16
BUSINESS DAY
C002D5556
COMPANIES & MARKETS
Friday 16 November 2018
Business Event
BANKING
FCMB’s partnership with WSBI is a boon for unbanked farmers LOLADE AKINMURELE
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i g e r i a n l e n d e r, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Savings and Retail Banking Institute (WSBI) Tuesday aimed at providing financial services to some two million farmers between now and 2023. According to the memorandum seen by Business Day, the project involves FCMB rolling out an integrated savings account – named ‘Kampe Account’ – through a grant provided by WSBI. The Kampe Account will offer financial services, under phase one of its plan, to 150,000 unbanked and under-banked farmers across five states through agricul-
tural agents operating under the bank’s agency banking proposition. The amount of the grant was not disclosed. The first set of states to benefit in the first phase is Kaduna, Kano, Nasarawa, Ogun and Oyo. FCMB stocks gained 1.3 percent to N1.6 per share Wednesday, according to NSE data. Financial inclusion in Nigeria has gone from bad to worse after a World Bank report showed active bank accounts in Africa’s most populous nation fell to 41 percent in 2017 from 44 percent the previous year. About 50 million of the unbanked in Nigeria, which despite having Africa’s largest mobile-phone market, is only just opening up to the technology to bring banking to its estimated 200 million
people. Financial exclusion, which includes lack of access to finance, is prevalent in rural areas among farmers and mostly women according to a research done by development institution, Dalberg, and the Lagos Business School. A d a m G u r u , F C M B’s managing director, said the “Kampe Account is built on a sustainable approach which ensures farmers can gain better access to finance and other resources needed to help them build successful businesses.” Nigerian smallholder farmers have been at a disadvantage due to several factors including land fragmentation, inadequate farming equipment, broken value chains, poor access to finance and inadequate cash flow.
L-R Solomon Sonaiya, director, Livespot, Deola Art Alade, CEO, Livespot, Dare Art Alade, executive creative director, Livespot, Funmi Elliot, head of marketing and new business development, Livespot, Ladi Okuneye, director, Livespot during the media hangout which held at Livespot’s headquarters at Ikeja , Lagos. Pic by Pius Okeosisi
FINTECH
Cellulant makes KPMG 2018 Fintech 100 list IFEOMA OKEKE
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ellulant, a leading digital payments provider in Nigeria that reaches 40 million people across 11 African countries, has been named among the Top 50 emerging Fintech companies in the world in this year’s KPMG FinTech100 report. Cellulant is among the only three African companies representing Africa from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa to be included in the list of leading global Fintech innovators that are transforming the financial services industry and have successfully raised venture capital.
The 2018 KPMG Fintech100 report highlights truly innovative companies creating products and services at the nexus of technology and financial services. Cellulant is among this year’s list of ‘Emerging 50’ firms – exciting new companies that are at the forefront of innovative technologies and practices and are often pursuing new business models. The annual report now in its fifth edition has featured companies from 36 countries divided into two categories; The ‘Top 50’ - established Fintech firms around the globe, ranked based on innovation, capital raising activity, size and country.
“Being listed as one of the only 3 African new and exciting companies that is disrupting the financial services industry globally is a vindication of our vision to become the leading financial services and payments brand in Africa,” Cellulant’s Co-CEO Bolaji Akinboro said. “Our commitment is to continue scaling a payments infrastructure that can transform two thirds of Africans who do not have access to a bank account. We believe that building a connected payments infrastructure is the foundation of solving real challenges and accelerating Africa’s growth and development.”
L-R: Soromidayo Gorge, corporate affairs and sustainable business director, Unilever Ghana/Nigeria; Salawot Abiodun Fasasi, Wecyclers Nigeria controller; Jide Onayiga, assistant general manager, LAWMA, and Ramaswamy Siddharth, vice president, Unilever Supply Chain, West Africa.At the Official Launching Of Wecyclers Recycling Exchange Program held at Iyana Ipaja Lagos.
OIL AND GAS
Total trains 21 smallholder farmers in agribusiness GODFREY OFURUM
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bout 21 small holder farmers in Enugu State have benefited from the TOTALpreneur programme of the Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria. The programme, which was also implemented in other States of the federation, was part of the company’s social responsibility initiative, to contribute to food security and attainment of the relevant Millennium Development Goals. The beneficiaries were trained in technical, business, operational training, processing and packaging, branding/marketing, the use of ICT in agribusiness and leadership skills. Vincent Nnadi, executive manager, Total Upstream Nigeria Limited, at the graduation
ceremony of the agribusiness sustenance and value chain addition for small holder farmers’ programme in Enugu, explained that the programme was an initiative of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation/Total Upstream Nigeria Limited and its partners. Represented at the event, by Delight Sunday-Anecho, an executive manager with the firm, Nnadi, stated that the company was consistently committed to giving back to the communities, through human, social and economic development. He explained that the programme was implemented in all states of the federation, irrespective of whether or not they are oil producing. According to him, “A welldeveloped food chain is essential for the development and success of the Nigerian agribusiness sector.
“Lack of agricultural storage facilities and knowledge have made farming in Nigeria a less attractive venture for the small holder farmers. “Hence, Total and her partners intervened in creating awareness and increasing capacity on the value addition that these farmers could leverage on to make a success of their farming business,” he said. Nnadi, who encouraged the trainees to apply the knowledge they had got, noted that small holder farmers are key to achieving food sufficiency. “Plant for subsistence and become a giant, if you apply the knowledge you have got here, because the ground is full of money. “You are the key in the food chain and as young, proud farmers, I expect you to make the difference”, Nnadi stated.
L- R: Ayeni Adekunle, founder/CEO BHM Group, Ade Adenoma, director, i4nnova Limited, Adebayor Akinwunmi, director, i4nnova Limited; Kelechi Nwosu, director, i4nnova Limited, and Ibukun Olufun, SAP accounts executive West Africa, at the official launch of BHM on SAP in Lagos Pic by Pius Okeosisi
TECHNOLOGY
MTN, Sterling bank partnership will make it easy to buy phones BUNMI BAILEY
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TN Nigeria, Africa’s leading cellular telecommunications company has partnered with, Sterling Bank Plc , tier-2 lender and PayJoy on a project called Device Financing Scheme (DFS) which will make it easier for customers to acquire smartphones. The scheme will enable MTN customers, who meet some specific conditions to buy their smart-
phones and pay over a six-month period, the telecommunication giant said. Adekunle Adebiyi, sales and distribution executive at MTN Nigeria said, “It is the desire of the telecommunication companies to ensure that more people stay connected. MTN wants every customer to benefit from the modern, connected life, and it is through partnerships like this that we will see the change we want to see.” “Smartphones that can be
purchased under this scheme ranges from the prices of N25, 000 to N400, 000 and participating customers would also receive some 20 percent interest,” Adebiyi also said in a speech during the launch event for the DFS initiative. Recently this month, the chief executive officer of MTN, Rob Shuter, has said that despite the challenges the telecommunications firm is facing in Nigeria, it will, next month, apply for a mobile-money licence.
L-R: (Back): Faith Joshua, national coordinator, Indomie Fan Club (IFC); Winifred Adasagba, project coordinator, IFC Story Writing Competition; Omotola Edien, Indomie digital marketing manager, and Jide Olusanya, IFC story writing competition chief judge, with the winners of the IFC 2018 Story Writing Competition: Shepard Duru (1st Prize winner); Salako Oluwatimileyin (2nd Prize winner); Okafor Chiagoziem (3rd prize winner), and George Chukwukaima (Lagos region winner), at the cheque presentation to the winners of the competition in Lagos. Pic by Olawale Amoo