Category: Business

FIRSTBANK CONVENES THE FOURTH EDITION OF ITS ANNUAL FIRSTGEM EVENT

…REINFORCES ITS LEADING ROLE IN PROMOTING WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier and leading financial inclusion services provider has announced the fourth edition of its annual FirstGem Conference, tagged FirstGem 4.0. The 2021 event is themed ‘The Art of Negotiation’ and convened to provide women with insights on the secrets of wealth management, investment and savings. It is scheduled to hold on Wednesday, 31 March 2021. Participants are required to register via the link http://bit.ly/firstbankwebinar

 

 

 

The product, FirstGem, is an account designed specifically to meet the needs of women, aged 18 years and above. The product is targeted at a broad spectrum of women, working professionals, entrepreneurs or market women to promote their business through an array of benefits, from free business advisory services on business funding, specialized training on Business Development initiatives (online and physical), regular information or insights on business opportunities or openings in various sectors and industries. FirstGem account owners have access to mouth-watering discounts at merchant outlets (spas, salons, grocery stores) that offer lifestyle products and services.

 

The Guest Speakers at the event are Mrs. Ibukun Awosika – Chairman, Board of Directors, First Bank of Nigeria Limited; Prof Pedro Videla – Prof. of Economics at IESE Business School and Prof Mehta Kandarp, Senior Lecturer, IESE Business School. They would respectively speak on the topics; the theme of the International Women’s Day “Choose to Challenge”, the current state of the Global Economy and how it Impacts Business Decisions and Negotiation as a Tool for Winning in Business & Career.

 

During the event, FirstBank SME customers would be given the opportunity to pitch their business idea and stand a chance to get N1,000,000 seed fund to kick-start their business. The business ideas would be judged by the following criteria; Originality, Feasibility, Good presentation skills and Sustainability.

 

Speaking on the event, Mr. Francis Shobo, Deputy Managing Director, Firstbank said “The FirstGem 4.0 is the icing on the cake in the streams of initiatives and activities we have organised and participated in March as we join the world to celebrate women for the indelible roles they play in our society. Through these activities, we spearhead the call on the need to promote women inclusiveness in the country as the role they play towards the continued socio-economic growth and development of any given society cannot be overemphasized.”

 

Shedding light on the impact of the FirstGem account, he said “our FirstGem account is specifically designed to meet the financial needs of women as it offers unrivalled services that empower women to do more and achieve more. It seeks to drive financial development and the empowerment of women through gender engineered programmes. At FirstBank, we recognize that promoting female entrepreneurship and empowerment is crucial to a better society, “he concluded.

 

Since the product launch in October 2016, the Bank has implemented various activities targeted at promoting female empowerment, impact and influence in the economy. Through its online portal – designed to provide a virtual online community with over 61,293 members where like-minded women irrespective of where they are in Nigeria and abroad, gather to connect, grow and share knowledge on everything about lifestyle, motherhood, career development, entrepreneurship, health, work and family. We encourage all women to join the community by signing up via this link https://firstgem.com.ng/community to enjoy this experience.

 

 

FirstGem has successfully empowered women in states across the geo-political zones in Nigeria and the United Kingdom.

N276.07bn Profit: Dangote Cement incur N97bn Tax in 2020

Dangote Cement, one of Nigeria’s largest indigenous companies and the largest by market capitalization incurred a company income tax of N97 billion for the financial year ended December 2020.

 

 

 

This s according to the information contained in its full-year audited financial statements for the period under review.

Dangote Cement has enjoyed Pioneer Status over the years and has often been criticized for not paying enough taxes despite its mega-profits.

 

 

The N97 billion incurred in 2020 is the highest company income tax reported by Dangote Cement since it became listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

 

 

It incurred N49 billion in taxes in 2019 and got a tax credit of N89.5 billion in 2018.

Despite incurring N97 billion in taxes during the year, Dangote Cement’s actual tax paid was just N20.9 billion in 2020 compared to N4.6 billion paid a year earlier.

Tax incurred in the profit and loss statement is an accounting provision and is not always the actual tax paid in cash.

Putting it into context, the dividend paid during the year is N272 billion and interest payments to its creditors totals N48.2 billion.

Despite the Covid-19 Pandemic, the Cement Giant reported full-year revenue of N1 trillion, the highest it has ever recorded since it was privatized almost 20 years ago. The company also reported a profit before tax of N373.3 billion only and a profit after tax of N276 billion, its highest since 2018.

Nigeria like most countries in the world has faced a challenging 2020 due to the impact of Covid-19 on the economy, especially the private sector. However, mega-corporations like Dangote Cement appear to have even performed better during the year. The cement industry in general also appears to have performed well during the year as the combined revenue of the top 3, Dangote Cement, Lafarge, and BUA rose to N1.47 trillion from N1.28 trillion.

The impressive result nonetheless, Dangote Cement’s margins remained strong during the year posting a gross profit margin of 57% in line with its 3-year averages. However, the higher taxes incurred in 2020 dropped profit margins to 26.7%. When compared to 2018 when it still enjoyed Pioneer status, the company posted profit margins of about 43%.

 

Tesla Boss, Elon Musk Lose $8bn just this Week

Tesla boss, Elon Musk, the second richest man on the planet lost $8bn from his net worth this week.

 

 

 

According to Forbes, Elon Musk is currently worth $162.4 billion and is still the richest man. Musk’s net worth is highly intertwined with his shares in his Tesla company.

 

 

This week the shares took a hit which led to the $8bn loss. We are going to briefly explain what led to this loss below.

This week German automobile giants, Volkswagen announced a detailed plan to get involved in the blossoming electric car market. According to the plan, they hope to become the leading electric car manufacturer in the world by 2025.

The announcement drove up Volkswagen company shares by 15%. Experts and analysts strongly believe Volkswagen would be a very competent competitor to Tesla. This led to a 6.9% drop in Tesla shares shaving $8bn from Musk’s net worth.

The automobile industry has been dominated by German companies for a very long time. German automobile companies have at many times in the past set high standards that US carmakers have struggled to compete with.

The entrance of an 84-year-old German automobile company into the electric car market seems to have set off the alarm bells in the US Market.

Elon Musk is still the second richest man in the world behind his American counterpart, Jeff Bezos.

CBN Naira4Dollar: Nigerians in Diaspora Made N200million from 1 Week Remittance

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Naira4Dollar scheme may have attracted about $40 million in foreign remittances in one week, according to a reliable source with knowledge of the scheme.

 

 

 

Sources informs that the scheme had performed a lot more than expected as remittances via commercial banks have picked up suggesting Nigerians in the diaspora have embraced it.

 

 

According to the source, the CBN received circa $40 million last week from remittances up from about $6 million before the policy was introduced. At $40 million a week the CBN could be attracting about $160 million a month or $1.9 billion per annum. This will be higher than the estimated $1.1 billion received in 2020 from diaspora remittances but much lower than the $3.2 billion received in 2019.

 

 

The central bank captures remittances in its Balance of Payment report and the Foreign Exchange Flows data. While the BOP includes non-cash items remitted into Nigeria, the Foreign Exchange Flows Data records cash items only.

It was reported recently that commercial banks in Nigeria are automatically opening domiciliary bank accounts for Beneficiaries of diaspora remittances in Nigeria under the CBN’s Naira4Dollar scheme. As the beneficiary receives the inflows, N5 for every dollar remitted is a credit to the naira account of the beneficiary.

The CBN Naira4Dollar scheme appears to be recording success since its introduction three weeks ago. A $40 million a week inflow suggests most of the dollars are either in domiciliar account of customers or withdrawn and exchanged at the black market.

The CBN believes remittances paid in dollars and sold on the streets will improve liquidity in the retail end, thus strengthening the exchange rate.

However, the latest information suggests the exchange rate between the naira and dollar is N486/$1 higher than the N480/$1 exchanged just before the new policy was introduced.

At $40 million the CBN would have incurred a cost of about N200 million.

Heritage Bank joins in World Water Day with installation of borehole

Heritage Bank Plc has joined the rest of the globe to celebrate the World Water Day 2021 with plans to assist a community in dire need of clean water by installing a bore hole.

The theme for this year’s WWD 2021 is “Valuing Water,” which focuses on the importance of freshwater and presses for sustainable management of water resources. According to the United Nations, the day is aimed at raising awareness about 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water resources globally.

“The value of water is about much more than its price.” This day is celebrated keeping in line with Sustainable Development Goal number 6 which is aimed at achieving water and sanitation by all for 2030,” UN stated.

It further explained that global water demand is likely to rise by over 50 per cent by 2040.

To this effect, as part of efforts to implement the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) sustainable banking principle, Heritage Bank Plc has instituted a Corporate Social Responsibility’s (CSR) campaign project to assist a community in dire need of clean water by installing a bore hole.

This campaign project, according to the bank will be executed in two phases; the first involves nominations call for community that is in dire need of water will be put on its social platforms from 22nd March 2021, which will run for 30days.

The bank in a statement signed by the Divisional Head, Corporate Communications, Fela Ibidapo, disclosed that thorough research will be conducted on communities that put up for nominations and the most in need will be chosen.

In furtherance, the community leaders would be engaged, which will herald commencement of the project and handing over the borehole to the community.

Speaking on WWD 2021, the MD/CEO of the Bank, Ifie Sekibo said the adoption of the campaign project shows how Heritage Bank values water and making clean water accessible to the under-privilege, living in urban slums and rural areas.

According to him, to access safe water resources globally, higher value must be given to protecting the ecosystem in ensuring good quality water supply.

Sekibo, who further canvassed for the implementation of Sustainable Banking Principle, tasked stakeholders to continually promote the need for more productive value of water, which would bring about developmental impact to society, while protecting the communities and environment in which financial institutions and their clients operate.

FIRSTBANK CEO LISTS TECHNOLOGY, CAPACITY AS KEY FOR POST COVID-19 GROWTH By Bolaji Israel

…Thumbs up mobile banking (FirstMobile) and USSD (*894#) platforms

Dr Adesola Adeduntan, Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited said technology, innovation and enhanced capabilities have become necessary to achieve significant business growth in the post-COVID-19.

Adeduntan made this remark on Thursday during a Digital Disruption Series webinar organised by the Surrey Business School of the University of Surrey, England.

The webinar was themed: “Digital Disruption: How Can Companies Thrive in Africa Post-COVID-19.”

According to the FirstBank boss, it is about studying the environment and leveraging the digital space to proffer solutions tailored to suit emerging challenges

Adeduntan cited FirstMobile, the Bank’s mobile banking and *894# USSD platforms as some of the digital disruptions that had impacted positively on the financial institution, the banking industry and the financial ecosystem as a whole.

“We have the largest bank agents – close to 90,000 – of them spread across the country, helping to bring in people that were financially excluded into the financial system,” he said.

On barriers to growth in creating innovative and indigenous knowledge, the CEO cited capital constraint, social infrastructure and cultural approach as some of the limiting factors encountered by businesses in Africa.

“In Nigeria, to solve the capital constraint, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Banker’s Committee contribute certain percentage of our profit to a pool of fund to serve as equity for entrepreneurs,” he said.

According to the FirstBank CEO, absence of social infrastructure in African countries has denied citizens the ability to lead better and quality life, thus leading to the migration of many young and brilliant minds from the continent.

He said the bank evolved a deliberate approach in its employment, remuneration, exciting work roles and talent development to inspire and retain its young workforce.

Dr. Adeduntan added that there were significant opportunities in Africa, with over one billion population, while noting that opportunities were available for young and innovative people willing to work smart and hard.

The FirstBank boss noted that the bank had been in existence for 127 years, and had been strategically positioned for exponential growth through its ability to leverage innovation to reinvent itself.

Also speaking at the event, Prof. Kenneth Amaeshi, Thought Leader, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, said COVID-19 had unravelled the need to realign Africa’s institutions, and convert challenges to opportunities.

Amaeshi said African governments should evolve more favourable policies and incentives that would encourage renewed innovation, increase investment in education, research and development and intellectual property protection.

“As much as we want to celebrate technology development in Africa, we need Africans to participate and contribute to the knowledge going on in the digital space,” he said.

GTBank Releases 2020 Full Year Audited Results……..Reports PBT of ₦238.1 Billion

Guaranty Trust Bank plc has released its Audited Financial Results for the year ended December 31, 2020 to the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges.

A review of the result shows improved performance across all key financial metrics in the face of the unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting the quality of past decisions and reaffirming its position as one of the best managed financial institutions in Africa.
The Group reported Profit before tax of ₦238.1billion, representing a growth of 2.8% over ₦231.7billion recorded in the corresponding year ended December 2019. The Group’s Loan book (Net) grew by 10.7% from ₦1.502trillion recorded as at December 2019 to ₦1.663trillion in December 2020, while Customers’ deposits increased by 38.6% from ₦2.533trillion in December 2019 to ₦3.509trillion in December 2020.
Guaranty Trust Bank’s Balance sheet remained well structured, diversified and resilient with Total assets and Shareholders’ Funds closing at ₦4.945trillion and ₦814.4billion respectively. Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained very strong, closing at 21.9%, while Asset quality was sustained as NPL ratio and Cost of Risk (COR) closed at 6.4% (Bank: 5.9%) and 1.2% (Bank: 1.0%) in December 2020 from 6.5% (Bank: 6.2%) and 0.3% (Bank: 0.2%) in December 2019 respectively.
Commenting on the financial results, the Managing Director/CEO of Guaranty Trust Bank plc, Mr. Segun Agbaje, said; “2020 was arguably the most challenging year that the world has faced in decades. In such unprecedented times, we sought to live out the full extent of our values; safeguarding lives and livelihoods for our people, our customers and across the communities where we operate.
We were on solid footing going into 2020; the strength, scale and liquidity of our balance sheet, coupled with the quality of our past decisions and the efficacy of our digital-first customer-centric strategy gave us the resilience and flexibility to navigate the economic shocks and market volatility that dominated the year.”
He further stated that; “Amidst the many challenges that persist, we remain ardent believers in Africa’s growth potential. Our world is increasingly digital, and we see it opening new and exciting opportunities for empowering people and uplifting our communities. With our commitment to deepening customer relationships and intense focus on delivering innovative financial solutions, we enter 2021 well-positioned to lead this new world.”
Guaranty Trust Bank plc continues to post the best metrics in the Nigerian Banking industry in terms of all Financial Ratios i.e. Post-Tax Return on Equity (ROAE) of 26.8%, Post-Tax Return on Assets (ROAA) of 4.6%, Full Impact Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 21.9% and Cost to Income ratio of 38.2%.
Renowned for its forward-thinking approach to financial services and customer engagement, GTBank was recently ranked Africa’s Most Admired Finance Brand in the 10th-anniversary rankings of Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands, the pre-eminent survey and ranking of the Top 100 admired brands in Africa. The Bank was also awarded the Best Bank in Nigeria by Euromoney Magazine for a record-extending tenth time and the Euromoney Excellence in Leadership Africa Award for its swift reaction in responding to the Covid-19 crisis and for addressing the impact of the pandemic on its customers and communities.

UBA to Support Businesses on Budgeting and Forecasting, Holds Workshop Today

As part of its continuous effort to catalyse the growth and sustainability of Small and Medium-Scale businesses in Nigeria and Africa, Pan Africa Financial Institution, United Bank for Africa, (UBA) Plc will be hosting its next Business Series on Wednesday, March 17th, 2021.

The UBA Business Series, which is held quarterly, is a capacity building initiative where professional business leaders share insights on best business practices and how entrepreneurs can build a sustainable business empire especially in a challenging business environment in Africa, aggravated by the COVID 19 pandemic.

In this edition, which will be held via Microsoft Teams, UBA will host the founder, Accounting Hub, Chioma Ifeanyi-Eze, a seasoned accountant with years of experience across multinationals including PWC.

Ifeanyi-Eze will be speaking on Budgeting and forecasting for Business Growth and will give tips to business owners and intending start-ups on practical ways to ensure their businesses survive and thrive and essential strategies on how to recover and mitigate losses especially in these difficult operating environments in Africa and beyond

The open event will be held virtually by 2pm WAT on Wednesday, March 17, 2021 and interested participants can register via this link: http://bit.ly/UBASMEWorkshopMarch2021

UBA’s Group Head, Consumer and Retail Banking, Sampson Aneke, who spoke ahead of the event, said that far beyond banking services, UBA is interested in ensuring that customers and entrepreneurs run businesses that can stand the test of time, adding that the Business Series, will assist to arm business leaders with all the knowledge and experience required to take their businesses to the next level.

He said, “Even in this period of the pandemic, it is interesting to note that some businesses are still making it big. How? you will ask, these are some of the questions we will address in our seminar on Wednesday.

“Chioma Ifeanyi Eze, who is experienced in every sense of the word is willing to share insight with others on ways to grow their business and put it on firm footing as we try to move beyond this pandemic. I will advise everyone to tune in, even if you do not have a business, it is an opportunity to learn something new,” Aneke said.

This novel initiative is a quarterly enterprise championed by UBA, and has been instrumental in helping to support and elevate businesses to new highs for many years now.

United Bank for Africa is a leading pan-African financial institution offering banking services to more than twenty million customers globally. With footprint in 20 African countries and presence globally in the United Kingdom, the USA and France, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary

FINAL CALL: APPLICATIONS TO THE TONY ELUMELU FOUNDATION ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMME CLOSES MARCH 31

open to all African entrepreneurs with business ideas from across all 54 African countries

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Africa’s leading philanthropy dedicated to empowering African entrepreneurs, will close applications for the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme on its TEFConnect digital platform (www.tefconnect.com) on March 31. This year’s intervention prioritises the economic recovery of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and young African entrepreneurs, following the Covid-19 disruption to economic activities.

To address the unique challenges arising from the pandemic, lift millions out of poverty and create sustainable employment across the continent, the Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Programme will empower over 3,500 young African entrepreneurs in collaboration with global partners.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation, which celebrated ten years of impact in 2020, is empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, through the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.  Successful applicants receive a world-class business training, mentorship, non-refundable seed capital up to $5,000, and global networking opportunities.  The Programme is open to entrepreneurs across Africa, both new start-ups and existing young businesses, operating in any sector.

According to the Director of Partnerships & Communications at the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Somachi Chris-Asoluka, “Africa’s growing, and active youth population must take advantage of this opportunity and apply for the programme before the 31st of March, as their full participation will create a pathway to economic prosperity. This year, we have the capacity to empower more African entrepreneurs than ever, further ensuring that they have adequate training, funding and mentorship to boost their performance. It is time for young African entrepreneurs to embrace this much-needed support system to enable thriving and sustainable economic activity. We believe we will continue to see exponential change in sectors across the continent.”

The Tony Elumelu Foundation’s $100million Entrepreneurship Programme, launched in 2015 to empower 10,000 entrepreneurs over 10 years, is now entering its 7th year and has empowered to date, over 9,000 young African entrepreneurs from 54 African countries.

Prospective applicants should apply on the digital networking hub for African entrepreneurs, www.tefconnect.com.

FIRSTBANK PROMOTES CROSS BORDER PAYMENTS IN SUB SAHARA AFRICA WITH FIRST GLOBAL TRANSFER

First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier and leading financial inclusion services provider, has announced the launch of First Global Transfer (FGT) to promote international transfer of funds across its subsidiaries in sub-Saharan Africa. The Bank’s subsidiaries in Africa include FBNBank DRC, FBNBank Ghana, FBNBank Gambia, FBNBank Guinea, FBNBank Sierra-Leone, FBNBank Senegal.

The First Global Transfer (FGT) initiative is specifically designed to ensure safe, timely and improved efficiency in the transfer of funds across the network of FirstBank subsidiaries in Africa. The FGT is not restricted to FirstBank and FBNBank Customers alone but it is also open to every individual resident in the country the funds transfer is originating from.

Intending users of the initiative are to visit any of the Bank’s branches in Nigeria or subsidiaries in Africa, which are: FBNBank DRC, FBNBank Ghana, FBNBank Gambia, FBNBank Guinea, FBNBank Sierra-Leone, or FBNBank Senegal to enjoy the service. For example, with First Global Transfer, individuals and customers in Sierra-Leone can walk into any FBNBank branch to send money to FirstBank customers in Nigeria as well as FBNBank customers in Gambia, Ghana, DR Congo, Senegal or Guinea.

Speaking on the initiative, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, CEO, FirstBank said “today’s customer is influenced by the technological advancement shaping businesses across various industries and our First Global Transfer (FGT) initiative is one of those advancement created to impact every individual in our host community in Africa, whilst promoting the ease and swift transfer of money from one country to another for business or personal activities.”

“With the launch of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on 1 January 2021, the First Global Transfer (FGT) is indeed very timely as it will play an essential role in stimulating business activities across borders, thereby impacting the growth and development of the continent. I enjoin everyone to visit any one of our branches nearest to you in Nigeria or our subsidiaries in Africa and send money to your loved ones or business partners with FirstBank or FBNBank account(s),” he concluded.

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