9 Payment Service Bank (9PSB), Nigeria’s digital payment service bank, focused on financial inclusion has reiterated its support to Nigerian women entrepreneurs and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises through its agent banking business opportunities that will scale up their revenue base and improve their standard of living at the 2024 South-West Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Emerging Market Emerging Market Summit and Expo.

The event themed: Women Entrepreneur as Catalyst for Sustainable Development and Economic Growth held at Lagos State Co-operative Federation (LASCOFED) aimed at training and empowering over 500 women participants on entrepreneurship skills and fostering market link and economic growth, had in attendance women entrepreneurs and SMEs owners across South-West region who have been using their skills and resources to make purpose driven contributions to the society.

Speaking at the event, the Chief Executive Officer, and Managing Director, 9 Payment Service Bank, Branka Mracajac, represented by the Head of Sales Distribution and Strategic Partners, 9 Payment Service Bank (9PSB), Kunle Isiaka commended the women for their resilience and viable contributions to their communities through the various initiatives and businesses.

‘’I am indeed very thrilled to see these amazons who have been breaking all barriers without limitation in all strata of the society, women are truly the bedrock of the society, when a woman is trained, a nation is of course trained, we cannot over emphasize the need for the women the be financially included, empowered, and given the required support to thrive.

It is understood that a reasonable number of the women folks lack the basic financial knowledge, and many are financially excluded from the formal financial system, this has impacted to an extend their means of doing business.

A report by EFInA states that at least thirty-eight million (that is, 36%) Nigerian adults still do not have a bank account but majority of them have phones, it also shows that four out of every 10 Nigerians are financially excluded, and they are mostly females.

In Lagos State, there are at least eight million adults between the 18 years and above who live in Lagos and more influents daily. Out of this number, 54% of adults are business owners or traders and 28% of them receive payment digitally. With this statistics, 9 Payment Service Bank is working and consolidating on these areas.

“In addition, 91% of Lagos adult females are currently financially served, 6% of women in Lagos have access to credit facility, while we focus on the 8% excluded Lagosian, although our license does not permit us yet to give out loans, but we are doing everything possible to ensure we support the women through our agent banking training geared towards women empowerment,” Kunle added.

“As a bank providing services to the banked and underbanked, we dwell on strategic partnership with other players in the industry because we cannot do it all alone, we have the mandate to drive financial inclusion and ensure that every household is financially included. Also, a robust agent network spreading across the country to facilitate financial transactions have been of tremendous progress.

“We have empowered over 18,000 agents out of which over 45 per cent of them are women. As we make progress in this journey, our Service Location Partners will continue to engage you at your various locations with necessary support to thrive as a merchant in the payment services industry,” he remarked.

Google on Monday announced the opening of applications for the 8th cohort of its Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program. This cohort will have a strong focus on startups leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to address critical challenges and unlock new opportunities across the continent.

Startups are the lifeblood of innovation, driving economic growth, creating jobs, and solving some of society’s most pressing challenges. In Africa, digital transformation is accelerating rapidly and startups play a vital role in shaping the continent’s future from fintech and agritech to healthcare and education.

The Google for Startups Accelerator Africa is a three-month, equity-free virtual program that provides African startups with mentorship, technical resources, and access to a global network of experts and investors. Since its inception in 2018, the program has supported 106 startups from 17 African countries, and have collectively raised over $263 million and created more than 2,800 direct jobs.

“We’re excited to support the next generation of African AI pioneers through the Google for Startups Accelerator, providing them with the resources and mentorship they need to build successful, impactful businesses” said Folarin Aiyegbusi, Head of Startups Ecosystem, Africa at Google. “Africa’s tech ecosystem is a hotbed of innovation, and AI has the potential to be a transformative force across various sectors.”

The Class 8 program will run from June to September 2024 and will include:

• Equity-free support: Up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits.

• Mentorship: Personalised guidance from Google AI experts, seasoned entrepreneurs, and industry leaders.

• Technical workshops: In-depth training on AI/ML development, product strategy, and scaling.

• Global network: Connections to potential investors, partners, and customers.

• Community: A supportive network of fellow founders facing similar challenges and opportunities.

Applications are open from April 29 to May 20, 2024, and can be submitted online at g.co/AcceleratorAfrica.  Eligible startups must be based in Africa or building Africa-centric solutions and should be utilising AI/ML in a transformative way.

MTN Nigeria in collaboration with Pan-Atlantic University (PAU) held a graduation ceremony for the graduands of the second edition of its Media Innovation Programme (MIP) at the Lagos Business School, Lekki, Lagos on Friday, 26th April 2024.

Launched in 2022 in partnership with the School of Media and Communication, Pan Atlantic University, MIP is a six-month fully funded certificate fellowship set up to empower media practitioners and content creators to gain deeper insight into the ever-evolving media landscape.

Speaking about the benefits of the programme, Odunayo Sanya, Executive Director, MTN Foundation, said, “As fellows of the MTN MIP, we expect to hear of you, we expect to see you, visibly breaking new grounds, pushing the frontiers, and indeed setting very good standards.

“At MTN, this is our DNA, we do not leave people the way met them and when you look at our story, even as a commercial business, that’s the way it’s been.

“MTN has made a commitment to be a part of the sustainable development of Nigeria. We know we can’t do it alone, and that’s why we look for avenues like this and join hands to deliver transformation.”

The Dean of the School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, Dr. Ikechukwu Obiaya, expressed his delight at the completion of the second edition of MIP. Sharing his congratulatory messages, he said, “Knowledge is power, but I’d ask this question, now that you have this knowledge, what are you going to do with it? You have all successfully completed the certificate programme which have consisted in a transmission of knowledge and knowledge as we know is empowering.

“But then knowledge could be useless if we do not apply it. So, I ask again, now that you have this knowledge what are you going to do with? I’d like to make a suggestion and that is to use knowledge to work towards change.

“We all complain a lot about the way things are and we could limit ourselves to those complaints, but the challenge is for us to actually make a difference in striving to improve the space in which we find ourselves. I don’t think any of us here will be able to change the world, but we can change the square-meter within which we find ourselves. Use knowledge to enrich the community.

“So while congratulating you, I also charge you in the goal of wanting to improve self, society and the particular space that you find yourself, I do hope that you will take up this charge to work with us in achieving these goals.”

Among the congratulations, the event’s highlight is inarguably the presentation of the award of excellence to two fellows, Chinenye Anuforo for Innovative Reportage on MTN Foundation and Abdulrasheed Hussain, Chairman’s Prize for innovation, who demonstrated diligence and hard work during their studies. The awards were presented.

Over the last two years, the MIP programme has proven to be one of the pioneers in training fellows in media and innovation in Nigeria. Through its capacity building, the MIP programme is posed to innovate the Nigerian media landscape.