70th anniversary of the BP Statistical Review of World Energy and there have “been some pretty amazing events in global energy over that time, including the Suez Canal crisis in the 1950s, the two oil shocks in the 1970s, more recently the Fukushima tragedy and all these events had a huge bearing on global energy systems, but all pale in significance to the events of last year.”
Global energy demand fell by about 4.5% in 2020 as pandemic-related lockdowns spilt over into global energy, which was the largest decline since 1944, Dale said during a remotely held panel discussion hosted by Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy, adding that global carbon dioxide emissions fell by around 6%, which was the largest decline since World War II.
The biggest driver in the 4.5% decline in global energy demand was oil consumption, which declined by over 9 million b/d, accounting for about three-quarters of the fall in total energy demand, he said.
Natural gas proved more resilient, falling by around 2% in 2020, and the smallest decline was in electricity consumption, which declined by around 1% last year, according to the review.
US energy demand
The fall in US energy demand was larger than the global total, with US demand declining by around 7.7% despite US gross domestic product falling by roughly the same amount as the global total, Dale said.
Some of that reflects the relative oil intensity of the US economy, Dale said. And the nearly 20% drop in US coal consumption was also “eye-catching,” and largely a story of coal losing out to natural gas and renewables in the power sector, he said.
US power demand fell by around three times more than the global average, though Dale said he did not really have an explanation for that diversion from the global trends.
Globally, renewable energy led by wind and solar power installed capacity grew by a “colossal” 238 GW, which is 50% more than any time in history, Dale said, with a large majority of the increase coming from China.
The growth in renewable energy installed capacity fed through to increased renewable energy generation in 2020, which largely came at the expense of coal-fired power, according to BP.
Energy transition dynamics
“This trend in strong renewable energy output growth crowding out coal is exactly what the world needs to see as it transitions to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions,” Dale said.
However, not all the panellists were as optimistic regarding the transition to cleaner energy.
Laura Cozzi, the chief energy modeller at the International Energy Agency, said that the global energy demand contraction in 2020 happened mostly due to pandemic-related lockdowns, but by December, energy demand was largely back to pre-crisis levels along with emissions.
“Emissions are expected to rebound very strongly and essentially” erase the savings made in 2020, Cozzi said.
She also said the energy transition is happening at different speeds with the developed economies transitioning much more rapidly than emerging economies.
“The 6.2% fall in global emissions the report lays out … seems like a pretty paltry number given the dramatic decrease in global economic activity at the time,” Meghan O’Sullivan, professor of international affairs and director of the geopolitics of energy project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, said.
Coal being replaced by renewables in the US is positive for reducing emissions, “but the global picture of course is a lot less celebratory and is in fact very sobering,” O’Sullivan said. “Even with renewables growing as greatly as they have even within China, renewables are not growing enough to meet the increased demand for energy and certainly not enough to meet growing demand and displace coal,” she said.
The fact that global coal-fired power generation in 2020 was about the same amount at an absolute level as in 2015 “really suggests that if renewables grow as robustly as we saw in 2020, renewables are not going to be sufficient to really complete the energy transition,” O’Sullivan said.
The panelists agreed that new technologies like carbon capture, along with international collaboration on reducing coal-fired power generation and emissions will be needed to meet longer-term climate goals.
AA Holdings, a proprietary investment company, is set to sponsor The Petroleum Club’s 2021 Annual Business Dinner as part of its commitment to advance the growth of the upstream Oil and Gas sector.
The dinner will host industry leaders in the petroleum industry in Nigeria to discuss the present state of the industry and its future.
The event which will hold on the 14th of July at the Metropolitan Club, Lagos, will also be streamed virtually and will feature a paper presentation titled, “A discussion on the future of the Nigerian Petroleum Industry” by the guest speaker, Director-General, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Engr. Sarki Auwalu (FNSE).
According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the oil and gas sector accounts for 10% of Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) while contributing an estimated 80% of annual revenue. Hence through this sponsorship, AA Holdings hopes to contribute to the discussion on how Nigeria can sustain the role of the Oil and Gas sector in the economy and its impact.
In addition, the sponsorship seeks to promote investment through enterprises that have a positive impact on social-economic development.
Speaking on the sponsorship, Executive Chairman and Founder, AA Holdings, Austin Avuru expressed the company’s desire to investing in key sectors in the country. “As trusted business partners, we are excited to sponsor The Petroleum Club’s Annual Business Meeting as this expresses our commitment to unlocking potentials that transform societies, especially across the SSA market through critical thinking.
It’s our opinion that the Oil and Gas sector will remain vital to Nigeria’s economic growth in the long term, and we aim to ensure this realization by supporting platforms where stakeholders can engage and formulate pertinent strategies for success.”
AA Holdings is building a portfolio of innovative companies that will be invested in high-growth sectors with an emphasis on oil and gas, green housing farming and commercial and residential real estate development.
Also, the company pursues the philanthropic interests of the Austin Avuru family office through AA Foundation.
The virtual event is open to all interested stakeholders to join here.
In a statement signed by his Director of Media and Public Affairs, Comrade Moses Olafare, the Grand Resort, located beside the tollgate on the Ife-Ibadan expressway is a brand new city of hubs driven by urban renewal initiatives of the Ooni Ogunwusi to serve as the hub for sustainable development, a fountain of employment generation, radar of empowerment and satellite for branding and showcasing the cultural heritage and value of Ile-Ife the source and natural headquarters of the Oduduwa race globally.
According to the press release, the huge investment is a legacy project embarked upon by Ooni Ogunwusi for urban renewal and redevelopment into the current smart city global requirements in the selfless spirit of ‘Charity Begins At Home.
Ife Grand Resort Set For Commissioning-Brand Spur Nigeria
The Ife Grand Resort and Leisure which is planted on over 1000 acres of land will aside from offering facilities for exquisite lodging/accommodation, harbour multiple industrial parks with pockets of industries currently producing many industrial and agricultural products as well as rendering essential services to the resort, the Ife community and Nigeria.
Sitting comfortably within the Ife Grand Resort which is a focal attraction on Friday is the 3000 seating capacity Meeting Incentives Conference and Event(MICE) Centre branded ‘Ojaja Arena’, a complex of architectural wonder planted by Ooni Ogunwusi to add the value of relevance to urban renewal in Ile – Ife.
Ooni Ogunwusi disclosed that he deliberately brought the 3000 seating capacity event centre to make Ile-Ife the epicentre of MICE in Africa, saying that the ‘Ojaja Arena’ has been configured and positioned with all facilities to satisfy demands of Meetings, Incentives, Conference and Event adding that it would also shore up intellectual and congregational activities in Ile Ife, the ancient source of mankind.
“We are building a brand new city driven by urban renewal initiative. The Ojaja Arena is basically not built for social activities but a centre for training and manpower development for youths in this country, considering Ile-Ife to have over 500 thousand students of about 20 tertiary institutions; Universities, Polytechnics, Colleges of Education and Schools of Nursing within 100km radius surrounding Obafemi Awolowo University built at the nucleus Centre in Ife over 60 years ago.
Ife Grand Resort Set For Commissioning-Brand Spur Nigeria
The question in my lips has been, what will these young vibrant youths will be doing after tertiary institutions, the best bet is to set up a hub that is technology-friendly to boost and drive small and medium scale industries within our country Nigeria by creating a smart city for them to display whatever they can do to become employers of labour after graduation. It is a sad truth that no industries to employ them all. We can only encourage them to create industries for and by themselves because that is the reality on the ground”. Ooni said.
The natural traditional head of the House Oduduwa worldwide also revealed that “One of the industrial parks within the Ife Grand Resort Colony, the Adire hub has engaged 50 people, empowered over 150 others and started producing adire in bales which are being exported to foreign countries
He also disclosed that one of the agricultural parks which specialize in the rearing of Ostriches has also employed another set of 40 staff who have started rearing Ostriches in an unprecedented manner with the vision to produce ostrich hides and skin in high commercial quantity for export purposes.
The Co-chairman, National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria(NCTRN) revealed that the various industrial parks have started receiving collaboration and acknowledgement from Africas in the diaspora who are willing and ready to train and empower interested individuals in various segments of the park.
“We have received pledges for training and exchange programs between the Brazilian, Cuban and other governments in the Caribbean towards the empowerment of Nigerian youths both the male and female folks for post- COVID -19 empowerment action plan”
“We are occupying over 1,000 acres, we are building a brand new city that Urban renewal and it is going to be an itech environment, it is a smart city that will have a hub, industrial hub, Ostrich farming hub, Adire Hub, Green farming, Sports Academy, film and entertainment village. The resort it is a culture and tourism destination that is close to nature. You don’t even have to move around the country.”
“What we’re doing is to replicate this, we have already commenced in Ondo, Oyo and Lagos states and we shall be launching these projects concurrently. It is a means of creating an avenue for our young minds to see Nigeria from a positive perspective, so we’re creating a country from a country.
“A country in the sense that is a localized environment, for them to be there and be successful and reach out to the world like the typical Adire hub that we have done we are exporting to 25 countries now. We are shipping to everywhere in the world and we have agents all over.
Ife Grand Resort Set For Commissioning-Brand Spur Nigeria
“We started that one just three months ago and it is fast gaining global recognition, the same we are going to start organic remedies (Our herbal medicinal products recently launched strategically with YEMKEM). We’ll soon have a factory here from where we’ll send it to the world.
“So it is an industrial park that is fintech driven and it is through fintech that we’re even selling what we are selling at the hub. They place orders from anywhere globally and we ship to them, life is easy for everybody.
“There is equally the African village that reminds us of our ancient ways of living and yet bring it to the modern world, everything that has to do with pan African is there. Then the sporting arena is another industry that is huge, we would have a mini-camp for training and development in the sporting world. We are going to have an 18 hole Golf Course.” Ooni said.
The resort is scheduled to host the Grand reception aspect of the installation activities for the Iyalaje of Oduduwa Race worldwide to be conferred on the Lagos business magnate cum philanthropist Princess (Dr.) Toyin Kolade by the Arole Oduduwa, Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, the Ooni of Ife on Saturday
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