In preparation for the upcoming Ecobank Agribusiness Summit on “Digitizing the Agricultural value chain for unlocking productivity, growth and food security”, a six-member delegation from Ecobank Nigeria and Vanguard Media, publishers of Vanguard, paid a visit to IITAto formally introduce the group and seek collaboration opportunities on potential strategic initiatives.
The team led by Oguntoyinbo Mojisola, Executive Head, Public Sector and Agribusiness, Ecobank Nigeria was received by Kenton Dashiell, Deputy Director-General, Partnerships for Delivery, who gave an overview of IITA’s activities and achievements over the past 53 years while highlighting the importance of partnership with organizations that seek to improve agriculture.
“IITA’s mission is to transform African agriculture, and we can achieve this through partnerships. One major partner that would play a major role is the media as accurate, truthful, and honest information can be disseminated through the media,” Dashiell said.
According to Jude Ndu, Director, The Economic Forum Series®, Vanguard Conferences/Enterprise Solutions, the purpose of the visit was to officially invite a keynote speaker from IITA for the Ecobank Agribusiness Summit. “We would like to feature IITA in the upcoming Agribusiness summit. Beyond that, we would like to explore the opportunity to deepen our relationship with IITA,” he said.
Olusola Christopher, Regional Head, Southwest/Midwest, Ecobank Nigeria, stated that there are commonalities in the vision of IITA and Ecobank in transforming lives in Africa. “Ecobank is strategically placed to partner with IITA to achieve the vision that both institutions represent as we empower the continent economically and integrate the continent financially,” he said.
The summit, which is the second series, will bring together key players in the agricultural value chain to examine technology’s role in improving productivity and enhancing and empowering small-scale farmers.
A tour of the facility, which included the IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA) and Business Incubation Platform (BIP), was conducted to showcase IITA’s program in transforming agriculture in Africa.
Shareholders of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc, at the weekend unanimously endorsed the payment of a total dividend of N3.00 per share to shareholders for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2020.
This endorsement was made on Friday, April 9th, 2021, at the Bank’s 31st Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos. The bank had proposed a final dividend of N2.70 per unit of ordinary share held by shareholders in addition to the interim dividend of 30k interim dividend earlier paid in June 2020.
GTBankaccording to the results presented to and applauded by shareholders at the AGM, recorded an increase in all performance indicators despite the challenging operating environment that prevailed in 2020.
L-R: Managing Director/CEO, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje; Chairman, Mrs. Osaretin Demuren and Company Secretary, Mr. Erhi Obebeduo at the bank’s 31st Annual General Meeting held at the weekend in Lagos. | Brand Spur Nigeria
Speaking at the meeting, a shareholder, Mr. Tunji Bamidele, commended the bank’s board and management for sustaining profit and dividend payment in spite of the harsh and challenging economy experienced in the year 2020 as a result of the pandemic that challenged the world.
Applauding the Managing Director’s leadership acumen and dexterity, Bamidele noted that the MD/CEO’s steering of the bank in the past 10 years has been a blessing to shareholders and the bank’s well-meaning stakeholders.
In his comments, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Segun Agbaje, noted that the year 2020 was arguably the most challenging year that the world has faced in decades and that in such unprecedented times, the bank has been at the forefront of safeguarding lives and livelihood across the communities where it operates.
“We continue to receive positive and goodwill messages for the role we played at the height of the pandemic; especially for putting together very timely, a 110-bed Isolation Centre, with an intensive care unit, in partnership with the Lagos State Government,” he said, citing the Bank’s Excellence in Leadership in Africa Award which was specially created by the renowned Euromoney Magazine to spotlight private institutions at the forefront of tackling the pandemic.
Mr Agbaje also spoke about GTBank’s solid performance in a very challenging year and his confidence in the organization’s ability to keep delivering for all its stakeholders.
His words,
“The strength, scale and liquidity of our balance sheet, coupled with the quality of our past decisions and the efficacy of our digital-first customer-centric strategy gave us the resilience and flexibility to navigate the economic shocks and market volatility that dominated the year.”
“Amidst the many challenges that persist, we remain ardent believers in Africa’s growth potential. Our world is increasingly digital, and we see it opening new and exciting opportunities for empowering people and uplifting our communities. With our commitment to deepening customer relationships and intense focus on delivering innovative financial solutions, we enter 2021 well-positioned”,he added.
GTBank is one of Africa’s most profitable financial institutions. In 2020, the Bank reported Profit before tax of ₦238.1billion, representing a growth of 2.8% over ₦231.7billion recorded in the corresponding year ended December 2019.
The Bank also continues to post the best metrics in the Nigerian Banking industry in terms of key Financial Ratios i.e. Post-Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) of 26.8%, Post-Tax Return on Assets (ROAA) of 4.6%, Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 21.9% and Cost to Income ratio of 38.2%.
The world’s largest cement maker, LafargeHolcim is proposing to simplify its name to Holcim Limited, reverting to the name of the dominant partner in the 2015 merger that formed the company.
This was made know in the LafargeHolcim’s agenda for the 2021 Annual General Meeting. The LafargeHolcim Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place on May 4, 2021, at 10 am CEST. Due to the ongoing exceptional circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal attendance of shareholders on-site will unfortunately not be possible.
At this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), shareholders will be asked to vote on changing the Group company name from LafargeHolcim Ltd to Holcim Ltd. As the company transforms to become the global leader in innovative and sustainable building solutions, the Board of Directors recommends simplifying its name for efficiency and impact, while building on the Group’s legacy.
LafargeHolcim Successfully Closes Firestone Building Products Acquisition-Brand Spur Nigeria
This name change concerns only the Group company name. All market brands will remain in existence, as the drivers of the company’s market success, building value and trust for its customers and partners around the world.
LafargeHolcim has also proposed Olsen’s successor Jan Jenisch as a member of the board of directors in addition to his CEO role, an unusual move for a Swiss company where executives do not usually sit on supervisory boards.
Xiaomi announced its updated mid-range level smartphones this evening at Radisson Blue Ikeja GRA. The brand introduced the Redmi Note 10 series, which consists of four models: the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10, Redmi Note 10S, Redmi Note 10 5G and the Redmi Note 10 Pro.
Here’s a handy little table so you can quickly identify which phone is a better fit for your needs, but bear in mind that Nigeria only launched the Redmi Note 10 and Redmi Note 10 Pro officially (the first two phones in the table).
As the Goldilocks model of the series, the Redmi Note 10 represents the ideal mobile experience Xiaomi hopes to bring to the masses.
The phone has a 6.43-inch AMOLED DotDisplay. The display offers FHD+ resolution, with a 20:9 aspect ratio, and dual speakers. Inside is an entry-level Qualcomm Snapdragon 678 chipset (a 2021 release, without the performance of a Snapdragon 888).
It also packs a quad rear camera configuration led by a 48MP main lens, alongside an 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth sensor. Together with a built-in Night Mode (improved) and time-lapse features, the phone covers just about every common shooting scenario, save for optical telephoto imaging.
As an everyday driver, the phone comes with IP53 water resistance.
Other important numbers include its battery capacity (5,000mAh) and fast-charging capabilities (33W). Notably, it lacks NFC, so it’s ideal if you’re not into cashless payments beyond personal transfers or QR codes.
As the name implies, the Redmi Note 10 Pro offers everything that the regular version above already has, but more, Mr. Somoye Habeeb, the Marketing Director Xiaomi said.
For starters, it has a bigger display at 6.67-inch at the same resolution and aspect ratio but it also packs in 120Hz refresh rate and 240Hz touch sampling rate. Put together, the Pro variant would be palatable to both gamers and video-watchers, Habeeb Somoye said.
Instead of Corning Gorilla Glass 3, the Pro variant uses Gorilla Glass 5 on the front. It’s expectedly IP53 water-resistant, too.
Even the chipset comes with a slight upgrade. The Redmi Note 10 Pro’s Qualcomm Snapdragon 732G mobile platform is just half a step away from the chipset brand’s mid-range offering, but it’s still a more powerful variant next to the SD678 on the regular model.
The quad rear cameras are slightly more capable too. The main lens is a 108MP shooter instead, with 9-in-1 pixel-binning (likely a Samsung ISOCELL HM2 sensor since the sensor size and capabilities tally). There’s also an 8MP ultra-wide camera, a 5MP telemacro camera, and a 2MP depth sensor. Unlike the regular variant, the Redmi Note 10 Pro has telephoto shooting covered under its telemacro lens, Somoye said.
The 108MP shooter isn’t just there for show – the choice of the sensor allows Xiaomi to offer dual-native ISO, high dynamic range, and Night Mode 2.0 powered by RAW multi-frame algorithm for low-light use. Time-lapse video recording is available in Pro and Telemacro modes. Photo-taking frills include Photo Clones, Video Clones, Dual Video, and Long Exposure, Somoye said.
While the 33W fast-charging remains the same, the Redmi Note 10 Pro has a slightly bigger battery at 5,020mAh. Another feature is NFC, which the regular version doesn’t have.
Both Redmi Note 10 and Redmi Note 10 Pro use a USB Type-C port, are 4G/LTE devices, and have their iconic multi-purpose IR blaster. Both also have dual speakers and a 3.5mm audio port to cover your listening needs.
Nigeria pricing and availability
Redmi Note 10 comes in 6GB RAM+128GB storage at N97, 900, 4GB RAM+128GB storage at N88, 500 and 4GB RAM+64GB storage at N77,500. They can be found at Raya, Finet, Slot, and other official Xiaomi retailers in Nigeria. Users have a choice between Onyx Gray, Pebble White, and Lake Green. Sales begin on 7 April 2021.
Redmi Note 10 Pro comes in 8GB RAM+128GB storage at N135,000, 6GB+128GB storage at N126,000and4GB+64GB storage at N116,000. They are similarly found at Raya, Finet, Slot, and other official Xiaomi retailers in Nigeria. Available colours are Onyx Gray, Glacier blue, and Gradient Bronze.
With Africa’s population predicted to double by 2050, creating challenges such as high unemployment rates, low income, food insecurity, and persistent poverty, there needs to be a systemic change targeting the continent’s youth, who will make up about 60% of the overall population. IITA Director General Nteranya Sanginga highlighted some of the required systemic changes in a joint IPS News Agency op-ed with Young Africa Works Executive Manager Aline Mugisho and Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Nigeria.
“The youth, despite representing the majority of the population, still feel marginalized from the economic mainstream,” reads the op-ed. The authors note that market demands and limited opportunities suffocate youth expectations.
The IITA Youth Agripreneurs introduced many young people to agribusiness possibilities. | Brand Spur Nigeria
They recommend a system-wide change that is youth-friendly at all levels, potentially creating a niche market catering for graduates, early-career takers, and to some extent, non-school educated youth that remain vulnerable to political manipulation. Realizing a sustainable development agenda can only succeed if youth are mobilized, incentivized, energized, and equipped for transformation.
In a 2015 paper on the status of youth in agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa, David Sarfo Ameyaw and Eugenie Maiga note that rapid economic growth over the past 15 years has not been “pro-poor”, occurring primarily in sectors generating relatively few employment opportunities for youth.
“The response to youth unemployment does not lie only in the creation of employment—they are also potential employers and entrepreneurs. As a result, growth needs to be promoted in sectors that can create viable youth-friendly opportunities,” the op-ed continues. They tout agriculture as one of those sectors because of its capacity to improve economic growth, food security, and income through farming.
The opportunities in various value-chains, including value addition activities, opens the agriculture sector to multiple layers of the population in an inclusive and applicable manner. This makes agriculture key to responding to Africa’s growing population needs.
IITA is a leading proponent of the Youth-in-Agribusiness model, investing heavily to empower youth as actors in agriculture through capacity building, research, employment, and entrepreneurship. This approach creates youth employment, preparing them also to create employment themselves.
Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa contributes about 30 percent of the gross domestic product in most countries, employing over 60 percent of the working population, yet youth’s contribution to the sector remains marginal.
Successful youth participation in agriculture will depend on the sector being profitable, competitive, and dynamic. IITA promotes this new paradigm through its Youth-in-Agribusiness initiatives: the IITA Youth Agripreneurs (IYA), Empowering Novel Agri-Business-Led Employment (ENABLE)-Youth, ENABLE-TAAT (Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation), Young Africa Works-IITA Project, Youth Employment in Agribusiness and Sustainable Agriculture (YEASA), Agrihub, and Start Them Early Program (STEP). These programs have created a platform to engage young school children and unemployed or underemployed youth in agribusiness.
“IITA and partner organizations such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), Mastercard Foundation, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and Oyo State Government, believe that poverty, hunger, and malnutrition in Africa cannot be addressed without involving women and young farmers.”
The Institute will continue to implement projects that respond to youth and women’s needs and help develop effective agribusiness policies and structures to empower and inspire young people in sub-Saharan Africa to fulfill their ambitions.
In order to establish the Lagos State Government’s vision to develop domestic tourism and discover potential sites across the State, top officials of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture recently embarked on a two-day tour across the Epe and Badagry waterways corridors and identified new tourism locations.
The Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs. Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, who led the officials of the Ministry on the tour, explained that the trip was necessitated by the need to explore the waterways and make them viable and sellable assets to tourists visiting the State.
She said that while the Ministry was keen on discovering new potentials, the State Government was also determined to rebuild tourism infrastructure in the two communities in order to attract more visitors to the Slave Trade relics and other historical spots in the coastal city.
Akinbile-Yussuf averred that the present administration under Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu sees tourism as a veritable tool to enhance the economy of riverine communities in the State and also bring about needed development to them, stressing that the new tourism locations discovered in Olomo-metta and Ilase riverine communities would be nurtured and developed by the State Government.
While assuring residents of the coastal city that all abandoned tourism projects would soon be re-validated and assigned to different contractors for completion, she described the tour as an eye-opener for the Ministry, adding that the officials were able to discover new tourism potentials around the two coastal communities.
“For instance, we are looking at having a befitting jetty at Gberefu in Badagry, we have visited the place now to assess what was on the ground. The Lagos Theatres are in the two communities, Badagry and Epe, so the next step we are taking now is how to ensure we make them tourism products”, the Commissioner said.
She added that the State government would improve the infrastructure at Gberefu and ensure that the Jetty is of international standards, promising to equip the slave market at Vlekete and Heritage Museum as well.
During her visit to Epe Resort, the Commissioner said that the government will continue to provide a good atmosphere for tourism establishments to thrive, assuring that the tourism assets in the two communities would be connected to create a fun experience for tourists who visit Lagos.
While receiving the Commissioner in Badagry, the Supervisor for Tourism and Environment, Badagry Local Government, Mr. Samson Apata said the visit by the officials from the State Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture was a welcome development.
Apata disclosed that Lagos recently won some awards at the just concluded Abuja-Jabamah 2021 tourism event and commended the State Government for boosting the tourism sector, particularly in Badagry.
Other officials of the Ministry on the tour included the Permanent Secretary, Princess Adenike Adedoyin-Ajayi and the Director of Hotel and Tourism Establishments Licensing, Mr. Jobi Ibraheem among others.
The recent revelation over desperate in the selling price of cement companies in Nigeria and other parts of Africa county have shown a wide gap of unbalance in the cost unit price of its product.
A practical illustration of the sort is the Dangote Cement Group sells its product in Southern African country, Zambia, for at most 110 Kwacha which equals to about N1,800 in Nigeria, while the same product sells for not less than N3,500.
The Zambia Board of Commissioners of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission said it ordered Lafarge Zambia Plc, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited and Mpande Limestone Limited to revert to the cement prices ranging between Kwacha 99 to Kwacha 110 after there was an uproar over its recent increment.
The Board also fined Lafarge Zambia Plc and Mpande Limestone Limited 10% of their annual turnovers for the year 2019 and another 10% of their 2020 annual turnovers for price-fixing and division of markets.
The Board, however, said it was lenient with Dangote Cement Zambia Limited, for having cooperated with the Commission during investigations.
According to Zambia News, the decision to fine Lafarge Zambia Plc and Mpande Limestone Limited was made during the 49th Board of Commissioners Meeting for the Adjudication of Cases held in Lusaka on March 30, 2021.
This was after an exhaustive investigation by the Commission initiated in January 2020 following the Commission’s observation of a sustained increment of cement prices from an average of K55 to K100 per 50kg bag between July 2019 and January 2020.
The continuous price increment of cement by the parties led the Commission to suspect that there were possible collusion and an agreement to fix the prices of cement and the Commission carried out investigations for a year.
In a statement issued by CCPC Senior Public Relations Officer, Namukolo Kasumpa, the Board has also ordered Lafarge Zambia Plc, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited and Mpande Limestone Limited to revert to the pre-cartel prices ranging between USD 4.50 – USD 5 (K99 – K110) for a period of one year from the date of receipt of the Board decision pursuant to Section 59 (3) (b) of the Act.
“Additionally, that Lafarge Zambia Plc, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited, Mpande Limestone Limited submit monthly average ex-works prices and any price adjustments be indexed to the exchange rate and be submitted to the Commission for a review pursuant to Section 58 (1) of the Act,” the Board stated.
The Board has further ordered the three cement companies to develop and implement compliance programmes in their respective firms within 90 days of receiving the directive.
“Furthermore, the Board has directed Lafarge Zambia Plc, Dangote Cement Zambia Limited and Mpande Limestone to make undertakings within 90 days of receiving the directive that their respective employees should not engage in any anti-competitive behaviour and that the enterprises should not facilitate and/or participate in any anti-competitive conduct including the exchange of information,” the Board stated.
However, a check on Nigerian construction markets revealed that Dangote Cement sells for N3,500, while Lafarge sells for N3,400 – about double of what Zambians pay for the same commodity. Meanwhile, it is believed that going by this trend, there’s a need for something urgent to be done by the government to curtail the continuous increasing price of these products for the seek of Nigerian populace through federal Govt Master Plan for Low-income affordable housing policy. project.
In the just concluded week, Naira strengthened against the USD at the Investors & Exporters (I&E) window by 0.07% to close at N409.00/USD. However, Naira depreciated against the greenback at the Bureau De Change market by 0.42% to close at N480.00/USD.
Afolabi Sotunde Illustration Naira
Meanwhile, NGN/USD exchange rate closed flat at N380.69/USD at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market amid weekly injections of USD210 million by CBN into the forex market: USD100 million was allocated to Wholesale
Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS), USD55 million was allocated to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises and USD55 million was sold for invisible. Also, Naira was flattish against the USD at the parallel market to close at N485/USD.
Elsewhere, the Naira/USD exchange rate appreciated for all the foreign exchange forward contracts: 1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months exchange rates fell by 0.23%, 0.63%, 0.88%, 1.57% and 2.60% respectively to close at N411.88/USD, N413.32/USD, N415.27/USD, N420.53/USD and N433.85/USD. However, the spot rate remained flat at N379.00/USD.
In the new week, we expect Naira/USD to stabilise at most FX Windows as crude oil prices remain relatively high in the international market.
In the just concluded week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its April 2021 World 150 Economic Outlook (WEO) report titled “Managing Divergent Recoveries”, revised Nigeria’s economic growth rate upward, to 2.5% in 2021 from the 1.5% growth rate projection in its January 2021 WEO report.
Also, the global economy is expected to improve in 2021 – the global growth rate was pegged at 6% – amid ease in lockdown and as economies continue to adapt to new ways of working.
Photo by Cleyder Duque from Pexels
Specifically, the new improved global economic growth rate forecast in 2021, which improved by 0.8 percentage points than in the October 2020 projection, was reflective of the financial support in few large economies and the anticipated vaccine-powered recovery in the second half of 2020.
On the flip side, the IMF expects the global growth rate over the medium term to mellow to 3.3% from 4.4% in 2022 amid projected damage to supply potential and other forces that predate the pandemic, including ageing-related slower labour force growth in advanced economies and some emerging market economies.
According to the report, financial conditions in low-income countries generally did not respond as much as conditions in emerging markets did to monetary policy surprises by the Federal Reserve or ECB, or to news about US economic activity or COVID-19 vaccines.
However, it pointed to Nigeria and some other countries as exceptions.
First, positive vaccine news in 2020 lifted 10-year government bond yields, on average, in Nigeria, and the other four low- income countries (Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Vietnam).
Second, positive ECB monetary policy surprises also lifted six-month government bond yields, on average, in the three low-income countries (Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia).
Lastly, the currencies of low-income countries depreciated by about 1.2 percent, on average, vis-à-vis the US dollar for each 100 basis points of surprise tightening by the Federal Reserve, similar to the response of emerging markets.
Also, the IMF stated in its report that the increasing intervention funds received by the developing countries to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic would have consequences on their economy as the huge debt service costs arising from the interventions would hinder recipients’ capacity to address social needs. In another development, the Federal Government hinted at its plan to issue Eurobonds in 2021.
According to the Director General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha, the amount to be raised would be within the USD6.14 billion (N2.34 trillion) foreign borrowing plans for 2021.
According to the approved budget for 2021, FG is looking to fund its N5.60 trillion budget deficit from foreign and local sources.
FG may have eventually turned to the commercial centre to issue foreign bonds as the USD1.5 billion loan it seeks from the World Bank suffered setback amid concerns over reforms to exchange rate.
Going by Nigeria’s total debt stock as of FY 2020, FG appears to still be within its target of domestic to foreign debt ratio of 70 max: 30 min; albeit, the rate at which the foreign loan is growing – a 20.48% year-on-year rise to USD33.35 billion in 2020 from 27.68 billion in 2019 – is quite alarming when compared to the corresponding growth in exports proceeds despite the rise in crude oil prices at the international market in 2020.
We feel that the upward review of Nigeria’s growth rate to 2.5% may appear optimistic given the country’s associated structural challenges that are chiefly driving the inflation rate higher and subjecting the Naira to further depreciation against the greenback.
This is more so that the African oil-rich country still grapples with worsening insecurity which has continued to spread to other relatively peaceful regions. Against this background, we expect the interest rate to stay relatively high in 2021, a position that would impact the country’s growth rate negatively.
Nollywood actor, Stanley Sule who is well known as Ukwa South woke up first thing in the morning on his birthday and decided to Visit the Motherless Baby home in Johannesburg South Africa.
Items Donated includes Toiletries, Food items, cash and more. he visited the orphanage home accompany by Nollywood Thespian Chris Bassey who is a Nollywood Producer, Actor and Director.
Also in attendance was his brother, Evang Kelvin Sule, Mandala, Tv Editor Tigana. Ukwa promised to often visit the orphanage home by setting up a standard for others to Emulate.
The management of the Motherless Baby Home, thanked Ukwa South for his kind gesture and shower praises on the actor for deciding to make their place first stop on his birthday.
She also said the donation will really go a long way for the Orphanage as the Covid has really slowed down a lot of things for them.
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