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African Healthcare Funders Forum to Connect, Scale Innovative Healthcare Solutions

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The African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA), Ashoka, and Social Innovation Circle, sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim as part of their “Making More Health” and Boehringer Ingelheim Social Engagement initiatives, are joining forces to launch the African Healthcare Funders Forum, a first-of-its-kind year-long gathering of Africa’s leading funders and social entrepreneurs to drive the transformation of the African healthcare sector.

The Forum is dedicated to bridging the current healthcare funding gap, advancing innovative financing models, and providing funders as well as social entrepreneurs with the tools and networks needed to catalyze sustainable growth at the speed and scale required to achieve maximum impact on the continent.

“Africa’s health sector, which has been traditionally viewed as a sector for the public good, represents a massive investment opportunity, estimated by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa to be worth $66 billion annually. Helping more funders and founders to connect, collaborate and scale innovative healthcare solutions is critical to the growth of the sector.

“The Forum will provide a collaborative space to meet, discuss and learn from peers on how to best mobilise and deploy capital into African healthcare ventures and overcome funding challenges”, says Dr Frank Aswani, CEO of AVPA.

Institutional capital and the expertise that typically comes with it are critical to achieving growth in this sector. This will require the establishment of new relationships between private and development sector players, the development of new impact delivery models, and the wide adoption of innovative financing principles like Impact Investing.

“To partner for impact is a key element of our strategy, and it is even the theme of this year’s Making More Health (MMH) Convention on October 4/5, 2022. Both MMH and Boehringer Ingelheim Social Engagement, our impact investment vehicle, are built on the notion that we can achieve much more together.

“Thus, we are delighted to sponsor this Forum, participate, and collaborate on building up the Impact Investing Ecosystem in SSA”, says Christian Bausch, Project Lead Boehringer Ingelheim Social Engagement.

Impact Leadership Programme

 The African Healthcare Funders Forum offers a year-round programme of networking events and learning opportunities for impact leaders.

It will launch in September 2022 with a three-month Impact Leadership Programme spread over 12 touch points, where funders across the capital spectrum, from grantmakers to debt providers and private equity players, will meet online to network and learn about the latest innovations in impact investing and healthcare.

The Programme has been curated and will be run by Social Innovation Circle, an experienced impact investment coaching team that has been training impact entrepreneurs and investors for over a decade, in close partnership with Ashoka.

“Social Innovation Circle is very excited to collaborate with leading partners and stellar experts to build this unique Impact Leaders Forum bringing together funders and founders dedicated to accelerating healthcare innovations in Africa,” says Mark Cheng, Founder and Managing Partner, Social Innovation Circle.

Applications to the Programme are officially open. For its inaugural Leadership Programme, the Forum will bring together social investors –  grantmakers, debt providers, private equity and venture capital fund managers, angel investors, impact investors, and mainstream and development finance institutions –  actively deploying or planning to deploy capital in African healthcare, whether as philanthropists, equity investors, or lenders.

Alongside impact funders, the Forum members will include CEOs of pioneering healthcare ventures carefully selected and nominated by Ashoka, the global network of social enterprise founders.

These CEOs will join funders in the Leadership Programme to share their perspectives on which business models and innovations are delivering impact on the ground and how to improve the flow of capital into the sector.

Over the course of three months, the programme will provide the Impact Leaders with a comprehensive overview of the challenges and opportunities of funding African healthcare, through a series of guided conversations with leading industry experts and market participants, and an exploration of how impact finance can be used to increase the flow of capital for innovative healthcare ventures.

Frank Aswani, The AVPA CEO, will be hosting Forum co-conveners Mark Cheng and Christian Bausch for a Fireside Chat on 24th June to introduce the Forum and discuss the African healthcare sector.

 

 

 


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NCAA Orders Airlines to Enforce $10,000 Currency Declaration Rule

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The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority has ordered all international airlines flying into Nigeria to enforce the $10,000 currency declaration rule.

The authority said the rule is required for passengers to declare cash or negotiable instruments above the limit, as part of efforts to strengthen anti-money laundering compliance.

According to the NCAA, the directive, referenced as NCAA/CPD/ABV/298, dated 24 April 2025 seeks to address gaps in the enforcement of existing currency declaration obligations for inbound passengers.

This was announced in a statement issued by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, via his official X account on Tuesday.

“International carriers must take two key actions, which include “Make inflight or pre-landing announcements informing passengers of their legal obligation to declare any currency or Bearer Negotiable Instruments exceeding $10,000 USD or its equivalent upon arrival in Nigeria.

“Distribute currency declaration forms onboard for passengers to complete before landing. The NCAA has received reports indicating that some airlines are yet to comply with this directive”, the statement read.

The NCAA said these requirements are consistent with international best practices and are vital to preventing the illegal movement of large sums of money across borders.

The Authority warned that full cooperation from international airlines is essential, saying, “Please note that the cooperation of all international airlines operating in Nigeria is critical to supporting the country’s efforts to align with global financial standards.”

Accordingly, the authority emphasised that full implementation of this directive, particularly as it concerns inbound passenger declarations, is of utmost importance.

“Compliance will be closely monitored, and non-compliant airlines will face appropriate sanctions,” it added.


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Appeal Court Nullifies Registration of ‘KPMG Professional Services’

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The court of appeal in Lagos has asked the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to revoke the certificate of registration of “KPMG Professional Services”.

Appeal Court Nullifies Registration of ‘KPMG Professional Services'

In a unanimous decision delivered on Thursday, the appellant court granted the reliefs sought by KPMG Nigeria against CAC and KPMG Professional Services.

The judgment was read by Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero, the judge.

The two other judges are Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo and A.M. Talba.

In 2002, KPMG Professional Services was registered as a company with CAC despite the existence of KPMG Nigeria, comprising its audit, tax, and consulting arms.

The KPMG Nigeria has long been registered in Nigeria before 2002.

KPMG Audit was registered in 1969, KPMG Tax Consultants in 1990, and KPMG Consulting in 1969.

Displeased with the registration of KPMG Professional Services, KPMG Nigeria approached the federal high court.

The consulting firm had argued that the name “KPMG Professional Services” was deceptively similar to its long-established identity.

In 2005, the lower court dismissed KPMG Nigeria’s case, citing an alleged merger between KPMG Nigeria and Akintola Williams Deloitte as reason the company could no longer assert rights to the name.

The lower upheld the second respondent’s (KPMG Professional Services) counterclaim and ordered that KPMG Nigeria’s name be struck off the CAC register.

The lower court had premised its decision on newspaper articles stating that KPMG Nigeria reportedly merged with Akintola Williams Deloitte.

Delivering the judgment, Bayero ruled that the lower court erred by relying on newspaper articles to ascertain that KPMG Nigeria allegedly merged with another company.

The judge said the documents showing the alleged merger were not presented before the lower court, and the form of the alleged merger could not have been known.

“In any event, the only branch of KPMG, if any, that entered into a merger with Akintola Williams as stated in the newspaper articles 18, is KPMG Audit,” the judge ruled.

“The other spheres were totally unaffected. It would therefore be wrong to state that the merger (which has not been shown to this Court) of KPMG Audit with Akintola Williams means all the other areas of business, including KPMG Consulting and KPMG Tax Consultants, also ceased to exist.

“Even if the Appellants (KPMG Nigeria) had ceased to do business as the Court seemed to have held, the 2nd Respondents (KPMG Professional Services) should not have been carrying on business until the Appellant’s certificate of registration is withdrawn or set aside.

“They cannot use the name until the Appellant’s certification of registration is withdrawn or set aside. They cannot use the name until the name is removed from the 1st Respondent’s (CAC) Register of Names.

“The 1st Respondents can only assign the name to the 2nd Respondents after first taking it away from the Appellants.”

The court ruled that CAC erred by registering KPMG Professional Services despite the existence of a business name, which is already registered.

The judge reversed the earlier ruling of the lower court and reaffirmed the primacy of statutory protection for existing business names under Nigerian corporate law.

 

 

 


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Air Peace Launches Abuja–London Heathrow, Gatwick flights October 26

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Air Peace has announced the launch of direct flights from Abuja to London Heathrow and Gatwick airports, with operations scheduled to begin on October 26, 2025.

The airline said in a statement on Sunday that round-trip fares for the Abuja–London service will start from N1m, making it the first Nigerian carrier to offer direct connections from the capital to both of London’s major international airports. This was contained in a press release issued on Sunday by the airline’s spokesperson, Efe Osifo-Whiskey.

“Direct international flight services from Abuja to both London Heathrow and London Gatwick Airports, effective October 26, 2025.

“Air Peace becomes the first Nigerian carrier to offer direct services from Abuja to both of London’s major international airports, further solidifying its role as a leader in regional and intercontinental aviation.

“Travellers originating from any of Air Peace’s domestic destinations across Nigeria can now book through fares via Abuja to either Heathrow or Gatwick using a single ticket, eliminating the need for multiple bookings or baggage re-checks,” the statement read.

Similarly, the new route opens convenient access for inbound passengers from the UK to cities across Nigeria.

“Travellers from London can access multiple destinations across Nigeria using a single Air Peace ticket through Abuja every morning. These destinations are Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Benin, Warri, Owerri, Kano, Yola, Gombe and Asaba, for now. Other destinations will be added later,” Osifo-Whiskey stated.

Air Peace is also offering what it describes as unprecedented value in pricing and service.

Osifo-Whiskey said, “It provides a distinct competitive advantage, enabling passengers to travel between Nigeria and the United Kingdom with greater ease, efficiency, and value, due to the possibility of choosing multiple cities entry and exit points.

“Has the cheapest fares ever, starting from only 1 Million Naira round trip. Huge baggage allowance.”

The Abuja–London launch comes months after the airline began Lagos–London Heathrow flights, which started earlier in 2024.


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