A survey by Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) estimates the number of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country, which Taiwo Oyedele, tax lead at PwC Nigeria, said could reduce the unemployment rate by more than half if there is a new policy that would enable them to employ engage one additional employee. Such policies, the Managing Director of Wema Bank Plc, Ademola Adebise, does not necessarily have to be restricted to funding, saying, “I have seen many MSMEs with access to funds struggle as a result of the absence of skills to manage…
Author: Temitope N.
The reduction in employment shrinks disposable incomes and consumption. A falling consumption further swells inventories, leading to additional cuts in variable costs, including labour – a decision that frequently renders many people unemployed. When this cyclical process continues uninterrupted as it has become in Nigeria, poverty and social tensions increase. And when a society becomes unsafe, existing businesses also get hit and start rounds of layoff, which further threatens the economic prosperity of the country and complicates the job outlook. The socio-economic disaster of a downtrend economy justifies the rising stimulus culture, among modern economies. Unfortunately, Nigeria currently nestles in-between…
The Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) has initiated the second edition of its insurance textbooks for both secondary school and college students. The move, according to the institute, is to promote insurance education and sensitisation to the next generation. The second edition of the textbooks is an improvement on the first edition in terms of quality, design, and contents. The Lagos State ministry of education had earlier approved the institute’s secondary school textbooks as recommended textbooks for insurance in all secondary schools across the state. The President/Chairman of CIIN, Muftau Oyegunle, at the unveiling in Lagos, said all tertiary…
Underwriters have keyed into the market development and restructuring initiative (MDRI) to rewrite and create more awareness on the relevance of insurance to the economy. Stating this in a paper delivered at the launch of a new office in Ogun State, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, African Alliance Insurance Plc, Joyce Ojemudia, reiterated the importance of viable retail presence in insurance marketing. Ojemudia said life insurance, especially in this part of the world, “is not bought but sold. Therefore, we remain in close contact with the target markets to drive penetration to grow premium incomes via deliberate market expansion and…
Amid the harsh operating environment, FMDQ Securities Exchange’s activation of market penetration strategy for securities-related services attracted a total of 21 securities valued at about ₦411 billion in 2020. At the exchange virtual 9th yearly general meeting held at the weekend, the Group Chairman, Dr. Kingsley Obiora, said 2020 was a landmark year for FMDQ, as the company transformed into a Group structure, with FMDQ Group becoming a non-operating Holding Company registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with three SEC-registered capital market subsidiaries. According to him, the regulated subsidiaries, which include FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, FMDQ Clear Limited,…
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo says the African Development Bank (AfDB) has agreed to support Micro Small and Medium Enterprises(MSMEs), especially technology-based ones with 500 million dollars in Nigeria. Osinbajo disclosed this on Sunday at the 33rd Inaugural Lecture of Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun. The institution’s 33rd Inaugural Lecture was delivered by Oluseyi Oduyoye, Professor of Business Administration. The title of the lecture is, “From Small Business to Big Business: A Future with Little Hope”. The vice president said that one of the things the Federal Government did with small business during the COVID-19 pandemic and afterwards was the introduction…
The global total industry passenger revenues fell by 69 per cent to $189bn in 2020, with accumulated net losses of $126.4bn, according to the latest data from the International Air Transport Association. The industry statistics show that the number of passengers carried on schedule services plunged by 65.7 per cent, with Africa as the largest loser of passenger traffic after Europe. The decline in air passengers transported in 2020 was the largest recorded since global revenue passenger-kilometers started being tracked around 1950. The statistics also confirmed that domestic air passenger demand dropped by 48.8 per cent, compared to 2019, while…
The Nigeria Labour Congress has said the Federal Government must implement by December the agreement to reduce electricity tariffs by N15 per kilowatt-hour. The congress cautioned that it would not accept the serial violations of agreements, noting that it was serving the government a notice. The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday titled ‘Gas sale to Gencos should be below $1.50/scf’. He said, “It is significant that the incessant increase of electricity tariff was one of the several issues discussed between the representatives of the Federal Government of Nigeria and organised labour, hereinafter…
The Transmission Company of Nigeria has suspended the evacuation of electricity to eligible customers, it was learnt on Thursday. In July 2018, the immediate past Minister of Power, Babatunde Fashola, announced the introduction of the Eligible Customer policy, explaining that it would accelerate power supply to industries and heavy consumers. Fashola, who is the current Minister of Works and Housing, had stated that the policy was introduced in pursuant to powers conferred by Section 27 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act. The policy allows power generation companies to sell electricity directly to consumers without passing through the distribution companies,…
The Financial Derivatives Company Limited has described the documentation process required by banks for the sale of foreign exchange as cumbersome, saying this will pose a challenge to the public. The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, had last week, at the end of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, announced the stoppage of forex sale to the Bureaux De Change, saying they had turned themselves into “agents that facilitate graft and corrupt activities of people who seek illicit fund flow and money laundering in Nigeria”. He said the CBN would channel a significant portion of its weekly allocation currently meant for…