The man of great exploits in virtually anything he touches will never stop at breaking new grounds, especially in areas where people will feel his impact most, which is basically empowerment and creating a suitable template for those he earnestly cares for.
The CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, was in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, November 13th, 2019, in a very educative mood at a forum tagged Misk Global Forum in Riyadh, where she urged youths gathered at the Holy Land, to imbibe a job-creating mentality for success in the future. This year’s theme: ‘’Work Reworked,” focused on discovering the new trends and transformation in the world of work, regardless of location or socio-economic divide.
While speaking on the theme: “Dinosaur or Future-Fit? Careers in a Post-Job Era,” she emphasized the role entrepreneurship plays in educating the youth for the jobs of the future. She said: “Young people everywhere realize that the world we are living in is not the world that the educational system is preparing them for. The educational system is preparing them for a job seeking mentality but the young of today need to have a job creating mentality; not just creating jobs for themselves but creating jobs for others, and so entrepreneurship is key.”
She stated that this notion and the belief in the potential of entrepreneurship drives the commitment of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, an African based and private sector-led philanthropy, founded by African investor and philanthropist, Tony O. Elumelu, basically to empower African entrepreneurs.
She said, “This is why at the Tony Elumelu Foundation, we have committed $100million to identify, train, mentor and fund 10,000 African entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries in the last 10 years, By the end of this year, we would have mentored and funded over 9000 entrepreneurs.”
The Tony Elumelu Foundation has focused its impact on propelling young African entrepreneurs and their businesses from start-up to scale-up, with the goal that they create jobs and revenue, two critical factors necessary to break the cycle of poverty on the continent and prepare Africa for the near future.
Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu encouraged the audience to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset. According to her, “Entrepreneurship is not just about starting a business. To be successful, you need to have an entrepreneurial mindset.”
Other high-level speakers on her panel included HRH Princess Aljohara AlSaud, Henning Larsen, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Dr. Badr AlBadr, Misk Foundation, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Ezequiel Vedana da Rosa, UN Young Leader for SDGs, Brazil; and moderated by Riad Hamade, Bloomberg News, UAE. The MISK Global Forum is an initiative of Misk Foundation, a non-profit philanthropic organization established by HRH. Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to discover, develop and empower Saudi youths to become active participants in the knowledge economy.
TEF has been known in this peculiar area of attracting youths to the need to get themselves occupied in whatever vocation, and the international NGO has never been found wanting in this area, splashing millions of Dollars on any program of this nature.
Heritage Bank Plc, Nigeria’s most innovative banking service provider, disclosed that Nigeria’s Gold market is worth £4 billion Pounds with high prospects of profitability for all players in the subsector.
The MD/CEO, Ifie Sekibo, who stated this at the Nigeria-Canada Investment Summit, held in Abuja, yesterday also disclosed that the enormous potential of the industry was one of the reasons why Heritage Bank delved into the mining sector despite enormous risks.
According to him, the bank has Dukia Gold as its partner that would facilitate access to local miners and artisans to get value for their commodity at international market price after being registered with Dukia Gold.
Sekibo, who was represented by the Team Lead, Agric Finance and Export, Adelana Ogunjirin, explained that prior to now, local miners of Gold found it difficult to trade their commodities favourably but with the involvement of Dukia and its partner, Heritage Bank, a Quality-and-Quantity test will be conducted based on the arrangement they made with Dukia Gold and that will lead to additional value to the small holder miners. He explained that this will leverage the small miners the opportunity to also trade their commodities at international market price.
He further stated that a metric tonne of Gold is currently valued at $30million adding that it is worth investing in the industry, especially as gold is a kind of commodity that does not easily lose its value.
He said: “Mining sector is an area which has not been fully tapped in terms of the potentials around it, as there are quite a lot of opportunities around that sector. Recently we secured $1 billion funding line with our funding partner AfreximBank, which also is to support areas like solid minerals.
“Now with respect to this we have looked at the value chain of this space and we have looked at the opportunities that are there. A lot of fund providers have not really delved into this and it is because of the lack of understanding of the market.
“In terms of value, gold is an area where you can enhance the value. You hardly see Gold losing value and you see that in different exchanges you even trade those commodities.
“Looking at it in terms of trend, you see that gold is something that will appreciate definitely. So in terms of the profitability of this business, we have looked at it, the crunch, the numbers we see that is a space that the Bank will definitely earn a lot of income.”
He also expressed optimism that other banks would like to come into the Nigerian mining sector, but may be studying to understand the sector properly.
“Definitely other banks will come into the sector. For us we are leading, but the truth is they need to play in an area and space that they understand, as not everybody would be able to play in that space.
“Heritage Bank has already carved a niche for itself in agribusiness space, just like the Gold commodity, this would be exported. So, in terms of export proceeds too, there are opportunities to be explored. Generally, looking at the Nigerian outlook, on the long run, this will also enhance the country’s external reserves. There are multiplier effects of what we are doing today and that is why we are also moving in this direction,” the MD noted.
Also speaking, Managing Director, Nigeria Export-Import Bank, NEXIM, Abba Bello, revealed that the bank had gone into high level discussions with heavy equipment manufacturers and suppliers that would lease equipment to miners for exploration and processing, adding that this was expected to make the equipment accessible and affordable.
Bello said, “For equipment supplier or outright purchase of equipment, we have gone into discussions with Bluecare and now Mantrac for the supply of heavy equipment for gold processing or exploration on lease basis and, it is something that does not exist currently within the industry.
“Barrick Gold and Bullion Mart is something that happen in the mining world. You don’t have to own the equipment, but there are vendors who supply the equipment for explorers to hire.
“Discussions have gone very far with the equipment suppliers and very soon we will announce the programme.”
Meanwhile, the Country Manager, ITM, Nigeria, Habibah Waziri, raised concerns on human resources development that would sustain the sector.
Waziri also said there is need to formalize the sector and also invest in human capital in the sector for growth and development.
R-L: Managing Director /Chief Executive of Nigeria Export -Import Bank (NEXIM ) Mr Abba Bello; Chief Executive of Bullion Mart, Mr Moniruz Zaman; Team Lead, Agric Finance and Export Heritage Bank, Mr Adelana Ogunjirin; Minister of State for Mine and Steel Development, Dr. Uchechukwu Ogah and Dr. Hadiza Gado, during NCIS Summit 2019 – Mining Master Class held at Transcorp Hotel Abuja.
Speaking at the press conference, Mrs. Ijedi Iyoha, APCON’s acting Registrar, said the National Advertising Conference will have as theme “Advertising in the Post-digital age: The profession, the business and Nigeria’s socio-economic development.”
Iyoha stated that the conference aims at drawing the attention of the government, policy makers, business community and the wider public to the importance of Advertising.
“The National Advertising Conference is an initiative of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, which identified the need for the conference as one way of raising the professional standing of Advertising practice in Nigeria and compelling the attention of the government, business leaders and policy makers as well as the general public to the impact and value of Advertising.
“You are no doubt familiar with the fact that the Advertising industry in Nigeria is structured around sectoral associations which, apart from self-regulating their member-organisations, cater to the interests of organisations which belong to their respective specialised areas of practice.
“All of these associations have embraced the National Advertising conference and have their members represented in the Conference Planning Committee,” she said.
The APCON Registrar also explained the conference will afford advertising practitioners the opportunity to discuss challenges faced by the profession, proffer solutions and chart a course for the development of the sector.
The conference, according to Iyoha, will be declared open by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, while Mr. Boss Mustapha, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, will declare it closed. The keynote address on the conference theme, she added, will be delivered by Mr. Lolu Akinwunmi, Chairman, Prima Garnet Africa and former APCON Chairman.
Speaking further on the conference’s theme, Steve Babaeko, Vice President of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), noted that it is pertinent for all advertising stakeholders to discuss the role of technology in the profession.
He explained that stakeholders in the profession have no choice than to adapt to and utilise technological solutions to ensure that their businesses survive and prosper in this contemporary age.
“Even if we choose not to work and take those phenomena you have listed into account, I don’t think that we have any choice than to do that. This is the age we live in, everything is changing. You can see that banking and all other industries are disrupted by all technological phenomenon such as block chain, Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and all of them. So, as advertising people, we have no choice because once you find the ground shifting under your feet, you must also learn the art of balancing to move forward,” Babaeko said.
In attendance at the press conference were representatives of AAAN, Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN), Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN) and Newspapers Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN).
Also in attendance were representatives of ACSPN, Experiential Marketers’ Association of Nigeria (EXMAN), Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN) and the International Advertising Association (IAA).
Africa’s largest retail bank, Access Bank Plc., has partnered with the continent’s most innovative and exciting film festival, the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) to sponsor its 9th edition which kicked off on Sunday, 10 November and will run through Saturday, 16 November, 2019.
The week-long festival celebrates the diversity of African films, including documentaries and short films while connecting various stakeholders within the African film industry through a cinematic experience.
Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc., Herbert Wigwe, highlighted the role of the festival in projecting African stories to the world, while acknowledging those who have invested in building a film industry that continues to be celebrated globally.
“Apart from serving as a platform to share the African culture with the world, the industry has launched a value chain for writers, cinematographers, actors, producers, while also contributing to the economy, creating employment opportunities, and promoting investment,” he said.
According to him: “Through AFRIFF, Access Bank is proud to support millions of creatives in the industry towards achieving their goals while providing economic benefit to them and many others across the world.’
Access Bank has consistently supported the Africa International Film Festival, and the partnership is built on the Bank’s commitment to promoting genuine African stories and also creating a platform for film makers to connect, learn, and showcase their projects.
The Bank’s partnership with the festival also builds on its mission to promote sustainability, deliver long-term prosperity to Nigerians, and boost the creative economy through initiatives such as ART X Lagos and the Accelerate Filmmaker Project.
Pan-African financial Institution, United Bank for Africa Plc got double honours over the weekend as it emerged the Bank of the year 2019; while its Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, also emerged CEO of the year at the Business Hallmark Newspaper Awards, held at the Civic Centre in Lagos on Sunday.
Uzoka beat other CEOs to the prize owing to his sterling achievement since he assumed the leadership role of the bank three years ago, whilst UBA was crowned bank of the year following its exceptional performance as it recorded impressive performance in key financial indicators in 2019.
This is the second time this year that Kennedy Uzoka has emerged CEO of the year as he had only recently clinched the Business Day Banking Awards, (BAFI). The recognitions and awards have further endorsed his visionary leadership style which has consistently earned UBA a plethora of laurels.
Receiving the awards on behalf of the bank, at a well-attended ceremony, which assembled distinguished personalities, UBA’s Executive Director, Mr. Ayoku Liadi, who represented the GMD, thanked the organisers for the recognition, noting that he was proud to work at one of the best institutions in Africa.
“We are creating superior value for all our customers, because we believe they are key to our everyday operations and this commitment, without a doubt has been yielding dividends,” Liadi said.
He continued: “Whilst we are encouraged by these awards, the recognitions present new challenges to us, as we will intensify our commitment towards setting benchmarks for the industry, particularly in our strategic roles,”
The Organiser of the awards and the Chief Executive Officer of Business Hallmark, Emeka Obasi, who spoke at the event explained that the best CEO award is borne out of the need to recognise achievements of financial executives who have been outstanding in their profession and have contributed in no small measure to the growth of their organisations and the economy at large.
Obasi also noted that the award given to UBA, is no doubt a well-deserved one, as is evidenced in the banks numerous innovations, and consistent investment in cutting edge technology giving birth to many firsts, including the launch of Leo the Chat Banker, in January of 2018. This fear has earned the bank the number one position in the digital space.
“Uzoka also did well by focusing on consistent expansion of UBA’s activities and services across and beyond the African continent”, all this is worthy of recognition.” Obasi concluded.
Just recently, UBA released its nine-month results ended September 30, 2019, closing the period with an impressive after-tax profit of N81.63bn, a growth of 32% over that of 2018, a momentum the bank will most likely sustain into the full-year, pointing to the possibility of even higher profits.
The bank’s gross earnings for 2019 nine-month stood at N428.22bn, compared to N310.45bn in 2018, representing 37.94% rise, while profit hit N81.63bn, from N61.7bn in 2018. The UBA group’s impairment charges on financial assets for the period decreased to N6.66bn, compared to N10.67bn in 2018, resulting in a decline in loan loss provision of 37.58%, thereby boosting the bank’s profit for the period.
L-R: Divisional Head, Export & Agriculture, Isaiah Ndukwe; Regional Bank Head (RBH), Victoria Island, Chinwe Iloghalu; Divisional Head, Managed SMEs, Osaigbovo Omorogbe; Divisional Head, Retail Group, Richard Madiebo, all of Fidelity Bank Plc during the Business Hallmark People of the Year Award where Fidelity Bank was adjudged Best Bank in SME Support… on Sunday.
L-R Captain Segun Omole, Dana Air Director of Flight Operations, Obi Mbanuzuo, Dana Air Chief Operating Officer, Rodger Whittle, Executive Director, Bicourtney Aviation Services Limited, Emem Ettete, Dana Air Head of Ground Operations during Dana Air’s 11th anniversary celebration at MMA2 recently.
Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, member of the Standard Bank Group, has won five awards at the 2019 edition of the FMDQ Gold Awards which held on Friday, November 8 at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos.
Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, emerged the overall winner in the Secondary Market category, winning the ‘FMDQ Dealing Member of the Year’ award, for the second year running. The company also won the award for ‘FMDQ FX Market Liquidity Provider’ of the year.
Stanbic IBTC Capital Limited, another subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings, won the ‘FMDQ Capital Markets Securities Origination’ award, thereby emerging the overall winner of the Primary Market category. The company also won the ‘FMDQ Registration Member (Quotations) Award’.
Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers Limited won the ‘Most Active Buy-side Participant in the Fixed Income Market” award.
Dignitaries that attended the event included Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos State and Mary Uduk, the Acting Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Both dignitaries presented awards to Stanbic IBTC.
Funso Akere, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Capital, said the awards would further spur the company to continue providing excellent services across the financial services spectrum. He said: “The five awards we have won will have a positive impact on our operations. This means raising the bar in terms of service delivery. It is a challenge to continually create innovative solutions for our clients. As long as we keep delivering innovative solutions to our clients, they will continue to engage us and we will continue to do transactions.”
He further expressed his appreciation to the clients of Stanbic IBTC, stressing that it was because of them that the company was winning awards. Akere also commended the effort of employees of Stanbic IBTC for putting their heart and soul in service delivery to the company’s clients.
Samuel Ocheho, Head, Global Markets, Nigeria at Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC described the awards as a testament to the culture of hard work at Stanbic IBTC.
He said: “This signifies that we are a top player in the foreign exchange market and in the secondary market for all money market products. It is a testimony to the hard work that we have been engaged in as an institution.”
The FMDQ Gold Awards, held annually, recognizes stakeholders whose participation in the fixed income, foreign exchange and derivatives markets, have supported and fostered growth and development of these markets as well as the Nigerian economy. The inaugural edition was held in 2018.
Worried by the environmental impact of Techno Oil and Gas cylinder factory in Kajola town of Ibeju Lekki, Lagos, residents of the town have threatened to begin a legal action against the company led by Nkechi Obi.
As the story was narrated, no sooner the company began operation in the new factory than its neighbour started to have sleepless nights as a result of its operational nuisance of noise pollution.
A letter from a resident’s lawyer Yinka Muyiwa & Co and made available to journalists explained how the company has constituted a nuisance to its client who is closely behind the factory adding that since all dialogue with company seems not to have yielded positive result, there would be no option than to seek redress at the court of law.
The letter addressed to the company explained how their operations have continued to give discomfort to the resident.
When the Bale of the town Chief Fatai Adams was contacted, he confirmed that there are issues between the company and the resident, assuring that every issues have been resolved amicably.
Sources, however, said Techno factory may not shift their position as they have influence at top level which was displayed at the opening ceremony of the factory performed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
All attempts to speak with the Techno representative proved abortive as the factory manager was said to have proceeded on leave.
Meanwhile, a letter said to have been written by the company and signed by one Ken Abazie vaguely promised to look into the matter and find a lasting solution.
It would be recalled that Techno oil is equally enmeshed in a controversial environmental invasion in Kirikiri area of Lagos where he was alleged to have clandestinely located a tank farm without recourse to the environmental impact to the resident.
Top global designers and brands will storm Lagos for the “Style by Zenith 2.0” Fair, the second edition of Zenith Bank’s highly anticipated Lifestyle Fair, which holds from Friday, November 29 to Sunday, December 1, 2019 at the Eko Energy City, Eko Atlantic, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Some of the top designers billed to feature at the fair include Tom Ford, Dolce and Gabbana, Tokyo James, Eyola, Mai Atafo, Okunnoren Twins, Ejiro Amos-Tafiri, Telvin Nwafor, Fikirte Addis, House of Kaya, Gozen Green, Trish O, Chulaap, Agatha Moreno, Sunny Rose, Nonnistics, Caesar Couture, Yartel, Orapeleng Mdutle, Mustapha Hassanali and the Fabric Hub, amongst others.
Aside showcasing their designs during the runway modelling sessions at the fair, they will also be participating in the various Lifestyle masterclasses, offering expert opinions on recent trends and designs in the global fashion industry.
Launched in 2018, the “Style by Zenith” initiative was created with the objective of supporting and creating value for customers by focusing on various aspects of their lifestyle.
“Style by Zenith 2.0” caps a year of all-encompassing customer lifestyle engagements by Zenith Bank through events such as the Aspire Music Festival, a musical concert for millennials held in Lagos in September and the Aba SME Fair organised for SMEs in the Aba Fashion Market, Abia State last month. This is in addition to the Light-Up Ceremony of the yuletide decorations on Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island coming up by the second week of this month.
The three-day fair has an interesting line up of activities including runway modelling by leading Nigerian and international models accessorized by top global and Nigerian designers, modelling masterclasses, exhibition of lifestyle, beauty, health & fitness products, food and drinks, games arcade for both children and adults as well as musical concert featuring Nigeria’s biggest artistes.
Fashion One, the leading global fashion and lifestyle channel will once again be working with Zenith Bank on the “Style by Zenith 2.0” initiative.
Registration for the event, which is free for everyone, can be done by visiting www.zenithbank.com/style.
Zenith Bank Plc is recognized as one of the most innovative financial institutions in Nigeria and was voted the most customer-focused bank in Nigeria for the Retail and SME segments in the 2018 KPMG Annual Banking Industry Customer Satisfaction Survey (BICSS). Most recently, the bank won the Best Bank in Retail Banking and the Bank of the Year at the 2019 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BOFI) Awards, and was ranked as the Best Digital Bank in Nigeria 2019 by Agusto & Co.
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