Interswitch, Africa’s leading integrated payments and digital commerce company, is set to hold its first raffle draw for the selection of the first batch of winners for an all-expenses-paid trip to attend the Interswitch One Africa Music Fest in Dubai. The draw, which is slated to hold on August 31, 2022, will be the first in a series of draws for the selection of 20 lucky winners who will attend the biggest African music fest in the Emirati city of Dubai. This year’s event marks Interswitch’s third consecutive headline sponsorship of the grand music event that brings together top music…
Author: Elvis Eromosele
Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure, has recently concluded a first close of its real estate fund, Actis West Africa Real Estate Income Fund (NREIF) at $45 million. Anchor investors in the first close included Stanbic IBTC Pensions Managers, the First City Monument Bank Pensions Limited and Pensions Alliance Limited. The Fund will invest in market-leading, stabilised real estate assets across West Africa, with a special emphasis on Nigeria. All assets in the portfolio will attain a minimum standard of IFC (International Finance Corporation) Edge certification. NREIF will acquire and manage real estate assets across various sectors, including…
By Elvis Eromosele The Nigerian telecommunications sector must have nine lives. No, it is not a cat. It is however almost always in a near constant mortal struggle with the forces that be – read, government and its agents. The fact that it’s still here means that it has somehow managed to survive, remained sustainable and even dared to thrive. It is a phenomenon that ought to be studied. Every indicator shows that the telecom sector remains the bright spot in the nation’s weak economy. It drives socio-economic development, boosts productivity and contributes to improving the lives of citizens like…
By Elvis Eromosele Nigeria is Africa’s largest ICT market, accounting for 82 per cent of the continent’s telecom subscribers and 29 per cent of internet usage. This is according to Wikipedia. It goes on to say that globally, Nigeria ranks 11th in the absolute number of internet users and 7th in the absolute number of mobile phones. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has equally established that the telecommunications sector is the largest segment of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. Today, Nigeria has one of the largest telecoms markets in Africa, contributing over 17 per cent to the…
By Adetunji Faleye Widespread hunger in Nigeria has shown clearly that the post-pandemic period has been very difficult for consumers more than the pandemic era when the man-made virus inflicted heftier punishment on the human race. Intensely, most families struggle to get their three-square meals set on the table in the face of skyrocketing foodstuff prices at every opportunity dollar shakes the table against naira. Sadly, while the exchange rate of naira to dollar keeps falling, the rate at which Nigeria’s naira loses value against most currencies in Africa is beyond comprehension. This has drastically reduced purchasing power of most…
Whatsapp, the leading worldwide instant messaging app, has introduced new features as part of security measures to make the app safer and easier for users. The green app is widely acclaimed as one of the most used social media used for both personal use and business with approximately two billion downloads. According to Mark Zuckerberg, Founder of Meta, owners of WhatsApp, “we’ll keep building new ways to protect your messages and keep them as private and secure as face-to-face conversations.” The new privacy features added to the latest update include exit group chats without notifying everyone; the power to choose…
Director-General of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) Prof. Mohammed Sambo has said the new NHIA Act will ensure that 83 million poor and vulnerable Nigerians have access to quality healthcare services. Sambo explained that the NHIA Act contains provisions for the Vulnerable Group Fund (VGF), ‘which shall be expended to provide subsidy for health insurance coverage of vulnerable persons as determined by the Council; and for the payment of health insurance premiums for the indigent’. ‘The Vulnerable Group Fund will be funded through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF), health insurance levy, special intervention allocated by the government,…
By Michael Owhoko, Ph.D The Urhobo is among the first 10 major ethnic groups, and the fifth largest in Nigeria, yet, its initial capacity to command considerable influence in the Nigerian polity was weakened by a lack of brotherliness, unity, and trust among its people, unarguably, owing to the multiplicity of dialects, as depicted in the 24 kingdoms that make up the nationality. In an attempt to eliminate this deficit, prevent disunity-induced regression, and raise sustained awareness for unity and trust across the divide, the founding Urhobo leaders came up with a philosophical slogan of “Urhobo Ovuovo”. Specifically, the concept…
ONE Campaign, an international, non-partisan, non-profitable, advocacy and campaign organisation that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, through public awareness, among others, has recognized Enugu State as the second highest performing state in Primary Healthcare Service Delivery in Nigeria for 2019-2021. Presenting the award of recognition to the Executive Secretary, Enugu State Primary Healthcare Development Agency (ENSPHCDA), Dr. George Ugwu, the Country Director of One Campaign in Nigeria, Stanley Achonu, commended the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for the excellent status of the primary healthcare system in the state. Achonu disclosed that ONE Campaign, which is also…
The federal government has confirmed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is being owed N20 trillion ($47 billion), which is yet to be added to the country’s outstanding public debt, according to a report by the Budget Office of the Federation. This is coming as a think-tank backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is seeking $50 billion in aid to help debt-ridden African countries re-enter capital markets and avoid future defaults. The debt figure was as of July 31, the Budget Office said, in a document, which gave the details of the country’s expenditure plans from 2023-2025.…