News
Union Dicon Salt Eyes $140Bn SSA Consumer Market
Union Dicon Salt Plc., has continued its investment diversification plans with a target on Sub-Saharan African (SSA) consumer market worth over $140billion per annum.
The Company eyes a transformation into an integrated , West African, consumer goods business; though, with an initial focus on foods.
Chuka Mordi, co-managing director/CEOs of Union Dicon Salt, said during a presentation on ‘Beyond Salt’: Facts Behind The Restructuring’ at Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday that part of the success already recorded in the process was the signing of heads of agreement with PNG Gas in Delta state to supply gas to proposed starch processing plant in Umutu in Delta state.
He said that the investors envisage varying opportunities in the business diversification hoping that the operations & products will enable Union Dicon Salt become more competitive in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
Already, the Federal Government has approved Union Dicon Salt Plc’s takeover of Kogi State Staple Crops Processing Zone (SCPZ) to help grow an agric-based industrial sector within the area.
SCPZ is a vast zone where there is commercial production of food that would attract the private sector to set up food processing plant to process food into finished items and other products.
The implementation of SCPZs is estimated to add N660 billion to N1.4 trillion to the economy and estimated to create 250,000 jobs.
The Alape SCPZ is an agro-processing cluster located in a high-food production area that integrates production, processing, and end markets, while providing investors a competitive operating environment.
“UDS has the capacity to actively participate in the over USD 140bn food and consumer market in West Africa, that is forecast to rise to over USD 212bn by 2020. This market which includes pre-processed, and processed consumer products, present a compelling entry opportunity to UDS Plc.
“How do we actualize this? Management has initiated a 48-month, USD100m strategy aimed at transforming UDS Plc. into an integrated FMCG & Agri – Business with an initial focus on food and agriculture. Our models for this plan are: Farming: Build production capacity in key food areas. Processing: Become a national manufacturer and distributor of FMCG in foods. Logistics: Build an Integrated supply chain and be a processor of agricultural products and food ingredients. Execution is being driven by a clear time table of investments (organic growth), partnerships, and acquisitions”.
In an overview of the SSA consumer market, he said the economy remains one of the fastest growing regions with population growth rate of 5-6%, driving demand for consumer and agricultural goods.
“Consumer expenditure in SSA at US$600bn in 2010 accounted for 8% of all emerging market spending; and expected to reach US$1tn by 2020. Consumer spending in Nigeria and South Africa accounts for 51% of total consumer expenditure. FMCGs constitute the bulk of consumer spending, dividing the market into non-processed, semi-processed goods, and processed goods,” Mordi added.
Also speaking, Bex Nwawudu, co-Managing Director/CEOs of Union Dicon Salt, in order to achieve the new plans for the business, the key objective is to diversify into new business lines, and the distribution of all these products regionally.
“This structure was modelled in line with what we visualise as the optimal strategy for a revitalised, more vibrant, and highly profitable UDS Plc. CBO has begun engaging potential hires to fill top line management roles. Engagement will initially involve the appointments into 4 key roles by Q3 2016, and the appointment of the entire top line management team by Q1 2017. In view of the current state of UDS’s assets and infrastructure, investment is ongoing to scale up the new operations that the business has acquired; key investments under this basis are assets that guarantee quick wins, and that will ensure immediate cash flow generation,” he said among other projections.
The Company also announced that leveraging on 2015’s success and announcing the return of the Union Dicon brand solidifies the equity base by recapitalisation of UDS: “Exercise of its options for 240,000,000 shares of Union Dicon Salt Plc. Drive for Acquisitions is key is to close and finalize the acquisitions of 2016. On Cassava / Rice we are on the final negotiations to acquire 7,900 Ha in Delta State; MOU for Land in Ebonyi State”.
The company said in its audited annual general report that it made a net loss of NGN2.6 million for the year 2015. This is a percentage reduction 96% when compared to its audited results for 2014 when the company made a net loss of NGN87 million.
While the company’s operating expenses increased to NGN78 million compared to NGN61 million recorded in 2014, its administrative expenses crashed to NGN80 million from NGN148 million in 2014. This might signal that a massive job cut was carried out in the company.
According to the company’s disclosure, Dicon Salt Limited and Union Salt Limited which were incorporated as private limited liability companies on 11 October 1984 and 30 May 1991 respectively. These Companies were merged and simultaneously converted into a public limited liability company on 7 May 1993 to become Union Dicon Salt Plc.
The company is also divesting its interest into profitable ventures. Last week, it announced that it paid USD100 million to acquire Alape Staple Crop Processing Zone, SCPZ in Kogi State from Cargill, a US-based agro-industrial company that initially invested in the project.
Union Dicon Salt PLC became listed on the official listing of the Nigerian Stock Exchange on 23 September, 1993. The principal activity of the company is the processing of crude salt. The company is also involved in the sales of packaged water in sachets and plastic bottles.
The issued share capital of the Company is held thus: 28% by Aims Limited, 19% by Defence Industries Corporation, 14% by Danjuma T.Y, 8% by Taraba Fisheries Ltd, 8% by T.Y. Holdings Ltd, 1% by Danjuma Grace Elizabeth, 4% by UDS Plc (Staff Trust Fund) and 18% by others.
Earlier, Mr. Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) represented by Ms. Tinuade Awe, general counsel and head of Regulation at The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) welcomed the UDS team for daring to come back to the NSE after about six years of exit.
The CEO urged the management to strictly keep faith with the regulations guiding the operations and must not treat the shareholders with levity.
New data from CFA Society Nigeria is reshaping how the country’s financial sector thinks about talent development, with Access emerging as the single largest source of CFA candidates in Nigeria, distinction industry watchers say signals a deeper shift in how leading institutions are building investment expertise from within.
In its Where Nigeria’s Finance Professionals Work series, published in a national daily, CFA Society Nigeria placed Access first among employers of CFA candidates nationwide, with 82 candidates enrolled in the programme, more than double the 38 recorded at the next-placed institution and well ahead of every other bank or financial services firm on the list.
Access also ranked second among employers of CFA charterholders, with 11 professionals who have completed all three levels of the Programme and met its experience and ethics requirements.
For an industry that has long measured itself by balance sheet size and branch count, the rankings point to a different kind of competition: one over who is building the deepest bench of certified, globally credentialed talent.
CFA Society Nigeria compiled the data from its Salesforce Membership Database as at June 2026, and described the exercise as a way of recognising employers whose people “bring rigour, integrity and global best practices into the workplace every day.”
Analysts following the sector say the outcome is notable less for the ranking itself than for what it suggests about talent strategy across Africa’s financial services industry. A single institution developing more aspiring charterholders than the rest of the market combined raises the floor for professional standards nationally, not just within one balance sheet.
Every candidate who advances through the CFA Programme adds to a shared pool of ethics-trained, analytically rigorous professionals that Nigeria’s capital markets, pension funds and asset managers all eventually draw from.
Access Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer Innocent C. Ike, commenting on the rankings, framed the achievement in terms of institution-building rather than recruitment: “Every candidate on that list represents our commitment to building institutions and professionals that endure.”
The remark echoes a broader thesis increasingly voiced by market observers, that talent depth, not scale alone, is what will determine which African financial institutions earn lasting global credibility.
That distinction sits at the centre of Access’s stated ambition to become the World’s Most Respected African Financial Services Group. If the CFA numbers are any indication, the Group’s route to that goal runs less through square metres of branch network and more through the calibre of the people sitting inside it, a bet that Nigeria’s finance professionals, and the institutions that will one day hire them, are already placing alongside Access.
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced plans to introduce Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) baggage tracking technology across domestic and international airport terminals to tackle the growing problem of delayed, misrouted and missing luggages
Michael Achimugu, director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCAA, disclosed this at a stakeholder engagement forum in Lagos.
Achimugu said the RFID-enabled system would replace the traditional barcode-based baggage tracking framework and provide airlines and passengers with real-time visibility of checked luggage from check-in to final collection.
According to him, the technology would improve baggage traceability, reduce mishandling and strengthen accountability across the baggage-handling chain.
Unlike conventional barcode systems, RFID technology allows baggage to be automatically scanned at multiple points without requiring direct line of sight, enabling real-time tracking of luggage throughout its journey.
Achimugu said issues involving short-landed, missing, lost or damaged baggage had remained among the major complaints from air travellers, alongside flight delays.
He said the introduction of RFID technology was therefore aimed at improving baggage-handling standards and restoring passenger confidence in the aviation sector.
The NCAA said the initiative also aligns with IATA Resolution 753, which requires airlines to track baggage at key points during the passenger journey.
The authority expects the technology to provide more accurate information on the location of luggage, facilitate quicker resolution of baggage-related complaints and improve the overall passenger experience.
The NCAA said the initiative would also strengthen accountability among airlines and other stakeholders involved in baggage handling at Nigerian airports.
eTranzact International Plc has called for increased adoption of digital payment solutions among micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), saying access to technology is critical to improving business efficiency, financial inclusion and growth.
The company also said it was deepening its partnership with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to expand digital access and financial literacy among small businesses across the country.
In a statement, the Divisional Head, Merchant Services, eTranzact, Mrs. Abimbola Reis, stated this at the SMEDAN/eTranzact Town Hall Engagement in Lagos recently, themed, “Financial Literacy and Inclusion for MSMEs Leveraging on Fintech Innovation.”
Reis described MSMEs as the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, noting that the sector comprises almost 40 million businesses and contributes significantly to economic growth and job creation.
However, she said many businesses continue to face challenges including limited access to finance, inefficient payment systems, weak financial reporting, cash-flow constraints and inadequate access to digital platforms.
She added that trust concerns also affect businesses’ ability to access finance, while heavy reliance on cash increases exposure to theft and makes payment reconciliation more difficult.
Representing the Director-General of SMEDAN, Prof. Yinka Fisher said the town hall was aimed at generating practical ideas and solutions that would support the growth and expansion of MSMEs.
“The essence of this engagement is to share ideas and concepts that will help MSMEs thrive and expand. Our partnership with eTranzact is about expanding the frontiers of MSMEs and ensuring they continue to grow,” he said.
Also speaking, representative of the Director-General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dr. Praise Adedigba said businesses could no longer depend solely on hard work to remain competitive.
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