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Access Bank, IFC Empower 50 Female Entrepreneurs

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Access Bank Plc and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have empowered 50 women across Africa who graduated from the bank’s ‘W’ Womenpreneur pitch-a-ton Africa initiative.

The participants were put through a mini Masters in Business Administration (MBA) programme by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.

The programme, in its second edition, had over 40,000 applications which was later pruned down to 50 participants, who took part in the free mini Masters in Business Administration (MBA) certification programme.

The Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton Africa 2020 campaign was designed to provide female owned businesses across Africa an opportunity to access to finance and world-class business training as well as mentoring opportunities.

This programme has been designed to create an enabling environment for female entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.

Also, this year’s programme was extended to six other African countries where Access Bank’s W Initiative has its presence. These countries are Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Rwanda, Zambia, Sierra Leone and Gambia.

Speaking at the virtual event, Executive Director, Retail Banking, Access Bank, Mr Victor Etuokwu, said: “We created the W Initiative to drive the course of women and the Womenpreneur-pitch-a- ton Africa is a brainchild of the W Initiative. I need to stress here that we saw great qualities in all the 50 participants in this year’s programme and I want to say that they are rare women. We are happy to assist them and we are very sure that they will impact the business world positively.”

Group Head, Women Banking at Access Bank, Ms. Ayona Aguele-Trimnell, added that the bank took the campaign to other countries in Africa where the bank has presence like Kenya, Ghana, Zambia, Rwanda, Gambia and Sierra Leone to ensure that many women in the continent take part in it.

She said: “We are here to help women of Africa take their businesses to the next level. All the 50 final participants are winners as what they have learnt through the IFC mini MBA classes will assist them in running their businesses and we hope that they will be able to expand their businesses to bigger ones in the next one year.”

The highlight of the virtual event was the selection of five outstanding female entrepreneurs from the 50 participants in this year’s programme. They won prizes ranging from N500,000 to N5 million as the total prize won stood at N9.250 million.

The winners were Rusgal Tradings which emerged as the best performer during the programme won N5 million; Babet Agro Enterprise was second and won N2 million, Readland came third with N1 million, The NICNAX Company which came fourth won N750,000 while ECOBBA Africa won N500,000.


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E-Financial

Lagos State Appoints MoneyMaster as Payment Partner for “Ounje Eko” Programme

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“Ounje Eko”, the food price discount initiative of the Lagos State Government, has appointed leading payment service bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited (MMPSB), as its collaborator in the bid to ensure ease of payments at the market.

MoneyMaster is one of the Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed Payment Service Banks (PSBs) to promote financial inclusion across Nigeria.

Under the partnership, MMPSB will apply its cutting-edge payment solution to engender easy payment and reconciliation in order to make   the experiences of Lagosians who will be getting their food supplies from the markets pleasurable. Its payment solution is also all-encompassing and ensures real time value to payment destinations.

The mobile bank was appointed as the collection and payment partner for “Ounje Eko” Food Markets programme which is a government initiative serving the five divisions of Lagos State. Consequent on this, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank will collect payments in 57 LCDAs in the state.

The partnership gives credence to the quality of payment solutions that MoneyMaster is reputed for in its services to its growing business clientele in private and public sectors.

 


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E-Financial

CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is investigating irregular foreign exchange transactions and forward contracts valued at approximately $2.4 billion.

CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering

The  inquiry follows an extensive audit by Deloitte, which scrutinized $7 billion in dollar debts accumulated under the bank’s previous leadership.

In the aftermath of the 294th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, Yemi Cardoso, governor of CBN,  disclosed to journalists that the investigation, supported by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, among other security bodies, aims to clarify the legitimacy of these FX allocations identified as problematic by the audit.

“It was determined that a number of these transactions did not qualify…they were outright illegal. The law enforcement agencies are now looking into those transactions that as far as we are concerned, are not valid to be paid,” Cardoso detailed, emphasizing the unlawful nature of these forex deals.

The crux of the investigation lies in the audit findings that a significant portion of the scrutinized transactions lacked proper documentation and, in many instances, were deemed outright illegal.

However, the unfolding investigation has raised concerns within the organized private sector, with some entities contemplating legal action against commercial banks for unresolved forex bids.

Despite these tensions, Governor Cardoso reassures that the foreign exchange market remains open and transparent, inviting stakeholders to address their forex needs through the official channels.

Furthermore, Cardoso clarified the distribution of fertilizers to farmers as a one-off measure and not indicative of a shift back to direct interventions by the CBN, underscoring a commitment to strategic, regulatory governance rather than direct market involvement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks in the country to expedite action to increase their capital base from the current ₦25bn.

CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, stated this during the apex bank’s 294th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday in Abuja, when the MPC hiked the interest rate by 22.75% to 24.75%.

The apex bank chief said the MPC examined developments in the banking sector and expressed satisfaction that the industry remained stable. The committee, however, said to guard against risk, commercial banks in the country should accelerate their recapitalisation efforts.

Cardoso said, “The MPC also reviewed developments in the banking system and noted that the industry remains safe, sound, and stable. The committee thus called on the bank to sustain its surveillance and ensure compliance of banks with existing regulatory and macro-potential guidelines.

“The MPC also enjoined the banks to expedite actions on the recapitalisation of banks to strengthen the system against potential risks in an increasingly globalised world.”

 

 

 

 


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