Bank Wars: Which banks will make it to the final?

Esan Bolaji
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Bank Wars: Which banks will make it to the final?

The inaugural edition of Bank Wars, a FIFA 21 Gaming competition for leading Nigerian banks, will witness fireworks as four banks clash in the semi-finals of the competition on Saturday, May 29, 2021.

The four semi-finalists include Access Bank, Fidelity, Standard Chartered and Sterling Bank.

Bank Wars is sponsored by foremost Original Equipment Manufacturer, Samsung.

Bank Wars Bank Wars

To get to this stage, Access Bank beat Standard Chartered Bank 7-5 in its final group game on Saturday, May 22, 2021. The victory saw both sides progress from Group A, with Access Bank emerging as group leaders, having won all its matches.

Despite claiming only three points, Standard Chartered Bank made the semi-final, courtesy of a superior goal difference to Zenith Bank, which thrashed First City Monument Bank (FCMB) 8-2 to take its points tally to three. However, Zenith failed to make the semis due to its inferior goal difference.

Bank Wars Bank Wars

In Group B, Sterling Bank and Fidelity also qualified for the semi-final of the competition after playing out a nine-goal thriller on Saturday. Sterling, which won 7-2, qualified as group leaders with a perfect nine-points tally, while Fidelity finished second on six points. Union Bank claimed third spot with three points after walking over Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) which failed to show up once again for their tie.

With the semi-final encounters set, excitement is high as the four remaining sides in the competition battle for a place in the final.

The Tech Experience Centre, Africa’s cutting-edge technology and lifestyle hub located at Yudala Heights, 13 Idowu Martins Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, will come alive on Saturday when the semi-final ties get underway.

In the day’s first match, Sterling Bank will trade tackles with Standard Chartered Bank on the FIFA 21 pitch. The match, which is set to commence by 1pm, will see a potential cracker as Standard Chartered looks to upset one of the competition’s favourites. In the other semi-final tie, Fidelity Bank will be looking to upstage Access Bank, one of the top dogs in the competition. The match kicks off by 1:45pm.

It promises to be an exciting time at the Tech Experience Centre on Saturday, with FIFA 21 pundits not ruling out the possibility of upsets in both matches.

Bank Wars is expected to come to a fitting climax on Saturday, June 5, 2021, with the third place and final matches of the competition. Winners of the FIFA 21 Gaming competition are expected to smile home with some mouth-watering prizes, courtesy of Samsung.

A Samsung 55-inch TV awaits the first prize winner while the runner-up will go home with a massive Samsung Refrigerator. Also, the third best team will claim a Samsung Washing Machine. In addition, there are prizes for individual representatives of the competing teams while the best goal of the competition (to be determined by votes) will fetch the scorer a Samsung 49-inch TV.

Nigerian Idol S6: Clinton heads home as Top 8 contestants deliver colorful performances

Oreoluwa Aderinkomi
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Nigerian Idol S6: Clinton heads home as Top 8 contestants deliver colorful performances

Last Sunday’s live show on Nigerian Idol marked the end of Clinton’s journey in this season’s competition as the other eight contestants – Daniel, Comfort, Faith Jason, Akunna, Francis, Emmanuel, Kingdom and Beyonce – scaled through to the Top 8 stage.

The show’s host, IK Osakioduwa, delivered the results with its usual suspense that left Clinton and Beyonce as the last two contestants on stage. Eventually, Beyonce was announced as the last contestant to move on to the next round whilst Clinton bowed out.

Nigerian Idol

The theme of the week was “Naija hits”. The Top 8 contestants performed songs from their selected Nigerian superstars with colourful costumes to match.

First up was Daniel who opened the night with a soulful rendition of Brymo’s Good morning. His performance was so lively that Seyi Shay commented that he was finally coming out of his shell.

Next was Comfort, who performed Simi’s Duduke. Her colourful outfit and pink braids coupled with an exciting performance delighted the judges who commented on how far she had come from being shy on her first audition to dominating the stage.

Nigerian Idol

Last night, Faith Jason ditched his folksy tunes for highlife. His rendition of Awele by Flavor made Seyi Shay remark that he could do no wrong and Obi Asika agreed that he brought his performance home.

Akunna’s version of ”Loving your way” by Seyi Shay left the judges speechless. Seyi Shay was dumbfounded, and DJ Sose mentioned that he preferred Akunna’s version to the original.

Francis also took on another Flavour song. He sang Ada Ada. According to him, he had performed the song before as a backup singer with a band. But this time, he was ready to shine. DJ Sose was impressed with how he managed to keep his voice distinct.

Emmanuel’s performance of For You by Teni featuring Davido was exhilarating. According to Obi Asika, he was one of the best performers he had seen in or out of the show.

However, not all the contestants wowed the judges. Kingdom’s rendition of Davido’s Aye didn’t quite cut it for the judges. They commented that the song choice wasn’t right for him and that this performance was mediocre compared to his previous outings.

Last performance for the night was Beyonce who gave her own spin to Seyi Shay’s classic, Right Now. Again, the judges were left stunned by her performance. Obi Asika commented that her growth has been phenomenal, and she was proving her doubters wrong. Seyi Shay added that she had never seen the song performed like that.

At this stage of the competition, the power to determine who stays and who leaves is solely in the hands of the viewers.  Voting on Nigerian Idol is via the website, mobile site, MyDStv, and MyGOtv apps and via SMS on participating networks – Airtel, MTN and 9mobile.

You can vote for your favourite contestant via the Africa Magic website, www.africamagic.tv/nigerianidol, and the Africa Magic mobile site by selecting contestants of your choice and entering your number of votes and click VOTE. Voting via these platforms is limited to 100 votes per user. MyDStv App and MyGOtv App votes are free, and votes are allocated based on your subscription packages.

Growth has a “soft underbelly”; MPC may maintain status quo

CardinalStone Research
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Growth has a “soft underbelly”; MPC may maintain status quo

Nigeria’s Q1’21 GDP was released on the eve of the second monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting of the Central Bank in 2021, following prior guidance that there would be an all-out attempt to combat price pressures if inflationary pressures continue and growth momentum improves.

Inflation failed to tick the box in the April release, but GDP sustained its recovery in Q1’21 (+0.51% YoY; -13.93% QoQ) to, in our view, set up an interesting MPC decision on Tuesday.

Given the weak Q1’21 growth (Bloomberg consensus expectation was 0.9% YoY) and recent inflation moderation, we believe the committee will prefer to leave policy parameters unchanged at the end of its two-day meeting to ensure consistency with its guidance.

MPC REal gdp Inflation CBN’s PMI report for Sept-2020 brandspurng A hint at recession
Photo by Cleyder Duque

The decision could be supported by plans to raise c.$6.2 billion in foreign borrowings and boost remittances (both of which could combine with higher YoY oil prices to ease the pressure to more aggressively raise rates to combat the FX crisis).

Observably, notable global apex banks have opted for inertia to allow their recoveries to gain firmer footing before effecting indicative rate hikes despite reports and expectations of Q1’21 growths and inflation increases.

In Nigeria, liquidity pass-through is already driving a repricing of yields in the market and narrowing the negative “real” returns in the fixed income space.

In our view, the reality of low liquidity-induced increases in yields (as macro risks demands) and the lessons from foreign central banks could ease pressure on the MPC to effect any indicative policy change on Tuesday that could charge up the bearish sentiments in the market.

Yet, the outlook for yields remains primarily biased to the upside on the impact of narrowing liquidity (which, for us, has been the biggest driver of domestic rate swings in the last 18 to 24 months).

Delving into the Q1’21 growth dynamics

Nigeria’s 0.51% YoY growth was driven by the non-oil sector, which rose by 0.79% YoY (vs 1.69% in Q4’20) to mask deterioration in oil GDP (-2.21% YoY).

Non-oil GDP growth was primarily supported by 7.69% and 2.28% YoY growth in telecoms and agric GDPs. Telecoms grew at its slowest pace in 12 quarters to possibly reflect restrictions on new SIM registration and fear of NIN-related sanctions in the quarter.

At the same time, agric’s contribution to overall GDP (22.35%) came in at the lowest level in four quarters to indicate the likely impact of a soft base effect. Elsewhere in non-oil, manufacturing (+3.40% YoY) exited recession aided by cement and food, beverage, and tobacco, while real estate output increased by 1.77% YoY.

Financial institution GDP growth also moderated to 0.15% YoY (vs an average of 14.18% across the four quarters of 2020) in line with the milder than expected credit creation in the banking sector.

Even though non-oil GDP came in slightly above the waters in Q1’21, there were significant concerns in trade (-2.43% YoY) and road transport (-23.75% YoY) readings.

Despite some traces of weakness within non-oil, the soft underbelly of the current GDP reading was mainly evinced by sustained recession in the oil sector, which suffered from another contraction in oil output in the quarter (Q1’21: 1.72mbpd; Q1’20: 2.07mbpd).

In December 2020, there were reported shutdowns in Forcados and Okono terminals due to suspected leaks on Trans Escravos Pipeline and Mystras— Okpoho subsea pipeline, respectively. Likewise, Abo, Usan, Ima and Escravos terminals were shut down for maintenance.

Production was also interrupted at Yoho, Agbami, Pennington, Que Iboe and Erha terminals due to planned repairs/maintenance, fire incidence, pump and flare management. We believe these production setbacks may have spilt into the review quarter.

Figure 1: GDP support was primarily from telecoms, agric, and manufacturing

MPC
Sources: NBS, CardinalStone Research

We retain a GDP growth projection of c.1.7% for 2021, aided by expected robust outturns in Q2’21 and Q3’21 due to the low base effect from the coronavirus affected quarters of 2020.

In addition, the conclusion of repairs and maintenance activities across key oil terminals is likely to support the “black gold’ sector in the coming quarters. More robust growth recovery is also expected to embolden the monetary authorities to fast-track the normalization of rates in the latter parts of the year.

Nigeria Recovers Slowly as Q1 Real GDP Rises by 0.51%

Cowry Research
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Nigeria Recovers Slowly as Q1 Real GDP Rises by 0.51%

In the first quarter of 2021, Nigeria printed a year-on-year (y-o-y) real output growth rate of 0.51% to N16.83 trillion (or USD112.24 billion) as it further recovered from last year’s recession, albeit slowly.

So far, we have seen FG significantly ease lockdown measures as households and businesses were allowed to resume economic activities, but not fully.

Although the country’s recovery rate from recession appeared rather slow, the several billions of Naira in economic stimulus packages provided by the monetary and fiscal authorities to help households and businesses cope with the effects of COVID-19 supported the fragile economic recovery.

Specifically, the fragile growth was propelled essentially by a 0.79% growth in the non-oil sector; with the Information & Communication, Manufacturing and Agricultural sectors recording the biggest growth rates of 6.47%, 3.40% and 2.28% respectively.

In the oil & gas sector, however, we saw a 2.21% y-o-y decline in real output to N1.56 trillion (or USD10.40 billion) as average daily oil production fell quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) by 16.91% to 1.72 million barrels per day (mbpd).

On a quarterly basis, real GDP declined by 13.93% to N16.83 trillion (or USD465.85 billion) from N19.55 trillion in Q4 2020; with the non-oil sector plummeting by 17.02% to N15.27 trillion (or USD101.84 billion).

Agriculture, Trade and Information & Communication sectors, the three largest contributors to real GDP at 52.87% (combined), plunged by 28.61%, 13.10% and 19.42% respectively.

However, the oil & gas sector growth ballooned by 35.65% to N1.56 trillion (or USD10.40 billion) as crude oil prices increased in Q1 2021.

The relatively high inflation and interest rates, as well as the worsening insecurity, would limit the potential GDP growth in 2021 – IMF’s 2021 growth forecast was 2.5%. We note that CBN may not have enough legroom to aggressively support expansionary drive given the sustained pressure on exchange rate.

Hence, we expect the MPR to be left unchanged by the MPC at its meeting on May 25, 2021.

Jaguar Land Rover Reports profits of £662 million in 2020; Revenue Up 20.5%

Brand Spur
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Jaguar Land Rover Reports profits of £662 million in 2020; Revenue Up 20.5%

18 May 2021: Jaguar Land Rover Automotive plc today reported strong underlying profitability and cash flow for the three months to 31 March 2021 (Fiscal Q4), and solid results for the full year.

The business continued to recover following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and retail sales in the fourth quarter were 123,483 vehicles, up 12.4% year-on-year. This was supported by a strong recovery in China, where sales grew 127% over Q4 last year when the impact of Covid-19 peaked in that market.

Jaguar Land Rover Retail Sales Continue To Recover In Q4 2020 With China Sales Growing Year-On-Year Brandspurng

Full-year retails of 439,588 vehicles were still down 13.6%, although sales in China increased 23.4% year-on-year. The award-winning new Land Rover Defender contributed significantly to retail sales, with 16,963 units sold in Q4 and 45,244 units for the full year.

Pre-tax profit before exceptional charges increased significantly to £534 million in Fiscal Q4 and £662 million for the full year, reversing losses in the same periods a year ago which were impacted by the start of the pandemic.

The EBIT margin improved to 7.5% in Q4 and 2.6% for the full year, up 10.7 and 2.5 points respectively year-on-year. The improving performance mainly reflects recovering volumes, and favourable mix, cost performance (including lower marketing spend) and foreign exchange.

In February 2021 the company announced its new global strategy to Reimagine the future of modern luxury by design and deliver double-digit EBIT margins by Fiscal 2025/26.

New Jaguar F-Pace SVR: Performance SUV is Faster, more Luxurious and more Refined than ever

As previously communicated, this will entail £1.5 billion of exceptional charges in the fourth quarter, including £952 million of non-cash write-downs of prior investments and £534 million of restructuring charges expected to be paid in Fiscal 2021/22.

After these exceptional charges, the company reported a pre-tax loss of £952 million for the quarter and £861 million for the full year.

Free cash flow of £729 million was generated in Q4 to achieve a positive free cash flow of £185 million, after investment spending of £2.3 billion, for the full year. Cash flow for Q2 to Q4 totalled £1.8 billion to more than offset the £1.6 billion cash outflow in Q1 when Jaguar Land Rover’s plants were closed for two months due to Covid.

We are pleased to have been able to continue to generate improved cash flow and profitability in Q4, despite the ongoing challenges of Covid-19 on both retailers and the supply chain. It was particularly satisfying to achieve a 7.5% EBIT margin in Q4 and positive cash flow for the full year. The strengthened performance reflects the success of our efforts to improve quality of sales and the cost structure of the business, as well as a focus on driving cash flow through Project Charge+.

ADRIAN MARDELL
JAGUAR LAND ROVER CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Profit and cash improvements from Charge+ in the quarter totalled over £332 million, including £155 million of cost efficiencies and a £177 million reduction in investment spending. This brings Charge+ savings to £2.5 billion in Fiscal 2020/21 and £6.0 billion since the programme was launched in September 2018, substantially exceeding the initial targets set.

Jaguar Land Rover ended the year with total cash and short-term investments of £4.8 billion, resulting in total liquidity of £6.7 billion including a £1.9 billion undrawn revolving credit facility (RCF), which runs to July 2022. Jaguar Land Rover has also completed an extension for £1.31 billion of the RCF to March 2024.

During the year, Jaguar Land Rover successfully launched its exciting new range of 21 Model Year vehicles, incorporating the very latest technologies. Twelve of the company’s models now have an electrified option, contributing to 62% of sales, including 8 plug-in hybrids, 11 mild hybrids and the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE.

The increasing Covid vaccination rates are encouraging for the ultimate recovery of the global economy and automotive industry from the effects of the pandemic. However, cases are still high in many markets while supply chain issues, in particular for semi-conductors, have become more difficult to mitigate and are now impacting production plans for Q1. The company is working closely with affected suppliers to resolve the issues and minimise the effect on customers.

For Fiscal 2021/22, Jaguar Land Rover expects sales to continue to recover. The company is still targeting an EBIT margin of at least 4.0% and break-even free cash flow after c.£2.5 billion of investment and c.£0.5 billion of restructuring costs that have already been accrued.

In my first set of full-year results as CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, I have been encouraged by the company’s resilience and strong recovery during a uniquely challenging year. Despite the pandemic, this year has also seen significant positive change culminating in February with the launch of our Reimagine strategy focused on reimagining our iconic British brands for a future of modern luxury by design.

Our strategy is ambitious and it will make us more agile, efficient and sustainable. Although it is still early days, we have made significant progress in implementing it. This has reaffirmed my confidence that we have the right strategy, the right people and the right product-plans to deliver against our targets. Jaguar Land Rover is well placed to emerge from the pandemic as a stronger and more resilient company that is able to navigate and capitalise on the opportunities ahead.

THIERRY BOLLORÉ
JAGUAR LAND ROVER CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Food security: Scaling innovation towards banana production in Rwanda

Esan Bolaji
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Food security: Scaling innovation towards banana production in Rwanda

To improve food security in banana production in Rwanda, IITA has commenced a project titled  “Multiplatform delivery of co-developed tools for national control and prevention of Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) in Rwanda: Scaling innovation for enhanced Banana production and Food Security – ICT4BXW@Scale ”.

In Rwanda, banana is the leading staple food and source of livelihoods for millions of households.  However, despite being a major food security crop in East Africa, banana production has been severely threatened by the continued spread of BXW nationally and regionally.

Food security
Rwandan farmers using digital tools to measure banana growth. | Brand Spur

BXW is a disease that causes banana plants to rot from the inside out. The disease is triggered by the bacteria Xanthomonas vasicola pv. musacearum (Xvm), formerly known as Xanthomonas campestris pv. The disease, which negatively impacts banana production in East and Central Africa, can cause up to 100% yield losses (per banana stand) if proper management strategies are not well implemented.

The first phase of the ICT4BXW project (2018‒2020) was implemented to co-develop, test, and co-validate a smartphone-based digital tool (BXW App) to monitor BXW incidence and empowerment of banana farmers to control spread in Rwanda.

Food security
Digital application tools for the surveillance and control of BXW disease in Rwanda. | Brand Spur

Farmer promoters or local extension agents were selected from eight districts (out of the 30 Rwanda districts) and engaged in a 15-month user-centred participatory process to design and test the envisioned digital tool.

Following the successful deployment of the co-developed digital tool and related knowledge products, the project has facilitated near-real-time crowdsourcing of robust surveillance data on BXW incidence, enhanced capacity of the extension support systems, and provided actionable intelligence on the Spatio-temporal dynamics of BXW.

Therefore, to broaden impact across all districts, the donor (GIZ) has approved funding to disseminate the knowledge products and tools within the next three years.

As part of its objective, the project’s second phase intends to scale up the number of village-level users, such as farmer promoters and farmers, who will utilize digital (and non-digital) platforms/tools to diagnose, report, and control BXW disease in Rwanda. The project will also facilitate strategic behavioural change and the capacity of stakeholders to sustain the adoption of innovative approaches for BXW control and prevention at the national scale.

The project team aims to disseminate agronomic information, control measures for BXW, and periodic alerts for BXW thresholds/threat level through both digital and non-digital access platforms, including infographic pamphlets, available mobile channels (interactive voice response, SMS, USSD, social media, push SMS alerts), and bi-annual reporting to engage prospective smallholder farmers and stakeholders, beyond those that can be directly reached by the project.

Explaining the overall goal, Julius Adewopo, the project manager, noted, “We envision that the scaling of digital and non-digital tools for the surveillance and control of BXW disease in Rwanda will foster equitable decision-support for banana farmers and mitigate farm-level losses of banana productivity, to promote improved/sustained livelihoods and food security.”

The project implementation will target three levels of stakeholders to develop relevant capacity for the sustainability of the projects’ innovation:

  1. Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB) entities as manager/custodians of the surveillance systems;
  2. Sector and district agronomists as enablers for the next users; and
  3. Farmer promoters as next-users who provide direct support to farmers.

This should translate into rapid delivery of BXW tools to citizens who can provide actionable data for timely intervention on BXW across diverse agroecological zones of Rwanda. A

lso, by adopting multiplatform delivery of decision-support for banana agronomy and BXW management, ICT4BXW@Scale will enable near-real-time access to information on best practices, empower farmers to detect and diagnose BXW, and promote cohesive communication to strengthen information sharing and collective action within the banana value chain.

African Yam Bean (AYB): Rehabilitating a leguminous crop with many uses

Esan Bolaji
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African Yam Bean (AYB): Rehabilitating a leguminous crop with many uses

To revitalize underutilized crops in Africa, the “Bean-preneur” team organized exploratory interviews with African Yam Bean (AYB) growers and non-AYB growers in Nigeria to identify its cultivation and utilization challenges.

They also used the opportunity to create more awareness about AYB’s economic and nutritional benefits among farmers and other stakeholders.

In the southwestern part of the country, particularly in Ekiti and Osun states, AYB attracts more patronage in terms of cultivation and consumption than other states in the region. The focus group discussion established that the cultivation of AYB in these states was still at the subsistence level with local processing for consumption.

African Yam Bean
Bean-preneur team member and Tissue Culture Specialist Dr Morufat Balogun. | Brand Spur

Ekiti farmers demonstrated this during the interview session through the displayed bean pods, shelled raw beans, and cooked AYB from their farms. The interview facilitator, Sarafat Tijani, acknowledged this, saying, “Ekiti growers are really into AYB cultivation and consumption.”

On the knowledge of AYB cultivation and processing, most farmers stated that AYB is planted as a side crop or intercropped with other crops like yam and sorghum. As a vine crop, AYB shares staking with these crops or uses them (e.g., sorghum) as stakes.

Farmers also shared their knowledge about planting AYB around April or latest May, but not delayed till June as this reduces yield obtainable from the crop.

According to the farmers, AYB flowering stage starts in November; thus, a growing cycle from April to January yields a more remarkable harvest. The long growing cycle explains the reason for farmers’ limited interest in AYB cultivation and its intercropping mode with other crops.

Besides the long growing process, cooking AYB for consumption was also reported to take so long that it has to be cooked over the night to soften. Farmers identified other uses to which AYB can be put, such as processing and grinding into a paste with pepper and onion to make bean cake and moin-moin and other food delicacies made from other beans.

The challenges notwithstanding, farmers agreed that the crop’s economic and nutritional benefits could not be over-emphasized. Its cultivation enhances soil fertility through nodulation as a leguminous crop, and it increases the yield of other crops.

However, the Project Supervisor Ademola Aina’s observation on the simultaneous production of tubers in underground and bean seeds in pods by some AYB crop varieties is yet to be confirmed by some farmers’ representatives, particularly from Oyo State.

More awareness on AYB will encourage growers to explore additional income from AYB (tuber production).

Furthermore, the respondents unanimously agreed that AYB could be regarded as a promising food crop in combating protein-energy malnutrition due to its high nutritional profile (protein from the beans and carbohydrates from its tuber). It is also a food crop with the potential to improve food security significantly.

Based on farmers’ recommendation to develop improved varieties that are early maturing and with a shortened bean-cooking time, and consequent assurance of availability of this request, the Bean-preneur team recommends more sensitization among farmers within their groups in the selected states.

Farmers’ representatives in the less AYB informed Oyo State expressed their motivation and willingness to go into the production of AYB based on the ideas shared during the interview.

Tissue Culture Specialist Morufat Balogun stated that, after identifying challenges with AYB cultivation, the project team at IITA, with collaborating partners and other interested scientists, will target breeding programs for AYB improvement. They will also establish a commercial value chain that is all-inclusive for efficient consumer satisfaction.

GIZ–GIAE and IITA target job creation and increased maize and cassava productivity in Nigeria

Esan Bolaji
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GIZ–GIAE and IITA target job creation and increased maize and cassava productivity in Nigeria

The Green Innovation Centre for the Agriculture and Food Sector Program (GIAE) – Nigeria is launching an 18-month project to boost maize and cassava production and create jobs for youth and women in the value chains.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) implements GIAE on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). IITA will be implementing the new project in four states—Kaduna and Kano for maize and Ogun and Oyo for the cassava value chain.

The project will train smallholder farmers on productivity and farm safety technologies. It will also create employment opportunities for women and youth by establishing commercial seed enterprises for retailing disease-free improved stems, marketing of Aflasafe and the Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags—a simple, cost-effective, and non-chemical agricultural storage bag.

According to the Project Manager, Godwin Atser, the grant addresses three major activity areas:

  1. integrated pest management (IPM) with a particular focus on tackling the presence of the invasive arthropod pest, Fall Army Worm (FAW);
  2. aflatoxin and food safety with a particular focus on training female maize growers, household caregivers, and other actors on food safety and pre-/post-harvest management; and
  3. building a cassava seed system where farmers will be involved in the production and sale of quality cassava stems to generate additional income.

The grant will also train farmers and extension agents in modern maize and cassava production using digital solutions on good agricultural practices (GAP), Six Steps to Cassava Weed Management and Best Planting Practices, and other IITA digital tools like the herbicide calculator, AKILIMO, Seed Tracker, and cassava e-market.

Sanne Chipeta, Head of Project, Green Innovation Center for the Agriculture and Food Sector—Nigeria, GIZ, noted that the collaboration with IITA would help improve productivity and food safety in the value chains, contributing to food and nutritional security.

In addition, the individual activities will help to create new employment and livelihood opportunities, especially for young men and women. She expressed optimism that the collaboration with IITA would add value and produce positive results in the maize and cassava value chain.

To execute the project in the target states, IITA, as well as previous projects implemented by GIZ in the target states, will leverage the knowledge generated by previous and ongoing projects such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation-funded Building an Economically Sustainable Integrated Cassava Seed System, Phase 2 (BASICS-II).

Other projects that will serve as knowledge banks include AgResults Aflasafe, African Cassava agronomy Initiative (ACAI), IFAD-Zero Hunger Project, Youth in Agribusiness Projects, TAAT Programs, and ongoing State and Federal Government-funded agricultural programs, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)-Anchor Borrowers Program, being implemented by several state governments for various value chains.

Konga Tech Week: Over 100,000 Genuine Devices On Offer At Best Prices

Esan Bolaji
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Konga Tech Week: Over 100,000 Genuine Devices On Offer At Best Prices

Over 100,000 genuine laptops, Desktops, tablets, mobile phones, printers and supplies, gaming devices and accessories are on offer at highly discounted prices as Konga Tech Week goes live today.

Konga Tech Week, the most ambitious technology devices promo in Nigeria, runs from Monday, May 24 till Monday, May 31, 2021.

The management of Konga, Nigeria’s leading composite e-Commerce company, says the devices, all sourced directly from the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) will afford individuals, students, educational institutions, corporate organizations, government establishments, bulk buyers and other Nigerians to acquire genuine tech products at the best prices unmatched anywhere else in the market.

KONGA TECH WEEK

The much-anticipated promotion will also see customers of Konga enjoy swift deliveries of their orders as part of efforts by the company to meet the huge demands expected.

A number of globally renowned tech brands have partnered with Konga for the week-long promotion. Among these are HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Apple, ASUS, Nokia, Zinox, Infinix and Tecno, among others.

Furthermore, Konga Tech Week is supported by the leading financial institution, Access Bank.

‘‘Konga Tech Week is an opportunity for all classes of shoppers including individuals and organizations to acquire genuine laptops, smartphones, tablets and other tech devices at very unbelievable prices,’’ disclosed Kenny Oriola, VP, Online at Konga.

‘‘The world has endured a lengthy scarcity of PCs occasioned by supply chain breakdowns and an unfulfilled backlog of shipping orders posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The development has seen prices rise significantly for the few available units in the market. This is one of the reasons we have put up a huge number of PCs, laptops in addition to other devices for the Konga Tech Week.

‘‘For students, educational institutions, corporate bodies, government establishments, retailers, bulk buyers or those executing contracts, the Konga Tech Week is your guide to getting the best deals and special offers for your needs.

‘‘Orders are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. So, I urge everyone to go online to www.konga.com, or any Konga store nearest to them to take advantage of this exclusive deal,’’ he concluded.

Konga Group, which has gained the trust of millions of shoppers, says it guarantees the best prices in Africa for genuine devices during the Tech Week promotion which runs from 24th – 31st of May.

FMDQ Exchange Welcomes Largest Corporate Bond – BUA Cement PLC’s ₦115.00bn Series 1 Bond

Esan Bolaji
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FMDQ Exchange Welcomes Largest Corporate Bond – BUA Cement PLC’s ₦115.00bn Series 1 Bond

In a remarkable feat that once again validates the innovative and credible capital market solutions, championed, and efficiently delivered by FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited (FMDQ Exchange), the Exchange is pleased to announce the admission of the BUA Cement PLC ₦115.00 billion Series 1 Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Bond under its ₦200.00 billion Bond Issuance Programme, for listing on its platform, as approved by the Board Listings and Markets Committee of the Exchange.

This issuance, a first by BUA Cement PLC (BUA Cement), becomes the largest corporate bond issued in the Nigerian debt capital markets (DCM). The proceeds from the issuance will be used to refinance existing debt obligations of the issuer, finance the issuer’s working capital as well as fund its Debt Service Reserve Account.

FMDQ BUA Cement Plc N100Bn Bond Issuance Now Open

BUA Cement, a publicly listed company, is the second-largest cement producer in Nigeria and the largest cement producer in the North-Western region of the country.

Speaking on the significant and successful issuance of the Bond, the Chairman, BUA Cement, Abdul Samad Rabiu, stated

“This is the largest corporate bond issue in the history of Nigeria’s DCM. In 2020, we made a strategic decision as a proudly Nigerian company to list the shares of BUA Cement. This was in line with our core strategy to continue seeking out viable investment and growth opportunities within Nigeria.

This bond issue – a first by BUA Cement, demonstrates our confidence in the Nigerian DCM as well as continued investor confidence in BUA Cement’s business model, our management team, and long-term strategy, all supported by strong credit ratings. We remain committed to unlocking opportunities within the industry for Nigeria”. 

The Chief Executive Officer, BUA Cement, Engineer Yusuf Binji, also mentioned that “the success of the bond issue underscores the strength of BUA Cement’s brand.

The transaction, being the largest corporate bond issuance in the history of Nigeria’s DCM, reiterates the strength and acceptance of BUA Cement’s brand and the trust placed by stakeholders in the Company’s strong cash generation capacity, credit profile and strategy driven by a well-experienced management team.

Diversifying and extending the duration of our funding sources with the inclusion of this Bond, at a competitive rate, will further enable us to achieve our strategic objectives and vision. We also have confidence in FMDQ Exchange, hence our decision to list the Bond on the Exchange. BUA Cement is profoundly grateful to the entire transaction parties, the bondholders and the regulators, who have made this become a reality today.” 

The Head, Debt Capital Markets, Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited – sponsor of the Bond on FMDQ Exchange and Registration Member (Listing) of the Exchange – Tokunbo Aturamu expressed his delight at the successful issuance and listing of BUA Cement’s ₦115.00 billion 7.50 % 7-year Fixed Rate Series 1 Bond.

He noted that this is the largest ever bond issued by a corporate issuer in the history of the Nigerian capital markets and thanked the investor community for their overwhelming support of the bond issue and BUA Cement, as evidenced by an over-subscription level of 38.00%.

Mr. Aturamu commended BUA Cement for embracing the DCM as a complementary source of raising financing and expressed his appreciation to the board and management of BUA Cement for the opportunity given to Stanbic IBTC Capital to act as the Lead Issuing House to the landmark bond issue. Mr. Aturamu also commended the other Issuing Houses, UCML Capital Limited and Tiddo Securities Limited, for the important role they played in the success of the bond issue. 

The admission of this Bond to FMDQ Exchange is reflective of the potential of the Nigerian DCM and the commendable level of confidence demonstrated by both issuer and investors and validates the efficient processes and integrated systems through which FMDQ Holdings PLC (FMDQ Group or FMDQ), via its subsidiaries – FMDQ Exchange, FMDQ Clear Limited (“FMDQ Clear”), FMDQ Depository Limited (“FMDQ Depository”) – has sustained its service delivery to the market and its diverse stakeholders. 

The BUA Cement Bond, like all other securities listed, quoted, and traded on the FMDQ Exchange platform, shall be availed global visibility through FMDQ Exchange’s website and systems, transparency through its inclusion in the FMDQ Daily Quotations List, governance and continuous information disclosure to protect investor interest, and credible price formation, amongst other benefits derived from its preferred admission on the FMDQ Exchange platform.

The BUA Cement Bond, also lodged on FMDQ Depository, will be availed efficient and seamless issue admittance and distribution, an accurate record-keeping platform, as well as efficient value chain linkages guaranteed by FMDQ’s vertically integrated structure (Exchange, Clearing & Depository), amongst other value-added services.

FMDQ Group is Africa’s first vertically integrated financial market infrastructure (FMI) group which provides a one-stop platform for the seamless and cost-efficient execution, risk management, clearing, settlement, depository and data and information services for the Nigerian financial market, towards making it Globally competitive, Operationally excellent, Liquid and Diverse, in line with its GOLD Agenda.

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