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Experts in the Supply Chain Discuss Industry Issues and Solutions
In line with its commitment to build an efficient supply chain in African markets, Africa’s fastest growing logistics company, 8BM Freight System joined industry experts to discuss the industry’s challenges and solutions at a conference titled “Supply Chain Infrastructure in Nigeria: Challenges and the Way Forward.”
The insightful conference which had in attendance Hio Sola-Usidame, CEO of Oneport 365, Ayo Olunuga, former CEO of Warenet, Zanau Hassan, MD of Farmfields Agro-Allied Services, and Kamal Raji, Managing Director of AFEX. Tobi Badmus, CEO of 8BM Freight System welcomed the audience and thanked each speaker for their availability for the event; he also provided a brief overview of the importance of the discussion.
He discussed some of the issues confronting the supply chain industry. In his words, “I appreciate all attendees of this event and especially, the speakers for accepting the invitation. 8BM Freight System is delighted to be a part of the industry growth process. We have identified a gap in the industry, which necessitate our collaboration to dissect the challenges and proffer lasting solutions.
“I am also pleased that the speakers are thinking in this way, bridging the industry gap, and finding solutions to the industry’s current challenges. I believe with the contributions of today’s industry experts; we will be able to make reasonable decisions that will contribute to the growth of the sector.”
According to the speakers at the event, majority of cargos in Nigeria are transported by road, resulting in a high rate of challenges for the supply chain industry. They discussed some of the challenges, such as high transportation costs, insecurity, poor logistics management, insufficient experienced personnel, a poor road network, poor infrastructure, port congestion, and so on.
Tobi further proffered solutions to curb the challenges facing the industry. He said: “Visibility, transparency, traceability, and a method to manage inflation are some of the solutions that I believe are necessary and that we can work towards to help the sector develop. I also believe that with blockchain and technology, all of this is possible, and 8BM is working to solve these issues.”
Sharing their extensive knowledge and experience in the industry, the speakers agreed that the best way these challenges can be tackled is by digitalizing the freight system. By making use of artificial intelligence and machine learning, it will help in optimization of the supply chain. Also, the Blockchain application is a promising technology to proffering lasting solutions to the challenges in the industry by reducing the challenges by 45%.
Nigeria is a business-driven economy, and commerce is impossible without a supply chain. As a result, the government has a role to play in relieving the country’s supply chain pressures.
In conclusion, as suggested by the speakers, the government can help by increasing port access, providing alternatives to road transportation (such as improving the rail system), putting institutions and policies in place to alleviate problems, and creating a calm environment for investors.
8BM Freight System is committed filling the industry gap by to using technology to improve the sector by streamlining logistical framework.

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Burna Boy Leads as Top Streamed African Artist in Sub Saharan Africa
Spotify has released Wrapped 2023, the annual data-led review of how people listened to music and podcasts, on the platform.
Drake is the most streamed artist in Sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Burna Boy, making him the most streamed African artist in SSA, for the second year in a row. Asake, Davido and Omah Lay all make an appearance in the top ten, showing Nigeria’s dominance in the music scene across the continent. Ayra Starr narrowly misses the top ten most streamed artists list, landing at number 11 and being the top streamed female artist in SSA.
When it comes to tracks that the whole region can agree on, Ruger’s Asiwaju takes the day, followed by Ayra Starr’s Rush. A host of other Nigerian tracks also make the list include Asake’s Lonely At The Top which is the most streamed track in Nigeria this year. Tyler ICU is the sole South African with Mnike, featuring DJ Maphorisa, Nandipha808, Ceeka RSA & Tyron Dee, and Libianca’s People is still making waves, almost a year after its release, landing it in the eighth spot.
Davido’s album Timeless was released earlier this year, after much anticipation from the fans, so it follows that it is the most streamed album in SSA, and two tracks from the album, Feel and Unavailable, featuring Musa Keys are on the top ten most streamed tracks in SSA. To say that Asake is living the dream would be an understatement, after all, the artist was relatively unknown a few short years ago, and now two of his albums, Work of Art and Mr. Money With The Vibe are in the top streamed list in the whole of Sub-Saharan Africa.
The top exported artist in SSA is Rema, thanks to the popularity of Calm Down, featuring Selena Gomez, which is also the most exported track from SSA. Furthermore, for the first time ever, an African artist-led track not only gained 1 billion streams on Spotify, it is also the eighth most streamed track globally. No small feat considering just a few years ago, African tracks were mostly confined to the continent. All the African artists whose music was felt not just on the continent, but also on the global stages, are featured on Spotify’s Gone Abroad Presents…Global African Hits of 2023.
Even though Ayra Starr leads in the top streamed female artists list, the only other African female artist in the top ten is Tems, with the rest of the list being occupied by American artists.
To further showcase local listening trends from around the world, Spotify this year has Wrapped Mapped, showing which songs have soundtracked throughout the year since January 1, all across the globe.
Eligible users can access their personalized 2023 Wrapped experience exclusively in the Spotify mobile app (iOS and Android) and also this year, via web view on mobile or Desktop by heading to Spotify.com/Wrapped.
Additionally, Spotify has also launched its Wrapped creator experience for podcasters and artists. With access to their own individualized Wrapped microsite experience, creators can dive into all the ways in which their fans listened this year. Check out Spotify for Artists and Spotify for Podcasters to learn more.
TOP STREAMED ARTISTS IN SSA | TOP STREAMED TRACKS IN SSA | TOP STREAMED ALBUMS IN SSA |
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TOP EXPORTED ARTISTS | TOP EXPORTED TRACKS | TOP STREAMED FEMALE ARTISTS IN SSA |
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AFEX Launches FETC Product on New Digital Trading Platform
Africa’s commodities player, AFEX, has launched Africa Exchange, a digital platform for trading commodities. The platform follows AFEX’s first foray into digital commodities trading with the launch of ComX in 2020.
This new trading platform further transforms the commodities space in Africa by enabling commodities market players to meet and interact both in the physical and financial markets. Data and information crucial to decision-making are readily available on the platform, offering a comprehensive and informed trading experience.
Africa Exchange provides a structured marketplace duly regulated by Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), ensuring that users can participate in various trade or investment opportunities.
Africa Exchange will replace ComX, which has served over 80,000 investors in Nigeria and facilitated trades worth over USD 200 million since it was launched in 2020. The transition further bolsters AFEX’s mission of facilitating wealth creation for a new generation of Africans by providing them with alternative investment options to enrich their existing portfolios.
Additionally, AFEX aims to enhance intra-African trade by strengthening commodities trading within Africa and supporting the African Continental Free Trade Agreement’s (AFCFTA) mission to improve regional trade integration to boost economic development and food security across the continent.
Presently, only 14.4% of Africa’s exports come from trade between African countries. However, the AfCFTA could increase intra-African trade by approximately 33% and reduce the continent’s trade deficit by 51%, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
In line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 2, 5, 8, and 12, the launch of Africa Exchange is a significant milestone towards achieving the AfCFTA. The platform promotes fair market prices that help farmers earn more and increase food production. It also enables investors to diversify their portfolios while supporting the financing of the food ecosystem.
Commenting on the launch, Akinyinka Akintunde, CEO and President of AFEX Nigeria, said: “As a team, we are excited and proud to launch Africa Exchange as another step in building the digital infrastructure to facilitate trade across Africa. With this launch, our goal is to boost the commodities market in Africa and allow more investors to participate with all the information that they need at their fingertips”.
He continues, “Commodities have been high-performing assets in recent years; in 2021, commodities were the third highest performing asset class, averaging about 37.1% in returns, while stocks averaged about 36.9%.
The commodities market has grown in sophistication over the years with the likes of commodity brokers and other institutional players making their mark and creating opportunities for trading. With Africa Exchange, we are opening the African commodities ecosystem to more investors and players.
Through the platform, users can directly trade physical commodities or invest in commodity-backed financial instruments.”
Alongside the platform launch, AFEX is also reintroducing its innovative Fair Trade ETC (FETC) product. The FETC is a commodity bundle in one contract designed to provide investors with exposure to the market in a way that maximizes the risk-return balance of the underlying commodities.
The instrument has a maturity period of 270 days and historically significant returns, with both tranches in 2022 returning 31% and 20%, respectively. The FETC is set to open on the Africa Exchange platform on the 1st of December at a unit price of just N1000, and for the first time in the product’s history, it will be tradeable within the tenor period, after a 120-day hold.
Funto Olasemo, Vice President, Financial Markets at AFEX, said, ‘For the last 8 months, we have been focused on improving our core infrastructure and delivering a better digital interface for commodities trading and investment on the continent. We have continued to also pursue product innovation, and the new tranche of our FETC product is a great example of that.”
“The FETC has been a hugely successful product since we introduced it in 2020, and we have structured a tradeable component into this tranche, giving investors even more freedom as they build wealth. The team is excited that we are facilitating wealth creation for a new generation of Africans by providing them with alternative investment options to enrich their portfolios.”
AFEX is committed to improving intra-African trade. To achieve this goal, the company has been bullish in pursuing its strategic Pan-African expansion plan since expanding into Kenya and Uganda in 2021 and 2022.
AFEX is set to expand to six other African countries within the next few years with the aim of promoting efficient trade in commodities across the continent while supporting the objectives of the AFCFTA to boost regional trade integration.
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NCAA Suspends All Wet-leased Aircraft in United Nigeria Airlines
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspended all the wet-leased aircraft in the operations of United Nigeria Airlines (UNA). The suspension may not be unconnected with the diversion of the Abuja-bound flight from Lagos to Asaba Airport on Sunday by the cabin crew of the airline.
A source close to the agency, confided in our correspondent on Monday that the regulatory body took the decisive action after an emergency meeting held at its headquarters in Abuja.
It was learnt that at the meeting, the NCAA inspectors were not convinced about the claim of the airline that its crew diverted to Asaba due to bad weather at Abuja Airport.
Our correspondent learnt that all the wet-leased aircraft in its fleet would remain suspended until after the conclusion of the investigation into the incident.
This position, it was gathered has been communicated to the airline via a letter on Monday.
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