Airtel Africa Revenue Grew By 14.2% to $3,908m, Mobile Money Up 35.5%

Esan Bolaji
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Airtel Africa Revenue Grew By 14.2% to $3,908m, Mobile Money Up 35.5%

Airtel Africa Plc has continued strong revenue growth, increased profitability and cash flow, and continued deleveraging as indicated in the recently released financial results for the period ended 31 March 2021.

The telecommunications giant reported that revenue grew by 14.2% to $3,908m, with Q4’21 reported revenue growth of 15.4% while constant currency underlying revenue growth was 19.4%, with Q4’21 growth of 21.7%.

This was largely driven by 19.4% growth in underlying constant currency revenue, partially offset by currency devaluations, mainly in the Nigerian naira (10%), Zambian kwacha (34%) and Kenyan shilling (5.7%), in turn partially offset by appreciation in the Central African franc (7.1%).

Reported revenue benefitted from a one-time exceptional revenue of $20m relating to a settlement in Niger.

Further analysis by BRAND SPUR revealed Airtel Africa recorded growth across all regions:

  • Nigeria up 21.9%
  • East Africa up 23.5% and
  • Francophone Africa up 10%;

This is also across key services, with revenues for voice up 11.0%, data up 31.2% and mobile money up 35.5%.

Airtel Africa’s operating profit increased 24.2% to $1,119m in reported currency, and by 32.8% in constant currency.

Profit after tax, at $415m, increased by 1.8%. This was largely flat compared with the previous year a result of the prior period recognition of a one-off gain of $72m related to the expired indemnity to certain pre-IPO investors and a higher deferred tax credit of $15m and one-off derivative gain of $47m in the prior year, as well as higher tax in the current year.

Excluding the prior-year benefits from exceptional items and the one-off derivative gain, profit after tax increased 47%.

The company’s customer base grew by 6.9% to 118.2 million, with increased penetration across mobile data (customer base up 14.5%) and mobile money services (customer base up 18.5%). The recent slowdown in customer base growth has been due to new SIM registration regulations in Nigeria.

Financial highlights

  • Underlying EBITDA was $1,792m, up 18.3% in reported currency, and growing 25.2% in constant currency.
  • The underlying EBITDA margin was 46.1%, adding 181 basis points(210 basis points higher in constant currency).
  • The underlying EBITDA margin for Q4’21 was 47.7%, an increase of 389 basis points in constant currency.
  • Free cash flow was $647m, up 42.8% from the prior year.
  • Basic EPS was 9.0 cents, down 12.6%, largely due to prior year exceptional items and a one-off derivative gain. Excluding these, basic restated EPS rose 44.5%. EPS before exceptional items was 8.2 cents.
  • The Board has recommended a final dividend of 2.5 cents per share, making the total dividend for FY21 4.0 cents per share.

Raghunath Mandava, chief executive officer, on the trading update:

“In these challenging times, I want to say a huge thank you to all our employees, our business partners, and governments and regulators who have supported us, and in turn facilitated our continued support to the economies and communities we serve.

Our performance has been strong, with reported growth of 13.6% in underlying revenue and 18.3% in underlying EBITDA, and constant currency growth of 19.4% and 25.2% respectively. Contributions to this growth came across all regions, with particular improvement in Francophone Africa, and across all our major services, with mobile money, data and voice each posting double-digit revenue growth.

Airtel Africa ends H1 with 116.4m Subscribers

Our customer base also grew strongly for most of the year with new customer registration requirements in Nigeria stemming from our onboarding of new customers in the final quarter, and these restrictions were lifted in the second half of April.

In line with our strategy of unlocking value in our mobile money business, we will soon welcome two new minority investors (The Rise Fund and Mastercard) in agreed transactions which value this part of our business at $2.65bn, as well as bringing $300m into the Group. We have also agreed to sell more of our tower portfolio, yielding yet more cash for
the business.

The Covid pandemic had eased during the course of the year, however, more recently we have seen a surge in cases. So far this has had no adverse impact on the business, though we will continue to monitor the situation closely.

In these times, our purpose of transforming lives has never been more critical. It has always meant more than simply providing mobile and financial services; it is about our drive to create a sustainable future. To that end, this year the leadership team has worked to create our sustainability framework, outlining the role we can play and the focus areas where we can make the biggest difference for each of our business, our people, our community, and our environment.

We will report back with our goals later this year and deliver our first sustainability report in 2022.

The combination of bringing connectivity to underpenetrated mobile markets and improving financial inclusion through banking the unbanked, across our territories of operation, together provide us with a sizeable runway of sustainable profitable growth potential, and one we remain very confident of delivering.”

Niger Insurance Reveals Reason for Delay in Filing Q1 2021 Results

Esan Bolaji
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0
Niger Insurance Reveals Reason for Delay in Filing Q1 2021 Results

The Board of Directors and Management of Niger Insurance Plc hereby inform their esteemed Shareholders and other Stakeholders of the delay in the submission of the Company’s Unaudited Financial Statements for the first quarter ended 31st March 2021 (Q1 2021).

Brand Spur team learnt that the unintended delay in the submission of the Account resulted from the inadvertent delay in concluding the Audited Financial Statements of the Company and obtaining approval from NAICOM.

Niger Insurance

Niger Insurance Plc is optimistic that the Audited Financial Statements will soon be submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Limited once approved by the Board and NAICOM and this will enable the Company to file the Q1 2021 accounts.

The Board and Management expressed their sincere apologies for any inconvenience that this delay might have caused its Stakeholders.

Jumia’s Sales & Advertising Expense Dipped By 9% to €8.1M in Q1 2020

Esan Bolaji
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Jumia’s Sales & Advertising Expense Dipped By 9% to €8.1M in Q1 2020

Jumia, the e-commerce company, recorded a drop in its Sales & Advertising expense by 9% from €8.9 million in the first quarter of 2020 to €8.1 million in the first quarter of 2021.

This drove marketing efficiencies with Sales & Advertising expense per Order decreasing by 12%, from €1.4 per Order in the first quarter of 2020 to €1.2 in the first quarter of 2021. This was a result of continued programmatic marketing improvements with better targeted and more engaging campaigns across social media and search engines.

According to the report, Jumia’s gross profit increased by 11% to €20.4 million in the first quarter of 2021 from €18.4 million in the first quarter of 2020 as a result of the increase in Marketplace revenue. On a constant currency basis, Gross profit in the first quarter of 2021 increased by 21% year-over-year.

Further analysis by Brand Spur revealed that operating loss was €33.7 million in the first quarter of 2021 while Adjusted EBITDA loss was €27.0 million, decreasing by 23% and 24% on a year-over-year basis respectively, demonstrating meaningful progress on our path to profitability.

Marketing & Advertising revenue increased by 36% as a result of the robust take-up by advertisers, both Jumia sellers and third parties, of Jumia Advertising solutions as we continue to improve the relevance and user experience of our ad solutions.

General and Administrative Expense

General & Administrative expense, excluding SBC, reached €20.3 million, down 17% on a year-over-year basis. This decrease was attributable to staff costs savings as a result of the portfolio optimization and headcount rationalization initiatives launched in the first quarter of 2020, alongside a decrease in professional fees, including legal expenses.

At the end of March 31, 2021, Jumia had €485.6 million of cash on its balance sheet. This includes approximately €205 million of the total gross proceeds from the offering completed on March 30, 2021, with a remaining €88 million of cash booked in April 2021.

JumiaPay KPIs

Total Payment Volume (TPV) increased by 21% from €35.5 million in the first quarter of 2020 to €42.9 million in the first quarter of 2021. On a constant currency basis, TPV increased by 35% year-over-year. On-platform penetration of JumiaPay as a percentage of GMV increased to 26.0% in the first quarter of 2021 from 18.7% in the first quarter of 2020.

JumiaPay Transactions increased by 7% from 2.3 million in the first quarter of 2020 to 2.4 million in the first quarter of 2021, with JumiaPay Transactions above €10, which include prepaid purchases on the Jumia physical goods marketplace and Jumia Food platforms, growing by 30% over the same period.

JumiaPay Transactions below €10 which mostly consist of transactions on the JumiaPay app, declined by 3% over this period. This trend was concentrated in the airtime recharge category as a result of reduced consumer incentives within this category which has historically been promotionally intensive.

Overall, 36.7% of Orders placed on the Jumia platform in the first quarter of 2021 were completed using JumiaPay, compared to 35.5% in the first quarter of 2020.

Jumia: Gross Profit increased by 11% €20.4 million in Q1 2021

Esan Bolaji
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0
Jumia: Gross Profit increased by 11% €20.4 million in Q1 2021

Lagos, May 11, 2021 – Jumia Technologies AG (Jumia) announced today its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021.

Results highlights for the first quarter of 2021

  • Gross profit increased by 11% year-over-year
  • Gross Profit after Fulfillment expense was up 149% year-over-year
  • Adjusted EBITDA loss decreased by 24% year-over-year

Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec, Co-Chief Executive Officers of Jumia commented,

“Our first-quarter results reflect solid progress towards profitability. The drivers remain consistent: selective and disciplined usage growth, gradual monetization and continued cost discipline. The first quarter of 2021 was the sixth consecutive quarter of positive gross profit after fulfilment expense, which reached €6.2 million, more than doubling year-over-year, while Adjusted EBITDA loss contracted by 24% year-over-year, reaching €27.0  million”

“Our strategy to increase our exposure to everyday product categories continues to yield positive results,  enhancing the relevance of our marketplace for consumers. We are making further inroads in payment and fintech with 37% of Orders in the first quarter of 2021 completed using JumiaPay.

Last but not least, we have raised over $570 million over the past six months, strengthening our balance sheet and increasing our strategic flexibility. We are confident we have all the right ingredients to continue to build a growing business across both  our e-commerce and fintech activities.”

SELECTED OPERATIONAL KPIs – Marketplace KPIs

  • Annual Active Consumers reached 6.9 million in the first quarter of 2021, up 7% year-over-year, as we continued to acquire new consumers and engage existing ones.
  • Orders reached 6.6 million, up 3% year-over-year, a reversal of the declining trend observed over the prior 2 quarters. The fastest-growing categories in terms of volumes continue to be the everyday product categories such as beauty, food delivery and fashion while we continued to see volume declines in electronics albeit with a modest recovery observed in the phone category.
  • GMV was €165.0 million, down 13% on a year-over-year basis and 5% on a constant currency basis. Key drivers of GMV performance this quarter included:
    • FX headwinds as a result of local currency depreciation against the Euro over the past year, with the Nigerian Naira, Egyptian Pound and Kenyan Shilling declining by 15%, 9% and 19% respectively against the Euro in the first quarter of 2021, year-over-year. On a constant currency basis, GMV was down 5% on a year-over-year basis.
    • Continued GMV mix shift towards lower ticket-size, every-day product categories with phones and electronics accounting for 37% of GMV compared to 45% in the first quarter of 2020, driving a decline in average order value of 16% from €29.5 in the first quarter of 2020 to €24.9 in the first quarter 2021. This is consistent with the business mix rebalancing strategy initiated in 2020 as part of which we sought to increase our focus on everyday product categories to drive consumer adoption and usage while reducing our reliance on phones and electronics.
  • The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continued playing out in the first quarter of 2021 with selected countries reinstating some movement restrictions such as Morocco tightening their curfews measures or Kenya imposing localized lockdowns late March. These measures did not lead to meaningful changes in consumer behavior but instead created supply and logistics disruption, especially for our food delivery business where dinner deliveries were affected by curfews in these countries.

The development of the pandemic remains a fluid situation and we expect it to drive continued operating environment uncertainty. We also expect the economic challenges induced by the pandemic to negatively impact consumer sentiment and spending power.

JumiaPay KPIs

  • Total Payment Volume (TPV) increased by 21% from €35.5 million in the first quarter of 2020 to €42.9 million in the first quarter of 2021. On a constant currency basis, TPV increased by 35% year-over-year. On-platform penetration of JumiaPay as a percentage of GMV increased to 26.0% in the first quarter of 2021 from 18.7% in the first quarter of 2020.
  • JumiaPay Transactions increased by 7% from 2.3 million in the first quarter of 2020 to 2.4 million in the first quarter of 2021, with JumiaPay Transactions above €10, which include prepaid purchases on the Jumia physical goods marketplace and Jumia Food platforms, growing by 30% over the same period. JumiaPay Transactions below €10 which mostly consist of transactions on the JumiaPay app, declined by 3% over this period. This trend was concentrated in the airtime recharge category as a result of reduced consumer incentives within this category which has historically been promotionally intensive.

Overall, 36.7% of Orders placed on the Jumia platform in the first quarter of 2021 were completed using JumiaPay, compared to 35.5% in the first quarter of 2020.

SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Revenue

  • First Party revenue decreased by 35% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020. This was in line with our strategy to undertake fewer sales on a first-party basis as we focus on running an asset-light marketplace model where third-party sellers offer consumers an expanding range of products and services. Shifts in the mix between first-party and marketplace activities trigger substantial variations in our Revenue as we record the full sales price net of returns as First Party revenue and only commissions and fees in the case of Marketplace revenue. Accordingly, we steer our operations not on the basis of our total revenue, but rather on the basis of Gross profit, as changes between third-party and first-party sales are largely eliminated at the Gross profit level.
  • Marketplace revenue reached €20.2 million in the first quarter of 2021, up 6% compared to the first quarter of 2020. This was mostly driven by increases in Commissions, Fulfillment and Marketing & Advertising revenue streams, which increased by 9%, 11% and 36% year-over-year respectively.
  • Commissions grew by 9% largely due to an increase in the share of higher commission rate categories including fashion, beauty or food delivery.
  • Fulfilment revenue increased by 11% largely as a result of pricing changes within our cross-border logistics which were initiated in the second half of 2020. As part of these changes, part of the international shipping fees that were previously charged to sellers was instead passed on to consumers. This change resulted in some of our international logistics revenue being recorded as Fulfillment revenue instead of revenue from Value Added Services.
  • Value-Added Services decreased by 13% as a result of the aforementioned pricing changes in our cross-border logistics pricing.
  • Marketing & Advertising revenue increased by 36% as a result of the robust take-up by advertisers, both Jumia sellers and third parties, of Jumia Advertising solutions as we continue to improve the relevance and user experience of our ad solutions.

Gross Profit

Gross profit increased by 11% to €20.4 million in the first quarter of 2021 from €18.4 million in the first quarter of 2020 as a result of the increase in Marketplace revenue. On a constant currency basis, Gross profit in the first quarter of 2021 increased by 21% year-over-year.

Fulfilment Expense

  • Fulfilment expense decreased by 11% in the first quarter of 2021 on a year-over-year basis. This was mostly a result of fulfilment staff costs savings as well the change in our delivery pricing model from cost per package to cost per stop which was implemented starting from the second quarter of 2020.
  • During the first quarter of 2021, Gross profit after Fulfillment expense reached €6.2 million compared to €2.5 million in the first quarter of 2020, demonstrating continued unit economics improvement as we drive usage on our platform.
  • Lastly, we are able to pass on an increasing proportion of our Fulfillment expense to the combination of consumers and sellers via our Fulfillment and Value Added Services revenue streams respectively. The pass-through of our Fulfillment expense, measured as the ratio of the sum of Fulfillment and Value Added Services revenue over Fulfillment expense, increased from 69% in the first quarter of 2020 to 78% in the first quarter of 2021.

Sales & Advertising Expense

  • Sales & Advertising expense decreased by 9% from €8.9 million in the first quarter of 2020 to €8.1 million in the first quarter of 2021. This drove marketing efficiencies with Sales & Advertising expense per Order decreasing by 12%, from €1.4 per Order in the first quarter of 2020 to €1.2 in the first quarter of 2021. This was a result of continued programmatic marketing improvements with better targeted and more engaging campaigns across social media and search engines.

General and Administrative Expense

General & Administrative expense, excluding SBC, reached €20.3 million, down 17% on a year-over-year basis. This decrease was attributable to staff costs savings as a result of the portfolio optimization and headcount rationalization initiatives launched in the first quarter of 2020, alongside a decrease in professional fees, including legal expenses.

Operating loss

Operating loss was €33.7 million in the first quarter of 2021 while Adjusted EBITDA loss was €27.0 million, decreasing by 23% and 24% on a year-over-year basis respectively, demonstrating meaningful progress on our path to profitability.

The depreciation of a number of local currencies against the Euro provided some support to costs – on a constant currency basis, operating loss and adjusted EBITDA loss decreased by 19% and 20% on a year-over-year basis respectively.

Cash Position

At the end of March 31, 2021, we had €485.6 million of cash on our balance sheet. This includes approximately €205 million of the total gross proceeds from the offering completed on March 30, 2021, with a remaining €88 million of cash booked in April 2021.

Unilever Nigeria Holds 96th AGM, Declares N62bn Turnover in 2020

Esan Bolaji
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Unilever Nigeria Holds 96th AGM, Declares N62bn Turnover in 2020

Leading consumer goods producer, Unilever Nigeria Plc has declared a turnover of N62 billion for the financial year ended December 2020, even as the Board assured shareholders of their commitment to good corporate governance to drive sustainability and efficiency across the Company’s operations.

Addressing shareholders at the 96th Annual General Meeting of the Company, the Chairman of the Board, His Royal Majesty, Nnaemeka Achebe commended the shareholders for their trust and loyalty to the Company despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in the year under review. He added that the Company will remain strategic in its approach to attaining sustainable growth and profitability.

Unilever Nigeria

According to the Company’s financial report, there was a 2.4 percent year-on-year increase in revenue from N60.8 billion to N62 billion in the year under review. The increase was driven by 7.3 percent year-on-year growth in its food products, which was slightly offset by a 3 percent revenue drop in the home and personal care segments. These results reflect a challenging operating environment.

Speaking on the results, The Chairman, Board of Directors, Nnaemeka Achebe, stated that even though 2020 was a year of significant disruptions and volatilities impacting the operating environment, Unilever Nigeria continues to build its resilience to navigate the impact of headwinds.

Achebe added that the company remains focused on its strategy to deliver sustainable growth both in the medium and long-term riding on the pillars of operational efficiency, cost optimization, purposeful brands and increasing market share across key categories.

“We continue to monitor the business environment and respond appropriately to volatilities in the operating environment as well as disruptions from the Covid-19 pandemic.” He said.

In compliance with the Federal and State government directives on social distancing as part of measures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, this year’s AGM was hybrid with most of the shareholders joining virtually.

Does Fintech Need The Nigerian Financial Markets?

Brand Spur
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Does Fintech Need The Nigerian Financial Markets?

: By Emeka Ngene, Head of Advisory, DLM Capital Group.

The relationship between the Fintech Industry and the Financial Markets is a symbiotic one in that they both stand to gain tremendously from each other.

Fintechs in Nigeria primarily need capital markets for capital mobility. However, most of the Fintechs in Nigeria are startups, and the capital markets generally favors investing in already established companies that have a performance history and proof of concept.

The Capital Markets as it is currently will require some rescoping that will grant access to companies that have proof of concept so that even without a deep enough performance history, the Capital Markets can invest in them to help them scale up, both through early-stage private placement debt or equity.

According to a 2020 West African Startup Decade report published by Techpoint Africa, Nigerian start-ups received 86.3% of over $1.8 billion venture funds that were contributed to “West African Millionaire Start-ups” within 2010 and 2019. In addition, according to the 2020 ‘Africa Tech Venture Capital Report’, Nigeria remains the number one hub for venture capital investment in Africa as Nigerian start-ups raised a total of $307 million in 2020.

Does Fintech Need The Nigerian Financial Markets?-Brand Spur Nigeria
Emeka Ngene-Brand Spur Nigeria

Fintechs in Nigeria has not considered raising money from the capital markets to be a popular option due to the perceived difficulties in managing a public company and the stringent reporting requirements. As a result, raising equity through Venture Capitalists has been a more favoured option for Fintech start-ups.

For the fintech boom in Nigeria to realize its full potential, several barriers must be overcome in the way that Fintechs relate to investment banks and the Capital Market’s ecosystem. Although cases, where the Capital Markets provides funding to Fintechs, is currently on the rise albeit in the private markets, regulatory issues continue to cause bottlenecks.

Fintechs should be able to raise capital by inviting long-term investments, trading equity-backed securities, government bonds and other financial assets available on the capital market. Inasmuch as these regulations cannot be totally disregarded, regulations in terms of Fintech should become a regulation of the activities, not the institutions themselves.

On the other hand, Fintech has a huge potential to transform the Capital Markets and effectively build a digital economy. In fact, the Capital Markets will eventually become a fintech considering that it is only a matter of time before its systems become fully digitalized, hence allowing the average man with the right kind of training to be their own stockbroker without the strict market infrastructures in place currently.

This will enable it to break the barriers between the local and international markets. Fintech’s involvement in the Capital Markets is a land of opportunities waiting to be explored. It can build capabilities that will fill the existing gaps in the back-end processes, develop trading technologies, build stronger organizations and enhance regulatory compliance. The capital markets of today are faced with a glaring decision to make- either to embrace radical innovation or slowly watch themselves become irrelevant.

The Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Lamido Yuguda, in a press statement published by Premium Times on the 5th of November 2020, informed the public that measures are being put in place for the capital markets to be further strengthened by incorporating financial technology. He made the announcement when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Capital Markets to defend the SEC’s 2021 budget.

He said “We are implementing the Fintech road map. We are also contextualizing the regulatory independent framework to board the technology into the capital market. We have just released draft rules for crowdfunding in our regulation and very soon we will be releasing these rules to the public.”

This will also further augment the SEC’s efforts towards preparing a roadmap on the future of Fintechs and their access to raising capital from the Nigerian Financial Markets. With the release of the new regulations in January 2021, the SEC has provided a framework around which crowdfunding issuances can be done while maintaining a transparent process and providing accountability to investors.

DLM Capital Group has been engaged with some Fintech companies and is currently starting its foray into the digital banking space with its acquisition of Links Microfinance Bank.

Metro Africa Xpress (“MAX” or “MAX.ng”), a Fintech start-up and the leading mobility platform in Nigeria and West Africa, partnered with DLM Capital Group to raise its first-ever bond issuance ₦400m 1-year fixed-rate notes (the “₦400m Series 1 Bond” or the “Bond”) under its newly structured ₦10bn/$22m Private Company Bond program. This was the first bond issued by a mobility company in Africa.

Fintechs in Nigeria are currently blazing through with brilliant innovations that have brought them international acclaim, with companies like Flutterwave becoming a unicorn in the fintech sector; the second unicorn in Africa, and even collaborating with Bankly, another Fintech startup, to bring the country’s unbanked consumers online.

By all indications, the relationship between Fintechs and the Capital Markets should naturally be one of collaboration so that Fintechs can evolve into becoming collaborative suppliers of technologies, rather than merely being perceived as disruptors.

 

AppZone New HQ: The Hub For Africa’s Brightest Talent In Tech

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AppZone New HQ: The Hub For Africa’s Brightest Talent In Tech

AppZone Group, the leading fintech company in Sub Saharan Africa recently launched its ultra-modern headquarters in Lekki, Lagos, Nigeria.

The launch of the new AppZone office follows a decade of stealth operations, as the company has diligently congregated some of Africa’s best and brightest talents to build the de facto operating system for the continent’s banking and financial services industry.

The launch of the new headquarters exemplifies AppZone’s understanding of the need to ensure that home-grown talents are genuinely empowered and valued.

AppZone New HQ: The Hub For Africa’s Brightest Talent In Tech -Brand Spur Nigeria
AppZone New HQ: The Hub For Africa’s Brightest Talent In Tech -Brand Spur Nigeria

The contemporary space, which sits on two floors with sprawling views of the upscale Admiralty Way, boasts features and facilities that rival the best tech offices found anywhere else around the world.

The AppZone team has built a robust digital financial ecosystem that streamlines banking, payment, and commerce processes for some of Africa’s highly respected banking and financial services institutions.

With the launch of the new office space, AppZone’s talent, which includes over 170 highly skilled individuals, will continue working towards achieving the organization’s bold and ambitious goals to digitize and fully automate the banking and payments industries across Africa.

AppZone New HQ: The Hub For Africa’s Brightest Talent In Tech -Brand Spur Nigeria
AppZone New HQ: The Hub For Africa’s Brightest Talent In Tech -Brand Spur Nigeria

The launch of AppZone new headquarters follows the successful Series A funding round, which saw the company raise 10 million dollars- to hire more premium talent and build more technology and scale operations across the continent.

It’s also in furtherance of AppZone’s belief in maximizing local talent by rewarding and creating wealth whilst building and managing Africa’s singular Financial Operating System.

AppZone New HQ: The Hub For Africa’s Brightest Talent In Tech -Brand Spur Nigeria
AppZone New HQ: The Hub For Africa’s Brightest Talent In Tech -Brand Spur Nigeria

Founded in 2008, AppZone processes over $2 billion in transactions annually, serving 18 commercial banks and over 450 microfinance institutions across the continent.

As they expand, we can expect to see these numbers steadily increase and anticipate the firm’s bright future- putting Africa at the forefront of the global financial technology map.

 

 

How Consumers React To The Rising Costs Of Food Using Mathematical Methods

Anifat Ibrahim
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How Consumers React To The Rising Costs Of Food Using Mathematical Methods

If you recently went grocery shopping in Nigeria, you will be amazed at how expensive things are. When you hear the new prices of commodities, you are first in shock, hoping it is a joke or a bad dream.

Unfortunately, the rise in food prices is a sad reality we all must deal with.

Families react to these price changes in interesting mathematical ways. Initially, people resort to the substitution method of problem-solving. They seek out alternatives.

If beef is expensive, they buy chicken; and when chicken is expensive, they buy fish. Then when the prices of these foods rise further, they use the elimination method.

This is when certain foods disappear from the breakfast or dinner table. For instance, butter, milk, and eggs may disappear from the breakfast table. In other words, people redefine what is necessary and what is “nice to have”.

Sometimes, it is impossible for families to use the elimination or substitution strategies as coping mechanisms for the rising costs of food especially for staple foods like rice, beans, and bread.

In this case, they continue to buy these foods but reduce the quantity they buy, reduce the portion they consume, and reduce the number of meals they have per day.

African Excellence Awards: Playfre Wins Best Music Streaming Platform

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African Excellence Awards: Playfre Wins Best Music Streaming Platform
Nigerian-based music streaming giant Playfre (pronounced Play free) who recently launched on May 1, 2019, wins the best music streaming platform in West Africa at the just concluded African Excellence Award hosted by MEA Markets.
“The recent months have undoubtedly brought about significant challenges for many industries across Africa, and therefore [We are] delighted to be the bearer of good news following Playfre’s 2021 nomination,” said Kaven Oscar Cooper, Awards Executive at MEA Markets.
“Over the past couple of weeks, our judging team have assessed the shortlist for MEA Markets’ African Excellence Awards. It is with absolute pleasure to confirm that Playfre has been successful, and has been awarded: Best Music Streaming Platform – West Africa” Cooper continued.
“We are delighted to be recognized in this way and it is such an honor and privilege to be bestowed with such a prestigious award,” says Chika Nwaogu, CEO of Playfre Music Group.
Available in 54 African countries and with operations in both Kenya and Nigeria, Playfre is an African music streaming platform that was launched on 1 May 2019. Since its inception, Playfre has amassed over 70,000 registered users and over 100,000,000 streams.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation Opens Call For Mentors

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The Tony Elumelu Foundation Opens Call For Mentors

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the leading philanthropy empowering African entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries, is calling on exceptional individuals with a minimum of five years of business or professional experience to apply here for a chance to mentor young Africans through its US$100M TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.

This call-to-action feeds into the Foundation’s mission to empower a new generation of African entrepreneurs, catalyse economic growth, drive poverty eradication and ensure job creation across all 54 African countries.

Programme mentors are volunteers who meet set criteria and are willing to commit to mentoring assigned entrepreneurs for 2 hours monthly, over a 12-month period. Mentors are assigned to no more than 3 mentees in a task-based learning forum and are rewarded with certificates of achievements and value-add opportunities.

Following review and acceptance of mentorship application, access to the mentorship and learning platform will be given and administrative matching will occur between mentees and mentors to ensure appropriate pairing that keys into the business interests of mentees.

To apply to be a mentor, the individual is required to speak either English, French, Portuguese or Arabic fluently, possess quality interpersonal and listening skills, be entrepreneurial and business savvy, committed to own learning, and passionate about developing others.

According to the Director of Operations of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Titi Akinola, “We believe that African entrepreneurs deserve tailored guidance, especially in the early stages of their businesses to bridge skills gaps and activate personal and professional development that will enable them scale. Mentorship is a cornerstone of an entrepreneur’s journey, and augments existing technical and financial support that the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme offers.”

Launched in 2010, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has trained, mentored and funded over 9,000 entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries, and created a digital ecosystem, TEFConnect, which supports over one million young Africans across the world.

Prospective mentors are encouraged to apply here before the deadline of May 21, 2021.

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