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Facebook, CcHub Launch NG_Hub in Lagos – its First Hub Space in Africa

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As part of its commitment and ongoing investment in Africa, Facebook has unveiled NG_Hub in Lagos, Nigeria – its first flagship community hub space in Africa, in partnership with CcHub.

In a week-long celebration which will bring together developers, start-ups, and the wider tech community across Lagos and Nigeria, the launch will showcase the new multi-faceted space which aims to bring together communities to collaborate, learn, and exchange ideas.
With creativity and excellence existing across all of Nigeria, Facebook also announced partnerships with seven other hubs across the country including in Abuja (Ventures Platform), Jos (nHub), Kaduna (Colab Hub), Kano (DI Hub), Uyo (Start Innovation Hub), Enugu (Roar Hub) and Port Harcourt (Ken Saro Wiwa Hub).

These will serve as centres of excellence and will feature dedicated Facebook spaces, where many of Facebook’s training sessions will take place, and a space where creatives and developers can book to help them advance their skills.
Featuring bespoke works of art from local artists in Nigeria, the NG_Hub space, which includes workspaces, meeting rooms, games and chill out room, an event space and a well catered café, will also be the focal point for a number of training programmes.

Aimed at attracting the best talent and driving innovation in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, these are all designed to equip Nigerian SMEs, tech entrepreneurs and the next generation of leaders to better understand and utilise the power of digital tools for economic growth. Training programmes include:

The Fb Start Accelerator programme – a research and mentorship-driven programme aimed at empowering start-ups and students with technical & business support and funding to optimize their product for growth – focused on those building solutions using advanced technology, with a focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).

Digify Pro Nigeria – a two-month intensive boot camp  where 20 aspiring digital professionals will learn what it takes to have a career in digital marketing. The programme is designed to fit the specific needs of industry, covering a range of topics including community management, content and e-mail marketing, brand online reputation management, UX design and more.

Boost Your Business – Made especially for micro, small and medium sized businesses owners, Boost Your Business is a one-day training that teaches digital marketing for business growth.

 #SheMeansBusiness – the first to launch on the continent, #SheMeansBusiness is a one-day training workshop and networking experience for female entrepreneurs, offering a mix of business and digital marketing training for women led businesses, along with additional opportunities to network with fellow female entrepreneurs.

Ime Archibong, Facebook’s Vice President of Partnerships said: “Technology provides expansive opportunities to engage young, creative and resourceful Nigerians, especially in delivering solutions to challenges across communities here in Nigeria. Our mission is to build community and bring the world closer together, NG_Hub provides that physical space that will serve as a centre of learning and skills development in Lagos, and I’m excited about the possibilities that this will create.”

Commenting on the partnership Bosun Tijani, Founder/CEO of CcHub, added: “Our aim has always been to provide a viable platform for creatives and innovators to express their talent and create solutions to the myriad of social and economic challenges faced by countries across the continent. Partnering with Facebook on NG_Hub enables us to achieve our objectives at scale and make the desired impact in the tech ecosystem here in Lagos.”

As part of a week-long of celebrations, Facebook will host a number of events from May 21 – 25, 2018 aimed at engaging the different communities in Lagos, and across Nigeria. This includes:

  • Community roundtable – aimed at bringing together Community Groups from across Lagos
  • DevC meetup – with Nigeria being home to the largest number of Developer Circles across Sub-Saharan Africa (over 8,800), this event will bring together DevC members in an afternoon of networking
  • VC & Policy Roundtable – aimed at spearheading vital conversations and helping to bridge the gap between tech entrepreneurs and VCs and policy makers in Nigeria
  • She Means Business/Women in Tech – a special SheMeansBusiness training offered especially for female entrepreneurs working in Lagos’ technology ecosystem
  • SMB Boost Your Business Training – a four-hour training session for SMBs aimed at equipping them with vital digital skills to help grow their businesses
  • Facebook and Instagram for Creatives – an inspirational hands-on session led by Creative Shop for Creatives building for Facebook and Instagram
  • Fintech SMB Training –  a training session for SMBs in Fintech

“The NG_Hub highlights our ongoing commitment to supporting local talent in Nigeria. We’re delighted to be partnering with CcHub here in Lagos, as well as with many other hubs across Nigeria to deepen our engagement, increase skills development and support the next set of innovators, tech entrepreneurs, start-ups, and others in our collective bid to change the face of technology and grow the economy,” said Ebele Okobi, Director of Public Policy, Africa.

AMCON Takes over Senator Stella Oduah’s Assets

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Stella Oduah

Stella Oduah

Hon. Justice M.S. Hassan of the Federal High Court, Lagos Division has granted an injunction against Sea Petroleum Oil & Gas Limited, whose chief promoter is former Minister of Aviation, Senator Princess Stella Oduah-Ogiemwonyi on the application of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).Princess Oduah-Ogiemwonyi, a serving member of the 8th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been having a running battle with AMCON over her inability to settle her huge debt of nearly N20billion. AMCON purchased the Eligible Bank Assets (EBAs) of Sea Petroleum & Gas Limited from Union Bank Plc sometime in 2012. But despite the overtures and genuine efforts made by AMCON to reach an amicable settlement, the Senator and her co-promoters have remained recalcitrant.

Having exhausted all avenues of peaceful resolution of the humongous debt, AMCON had no other choice than to refer the matter to court. The order also affects Princess Stella Oduah’s other business interests for which AMCON has since appointed Moyosore Jubril Onigbanjo, SAN as Receiver over the assets of Princess Stella Oduah-Ogiemwonyi; Sea Petroleum Oil & Gas Limited; Sea Petroleum and Gas FZE as well as Star Tourism and Hotels Limited.

The court also ordered the freezing of the funds of Sea Petroleum & Gas Limited and its affiliated companies and principal promoters held anywhere by any entity or persons in Nigeria; authorised AMCON and its Receiver, Moyosore Jubril Onigbanjo, SAN, to take over all assets pledged as collateral for the facility by Sea Petroleum Oil & Gas Limited.

Justice Hassan specifically ordered Sea Petroleum Oil & Gas Limited and its affiliated companies to hand over the company’s business, which sits on over 9000 square kilometres of land in the fastest developing area of Lagos State along the Lekki-Epe Express Way; two Tank Farms of 500 metric tonnes capacity; a property at Maiyegun Tourism Zone, Lekki Peninsula Scheme 11, Lagos Island and a filling station complex at kilometre 14, Lekki Epe Expressway, Ikota, Lagos State.

The court order also listed a host of other assets across the country including Plot 2, block 12C, Babafemi Osapa Crescent Lekki, Lagos State; Block 5, house 4A Mobolaji Johnson Estate, Lekki, Lagos State; Office/filling station at Jakande, Lekki, Lagos State; Office complex 1,2 and 3 km 14, Lekki-epe Expressway , Ikota, Lagos State; Filing station Complex at km 14, Lekki Epe Expressway, Ikota Lagos State; Staff residential Quarters, Ikota Lagos State; E25-E36, Gat Oboh Drive, Millennium Estate, Oniru, Lagos State and F3-F5, SPG Road, Millennium Estate, Oniru, Lagos State. The rest include, SPG Agungi 2 Lekki Lagos State; Office/Filling station complex at Funmilayo Ransome Kuti, FCT, Abuja; Gas plant at Karu, FCT, Abuja; Filing station Complex, Lugbe, FCT Abuja and Agriculture Farm at Kuje, FCT Abuja.

In compliance with the order of the court, AMCON through its Receiver, Moyosore Jubril Onigbanjo, SAN, at about 11:00am on Friday May 18, 2018, simultaneously took possession of the assets of Sea Petroleum & Gas Limited and its affiliated companies.

The Court in granting the injunction ordered the Inspector General of Police, Assistant Inspectors General of Police, and the Commissioner of Police in charge of Lagos State, their deputies and all other police officers under them to assist Moyosore Jubril Onigbanjo, SAN, the Receiver and the Bailiffs of the Federal High Court in the enforcement of the orders.

AMCON under Ahmed Kuru, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer has maintained that there will be no sacred cows in its bid to recover the huge debts in the hands of a few Nigerians.

To deal with the situation however, AMCON has in recent times increased the tempo of its recovery activities using firmer negotiation strategies as well as utilizing the special enforcement powers vested by the AMCON Act to compel some of its recalcitrant debtors especially those that are politically exposed and business heavyweights to repay their debts.

Linkage Assurance PAT up 431% to N2.9bn in 2017

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Dr Pius Apere MDCEO Linkage Assurance Plc
Dr Pius Apere (PhD/FCII) (Actuarial Scientist and Chartered Insurer)

Dr. Pius Apere
MD/CEO
Linkage Assurance Plc

Linkage Assurance Plc has recorded a 431 percent growth in profit after tax (PAT) for the financial year ended 31stDecember 2017. The figure grew from N544.6 million in 2016 financial year to N2.891 billion in the review under period.

The profit before tax (PBT) also appreciated by 218 percent, from N942.65 million in 2016 to N2.996 billion at the end of 2017.

Linkage Assurance also boosted its bottom-line from investment income, which grew significantly by 260 percent, from N951.349 million in 2016 to N3.426 billion in the review year. This according to the Company came from the 2015 and 2016 dividend income from Stanbic IBTC Pension Limited which was received during the year and that led to a significant growth of 2,616 percent in the dividend income to N3.2 billion from N116million in 2016.

In the Company’s full year financial result submitted to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Linkage Assurance Plc achieved gross premium written of N4.102 billion as against N4.032 billion, indicating a 2 percent increase, while the gross premium income inched 6 percent to close at N4.186 billion at the end of 2017, as against N3.966 billion the previous year.

Just as the insurance business remains volatile with high level of claims hitting the industry, Linkage during the year under review paid out claims amounting to N1.038 billion, as against 613.196 million in 2016.

This therefore impacted on underwriting profit which dropped 53 percent to close at N456.86 million, as against N980.79 million in 2017.

The company also grew its total assets to N23.308 billion at the end of 2017, moving up by 15 percent from N20.331 billion in the previous year.

Management said it will continue to refine its strategy in line with the political, economic, sociological and technological changes in the industry.

“Also we will continue to develop innovative products, alternative channels of distributions and strategic initiatives that will enable us achieve our corporate goals and objectives. With a medium-to-long term perspective, we believe that we will benefit from growth in these initiatives.”

During the 2017 financial year, Linkage developed array of retail products targeted at deepening penetration and increase revenue. These include the Linkage Third Party Plus, which is a budget friendly motor insurance that provides not only the compulsory Third party protection but an additional Own damage protection to the tune of N250,000, and is only available in the company”.

Other products launched by the Company are the Linkage SME Comprehensive, Citadel Shield (which provides compensation as a result of injuries from accident for pupils and students in recognized academic establishments); Linkage Events Xclusive Insurance, Linkage Shop Insurance, Purple Motor Plan (comprehensive motor cover exclusively for women), and the Linkage Estate Insurance.

“We have already deployed our online portal to make our products and services available to our customers especially the digital savvy customers and enterprises.

The Company also said it will consolidate on new initiatives to improve operational efficiency so as to reduce the cost of doing business, improve business processes, eliminate wastages and achieve higher margins in her core business.

The Nigerian Guild of Editors Mourns Tukur Abdularahman

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nigerian guild of editors

On behalf of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE), we write to express our deep sense of loss and sadness over the death of a quintessential and amiable Nigerian Journalist, Alhaji Tukur Abdulrahman, Managing Director, New Nigerian Newspapers Limited, who passed on after a brief illness on Thursday, May 17, 2018.
He was buried in his home town of Daura, Katsina state on Friday, May 18, according to Islamic rites. He was aged 58.
We are greatly saddened by his untimely passing and sincerely convey deep sympathies to members of his family, professional colleagues and friends who are devastated by his demise.
Alhaji Abdulrahman until his sudden exit was an invaluable and respected Member of our prestigious association who contributed immensely to the growth of the Guild and development of the media industry in Nigeria, Africa and the whole world.
He joined the NGE in 2000 and was elected as the Vice President-North in 2005 and again as Deputy President in 2008. He gave meritorious and impeccable service in both capacities.
Loved and respected by all, he was amiable, jovial and kind-hearted. To others who worked closely with him, he was a true leader, a fine gentleman and a reliable and supportive friend indeed.
Born on December 12, 1960 in Daura, Katsina State, North-west Nigeria, the late Abdulrahman attended Government College, Kaduna, graduating in the Class of 1977. He then proceeded to Bayero University, Kano, for his tertiary education and graduated in 1981.
In 1983, he joined the New Nigerian Newspapers as a proofreader, then became a reporter and was assigned as the paper’s State House Correspondent in 1997.
His proficiency in that task saw him elevated and appointed in January 2000 to the position of Editor of Gaskia Tafi Kwabo, a Hausa paper from the NNN stable.
Six years later in March 2006, he was named the Editor of Daily New Nigerian and in March 2011, he was appointed the Managing Director of the New Nigerian Newspapers Limited, a position he occupied until his death.

The NGE joins the entire community of Editors in Nigeria to mourn one of its own and commiserates with his family, friends and colleagues in the New Nigerian Newspapers.
Undoubtedly, Alhaji Abdulrahman will be greatly missed but we take solace in the knowledge that he has gone to a better place, to the maker of all and to whom all must return. May Allah grant him forgiveness, mercy and a place of honour in Jannatul Firdaus.
He is survived by his wife, Jamila, and children.

Ecobank Wins Best Digital Strategy Award

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ecobank

Ecobank won the Best Digital Strategy Award at the Retail Banker International’s prestigious awards ceremony held at the Waldorf Hilton Hotel in London last week.

Ecobank’s digital strategy leverages digitalisation for scale and ubiquity and is the key plank in its ambition to be the top consumer financial services franchise in Africa and to achieve its target of serving 100 million customers.

The Ecobank Mobile App, which has already been downloaded by over 5 million people, is a unified banking app serving 33 African countries, enabling 24/7 banking services and transactions in 18 different currencies and in four major languages: English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.
Ade Ayeyemi, CEO of Ecobank said: “This award is a real vote of confidence for the hard work of everyone at Ecobank and the massive strides that we have made in meeting the changing ways that consumers are demanding to engage with their bank. I’m delighted that Ecobank has achieved this recognition and rest assured that it will strengthen our determination to be the bank of choice for Africa by further developing our products and services to meet our customers’ needs.”

“Ecobank’s digital strategy leverages innovative technology to give Africans the convenience of 24/7 banking wherever and whenever they want. As a pan-African bank we’re absolutely committed to meeting the rapidly changing demands for convenience and functionality that Africans need and demand. It’s part of our ethos and it is also a major step towards eradicating financial exclusion from the continent.”

Ecobank was also shortlisted at the Retail Banker International awards for:

  • Best Payment Innovation for its Ecobank Xpress Cash which is a card-less withdrawal solution which is integrated in the Ecobank Mobile App and available in all 33 African countries where Ecobank operates; and for

Product Innovation of the Year for its ground breaking Ecobank Mobile App.

Law Union & Rock Insurance Reports N4.2bn Premium in 2017

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Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc

Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc, one of the leading general insurance companies in Nigeria held her 49th Annual General Meeting in Lagos. Despite the fragility of the economy in 2017, the company was able to break through all hurdles to pay dividend to its shareholders.

The Chairman of the Company, Mr. Remi Babalola, said the company’s profitability grew by 66.8%.

According to him, the company recorded good performance in 2017 with 8% growth in its top line over the figure from the previous year. A significant contribution to the profit came from the Company’s investment income.

The Gross Premium Written stood at N4.252billion compared to N3.936billion recorded in 2016. The Profit before tax of N1.099billion was achieved compared to N659million recorded in 2016 which indicates a steady performance improvement of our Company. Total assets grew by 16.9% to N10.031billion from N8.58billion posted in 2016 financial year with a 28.6% growth in Shareholders’ Funds from N5.03billion to N6.47bilion.

The company also recorded a giant feat in its general reserves with retained earnings of N704 million from accumulated loss of N24 million recorded in 2016. In recognition of this performance, the Company declared a cash dividend of 4Kobo per share for the financial year.

Babalola said the company is stronger, better, bigger and more than ever before; with one of the highest ratings in Claim Paying Ability (CPA) in the industry. The Chairman also presented the new Executive Director, Technical/Operations Mr. Olasupo Sogelola and Mr. Kunle Aluko (non-executive director) to the shareholders. Both appointments have been approved by the NAICOM.

The Managing Director of the Company, Mr. Jide Orimolade in his speech said that the Company will not relent in delivery of the best service to the customers. According to him, the loyalty of the customers were very instrumental to the consistent growth of the Company’s top-line in the past few years which has enable the company to eliminate its accumulated loss and able to cross to a positive retained earnings in 2017.

The Shareholders present at the event were in happy mood as three retiring directors -Mr.Remi Babalola (Board of Directors Chairman), Mr. Obinna Onunkwo and Mrs. Funmi Ekundayo were re-elected for another three years.

West Africa CIO Summit 2018 Warns Against Digital Deadlock

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International Data Corporation (IDC) hosted the sixth annual edition of its West Africa CIO Summit in Lagos, Nigeria.

Running under the theme ‘Enabling a Blueprint for Thriving in the Digital Economy’, the Summit attracted more than 100 of the region’s most prominent ICT leaders and showcased innovative strategies for embracing the disruptive power of digital transformation.

Targeted exclusively at C-level executives and above, the event combined thought-provoking presentations with interactive workshops, panel discussions, and case studies, all while facilitating one-to-one meetings between the providers of cutting-edge technology solutions and the influential decision makers responsible for driving their implementation.

“As the digital revolution continues to gather pace, traditional business models are undergoing unprecedented levels of disruption,” said Mark Walker, associate vice president for Sub-Saharan Africa, as he opened the day’s proceedings. “This has triggered a wave of digital transformation across the region, and we are delighted to be here in Lagos today to provide West Africa’s ICT leaders with the expert guidance required to navigate the numerous challenges and roadblocks that lie in wait.”

The Summit’s agenda had been tailored to help CIOs rethink the way they leverage information, implement emerging ICT solutions, and facilitate organisation-wide innovation, with the ultimate aim of making their enterprises more agile, efficient, and productive than ever before. The rise of disruptive automation featured prominently, while in-depth insights were provided into a broad range of pressing issues such as driving digital business at scale, harnessing the power of enterprise mobility, building a resilient cybersecurity strategy, and empowering innovation with cloud.

Delivering the Summit’s keynote address, IDC’s group vice president and regional managing director for the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa, Jyoti Lalchandani, offered compelling advice on breaking through the digital deadlock and identifying inherent organisational weaknesses.

“By 2018, 75% of CIOs will put experiential engagement, data monetisation, or digital business at scale at the top of their agenda,” he said. “However, some 59% of organisations are at a digital impasse today, either running ad hoc digital transformation initiatives or — if they have gained traction in their efforts — the changes are not universally applied across the enterprise. Various factors are holding these companies back, including ineffective organizational models, underdeveloped digital capabilities, outdated KPIs, overly tactical digital roadmaps, and the sheer absence of an enterprise digital platform.”

As well as the numerous ICT industry experts speaking at the event, a number of respected end-user thought leaders were on hand to provide invaluable demand-side perspectives on the latest technology trends that are transforming the region’s organizations. These included the likes of Uchechi Edosomwan, head of IT services at the Nigeria Airtime Management Agency; Esomchi Nwafor, chief technology officer at Custodian & Allied Insurance; Oladimeji Kazeem, general manager of ICT at Pal Pensions; and Samuel Menyah Asah-Kissiedu, head of IT at Millennium Insurance.

IDC’s valued partners for the West Africa CIO Summit 2018 included CSEAN as Affiliate Partner; FABS, VMware, and Schneider Electric as Platinum Partners; Veeam and Fortinet as Gold Partners; and BlueSPACE Africa as Exhibit Partner.

Siemens takes Digital Solutions of the Year Award

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Siemens

Siemens wins the Digital Solutions of the year award for its Siemens South Africa Head Quarters Micro Grid Project at the Africa Utility Week Industry Awards evening which took place in Cape Town.

Why Microgrids are the future of Energy Management
The traditional power grid provides reliable power most of the time. But when natural disasters or security breaches threaten the grid, the ensuring blackouts can be catastrophic and costly.
It is for this reason that organisations and utilities are working together to build resilient, flexible power systems called microgrids. Operating either as part of traditional grid or independently (or both), mircogrids are revolutionizing the way we manage our energy resources.

Why do Microgrids matter?
A microgrid is a scaled-down version of the centralized power system. It can generate, distribute, and control power in a campus setting or small community.

  • They are reliable and flexible
  • They are resilient
  • They more secure
  • They save money
  • They store and incorporate renewable energy

Siemens provides a comprehensive portfolio of products, solutions, and services to help build and operate microgrids of any size. We provide generation and distribution of electrical energy as well as monitoring and controlling of microgrids.

The Commonwealth ICT Awards 2018

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The second biennial Commonwealth ICT Awards 2018 will take place in the evening of 18 June 2018, the first day of the Commonwealth ICT Ministers Forum to take place on 18 – 20 June 2018 in London.

Organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation, the Commonwealth ICT Awards are intended to recognise major achievements in ICTs by member countries and organisations and to share knowledge amongst stakeholders in key areas.

This year, we welcome submissions in the following categories:

Country Awards:

  • Universal access initiatives
  • Broadband access initiatives
  • ICT policy and regulatory initiatives
  • Cybersecurity initiatives
  • Spectrum management initiatives
  • Applications (e-health, e-education, e-agriculture and e-commerce)

Industry Awards:

  • Universal access initiatives
  • Broadband access initiatives
  • Cybersecurity initiatives
  • Applications (e-health, e-education, e-agriculture and e-commerce)
  • Corporate social responsibility

Submissions and requests for more information should be sent to [email protected]

Submissions should be received no later than 1 June 2018

About the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation

Established in 1901, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation is the oldest and largest Commonwealth intergovernmental organisation in the field of information and communication technologies.

With a diverse membership spanning developed and developing countries, small island developing states, and more recently also non-Commonwealth countries, the private sector and civil society, the CTO aims to become a trusted partner for sustainable development for all, including beyond the Commonwealth, through ICTs.

‘Buhari Administration is Pro-Private Business’

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Buhari

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohamed has declared that the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is pro-private business and is keen on providing the enabling environment for the private sector to meaningfully participate in the development of the Nigerian economy.

The Minister who stated this at the formal inauguration of the Stakeholders Engagement Committee (SEC) of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) in his office in Abuja on May 15, 2018, noted that the inauguration of the Committee was yet another opportunity to enforce the integrity of the present administration by ensuring that privatisation was carried out with transparency. He added that the administration recognises the role of the private sector in the Nigerian economy.

Mohammed who is the Chairman of the Committee enjoined the members to ensure that the Committee lives up to its responsibilities by identifying and maintaining contacts with the various stakeholders and opinion leaders to be able to advise the Council on their concerns and interests on the privatisation programme.

The Minister noted the poor perception by many Nigerians of the privatisation programme and said the members had the task to change the perception.

He commended the quality of members on the Committee especially the inclusion of the private sector, stressing that there would be no virile and robust stakeholders’ engagement on the privatisation programme without the engagement of the private sector.

The Chairman said that given the crucial role of the Committee, its members must ensure that it delivers on its assigned mandate of reaching out to all the stakeholders of the privatisation programme.

Earlier, Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex A. Okoh had called on the Committee to correct the erroneous impression that privatisation is unmindful of the interest of the general public.

He urged the Committee to reverse the development through a process of robust stakeholder engagement and “to help harmonise the public enterprise reform agenda under the supervision of the NCP, whilst also promoting a favourable perception and application of the privatisation programme in the mind of the public as well as local and international investors”.

Okoh noted that the benefits of privatisation have not been universally acknowledged or appreciated in Nigeria in the court of public opinion where it is believed that privatised enterprises may have been sold for far less than their actual market value; and that the enterprises may be under performing.

However, he maintained that in the 30 years of the enterprise reform journey in Nigeria,  out of the 140 public enterprises across  the various sectors   of the economy that have been privatised, a high percentage  have achieved a good level of performance.

“It can thus be seen that there is something of a mismatch between public perception of privatisation and the reality of its value and contribution to the economy. Accordingly, the importance of an effective stakeholder engagement strategy cannot be overemphasized. There is a clear and present need to build support and understanding for the Federal Government’s reform agenda by effectively communicating the considerable benefits of privatisation”, he stated.

Bargain Hunting in Bellwethers Buck Market Bearish Run… NSE ASI up 93bps

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nse

Bargain hunting in some bellwether stocks – DANGCEM (+2.7%), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+2.3%), NESTLE (+1.7%) and UNILEVER(+4.9%) – ended the 2-day bearish run in the local bourse to push the All Share Index 93bps higher to 40,992.97 points while YTD return increased to 7.2%. Accordingly, investors gained N136.8bn as market capitalization rose to N14.8tn. Activity level, was mixed today as the volume traded rose 27.6% to 259.5m units while the value traded declined by 1.5% to N4.4bn. The top traded stocks by volume were DIAMOND (68.6m), ZENITH (33.8m) and GUARANTY (31.4m) while the top traded stocks by value were GUARANTY (N1.4bn), NESTLE (N1.1bn) and ZENITH (N943.1m).

Mixed Sector Performance
Performance across sectors was mixed as 3 of 5 indices under our watch closed northwards. The Consumer Goods index appreciated the most, up 1.6% resulting from bargain hunting in NIGERIAN BREWERIES (+2.3%), NESTLE (+1.7%) and UNILEVER (+4.9%).

Similarly, the Industrial Goods and Insurance indices rose 0.7% and 0.3% respectively driven by buy interest in DANGCEM (+2.7%) and MANSARD(+4.7%). On the flipside, the Banking and Oil & Gas indices closed southwards on account of sell pressures in UBN (-5.2%), ACCESS (-1.8%), UBA (-1.3%) and FORTE (-3.1%) which dragged both indices.

Unchanged Investor Sentiment
Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) remained flat today at 0.5x as 15 stocks advanced against 30 stocks that declined.  Today’s top out-performing stocks were CUTIX (+5.0%), UNILEVER (4.9%) and NPFMCRFBK (+4.9%) while SKYE (-9.4%), DIAMOND (-9.1%) and JAPAULOIL (-5.7%) were the top under-performing.

Today’s bullish performance which was driven by investors bargain hunting activities is expected to continue to drive market performance for the rest of the week as we believe that valuation on some mid-cap and small-cap stocks still creates attractive entry opportunities into these stocks.

ITU: Summit to Focus on Opportunities to Apply Artificial Intelligence for ‘Good’

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The world’s leading minds in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and humanitarian action are convening from today for the three-day 2 nd AI for Good Global Summit . The summit will generate AI strategies and supporting projects to accelerate progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals . It will connect AI innovators with public and private-sector decision-makers, building collaboration to take promising strategies forward.

The AI for Good series is the leading United Nations platform for dialogue on AI. The 2 nd AI for Good Global Summit is taking place at the global headquarters of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technology (ICT). It is being organized by ITU in partnership with the XPRIZE Foundation , the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and 32 sister United Nations agencies.

“The inaugural 2017 summit sparked inclusive global dialogue on the potential of AI to act as a force for good,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. “The action-oriented 2018 summit will now harness this momentum to identify practical applications of AI to improve the quality and sustainability of life on our planet.”

The summit’s participants will rally around near-term AI solutions capable of yielding benefits of long-term relevance to sustainable development.

The first day of the summit will set the scene for the work ahead. Experts will explore the many dimensions of AI’s growing influence on our societies and economies. They will share insight into the state of play in AI technologies and applications, forecasting AI advances and associated transformations appearing on the horizon.

“Over the years, XPRIZE competitions have inspired innovation to address some of the grand challenges identified by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and as a result we have foreseen the need to spark a bigger conversation centered around use of exponential technologies such as AI,” said Anousheh Ansari, Member & Chair of Management of XPRIZE Foundation Board of Directors. “That’s why XPRIZE became a partner in AI for Good as we believe the ability to create safe, beneficial and ethical AI solutions can greatly improve life on our planet for all and lead us to a better future, and we look forward to supporting the collaborative efforts that will come out of this Summit.”

“AI technologies have enormous potential to effect positive change in nearly every facet of life,” said ACM President Vicki L. Hanson. “While many AI gatherings are valuable forums where important ideas are presented and discussed, AI for Good emphasizes teams working together to develop actionable steps in which AI is employed to aid society. In this way, the summit presents a valuable model of how societies will need to address AI challenges and opportunities in the future.”

The heart of the summit – spanning the length of the second day – will see ‘breakthrough teams’ demonstrating AI’s value to humanitarian action and sustainable development.

These teams will highlight AI’s potential to advance healthcare, support citizen-centric services in smart cities, and map poverty using satellite imagery. They will investigate means to meet the data demands of AI algorithms and build trust and transparency in the application of artificial intelligence. Their ultimate goal is to propose AI strategies and supporting projects that could be enacted in the near term for the benefit of humanity.

Teams will be guided in this endeavour by an expert audience representing government, industry, academia and civil society.

The matchmaking exercise will introduce problem owners to solution owners. On the third day of the summit, participants will evaluate proposed strategies according to their feasibility and scalability and potential to address truly global challenges.

The 2018 summit is kindly supported by Gold Sponsors: ACM, the Kay Family Foundation, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and PWC; and Silver Sponsors: Ernst & Young and the Zero Abuse Project.

Former NAN Director Loses Mother Aged 101

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The death has occurred of Madam Victoria Ibironke Ponle (aka VIP), mother of Mr Buki Ponle,  a former Director of The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) and Chief Executive Officer of an online publication, The Nigerian Expression (TNE).

Madam Ponle died in Osogbo on March 31, 2018, during a brief illness, aged 101.

Family members have fixed the wake for June 29, 2018, at Plot 1, Suleiman Shittu Layout, Ayekale-Otaefun, Osogbo, while burial service and interment follow on June 30, 2018, at the First Baptist Church in Iresi, her birthplace, in Boluwaduro Local Government Area of Osun State, at 10 am.

Reception follows immediately after.

She is survived by grand children, great grand children and family members.

Emirates Group Reports $28bn Revenue, $1.1bn Profit

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emirates

The Emirates Group yesterday announced its 30th consecutive year of profit and steady business expansion.

The Emirates Group posted a profit of AED 4.1 billion (US$ 1.1 billion) for the financial year ended 31 March 2018, up 67% from last year. The Group’s revenue reached AED 102.4 billion (US$ 27.9.billion), an increase of 8% over last year’s results, and the Group’s cash balance increased by 33% to AED 25.4 billion (US$ 6.9 billion) supported by the bond issued in March and strong sales due to the early Easter holidays at the end of March.

In line with the overall profit, the Group declared a dividend of AED 2.0 billion (US$ 545 million) to the Investment Corporation of Dubai.

His Highness (H.H.) Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, said: “Business conditions in 2017-18, while improved, remained tough. We saw ongoing political instability, currency volatility and devaluations in Africa, rising oil prices which drove our costs up, and downward pressure on margins from relentless competition. On the positive side, we benefitted from a healthy recovery in the global air cargo industry, as well as the relative strengthening of key currencies against the US dollar.

“We’ve always responded to the challenges of each business cycle with agility, while never losing sight of the future, and this year was no exception. In 2017-18, Emirates and dnata delivered our 30th consecutive year of profit, recorded growth across the business, and continued to invest in initiatives and infrastructure that will secure our future success.”

In 2017-18, the Group collectively invested AED 9.0 billion (US$ 2.5 billion) in new aircraft and equipment, the acquisition of companies, modern facilities, the latest technologies, and staff initiatives.

Emirates announced two significant commitments for new aircraft during the year: a US$ 15.1 billion agreement for 40 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners which will be delivered from 2022, and a US$ 16 billion agreement for 36 additional A380 aircraft, including 16 options.

dnata’s key investments during the year included: acquisition of AirLogistix USA, marking its entry in the US cargo market; expansion of cargo handling capabilities with new warehouses and equipment at London Gatwick, Amsterdam-Schiphol, and Adelaide; new catering facilities in Dublin and Melbourne; and new marhaba lounges in Karachi and Melbourne.

Sheikh Ahmed said: “While expanding our business and growing revenues, we also tightened our cost discipline. Across the Group, we progressed various initiatives to rebuild and streamline our back office operations with new technology, systems and processes. In 2017-18, our reduced recruitment activity, coupled with restructured ways of working gave us gains in productivity, and a slowdown in manpower cost increases.”

Across its more than 80 subsidiaries, the Group’s total workforce declined by 2% to 103,363, representing over 160 different nationalities, as part of the overall productivity improvement initiatives in Emirates and dnata.

Sheikh Ahmed concluded: “Looking ahead, Emirates and dnata remain focussed on delivering safe, efficient and high quality services consistently to our customers. Our ongoing investments in our people, technology, and infrastructure will help us maintain our competitive edge, and ensure that we are ready to meet the opportunities and stay on course for sustainable and profitable growth.”

 

Emirates Performance

Emirates’ total passenger and cargo capacity crossed the 61 billion mark, to 61.4 billion ATKMs at the end of 2017-18, cementing its position as the world’s largest international carrier. The airline moderately increased capacity during the year over 2016-17 by 2%, with a focus on yield improvement.

Emirates received 17 new aircraft, after last year’s record number during a financial year, comprising of eight A380s and nine Boeing 777-300ERs. At the same time, eight older aircraft were phased out, bringing its total fleet count to 268 at the end of March. This fleet roll-over involving 25 aircraft was again one of the largest managed in a year, keeping Emirates’ average fleet age at a youthful 5.7 years.

 

It underscores Emirates’ strategy to operate a young and modern fleet which is better for the environment, better for operations, and better for customers. The airline remains the world’s largest operator of the Boeing 777 and A380 – both aircraft being amongst the most modern and efficient wide-bodied jets in the sky today.

During the year, Emirates launched two new passenger destinations: Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Zagreb (Croatia). It also added flight capacity to 15 existing destinations, offering customers more choice of flight timings and onward connections.

Emirates also grew its global connectivity and customer proposition through strategic partnerships. During 2017-18, Emirates entered into significant partnerships with flydubai and Cargolux, expanding the choice of air services on offer to passenger and cargo customers respectively.

The airline successfully managed strong competitive pressure across all markets and increased its profit to AED 2.8 billion (US$ 762 million), an increase of 124% over last year’s results, and a profit margin of 3.0%.

Overall passenger traffic growth continues to demonstrate the consumer desire to fly on Emirates’ state-of-the-art aircraft, and via efficient routings through its Dubai hub.

Emirates carried a record 58.5 million passengers (up 4%), and achieved a Passenger Seat Factor of 77.5%. The increase in passenger seat factor compared to last year’s 75.1%, is a result of successful capacity management in response to political uncertainty and strong competition in many markets despite a moderate 2% increase in seat capacity.

Revenue generated from across Emirates’ six regions continues to be well balanced, with no region contributing more than 30% of overall revenues. Europe was the highest revenue contributing region with AED 26.7 billion (US$ 7.3 billion), up 12% from 2016-17. East Asia and Australasia follows closely with AED 25.4 billion (US$ 6.9 billion), up 12%.

The Americas region recorded revenue growth at AED 13.4 billion (US$ 3.7 billion), up 7%. Gulf and Middle East revenue decreased by 2% to AED 8.5 billion (US$ 2.3 billion) whereas revenue for Africa increased by 8% to AED 9.4 billion (US$ 2.6 billion). West Asia and Indian Ocean revenue increased by 5% to AED 7.8 billion (US$ 2.1 billion).

Through the year, Emirates introduced product and service improvements on board and on the ground.

Key highlights include: the launch of fully-enclosed suites in First Class together with refreshed Business Class and Economy Class cabins on the 777-300ER aircraft; new, wider Business Class seats arranged in a 2-2-2 layout on the 777-200LR aircraft; and a refreshed version of the popular Onboard Lounge on the Emirates A380.

April CPI Prints at 12.5%… Persistent Dis-inflationary Trend a Compelling Case for MPR Cut

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National Bureau of Statistics

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released Consumer Price Index (CPI) data yesterday and in line with Afrinvest and Consensus expectation, Headline inflation moderated to 12.5%.

This marks the 15th consecutive decline in Headline inflation since it peaked at 18.7% in January 2017. As  seen in recent months, the ongoing disinflation trend – which began in Q1:2017 – remains largely driven by base effect as Month on Month (M-o-M) CPI growth was barely changed at 0.83% in April relative to 0.84% in March.

Base Effect Drives Inflation Sub-Indices to Multi-Year Lows
The base effect played out in reported Y-o-Y Inflation of both CPI Sub-Indices. Core Index growth (all items less volatile food items) measured Y-o-Y declined from 11.2% in March to a 27-month low of 10.9% in April – the lowest level since the Feb-2016 hike in electricity tariff which resulted in the first double-digit Core Inflation in nearly 3 years.

This came despite a marginal 3bps uptick in M-o-M growth to 0.87%, which suggests base effect remains the major driver. Similarly, Y-o-Y Food inflation fell from 16.1% in March to a 2-year low of 14.8% in the reported month despite a marginal 1bp increase in the Index’s M-o-M growth to 0.91%. Yet, we note that beyond the well-emphasized base-effect tailwind driving Food inflation moderation, food prices on a M-o-M basis have been remarkably stable in a typically volatile off-season period.

This perhaps reflects the success of several CBN and FGN financing initiatives targeted at smallholder farmers which resulted in above-trend Crop Production growth in Q4:2017.

Favourable Inflation Development Presents CBN with an Opportunity to begin to Converge MPR with Market Rates
With the high base effect still in play, at least until July 2018, we expect the disinflation trend to continue in the near term. Yet, based on all near term scenarios we considered, we are convinced year-end Headline Inflation (projected at 10.2%) will be short of the CBN’s soft target of 7 – 9% as we expect CPI base to normalize in Q3:2018.

However we think the positive development in consumer prices within the last 14 months, resulting in a positive real interest rate (see chart 3), has presented the CBN with an opportunity to begin to converge Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) with market interest rates which have since priced-in inflation expectation.

Expectation

Thus, we expect the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to strongly consider an MPR cut in its next meeting taking place next week (May 21st and 22nd, 2018), although the decision would likely be delayed due to the ongoing capital flow reversal and asset prices volatility in emerging and frontier markets.

The current capital flow reversal has been the strongest test for liquidity in the Investors’ and Exporters’ Window (I&E Window) so far; a test it is yet to pass with flying colors.

Regardless, as we have argued in previous notes, an MPR cut (either at next week’s sitting or subsequent ones) will have little impact on fixed income yields as the CBN has already set in motion the easing cycle by deliberately guiding market rates downwards in the past 9 months, in addition to knock-on effects of the FGN fiscal strategy to reduce domestic debt issuance.

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