Day: July 31, 2019

Firms optimistic on macro-economic conditions

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The latest Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) monthly Business Expectations Survey (BES)  report  has shown  that majority of  respondent firms expressed optimism on macro economy in July 2019. According to the BES report, which was posted on the apex bank’s website yesterday, majority of  businesses in the country  expect the naira to appreciate in the coming months. Furthermore,  the report said: “Level of inflation is expected to increase slightly in both the next six months and the next twelve months; borrowing rate is expected to rise in the current month,…

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Unity Bank reports N1.052bn in HY’19 profit

Chris Ugwu

Unity Bank Plc has recorded growth in profitability by over 96 per cent as its profit before tax stood at N1.052 billion as against N536 million in H1 2018. A review of the bank’s performance also shows significant improvements across key financial metrics such as the earning assets and gross loans. The bank recorded a quantum leap in its earning assets by 62 per cent, thus leading to higher income and grew its gross loans by 456 per cent. This increase was also boosted by an increase in investment securities…

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CBN: Manufacturing PMI edges to 57.6

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Nigeria’s official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) reached 57.6 index points in July compared to previous month’s reading of 57.4, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) PMI July 2019 report, released yesterday, shows. According to CBN, “a composite PMI above 50 points indicates that the manufacturing/non-manufacturing economy is generally expanding, 50 points indicates no change and below 50 points indicates that it is generally contracting.” The apex bank, thus stated in the report that: “Manufacturing PMI in the month of July stood at 57.6 index points, indicating expansion in the…

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Tecno rewards winners in Pouvoir 3 promo

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  Africa’s most preferred smartphone, Tecno, has rewarded the winners of its recently concluded Pouvoir 3 Power Extravaganza promo.   The lucky winners, who emerged after a keen competition, had their prizes presented to them at the company’s Abuja office.   The winners include Mr Adigan Ibrahim, who won the 1st prize– a 24/7 solar energy system; Mr Joseph, who won the 2nd prize – an inverter; Alhaji Mohammad, who won the 3rd prize – a Generator set; and Mr. Paul Malik, who also won a power generator set.  …

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Nigerian fintech emerges finalist at MIT Challenge

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  Social Lender, a lending solution based on social reputation on mobile, online and social media platforms and major players in Nigerian fintech ecosystem, has been selected as a regional finalist for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology [MIT] Inclusive Innovation Challenge (IIC). The Nigerian fintech firm is the only Nigerian start-up that made the Africa regional finalist for the challenge.   Other finalists are Forasna, a Cairo-based platform for blue-collar jobs; Farmline, a Ghana based agrictech startup that distributes content to farmers and 10 other technology startups companies in Africa.…

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Telco partners Gravitas for fibre deployment

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  One of Nigeria’s mobile telecommunication outfits, 9mobile, has signed an agreement with Gravitas, a property and infrastructure development company, to provide exclusive telecommunications services on Gracefield Island.    The company, in a statement, said the deal demonstrated its commitment towards enabling the growth of Nigerian businesses. According to 9mobile, Gracefield Island will be a new integrated cosmopolitan smart city of 25,000 inhabitants initiated by Gravitas and built on purposely-reclaimed land within the fast-rising premium Lekki, Lagos shoreline. It added that exclusive Island would offer world-class utilities and services for…

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ICT experts demand FG’s investment in Wi-Fi

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    To bridge digital gap in the country, stakeholders in the ICT sector have called on the Federal Government to invest in infrastructure that will provide free public Wi-Fi across the country.   The stakeholders, who gathered at the 2019 Nigeria ICT Impact CEO Forum (NIICF), themed: ‘Connecting the Unconnected,’ said private operators had made some investments in this regard, but their efforts would not be enough to cover all cities in the country.   Specifically, the Chief Executive Officer, Bitflux Communications, Mr Lekan Balogun, said the private sector…

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