[Nigeria Business Week] Andrea Ayemoba: Banks rally behind women-led SMEs
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has an approximated value of 50 trillion naira. With oil and gas infrastructure in Nigeria constantly plagued by mischief and vandalism which drastically diminish both financial value and our country’s reputation, an economic strategist with the ECOWAS has profferred a very interesting solution to this persisting problem — list the NNPC on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
As we seeing in this week’s headlines across business news outlets, the banking sector dominates the stage. Within a few days, Wema launched an innovative package for kids and another prominent bank made moves toward empowering women-led SMEs.
The country’s premier banking institute, the Central Bank of Nigeria, last week came out with an increased interest rate figure, development that attracted diverse opinions from various industry experts. This week the Bank has shown some flexibility toward certain industries deemed key to Nigeria’s production economy, such as Manufacturing, maintaining the current interest rates until Q1 2023.
Lawyers across the country are set to reap benefits when it comes to financing and access to funds. The National Bar Association has come to an agreement with two top-tier banks in an effort to assist lawyers in who require loans to meet their capital and operational needs.
The telecom sector saw MTN appoint a new non-executive director and the Nigerian startup ecosystem received international recognition in the latest global and continental rankings. One local startup for trade in FMCGs has raised this week $2.5m for expansion across West Africa.
The AfCFTA is believed to be the best route to trade development in Africa and industries are positioning themselves to leverage this Agreement. Nigeria’s national insurance commission has formed a committee to that effect – coordinate a strategic response to the Free Trade Agreement.
Meanwhile, a new law has been passed that is believed will curb financial crimes in the Real Estate market. The Aviation industry did not bring in positive numbers regarding airfares, showing an increase of over 50% in the past year.
Andrea Ayemoba is a Senior Editor at Africa Business Communities.
