Coloplus Worldwide Service Limited, a subsidiary of Fusewall Holdings, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. John Dodge as its Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director.

Mr. Dodge brings to the organization an exceptional wealth of international experience spanning more than 35 years in the telecommunications industry, covering both passive and active infrastructure deployments and operations.

Having worked across six continents and in numerous countries, he possesses extensive cultural and professional expertise in leading diverse teams and managing complex projects in challenging environments.

His proven ability to motivate multidisciplinary teams and maintain a strong focus on client requirements has earned him a distinguished reputation within the global telecommunications sector.

A highly accomplished team player, Mr. Dodge is recognized for his focused, flexible, dedicated, and proactive approach to problem-solving and operational excellence.

He remains calm under pressure and has consistently demonstrated the ability to navigate and resolve challenging situations while driving teams toward common objectives.

Throughout his career, Mr. Dodge has built a reputation for meticulous attention to detail, strong leadership, and an unwavering commitment to quality and best-practice standards.

His disciplined work ethic, collaborative management style, and commitment to health and safety compliance have enabled him to deliver outstanding results across a wide range of telecommunications projects worldwide.

In his new role, Mr. Dodge will work closely with the leadership of Coloplus Worldwide Service Limited to strengthen the company’s strategic direction, accelerate operational excellence, expand market opportunities, and reinforce its position as a leading provider of telecommunications infrastructure and digital solutions.

The Board and Management of Coloplus Worldwide Service Limited warmly welcome Mr. John Dodge and look forward to the immense value his global expertise, leadership, and industry knowledge will bring to the organization and its stakeholders.

Adedayo Amzat, Group Managing Director of Zedcrest, parent company of Zedvance, has announced a strategic shift in the firm’s asset deployment, committing 100 per cent of its active loan portfolio to small and medium enterprises and critical ecosystem enablers.

This is in a major move to address the financing constraints plaguing Nigeria’s mid-market enterprises.

Amzat made this disclosure on Tuesday at the Zedvance Business Roundtable themed, “Unlocking Growth: The Role of Smart Financing in Building Resilient Businesses.” The high-profile event brought together business leaders, industry professionals, and key economic stakeholders to explore how sector-specific financing and innovative lending can drive sustainable business growth in Nigeria’s evolving macroeconomic landscape.

Addressing the gathering during his keynote, Amzat emphasized that while public attention is often captured by massive corporate initial public offerings (IPOs), the true engine of the nation’s economic survival rests on the shoulders of mid-sized operators.

“The people gathered in this room, and the ecosystems that you all represent in one shape or form, are the true drivers of the Nigerian economy,” Amzat declared, highlighting the resilience of entrepreneurs navigating a challenging operational terrain.

“I am deeply honored to be standing in front of people who are fighting day and night, tooth and nail; people who often cannot get the right sort of financing, who cannot access the adequate land capital required to execute projects, or who cannot secure enough corner shops to set up petrol stations”, he added.

Addressing the historical challenges of managing credit risk in a volatile environment, the GMD explained that Zedvance is pioneering “ecosystem-linked solutions.” This model leverages structured partnerships with corporate aggregators to safely funnel liquidity to clustered smallholders in sectors like agriculture, automotive distribution, and energy.

“Let’s strip away the corporate jargon. It simply means: let’s grow the economy together. If you are in the automotive ecosystem, for example, how can we work together to make the ecosystem itself a high-performing engine? We want to grow the pie together so that your individual portion becomes significantly larger, rather than fighting to be the sole survivor in a tiny, shrinking market,” Amzat explained.

The roundtable served as the launchpad for Zedvance’s aggressive 18-month growth strategy. Transitioning from its foundational roots in high-velocity retail consumer lending, Amzat announced a massive capital deployment target to scale up corporate and production-focused enterprises.

“Outside of our physical infrastructure—our computers, desks, and chairs—every single item on the asset side of our balance sheet consists of active loans,” Amzat revealed to stakeholders.

Also speaking, Executive Director, Commercial Solutions, Zedvance Finance, Ayooluwa Oladimeji, noted that , “Over the next 18 months, his firm will be deploying ₦500 billion to deepen their support for growth-ready enterprises. A business loan enables an enterprise to scale production, hire 100 more individuals, and distribute more goods, multiplying the macroeconomic impact a hundredfold compared to a single consumer loan”, he added.

Oladimeji, assured entrepreneurs that they do not need to exhaust their timelines engaging with rigid, traditional commercial banking structures that overcomplicate the borrowing process. “As a core member of the Z Crest Group, we possess access to deep, continuous local and international financing lines. Our primary task is simply to design the right credit frameworks; the capital is ready for deployment,” he added.

The roundtable featured three high-level panel discussions that brought deeper sector-specific context to the framework of smart capital intervention.

The panel on Food and Health Systems was moderated by a seasoned Business Manager in Agribusiness and Commodities, Folasade Toromade. The discussion featured key industry operators, including the Managing Director of IBBDS Group, Dauda Oladele; the Managing Director of 5ivers Outgrowers, Adeyemi Akinyemi; and Mobolaji Ajayi. The panel analyzed critical bottlenecks in local commodity supply chains and health distribution networks.

“Achieving real food security and resilient health networks requires funding structures that go straight to the root of production. When we cluster smallholders and outgrowers with structured credit, we directly lower input volatility, eliminate middlemen inefficiencies, and naturally insulate the market from crippling food inflation.”

Another vital session focused on navigating the fast-changing Energy Business and managing rising operational realities. This panel was moderated by the Manager of Legal and Compliance at Zedcrest Group, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, and brought together a robust lineup of leaders: the CEO of Rivy, Damilola Olawoye; Senior Business Executive, Emmanuel Rominiyi; Senior Business Manager, Commercial Solutions at Zedvance Finance, Daniel Ajayi; and Jide Pratt.

“With the post-subsidy cost of energy, businesses must structurally optimize their energy portfolios to protect their margins. Smart financing solutions—especially asset financing tailored for renewable energy arrays and commercial solar deployment—are no longer just long-term alternatives; they are baseline prerequisites for corporate survival today.”

A third panel rounded out the day’s specialized tracks by tying sector realities back to national fiscal and monetary frameworks, analyzing policy tools such as the foreign exchange market float and recent tax reforms. The specialists agreed that while transitional friction is high, removing distortionary interventions yields a far more predictable playground for genuine builders.

Following the panel sessions, which analyzed recent fiscal and monetary reforms in Nigeria, including fuel subsidy removal and the floating of the foreign exchange market, Amzat provided a concluding perspective on the broader economic outlook.

While acknowledging that the Central Bank’s tightly controlled monetary policy presents a steep hill for manufacturers, he expressed strong optimism that the policy lag would eventually tame inflation and lower borrowing costs across the board. Special emphasis was placed on funding value-addition sectors such as domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing, logistics, and renewable energy to shield local businesses from foreign exchange shocks.

Concluding the session, the GMD reiterated that the institution’s success is tied strictly to the survival of its clients. “Our products are data-driven and structured like an objective checklist: you input the client data and the use of funds, and the pricing model generates an honest rate. We win only when our customers win,” Amzat said.

Dr. Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has urged Nigerian students to become active drivers of innovation by leveraging emerging technologies to develop solutions capable of transforming the nation’s economy.

Tijani made the call during the commissioning and handover of the Renewed Hope–NITDA Innovation Hub at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife.

The facility, established by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in partnership with the Renewed Hope Initiative, is equipped with laboratories for Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Additive Manufacturing and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Addressing students, academics, alumni and stakeholders, the minister described the hub as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future, stressing that innovation is driven by people rather than infrastructure.

“Innovation does not come from buildings; innovation comes from people. Before all these buildings, this university had been producing talent, innovators and people who have changed our country for good,” he said.

Tijani said the facility was designed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and practical application by providing students with opportunities to transform ideas into real-world solutions.

He noted that access to knowledge was no longer the primary challenge for students in the digital era, as information is widely available through online platforms.

“A lot of students are in school today at a time when knowledge itself is ubiquitous. The biggest challenge today is the ability to apply the knowledge that you have been given or that you find,” he said.

According to him, innovation hubs are critical platforms for experimentation, creativity and problem-solving that can contribute to national development.

“If you want to know how to build a helicopter today, you can find it on Generative AI. But the question is, can you translate that knowledge into action? That is what centres like these are meant for,” he added.

The minister urged students, faculty members and alumni to ensure that the facility remained accessible and fully utilised, warning against allowing it to become underused.

He said Nigeria’s ambition of becoming a leading digital economy would depend largely on the ability of young people to create value and solve societal challenges through technology.

“The leaders can try, but if you do not apply your knowledge to build solutions, we will not get to where we need to be,” he said.

In his remarks, the Vice-Chancellor of OAU, Prof. A.S. Bamire, commended Tijani and the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, for their contributions to the university’s digital transformation efforts.

Bamire highlighted several interventions by the minister, including the donation of 50 laptops to students, a 1,000-dollar support fund for student innovators, and a commitment to provide a 30-kilometre fibre-optic network to improve internet connectivity on campus.

He also praised NITDA for providing critical digital infrastructure and innovation facilities that have enhanced students’ digital literacy, research capacity and technology-driven learning.

The vice-chancellor said the partnership between NITDA and the university had strengthened opportunities for innovation and prepared students to thrive in the digital economy.

The Renewed Hope–NITDA Innovation Hub is part of broader efforts by NITDA to strengthen Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem, promote digital skills development and equip young Nigerians with globally competitive technological capabilities.

The initiative is expected to provide students with hands-on access to advanced technologies while fostering creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation.