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CWG Assures Shareholders of Sustained Growth
The management of CWG Plc has assured shareholders who invested in the company of sustained growth, stressing that it has made significant strides in delivering innovative products and platforms in payments over the years.
At the Annual General Meeting (AGM) held recently in Lagos, shareholders approved a dividend per share of 4.0 kobo while commending the board and management of CWG for improving the company’s fortunes, despite the challenges.
Addressing the shareholders, Chairman CWG Mr. Philip Obioha, said the group recorded remarkable performance in 2022 as it consolidated the gains of its investments in its payment platform and subscription service businesses.
He outlined that the group made significant strides in its businesses in the past year, including onboarding four new banks on its Finedge Core banking application platform on a subscription service basis while also driving its “infrastructure as a service” business with the addition of new customers to its subscribers’ list.
He said the company has continued to make significant investments in its Datacenter offerings to provide the required infrastructure needed to support its platform business, adding that the group has also been making giant strides in its energy metering business as it achieved a 600 percent revenue growth when compared to the previous year.
“Within the year, our company established a new fintech organization named Fifthlab. Fifthlab has an ecosystem of advanced but simple solutions focusing on delivering innovative products and platforms in payments and banking to address the identified gaps.
He also spoke about the newly established Dubai entity, part of the group’s expansion plan that offers entry into a growing market with a supportive environment for innovation and development. “We are confident that the investments and efforts put into the new organization/ businesses will yield significant returns starting from the 2023 financial year,” Obioha said.
He assured shareholders that with the resumption of dividend payments, the board and management of the group would work to ensure unbroken dividend payments annually. “The board is committed to working with management in deploying the group’s assets judiciously and profitably to maximize shareholders’ return,” Obioha said.
Mr. Adewale Adeyipo, Managing Director and Group CEO of CWG Plc, said the group’s performance in 2022 demonstrated its business strength and enthusiasm for achieving success.
He noted that key performance indices reached five-year highs in 2022, which underlined the group’s commitment to doing the right things at the right time for its business and customers, which helped foster growth across its regional centers .
“We have stepped up our ability to innovate, adapt to new ways of doing business, renewed and repurposed our commitment to service excellence as well as listening to our customers to provide customized superior value to them,” Adeyipo said.
According to him, the group achieved 99 percent of its 2022 strategic objectives focusing on product optimization, service excellence, and business operation.
He pointed out that CWG has proven its dexterity in unlocking success for new ideas, consistently driving up its bottom line, and sustaining value for stakeholders through investments in its flagship products and services. He outlined that the group recognizes that achieving its goals requires significant investments, so it is committed to exploring financially viable investment options in 2023.
He added that the group is also embarking on several commercialization and financing strategies to bring its technology and products from concept to market.
He noted that at the heart of the company’s strategy lies a commitment to its people, its expertise at scaling opportunities, increasing revenue, and operational efficiency while effectively minimizing costs.
“We are excited about the possibilities that the future holds, and we remain steadfast in our mission to leverage technology to drive sustainable development in Africa and beyond. “We are confident these efforts will yield significant returns to our investors and stakeholders,” Adeyipo said.
He pointed out that the company has started the new business year positively, assuring shareholders that it would build on its successes and pursue new opportunities for growth and innovation.
The audited report and accounts for the year ended December 31, 2022, showed that the CWG recorded 21.3 per cent growth in total turnover, and gross profit rose by 31.4 per cent over 2021. While earnings before tax increased by 20.3 per cent. The group’s total assets grew 58.4 per cent from N9.17 billion in 2021 to N14.53 billion in 2022.
Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has awarded a total of N13 million in grants to three standout tech startups at the 2025 Techpreneur Summit held in Lagos, reinforcing its commitment to innovation and inclusive growth among Nigeria’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The winners include: BuyScrap, a digital marketplace for recyclable materials – N6 million; Qiqi Farms, which connects local farmers to hospitality and export markets – N4 million; Eco-Cyclers, a youth-led recycling initiative based in Enugu – N3 million
Alongside the grant awards, DBN also launched a new digital data asset, a first-of-its-kind platform aimed at enabling data-driven decisions within the MSME ecosystem.
The platform offers deep insights into business trends, sector-specific challenges, and growth opportunities—supporting smarter policymaking and targeted investments.
In his keynote address in Lagos, Tony Okpanachi, managing director/ CEO, DBN, described the event’s theme, “CTRL + SHIFT: Tech Empowered Movement for Naija,” as a strategic call to reimagine enterprise development in Nigeria.
“This isn’t just a keyboard shortcut,” he said. “It’s a mindset reset—powered by technology—to build a more inclusive, innovative, and resilient business landscape. From financing to innovation, DBN remains committed to enabling MSMEs to thrive.”
Okpanachi emphasized that the Summit aligns with DBN’s AMPLIFI Strategy, which integrates digital transformation, sustainability, and scalability into its core programs.
He highlighted initiatives such as the Digital Shift Workshops and the Eco-Innovation Challenge as key steps toward embedding innovation in Nigeria’s MSME sector.
Encouraging young innovators, he added: “The future belongs to those bold enough to imagine and build it. DBN is proud to support the ideas that will shape tomorrow.”
A major highlight was the unveiling of the DBN Data Asset—a digital platform designed to provide real-time, evidence-based insights into Nigeria’s MSME landscape.
The platform combines DBN’s proprietary data with external sources like the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to offer a comprehensive view of MSME performance by region and sector.
Jeremy Dan Okayi, DBN’s Head of Strategy, Policy & Innovation, described the platform as: “A reservoir of insight, potential, and direction—built on two years of collaboration and shared vision. This tool will support informed decision-making across the public and private sectors.”
News
FCCPC Shuts France, Belgium, and Italy Visa Centres in Abuja Over Alleged Consumer Rights Violations
In a bold enforcement action, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), supported by the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), has sealed off the visa application centres of France, Belgium, and Italy in Abuja over alleged consumer protection breaches and obstruction of regulatory investigations.
The affected centres—located at Mukhtar El-Yakub House in the Central Business District and operated by TLS Contact, a Teleperformance Company—were shut down following reports that they refused to accept formal correspondence from the FCCPC regarding a consumer complaint. The Commission cited further infractions, including obstruction of investigation and alleged assault of its officers during lawful duties.
Speaking to journalists at the scene, Mrs. Boladale Adeyinka, Director of Surveillance and Investigations at the FCCPC, explained: “This is an enforcement operation against TLS. On March 25, 2025, we served them a letter to address a consumer complaint, which they refused to accept. Instead, TLS officers assaulted our team, and in a subsequent visit on June 17, they also allegedly assaulted uniformed police officers.”
Citing Section 33 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), Mrs. Adeyinka emphasized that failure to comply with Commission directives constitutes a criminal offense, punishable by imprisonment, fines of up to ₦20 million, or both.
TLS has been ordered to appear before the Commission on June 20, 2025, to provide testimony, submit evidence, and make formal depositions. The company may be held liable for any financial losses suffered by applicants due to the disruption of visa services.
Despite multiple requests for comment, management at TLS Contact declined to respond as of press time.
Adedapo Segun, chief financial officer (CFO), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), has explained why there is a missing sum of N210 trillion in the company’s audited financial statement spanning from 2017 to 2023.
According to Segun, the missing funds are cash calls requested by joint venture (JV) partners and settlement to the JVs.
He spokeat a session of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Aliyu Wadada.
Segun was responding to an alarm raised by the committee over missing N210 trillion in NNPCL’s audited financial statement.
Recall that Wadada issued a one-week ultimatum to NNPCL to account for the missing N210 trillion.
Reacting, Segun said, “The N103 trillion and N107 trillion are made up of joint venture cash calls that have been requested by the JV operators and JV cash call payments made by NNPCL, which are yet to be reconciled because governance procedures were not done at that time.
“That is why you see the description reflecting those two items would be washed out because they are two sides of the same transaction, which is the cash calls by JV partners and the settlement by NNPCL.”
However, Habu Sadeik, a financial analyst, in a post on X on Thursday, said Segun’s response was unsatisfactory.
Saidik faulted NNPCL’s response about the fund discrepancies, noting that something is not right with the audited financial statement.
“Forget about the senators’ lack of knowledge.
“The CFO’s response is not satisfactory. Are you saying that cash calls worth hundreds of trillions are just appearing on your FS only in 2024 without 31 disclosure?
“If it’s a cash call, why hasn’t the disclosure said so?
“Which cash call is over 100 trillion?
“Something is definitely not right, and I hope they retrospectively correct that FS.
“Someone somewhere did a chef’s work,” he wrote on X.
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