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New Emojis Debut on World Emoji Day

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As the world celebrated World Emoji Day yesterday, more than 117 new emojis are anticipated to make their debut this year, including new coronavirus (COVID-19) emojis.

The new emoji list for 2020 was announced by Emojipedia in January 2020 after new emojis gained approval in January. These are expected to roll out across major platforms throughout 2020.

Among the hugely anticipated emojis this year are bubble tea, bottle-feeding parents, gender-neutral characters, new animals and the transgender flag.

There were over 3 304 emojis in the Unicode Standard as of March 2020 – this includes sequences for gender or skin tone, flags and the components that are used to create keycap, flag and other sequences.

This week, Apple released a preview of new emoji characters coming to iPhone, iPad and Mac later this year, and Android’s latest version, 11 beta, includes a number of new emoji coming to Android devices, with additions including ‘smiling face with tear’ and ‘pinched fingers’.

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The most used emoji on Twitter is ‘face with tears of joy, which is an emoji featuring a jovial face laughing, while also crying. It has been used over two billion times in 2020 so far, according to Emoji Tracker. In 2015, it was used over 6.6 billion times. Twitter’s second and third most-used new emojis are ‘pleading face’ and ‘woozy face’, respectively.

Around 86% of emoji users on Twitter are aged 24 or younger.

In terms of Facebook, more than 700 million emojis are used on Facebook posts every day and another estimated 900 million emojis are sent every day without text on Facebook Messenger. The biggest day for emoji usage on Messenger is New Year’s Eve.

Dean McCoubrey, ICT expert and founder of social media and online safety programme MySociaLife, says emojis have become one of the fastest developing new languages in history, especially among Gen Z and millennials.

“In the same way that devices have become part of our lives, emojis continue to be more inclusive too, with a bigger focus on gender inclusivity this year. MySociaLife is very close to the ground in terms of social media and popular culture for this generation, and we consistently see many dimensions of kids.

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“There may be TikTok or Fortnite obsession, but there is also an evolution of being conscious about social issues. New emojis sometimes reflect the trends of the time − this year seeing the inclusion of the transgender icon and the (protest) placard.”

Originating on Japanese mobile phones in 1997, emoji became increasingly popular worldwide in the 2010s after being added to several mobile operating systems.

The use of emojis has increased rapidly over the years to now becoming a part of mobile users’ day-to-day life.

A sample of nearly 50 000 tweets from early March 2020, analysed by Emojipedia, revealed the top emojis to be included in conversations about the COVID-19 were: ‘microbe'(42%), and the ‘face wearing the medical mask’ (36%). Other popular emojis strongly associated with COVID-19 include ‘nauseated face’, ‘face vomiting’, ‘sneezing face’ and ‘face with a thermometer’.

For World Emoji Day, Google has announced a number of classic emojis returning to Android this year, including frog, hatching chick, pig face, octopus and spouting whale.

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Emojis approved and coming to Apple’s iOS this year include ‘smiling face with tear’, ‘disguised face’, ‘pinched fingers’ and ‘people hugging’. Last year on World Emoji Day, Apple launched new emojis to its visual language, including waffle, flamingo and sloth.

Emoji that are approved by the Unicode Consortium in January often don’t make it onto phones until about September. However, Unicode has announced a six-month delay to Unicode 14.0, which was expected to debut in 2021, due to COVID-19 interruptions.

MySociaLife, which teaches 4 000 school pupils annually about life online, advises parents to keep tabs on their children’s online behaviour and the type of emojis they use or receive from peers.

“Emojis have not waned. We live in a visual world, but this requires guidance and navigation for parents, teachers and students. There are few mysterious double meaning emojis that parents should know of; for instance, an eggplant emoji doesn’t necessarily mean that your child is a fan of aubergines, and the shapely apple emoji is less about fruit and more about curves,” according to McCoubrey.

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Africa Prudential Unveils Digital Growth Strategy

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Africa Prudential Plc has reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable growth and digital transformation after posting another strong half-year financial performance, driven by robust growth in its core registrar business, technology-driven solutions and increased activity in Nigeria’s capital market.

Speaking during the company’s H1 2026 Investor Call on Tuesday, the management outlined plans to deepen revenue diversification and accelerate innovation as part of efforts to reduce reliance on interest income and strengthen long-term profitability.

The company reported gross earnings of ₦4.28 billion for the first half of 2026, representing a 27 per cent increase from ₦3.34 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

Profit before tax rose by 22 per cent to ₦2.41 billion, while profit after tax climbed 18 per cent to ₦1.59 billion.

Net operating income also increased by 27 per cent to ₦4.21 billion, while total assets grew by 13 per cent to ₦46.53 billion. Shareholders’ funds similarly rose by 13 per cent to ₦12.52 billion.

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According to the company, the impressive performance was driven by sustained growth in its registrar business, increased corporate actions across the Nigerian capital market, stronger treasury earnings supported by the prevailing interest rate environment and rising adoption of its technology-enabled products and services.African Mineral Wealth

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Catherine Nwosu, said Africa Prudential is steadily evolving from a traditional share registrar into a diversified technology and business solutions provider serving the broader capital market ecosystem.

Addressing concerns from investors about the sustainability of earnings if interest rates decline, Nwosu said the company was deliberately expanding its non-interest income sources.

“Interest rates influence our treasury income positively, but that is why we are deliberately diversifying our revenue streams. Our strategy is to grow recurring fee-based business lines such as our digital solutions, Know Your Customer (KYC) services, AGM technology, probate services and the SabiVest mobile app. Over time, this will reduce our reliance on interest income and create a more balanced and resilient earnings mix,” she said.

She noted that increasing activity in the Nigerian capital market presents fresh opportunities for technology-driven solutions.

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“With capital market activity nearly doubling over the past year, demand for seamless digital investor experiences, improved market efficiency and stronger compliance standards continues to grow. We are investing in technology-enabled solutions that position us to capitalise on these opportunities while delivering sustainable value to our shareholders,” she added.

Looking ahead, the company identified five strategic priorities for the second half of 2026, including driving sustainable growth through its core registrar business and new revenue streams, accelerating technology-led product innovation, strengthening brand leadership, investing in talent development and reinforcing corporate governance.

The investor call attracted institutional investors, shareholders, analysts, regulators and other capital market stakeholders, reflecting strong interest in Africa Prudential’s earnings outlook, revenue diversification strategy and long-term growth plans.

 

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IHS Nigeria Donates Business-Support Equipment to Empower People with Disabilities in Abuja Community

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Communications infrastructure company, IHS Nigeria, has donated business support equipment to empower people with disabilities within the Karonmajiji community in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. This is part of the company’s commitment to drive inclusive community development and sustainable livelihood support under its Project Empower initiative.

The equipment was distributed to beneficiaries during a ceremony held in the community on Monday, July 27. The initiative was conceived following a community needs assessment and is designed to empower active traders by providing them with business tools rather than cash grants, thereby strengthening their businesses and ensuring long-term economic impact and accountability.

Speaking at the event, Director, Sustainability, IHS Nigeria, Titilope Oguntuga, described the initiative as a reflection of the company’s commitment to advancing inclusive development by equipping persons with disabilities with the tools and opportunities needed to build resilient livelihoods.

She explained that rather than providing short-term financial assistance, IHS Nigeria adopted an asset-based approach by donating 50 pieces of business support equipment, including sewing machines, freezers, generators and hairdressing kits, to the selected beneficiaries.

According to her, the intervention is designed to create lasting value by supporting entrepreneurship, promoting self-reliance and strengthening household incomes, while contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

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In his opening remarks, the Chief of the Karonmajiji Disabled Community, Alhaji Sulaiman Muhammed Katsina, represented by the Secretary of the Community, Alhaji Mohammed Dantani commended IHS Nigeria for its commitment to empowering persons with disabilities through practical and sustainable interventions.

He described the initiative as a demonstration of genuine partnership with the community and expressed appreciation for the company’s continued engagement with the Association, noting that the donation of the equipment was a significant investment in improving the livelihoods of persons with disabilities and would create meaningful economic opportunities for the beneficiaries and their families.

The event brought together traditional rulers, government representatives, leaders and members of the Karonmajiji Disabled Community Association, implementing partners, including Field of Skills and Dreams Vocational Technical and Entrepreneurship (FSD VTE) Training Institute and other community stakeholders, reaffirming a shared commitment to promoting inclusion and sustainable community development.

Project Empower reinforces IHS Nigeria’s commitment to advancing sustainable development through strategic partnerships that promote economic inclusion, strengthen community resilience and create opportunities for underserved communities.

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CIBN, ACAMB Push for Financial Inclusion, Women Empowerment

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The Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN) and the Association of Corporate Communication and Marketing Professionals in Banks (ACAMB) have enjoined banks to further deepen and prioritize financial inclusion, women’s empowerment and sustained growth through strategic mandates and frameworks, aimed at closing the financial gap and empowering more small, and medium enterprise (MSME) owners.

Both organisations made this call during a courtesy visit to the newly invested 24th President and Chairman of Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Dr. Dele Alabi, Ph.D, FCIB, as part of plans to congratulate him on his investiture as well as seek a stronger alliance between both bodies.

The visit followed Alabi’s investiture where he unveiled his “IMPACT” Vision, themed “Consolidating Our Local Impact, Enhancing Our Global Relevance.”

The vision rests on six pillars: Inclusion across geographic, gender, and generational lines; Membership growth and quality; Professionalism and ethics; Accountability; Competencies and skills development; Technology, automation, and innovation. Other areas of shared interest, include women empowerment, financial inclusion and literacy, as well as MSME clinics, all of which are top on his agenda.

Alabi explained that under him, the institute will be prioritising financial inclusion and women empowerment, because of its realisation that women  are often the primary financial managers and caregivers in families. Access to savings, micro-credit, and insurance acts as a safety net during crisis and allows them to significantly improve living conditions.

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He added that CIBN would be happy to drive joint knowledge sharing and exchange sessions with CBN and ACAMB across various platforms. “Educating the public through public awareness programmes, with ACAMB as the rallying point, is central to what we do,” he noted.

ACAMB President, Jide Sipe, who led the delegation, spoke in unison with the CIBN president, as he noted that, closing the inbalances in financial access help economies grow faster, reduces inequality, and encourages greater civic participation by all.

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