News
Turkish Airlines Supports African Economic Congress in Abuja
Turkish Airlines, the airline that flies to more countries and international destinations than any other airline in the world, recently became the official Airline sponsor of the African Economic Congress, which held at the Musa Yar’ Adua Centre in Abuja.
Thus, the flag carrier showed its continual support of the growth of the African continent and its commitment to being a part of it. In June, Turkish Airlines launched flights to Port Harcourt, its third destination in Nigeria, connecting the city to over 300 destinations worldwide.
With over 500 participants, the three-day event which was themed “Building the Africa we want: A Scheme into Africa’s Investment Process and Drive”, focused on promoting essential collaborations between Africa and the world while addressing challenges in areas like trade and investment, agriculture, and economic policy.
Speaking at the event, Mehmet Asik, General Manager of Turkish Airlines, Abuja, said: “Nigeria remains one of our foremost markets, and we continually improve our services to meet the growing demand for travel in order to foster trade relations. At Turkish Airlines, we recognize the importance of tourism and connectivity and that is why we pay extra attention to our excellent service and exciting brand experience.
“We consider it is important that our passengers have an unparalleled travel experience when they are on-board our aircraft. We understand our positon within Africa’s aviation landscape and our support to the African Economic Congress is a way of demonstrating that.”
This is coming on the heels of global carrier’s latest destination in Nigeria, Port Harcourt, where the airline has continued its operation of connecting people to the world.
EFCC
The African Development Bank Group last week approved an investment of €6.5 million in the Saviu II fund in order to support technology start-ups through their seed phase and first institutional fundraising, mainly in French-speaking Central and West Africa.
The Bank will invest €4.5 million as equity and €2 million as a first-loss hedging tranche on behalf of the European Commission, under the Boost Africa Programme.
This participation of the Bank Group will enable the Saviu II fund to give priority to companies with a strong technological or digital component.
Saviu II, the second investment vehicle of Saviu Partners, plans to invest between €500,000 and €3 million in about 20 technology or technology-oriented business-to-business start-ups in the seed phase or carrying out first institutional fundraising.
The Saviu II venture capital fund aims to make at least 60% of its commitments in the French-speaking countries of West and Central Africa: Côte d ‘Ivoire, Cameroon, Benin, Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso and Mali.
The fund can also co-invest in promising technology companies in East Africa that have a strong team and business model, and whose strategy includes entering the market in French-speaking West African countries and establishing a strong presence there.
In addition, the fund will devote a dedicated envelope to pre-seed investments, focusing on minority equity investments, usually in co-investment with studios, incubators or other ecosystem partners.
Nigerian Government has signed a $1.3 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) via the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF) to fund an alumina refinery, national geoscience mapping, and a strategic investment vehicle for mining growth.
Special Assistant to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Segun Tomori, said the refinery will process one million tonnes of bauxite yearly using a modern Bayer process, powered by an on-site gas-fired cogeneration plant.
Minister Dele Alake called it a transformative milestone boosting GDP, aligning with reforms that improve investment climate, regulations, and licensing to attract private capital. He directed agencies to fast-track permits.
The 20-year project at 95% utilization eyes 19 million tonnes total output, $1.2 billion annual GDP addition, $25 billion economic impact, and $8 billion forex earnings, per feasibility studies.
SMDF Executive Secretary Fatima Shinkafi termed it the agency’s biggest funding deal, supporting value-addition policy.
The partnership extends to geoscience mapping for mineral data, de-risking exploration, and a joint vehicle for mining assets.
Permanent Secretary Engr. Farouk Yabo praised the reforms. Shinkafi signed for government; AFC’s Franklin Edochie for the corporation, witnessed by AFC CEO Samaila Zubairu.
Tomori positioned it as Nigeria’s largest private mining investment and FDI magnet.
GCR Affirms Afreximbank’s International Scale Ratings of A, A2
SmartCash Launches ‘No Be Cho Cho Cho’ Campaign to Boost Digital Banking in Nigeria
MTN Nigeria Non-Executive Director Mazen Mroue Quits to Focus on Group Role
Google Adds Yorùbá, Hausa to AI Search, Boosting Access for Millions of Nigerians
MultiChoice Shuts Down Showmax After 11 Years Amid Streaming Wars
Dr. Cairo Ojougboh Foundation Bolsters Nigeria’s Education Drive with ₦2.7m Student Support
Kaspersky Brings more Transparency to Threat Detection with New Hunt Hub
NDPC Commits to Balancing Data Privacy, Protection Information
PwC Reveals AI Scaling Gap Slows Africa’s Digital Transformation
Firm Reviews the Evolution of Phishing Threats in 2025
E-Financial3 days agoNRS Targets N40trillion in Tax, Royalty Revenue in 2026
General News3 days agoPurple Woman 3.0 Is Back, to Empower Women in Tech this IWD 2026
E-Financial3 days agoSEC Revokes Registration of Kensington Agro Trading Limited
News3 days agoEFCC Arraigns Two FSDH Bank Officials Over $307k, €50k Fraud
E-Financial2 days agoNigeria’s VAT Jumps 34%, CIT Soars 48% to ₦14trn in 9M’25 – NBS
E-Business3 days agoNDPC, 60 DPAs Collaborate on Enforcing Privacy Rights in the Use of Al
Telecom2 days agoFG Approves GIS-enabled Digital Postcode to Tackle Logistics Gaps, Boost E-commerce
Telecom3 days agoKonga Launches ‘Berekete Sales’ with Up to 50% Discounts Across Major Categories