MTN Nigeria Celebrates 18 Years of Remarkable Operation

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MTN Nigeria Celebrates 18 Years of Remarkable Operation

Today, August 8, 2019, is a milestone for leading information communication technology company, MTN Nigeria, as it marks 18 years of its existence in Nigeria.

Publicly listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, the company has come a long way from its heyday of offering just voice telecommunications services to revolutionising the industry and leading Nigeria’s drive to become a digital communications powerhouse.

Commenting on the anniversary, MTN Nigeria CEO, Ferdi Moolman, said the company will “continue to improve the quality of its ICT offerings, with a key focus to help Nigerians remain connected to one another for business, family, and pleasure. Also, we will continue to be a big supporter of Nigerian aspirations, through our investments in entertainment, education, technology and the sciences.”

MTN says other remarkable achievements of the past 18 years include investing over N2 trillion into the Nigerian economy and paying over N1.7 trillion in taxes, levies and other regulatory fees since incorporation in 2001, supporting social initiatives with over N18 billion through the MTN Foundation, maintaining over 90% Nigerian staff in its workforce of over 1,600, and creating employment indirectly for over 500,000 more Nigerians.

Jumia shares fall below IPO price on New York Stock Exchange

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Jumia shares fall below IPO price on New York Stock Exchange

Four months after a landmark launch on the New York Stock Exchange, e-commerce giant, Jumia’s shares has crashed below its IPO price. After launching its IPO at $14.50 per share, the mid-point of its initial share price range, Jumia’s shares reached an all-time low of $14.02 before recovering to close at $14.57 on Monday, August 5th.

By Tuesday, it continued to fall by 1.7% to $14.31.

The price dip comes after a weak run for most of July which resulted in a downward price trend and several days of consecutive losses.

The trend suggests that the stock price is unlikely to rally with more trades below its IPO launch price imminent.

That outlook contrasts sharply with Jumia’s early-day run on the New York Stock Exchange, given a strong opening fortnight amid the novelty of its listing as the first major Africa-focused tech company on the exchange.

At one point in the period, Jumia’s shares were seen trading at three times its IPO launch price. This matched predictions from investors versed in backing e-commerce companies that Jumia would be subject to high interest.

But, as the stock price trend reflects, the positive run and investor enthusiasm has proved ephemeral.

Ominously, Jumia’s share price slide first came amid claims of fraud by Citron Research, a known short stock seller.

Citron alleged fraud, citing discrepancies in Jumia’s S1 IPO filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and an earlier confidential investor presentation.

In response during its first quarterly earnings call following the IPO, Jumia stood by its prospectus and transparency.

However, the company’s operating loss widened year-on-year with the $51 million (€45.5 million) operating loss recorded in the first quarter of 2019 meaning that, Jumia had accumulated over $1 billion in losses since inception in 2012.

But the company’s stock has not been able to shake off speculation with at least two law firms issuing press releases claiming Jumia is under investigation and trying to organize class-action lawsuits. Neither Jumia nor the SEC has disclosed any investigation in this period.

One obvious way to ensure the long-term health of its stock is for Jumia to show a sustainable path to profitability.

Even though the objective of profits is unlikely to be achieved soon as Jumia maintains expensive operations across 14 different African markets, the company is taking steps towards growing its customer base to impact revenues. Last week, it launched a partnership to set up pick-up stations at Vivo Energy’s over 2,000 fuel station outlets across African countries.

The move essentially extends Jumia’s retail network beyond online-only customers by allowing customers to place and pick-up orders through physical stations.

This article appeared first on Quartz

Employment: Ekiti SUBEB Suspends Recruitment Process, Opts For Electronic Application

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Employment: Ekiti SUBEB Suspends Recruitment Process, Opts For Electronic Application

The Ekiti State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has announced a temporary suspension of the ongoing recruitment of teachers into public primary schools in the state.

This followed the huge crowd of job seekers that thronged the headquarters of the board in Ado-Ekiti on Monday. A good percentage of the applicants do not fall into the category of personnel advertised by the board.

The Chairman of the Board, Prof. Francisca Aladejana disclosed the postponement in an interview with journalists in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday, hours after the commencement of the exercise. She said the recruitment process was put on hold in order to prevent stampede among the thousands of applicants that thronged the SUBEB office to collect the application forms.

Aladejana who said that the Board is re-strategizing to make the employment forms easily accessible to applicants stated that SUBEB may opt for the use of electronic application process so that applicants can download their forms without necessarily coming to SUBEB office.
The Board chairman disclosed that no fewer than 10,000 applicants had registered their names to collect the forms in the first day of the two-day exercise; adding that the Board cannot afford to let the applicants rush and injure one another in the process of jostling for the forms.

“Before the applicants came, we had made solid arrangements for the distribution of the forms. We had 16 centres, one for each local government so that we won’t have reasons for applicants rushing to collect the forms and to forestall too much crowd, we specifically indicated that we want only NCE holders and graduates with teaching subjects in the primary school. This had gone round but to our amazement this morning, we had unprecedented crowd; the crowd was unimaginable.

“The whole place was filled up. The candidates were rushing and were out of control.  We had pregnant women, nursing mothers carrying babies and women holding young children; all of them in the crowd. It was at that stage that we thought if we start distributing forms and people are rushing, there could be a stampede. We don’t want any casualty”, she said.

Aladejana who thanked Governor Fayemi for approving that the employment forms be made available to applicants free of charge said the governor was concerned about the unimaginable crowd and had directed the Board to re-strategize to ensure that all applicants get their forms without hitches.

The SUBEB boss who said the suspension was temporary disclosed government’s intention to conclude the recruitment process by the middle of September.

She advised applicants to be on the lookout for further information from SUBEB on how applicants can get their forms and its submission.

FCMB Introduces Revamped Agro-Commodity Trade Finance Facility to Boost Agriculture

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FCMB Introduces Revamped Agro-Commodity Trade Finance Facility to Boost Agriculture

Leading financial services provider, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), has introduced an enhanced agro-commodity trade finance facility for agribusiness operators. The development marks another bold step by the Bank to expand and deepen its support to the agricultural sector, its value-chain and the overall growth of the Nigerian economy.

The revamped facility is designed for agro-commodity merchants with supply contracts to multinationals, large corporates and processors of agro-commodities. Targeted commodities are cocoa, cashew nut, sesame, ginger, palm Oil, grains (maize, sorghum, soya beans, paddy rice). Under this new FCMB trade finance facility which is structured in the form of working capital, the minimum amount that can be accessed by a qualified customer is N100 million, while the maximum is N2 billion.

Explaining the rationale behind the introduction of the facility in an enhanced form, the Divisional Head, Agribusiness of FCMB, Mr. Kudzai Gumunyu, said the Bank recognises the gap that exists in agribusiness financing as well as other challenges faced by operators, including farmers, in the sector.

According to him, ‘’we realise there are millions of agro-traders and processors across the country that need credit at convenient and affordable rates, considering the level of attraction the Agric sector has garnered. Our decision to introduce a revamped agro-commodity trade finance facility is part of our intervention in the agribusiness space to ensure agribusinesses and other stakeholders are empowered with the requisite funds and enablers to boost production and marketing of agricultural commodities. Commodity producers and traders stand to immensely benefit from this facility because it is a veritable and convenient opportunity to access funds that ensure cash flow is available for maximum output. We urge all to take advantage of this offering’’.

He assured that FCMB is focused on being a strategic partner in the Agric sector to drive the diversification of the Nigerian economy, food self-sufficiency, employment and export earnings.

Highlighting FCMB’s contributions to agribusiness, Mr. Gumunyu said the Bank had sustained the tempo of support through numerous cutting-edge initiatives through innovative products. He said FCMB in 2018, provided lines of credit that peaked at 8 per cent of the Bank’s total loan book to the Agric sector with the intention to improve on this milestone.

FCMB has consistently proved its mettle as an inclusive and impact investment lender and as an institution that accords agribusiness top priority. For instance, the Bank facilitated and guaranteed the procurement of fifty (50) tractors by the Tractor Owners and Operators Association of Nigeria (TOOAN) Ventures from the Bank of Industry. The tractors were handed over to the Association recently at Ilero town, Oyo State. In addition, FCMB is in partnership with several local and international institutions, such as CBN, BOI, DBN, FMO, International Finance Corporation, USAID, AFD and AGF to provide funding and other classes of support to the Agric sector.

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Recently, the lender signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI). The memorandum is aimed at deepening agency banking, financial inclusion and savings culture in the informal and agribusiness sectors, starting with five states, namely Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa, Ogun and Oyo. The plan is to reach 2 million farmers nationwide by the year 2023.

First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited is a member of FCMB Group Plc, which is one of the leading financial services institutions in Nigeria with subsidiaries that are market leaders in their respective segments. Having successfully transformed to a retail banking and wealth management-led group, FCMB expects to continue to distinguish itself through innovation and the delivery of exceptional services.

For more information about FCMB’s products and services, please visit www.fcmb.com

Agusto & Co. assigns a “Aa-” rating to United Bank for Africa Plc

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Agusto & Co. assigns a “Aa-” rating to United Bank for Africa Plc

The rating expires on 30 June 2020…

Nigeria’s first credit Rating Agency and a pan African leader in credit reports, Agusto & Co. limited whose strong credibility presence and ratings are globally accepted in Nigeria, and across the globe has just assigned an “Aa-” rating to United Bank for Africa Plc.

The rating assigned to United Bank for Africa Plc. (“UBA” or “the Bank”) reflects the Bank’s performance as underpinned by its good liability generation strategy and upheld by a strong brand franchise. This is in addition to a good liquidity profile, satisfactory asset quality gave the operating terrain, as well as good capitalisation for current business risks. UBA’s rating is however constrained by weaknesses in the overall macroeconomy, a comparably lower net interest spread and a high cost to income ratio, limiting competitive profitability levels vis à vis Tier 1 banking peers.

With the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recent regulation requiring deposit money banks to maintain a loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) of at least 60%, Agusto & Co. notes that as at 31 December 2018, the banking industry’s loan to deposit ratio stood at circa 63%. When we back out loans funded by borrowings from multilateral financial institutions, the Central Bank and Bank of industry, this ratio would be significantly lower. Further examining this ratio by the bank shows that most Tier 1 banks recorded LDRs below the newly introduced floor of 60%. The CBN’s target is to compel banks to increase lending to the private sector, particularly SMEs, retail, mortgage and consumer lending with a view to stimulating economic growth through increased lending to the real sector. However, with Stage 3 loans accounting for over 10% of gross loans & advances as at 31 December 2018, alongside a lingering macroeconomic lull, asset creation strategies of banks are expected to be conservative in the short-term.

FMDQ OTC transitions to a Full-fledged securities exchange following 7th AGM

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FMDQ OTC transitions to a Full-fledged securities exchange following 7th AGM

At its 7th Annual General Meeting, FMDQ shareholders took some decisions that would alter the way the company operates going forward.

FMDQ Securities Exchange Plc on Monday formally launched its new status and corporate identity as a full-fledge securities exchange with registration to trade in all securities including fixed income, equities, derivatives, commodities and foreign exchange.

Formerly known as FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, the transition of FMDQ from an over-the-counter (OTC) platform to a full-blown securities exchange represents a paradigm shift in the Nigerian capital market. It ends the unwritten mono-stock exchange policy and opens up the capital market to intense competition.

In a statement released by its management which says, “We are pleased to inform you of our Company’s transition from an OTC Market to a full-fledged Securities Exchange, having received the necessary approvals from the apex regulator of the Nigerian capital market, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or the Commission). Consequently, the erstwhile FMDQ OTC PLC, also previously known as FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, has now changed its name to FMDQ Securities Exchange PLC (FMDQ Exchange or the Exchange).”

The Exchange, following due process, has activated and operationalised two (2) wholly-owned subsidiaries – FMDQ Clear Limited (FMDQ Clear) and FMDQ Depository Limited (FMDQ Depository), positioned to provide efficient post-trade services, amongst others, for the Nigerian financial market, thus making FMDQ a one-stop Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) Group and an integrated platform to execute, clear and settle financial market transactions.

In view of the above, a new Logo has been unveiled, on August 5, 2019, for the FMDQ entities – FMDQ Exchange, FMDQ Clear and FMDQ Depository – replacing each of their individual identities. The new FMDQ Logo, whilst maintaining its vibrant colours – deep blue, depicting trust, confidence, depth and stability; bright gold, showing off passion, value, prestige, quality and prosperity; and a touch of cool grey, representing conservativeness, professionalism and sophistication, communicates FMDQ’s drive to “consistently move forward”. 

As a stakeholder of FMDQ and the Nigerian financial markets, this update is for your information. Kindly update all records accordingly. We are excited about the opportunities ahead, and with your continued collaboration, remain committed to our transformation agenda and quest to align the Nigerian financial markets with global standards and best practices.

7UP Harvard Business School Schorlarship 2019 Winner Unveiled

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7UP Harvard Business School Schorlarship 2019 Winner Unveiled

Seven-Up Bottling Company Limited (SBC) makers of Pepsi, 7Up, Teem, Mirinda, Mountain Dew, Aquafina and H2Oh! have restated its commitment to consistently invest in the Nigerian youth.

At the unveiling of Miss Anyanwu Maureen Uzoamaka as the recipient of the 7Up Harvard Business School MBA Scholarship for 2019, Managing Director of SBC, Mr. Ziad Maloof said the future of Nigeria belongs to the youths urged Uzoamaka to use the global MBA and leadership training she will acquire from Harvard Business School to make a positive impact in Nigeria.

Mr. Maloof who told his story of humble beginning in a remote village in Lebanon said his story bears similarity with that of Uzoamaka who was raised in Ikotun, a Lagos suburb. He urged her to take the opportunity of the 7UPHBS scholarship to change the story of her family and Nigeria at large”.

Giving the background to the scholarship scheme, Head of Marketing SBC, Mr. Norden Thurston said the 7UPHBS MBA Scholarship was established in 2010 when the company marked 50 years of doing business in Nigeria as an enduring legacy to create a pool of young Nigerians who have acquired global education and leadership training in Harvard University.

They are expected to use the training to make a social impact for a better Nigeria. He said SBC chose to partner with HBS because the mission statement of the school – “to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. Achieving this mission requires an environment of trust and mutual respect, free expression and inquiry, and a commitment to truth, excellence, and lifelong learning”- is in tandem with the values of SBC.

Uzoamaka, a 2014 graduate of Accountancy from the University of Lagos expressed appreciation to SBC “ for making my journey to Harvard a lot easier”. She said growing up with her sisters and parents who were struggling to keep them in school was challenging. She is passionate about providing access to functional education to millions of youths in Africa through social intervention funds from private investors and believes that the 7UPHBS MBA Scholarship will prepare her for the task. Ms. Anyanwu joins the honours roll of 7UpHBS scholars who have benefitted from the fully-funded two-year MBA programme at Harvard Business School. They include Misan Rewane (2011), Olujimi Williams (2012), Mayowa Kuyoro(2013), Oluwasola Olaniyan(2014), Bankole Makanjuola(2015), Chidozie Ibekwe(2016), Ahmed Alimi(2017) and Ulunma Izejiobi(2018).

Head of Human Resources SBC, Mrs. Yinka Olufade said the 7UpHBS Scholarship candidates are not under any obligation to work for SBC upon graduation. She said only Nigerians who have been resident in the country for a minimum of two years and who have been offered admission at Harvard Business School are eligible to apply for the competitive scholarship.

For more information, visit www.sevenup.org/hbs

Airtel Africa Announces Total Voting Rights As At July 31, 2019

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Airtel Africa Announces Total Voting Rights As At July 31, 2019

This announcement is made in accordance with the requirements of the FCA’s Disclosure and Transparency Rule 5.6.1. The Company’s total issued voting share capital as at 31 July 2019 consisted of 3,758,151,504 ordinary shares of US$0.50 each (“Shares”), each with one vote. 

The Company does not hold any shares in Treasury. Accordingly, the total number of voting rights in the Company is 3,758,151,504, which may be used by shareholders (and others with notification obligations) as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the FCA’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.

As at the date of this announcement the Company also has 50,000 non-voting redeemable deferred shares of £1.00 each and 3,081,744,577 non-voting deferred shares of US$0.50 in the issue.

Additionally, please find below the reconciliation of shares.

NSE notifies of Lifting of Suspension Placed On The Trading In The Shares of Universal Insurance Plc

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NSE notifies of Lifting of Suspension Placed On The Trading In The Shares of Universal Insurance Plc

We refer to our Market Bulletin dated 2 July 2019, with Reference Number: NSE/RD/LRD/MB34/19/07/02 wherein we notified Dealing Members of the suspension of eleven (11) listed companies for non-compliance with Rule 3.1, Rules for Filing of Accounts and Treatment of Default Filing, Rulebook of The Exchange (Issuers’ Rules) (Default Filing Rules”), which provides that: “If an Issuer fails to file the relevant accounts by the expiration of the Cure Period, The Exchange will:

(a) send to the Issuer a “Second Filing Deficiency Notification” within two (2) business days after the end of the Cure Period;

(b) suspend trading in the Issuer’s securities; and

(c) notify the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Market within twenty- four (24) hours of the suspension.”

Universal Insurance Plc, one of the eleven (11) companies that were suspended on 2 July 2019, has now filed its Audited Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2018 with The Exchange.

In view of the Company’s submission of its Audited Financial Statements, and pursuant to Rule 3.3 of the Default Filing Rules, which provides that: “The suspension of trading in the Issuer’s securities shall be lifted upon submission of the relevant accounts provided The Exchange is satisfied that the accounts comply with all applicable rules of The Exchange. The Exchange shall thereafter also announce through the medium by which the public and the SEC was initially notified of the suspension”, Dealing members are hereby notified that the suspension placed on trading on the shares of Universal Insurance Plc was lifted today, Wednesday, 7 August 2019.

Enyo, Bosch Strengthen Partnership for Automotive Parts and Services

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Enyo, Bosch Strengthen Partnership for Automotive Parts and Services

Enyo Retail and Supply, a customer-focused, technology-driven fuel retailing company, and Bosch, a global supplier of technology and services, have deepened their relationship through the signing of a partnership agreement. The agreement will entail the operation of Bosch standard centres as you have in Germany, South Africa or anywhere in the world in all Vehicon centres of Enyo throughout Nigeria.

“The partnership is in the early stage but we are now at the stage where it is clear to us that we must deepen the relationship beyond equipment purchase where we get better trained by them. It is a full gamut of services,” says Abayomi Awobokun, Enyo Chief Executive Officer.

L-R: Julien Lacoste, Regional Director, Automotive Aftermarket West and Central Africa; Abayomi Awobokun, Chief Executive Officer, Enyo Retail and Supply; Thomas Winter, President, Automotive Aftermarket, Sales and Workshop Concept & Services and Olabanjo Alimi, Corporate Development Lead, Enyo Retail and Supply at the signing of the Enyo Retail’s partnership with Bosch. www.brandspurng.com

“Bosch is number one globally. We want to be one of the best in the country so our aspirations led us to the best company in the space. The Bosch benchmark Enyo is targeting is not just about it’s quality spare parts but trained mechanics, first-class centres, great diagnostics and whatever you expect to get anywhere in the world is what we hope to deliver locally and we feel that Bosch is the best partner and teacher. You will get Bosch service quality in all our locations”, Awobokun says.

Before now, Bosch has been using the export model where local companies from Nigeria deploy their products and services in the market with plans open a full-fledged office in Nigeria with local content and local invoicing in naira by October 2019.

“Nigeria is one of the biggest markets with high population in the continent and we want to explore the potentials. We are glad to have Enyo as our local partner. They have the competency and the sites and we bring the technical competency and the spare parts so there is a lot of synergy between Enyo and Bosch,” says Julien Lacoste, Regional Director, Automotive Aftermarket, West and Central Africa.

The number one manufacturer of automotive parts worldwide and also the largest manufacturer of OE systems say they bundle all their spare parts and OE systems in their after-sales services.

“Our deployment come under 3 main pillars; spare parts, workshop equipment and workshop services. Within the scope of workshop services, we have soft wares, technical hotlines and technical training. This is what we are going to roll out in Nigeria”, says Thomas Winter, President, Automotive Aftermarket, Sales Workshop Concept and Services.

There is a massive training opportunity by Bosch for the continent and Enyo believes that their team will be part that and also access to a massive basket of spare parts. “There will be an opportunity for us to look at what they have done on the continent to deepen the knowledge and experience of our team. It is an end-to-end collaboration, says Awobokun.

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