BrandArena: January 2021

Friday, 29 January 2021

FBNQuest Partners with Teach for Nigeria to deliver the Incubation Hub Pitch Contest

In line with its commitment to deliver impactful community-focused initiatives, FBNQuest, the investment banking and asset management subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, has continued to strengthen its partnership with Teach for Nigeria (TFN) by supporting the TFN Incubation Hub Pitch Contest and the TFN Annual Mentoring Programme.

Standard Chartered Bank acted as Global Co-Ordinator/Financial Advisor to Heirs Holdings Oil & Gas Limited (formerly Trans-Niger Oil & Gas Limited) on its acquisition of a 45% working interest in OML 17 (a producing onshore oil and gas asset in Nigeria) from Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), Total E&P Nigeria Limited (TEPNG) and Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC) (a subsidiary of ENI SpA).

Cowrywise secures $3m pre-seed A funding to deepen wealth management in Nigeria, Africa

Nigeria’s wealth management platform, Cowrywise has secured a $3 million pre-seed A funding round to push its product offerings, complete a new investment management infrastructure, onboard more fund managers in Nigeria and by expansion the entire continent.

Midea, one of the world's leading home appliance producers, has announced its global partnership expansion with City Football Group.

GE announced today that it has secured an order to supply gas power generation equipment for West Africa Energy’s 300 megawatt (MW) combined-cycle power project in Cap des Biches, Dakar, Senegal. Upon completion, the Cap des Biches plant will be the biggest power plant in the country and is expected to generate nearly 25% of the power consumed, providing the equivalent electricity needed to power up to 500,000 Senegalese homes.

This ground-breaking multi-sector initiative, first launched in the Middle East five years ago, unites industry and sector professionals to provide an effective online platform to drive innovation, share ideas, gain insights & experiences, and generate actionable solutions to existing challenges.

International healthcare and pharmaceuticals group MSD has appointed Zwelethu Bashman to be the next managing director of its operations in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. Mr Bashman will succeed Dr Priya Agrawal, who has been appointed chief behavioural science officer in global vaccines in the international operations of the company.

Opera, the browser developer, and consumer internet brand has announced its acquisition of YoYo Games, creator of the world’s leading 2D game engine, GameMaker Studio 2, for approximately $10 million.

Twitter has officially announced its acquisition of Revue, an email newsletter platform for writers and publishers. The deal marks Twitter’s first step into building out long-form content experiences on the social network and its first foray into subscription revenue. While the deal terms weren’t disclosed, Twitter presumably didn’t break the bank to acquire Revue. The five-year-old Dutch company has 6 employees and has raised only around $318,000, according to Crunchbase.

WhatsApp has now launched an official account on its Status platform within the mobile messaging app and it has put its ‘privacy principles’ as a status message. The aim is clear: To highlight that nothing is changing for individual users and their chats will continue to be as secure as earlier.

AstraZeneca receives recognition as Top Employer 2021 in South Africa and Kenya

The 2021 Top Employers have been announced and AstraZeneca has been recognised as a Top Employer in South Africa and Kenya.

In line with its commitment to fostering social interactions among children and empowering future leaders, Indomie Fan Club (IFC), Nigeria’s largest children-based fan club by Indomie instant noodles, has kicked off the call for registration of new members into the club for 2021. Interested kids between the ages of 4 and 12 can register to join any of the three classes of membership which are platinum, gold, and silver respectively.

The Healthcare Federation of Nigeria (HFN) has appealed to the government to consider harnessing the vast expertise and resources within the Nigerian private sector in order to ensure a successful roll-out of Covid19 vaccines. This appeal was made at the recently concluded Nigerian Governors Forum held on, January 21, 2021.

Rugby Africa announces competition program and calendar for 2021

Rugby Africa is gearing up for a potentially exciting year across the continent with its release of a detailed calendar of upcoming competitions.

The Rotary District 9110 Committee on Blindness Prevention embarked on a 3-day “Save Our Sight” Mission to Ota, Ogun State and performed free cataract surgeries on 100 Residents of Lagos and Ogun States. The surgeries took place at the Ace Medicare Clinics, Ota, Ogun State from January 14-17 2021.

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed new Military Service Chiefs, and congratulated the outgoing Service Chiefs for efforts of “enduring peace to the country.”

Architecting how data enables the world to solve its biggest problems, Western Digital Corp. announced on Tuesday, January 26, 2021 that the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), in partnership with Qumulo, a breakthrough leader in file data management for hybrid cloud environments, is employing Western Digital’s Ultrastar DC HC550 18TB HDDs and Ultrastar DC SN640 NVMeTM SSDs for ongoing COVID-19 research and vaccine rollout.

Africa’s foremost new-age financial solutions powerhouse, Zedcrest Group has announced the appointment of Olumide Odewole as its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and member of the executive management.

Mauritius and Morocco join AfDB/AFMISM Bloomberg bond index

The African Development Bank has announced the addition of two new countries - Mauritius and Morocco - to its Bloomberg African Bond Indices (ABABI), marking a steady progress in the Bank’s efforts to deepen the continent’s local currency bond market.

The West Africa Youth Council has recognized Nigeria’s Sonnie Ayere as winner of the ECOWAS Icon of Societal Development for his outstanding humanitarian work and exemplary career as a distinguished financial economist. This award was presented under the African Man of the Year with Nelson Mandela Leadership Award for Excellence & Integrity category.

Mastercard, a technology leader in the global payments industry, and its strategic partner, Network International, the leading enabler of digital commerce in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, have collaborated to launch a new digital platform which will accelerate the adoption of digital payments across the Middle East and Africa.

January 1st, 2021 marked the start of trading under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement. In ratifying the agreement, 34 African countries have created the largest free trade zone in the world by country participation. This is a historic point for the continent, it is the beginning of what is hoped will, at the very least, form a workable framework for a modern African economy.

Decathlon, one of the world’s largest sporting goods retailers, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) have announced a new multiyear merchandising partnership that makes Decathlon an official licensee of the NBA across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America and marks Decathlon’s first partnership with a North American sports league.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have signed a joint partnership action plan highlighting their strengthened cooperation and mutual development priorities and a strong shared emphasis on boosting public and private sector investment in Africa.

GSK and Novartis announce collaboration to support scientific research into genetic diversity in Africa

...Combined funding commitment of USD 3.6 million over five years

Project Africa GRADIENT calls on local researchers to submit proposals exploring the link between genetic diversity and response to malaria and tuberculosis drugs in African patients; combined funding commitment of GBP 2.8 million (USD 3.6 million) over five years; researchers based at universities, science councils and other public research organizations across Africa are invited to express ‘intent to submit’ by March 1, 2021.

Samsung Electronics Nigeria, recently unveiled Joseph Akinwale Akinfenwa popularly known as JoeBoy and media personality, Ebuka Obi-Uchendu as ambassadors for the company’s A-series and Flagship mobile devices, respectively. The duo was announced at the launch of Samsung Galaxy A series and Samsung Galaxy Unpacked which held on the 11th and 14th of January, 2021 at The Experience Centre, Yudala Heights, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Promasidor Nigeria Limited has appointed Bruno Gruwez as it’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective January 1st 2021. Bruno succeeds Anders Einarsson, who will assume regional responsibilities within the Promasidor Group.

In a bid to combat the incessant issue of global warming which has resulted to the recent climate change, Junior Chamber International (JCI), Ibadan Elite chapter, flagged off her afforestation project tagged Go-Green, at the Gambari Forest Reserve, Oyo state.

President Muhammadu Buhari has announced his approval of N6.45 billion for the set-up of 38 oxygen production plants across the country, in a bid to contain the second wave of Covid-19.

Africa’s foremost innovation hub, the Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF), has opened up its registration portal for the 2021 Accelerator program.

Facebook’s Oversight Board has received a proposal to revisit the decision to indefinitely suspend former US President, Donald Trump’s access to Facebook and Instagram.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the re-appointment of Hadiza Bala Usman as Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), for additional five-year tenure.

NIN-SIM Linkage Exercise: Federal Government Expresses Appreciation

At the end of a review meeting on 18th January 2021, the Technical Implementation Committee under the Ministerial Task Force has reported significant progress in the ongoing NIN-SIM linkage exercise.

Samsung heir and the de facto leader Lee Jae-yong — known as Jay Y. Lee in the West is going back to prison, casting the future of leadership at the massive tech company in doubt. The Seoul High Court in South Korea sentenced Lee to 2 1/2 years behind bars on Monday after finding him guilty of embezzlement and bribery and was taken into custody following the verdict.

Turkey on Tuesday, January 19, 2020 imposed an advertising ban on social media platforms Twitter, Pinterest and Periscope for failing to comply with a controversial new law that requires social media platforms to appoint legal representatives in the country. The new law was enforced to ensure the representatives deal with complaints about content on their platforms.

The Ogun State Government has barred drivers of tankers and other articulated vehicles from us overhead bridges in the State, as it announced that it will put in place strict penalties for any of such vehicles.

President Muhammadu Buhari has announced Dr. Uzoma Emenike as Nigeria’s Ambassador-designate to the USA.

Emirates has partnered with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to become one of the first airlines in the world to trial IATA Travel Pass – a mobile app to help passengers easily and securely manage their travel in line with any government requirements for COVID-19 testing or vaccine information.

Malawi’s NBS Bank launches ecommerce platform and online payment gateway with Network International

NBS Bank, a leading commercial bank in Malawi, launches its state of the art e-commerce platform, powered by Network International, the leading enabler of digital commerce across Africa and the Middle East.

African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) President Akinwumi A. Adesina and 10 African Heads of State and Government were on Friday honoured for their leadership in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) process.

Africa Global Funds, the leading industry journal covering private equity and other asset classes across Africa, awarded this accolade to Verdant Capital in recognition of the firm’s major transaction volumes in 2020 across M&A and private credit and across the Continent. Geographically, Verdant Capital completed transactions in South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, Namibia with buyers and investors from the US, Switzerland, Germany, the UK, Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Baltics, South Africa, and Nigeria.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino concluded a two-day trip to Cameroon, where he has met with dignitaries of the country and key officials from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Cameroonian Football Association (Fecafoot). The trip coincided with the start of the African Nations Championship (CHAN), which is being hosted in three Cameroon cities from 16 January until 7 February 2021.

Heirs Holdings, the leading African strategic investor, in partnership with affiliated company Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (“Transcorp”), Nigeria’s largest publicly listed conglomerate, announced today the unconditional acquisition of a 45% participating interest in Nigerian oil licence OML 17 and related assets, through TNOG Oil and Gas Limited (a related company of Heirs Holdings and Transcorp), from the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Total E&P Nigeria Limited and ENI. In addition, TNOG Oil and Gas Limited will have sole operatorship of the asset.

Insight Redefini Group, a member of Troyka Holdings has deployed Sinmisola Hughes-Obisesan to the role of Group Creative Director Insight Redefini, in furtherance of its Power of One initiative.

The 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer has uncovered a “global infodemic” in which people no longer know where or who to turn to for reliable information.

Google Finally Completes Acquisition of Fitbit

Google has finally completed its acquisition of health wearables company Fitbit. The news was announced yesterday in complementary statements from Fitbit cofounder and (now previous) CEO James Park and Rick Osterloh, Google's SVP of devices and services.

Although there are a variety of options for raising capital and attracting investors, equity is one of the two most sort-after options. It allows a company to give a share of ownership of its business to an investor in expectation of a return as the business grows. Unlike public equity (stock market) with ownership of shares in a public company, private equity (PE) simply means ownership of shares in a private company.

The second list of nominees for the upcoming MTV Africa Music Awards Kampala 2021 (MAMA) on 20 February spotlights Nigeria’s Burna Boy and Tanzania’s Diamond Platnumz who top the list with three nominations each. Five talented African musicians – Innoss’B, Master KG, Nomcebo Zikode, Simi, and Wizkid – also topped the second nominees list with two awards each.

Ufoma Joseph Immanuel has been appointed as the Managing Director of Chappal Petroleum Development Company ‘Chappal’, effective January 2021. Ufoma is also one of the founding partners of Chappal, an ESG focused energy independent established to extract deep value from distressed brownfield Upstream opportunities in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

Mouka made a wholesome donation of 10 professional computer systems to the Nigerian Armed Force Resettlement Centre (NAFRC). This was to support the centre's vision of becoming a world-class training institution for ex-servicemen and women who have made the nation proud in their duties as military officers while in active service.

Friday, 29 January 2021

Thursday, 28 January 2021

Wednesday, 27 January 2021

Tuesday, 26 January 2021

Friday, 22 January 2021

Tuesday, 19 January 2021

Monday, 18 January 2021

Friday, 15 January 2021