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British Billionaire Branson Takes Off for Space with Virgin Galactic

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Billionaire Richard Branson took off Sunday from a base in New Mexico aboard a Virgin Galactic vessel bound for the edge of space, a voyage he hopes will lift the nascent space tourism industry off the ground.

British Billionaire Branson Takes Off for Space with Virgin Galactic

Branson in Virgin Galactic vessel

A massive carrier plane made a horizontal take-off from Spaceport, New Mexico at around 8:40 am Mountain Time (1440 GMT) and will ascend for around an hour to an altitude of 50,000 feet (15 kilometers).

The mothership will then drop a rocket-powered spaceplane called VSS Unity, which will ignite its engine and ascend at Mach 3 beyond 50 miles (80 kilometers) of altitude, which marks the boundary of space according to the United States.

The spaceplane is carrying two pilots and four passengers, including Branson.

Once the rocket engine is cut off, passengers can unbuckle and experience a few minutes of weightlessness, while admiring the curvature of Earth from the ship’s 17 windows.

After peaking at around 55 miles of altitude, the ship will re-enter the atmosphere and glide back to the runway.

“It’s a beautiful day to go to space,” the brash Brit wrote in a tweet earlier where he posted a video of himself biking to the base and meeting with his crewmates, all Virgin employees.

Branson is also aiming to one up Amazon founder Jeff Bezos by winning the race to be the first tycoon to cross the final frontier in a ship built by a company he founded.

Earlier, he posted a picture of himself standing in a kitchen with SpaceX boss Elon Musk, who’d come to show his support.

Several tourists journeyed to the International Space Station in the 2000s, but on Russian rockets.

Branson’s official role is to evaluate the private astronaut experience to enhance the journey for future clients.

– Space base -Branson, who founded the Virgin Group  has interests in everything from commercial aviation to fitness centers, is known for his appetite for adventure and has set world records in hot air ballooning and boating.

“As a child, I wanted to go to space,” the 70-year-old wrote a few days ahead of his trip.

He founded Virgin Galactic in 2004, but the dream almost came to an end in 2014 when an in-flight accident caused the death of a pilot, considerably delaying the program.

Since then, VSS Unity has successfully reached space three times, in 2018, 2019 — which included the first crew member who wasn’t a pilot — and finally May this year.

Sunday’s spaceflight takes off from Spaceport America, a huge base built in the Jornada del Muerto desert, around 20 miles southeast of the nearest dwelling, Truth or Consequences.

Financed largely by the state of New Mexico, Virgin Galactic is the principal tenant.

– Paying passengers in 2022? -After Sunday, Virgin Galactic plans two further flights, then the start of regular commercial operations from early 2022. The ultimate goal is to conduct 400 flights per year.

Some 600 tickets have already been sold to people from 60 different countries — including Hollywood celebrities — for prices ranging from $200,000 to $250,000.

And though, according to Branson, “space belongs to us all,” the opportunity for now remains the preserve of the privileged.

“When we return, I will announce something very exciting to give more people the chance to become an astronaut,” he promised.

The competition in the space tourism sector, whose imminent rise has been announced for years, has come to a head this month.

Bezos, the richest person in the world, is due to fly on July 20 on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.

Blue Origin posted an infographic Friday boasting the ways in which the experience it offers is superior.

The principal point: New Shepard climbs up to more than 60 miles in altitude, thus exceeding what is called the Karman line, the frontier of space according to international convention.

Bezos himself wished Branson “best of luck” in an Instagram post the following day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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NIA Questions Legality of Reps’ Financial Probe

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The Nigerian Insurers Association has urged the House Committee on Capital Market and Institutions to respect the constitutional separation of powers as it carries out a probe on over 20 insurance firms.

In a statement on Tuesday night, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of NIA, Mrs Bola Odukale, said the decision of NIA and the affected firms to approach the court was to seek clarity on the constitutional limits of the House Committee’s probe.

It would be recalled that the House of Representatives on Monday is investigating no fewer than 25 insurance companies operating in the country for various financial infractions spanning financial reporting, claims settlement, premium remittance, and issuance of policies.

The Chairman, House Sub-Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, Kwamoti Laori, during a meeting with the management of the insurance companies at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, said the meeting was convened following the receipt of a petition on infractions by the insurance companies.

In the statement, Odukale said, “The Association wishes to state unequivocally that all actions taken by the NIA and the affected member companies in response to the Committee’s invitations and pronouncements were based entirely on legal advice by its Solicitors. It was on the firm instruction of legal counsel that recourse was made to the courts.

“The objective of approaching the Court is to seek judicial guidance on the legality, propriety, and constitutional limits of the Committee’s intervention in order to safeguard institutional integrity, uphold regulatory independence, and ensure that legislative oversight remains within the bounds of law.

“The Court action seeks to determine whether the current posture of the Committee reflects an exercise of legislative judgment, which, by constitutional design, is the exclusive province of statutory regulators, such as the National Insurance Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigerian Exchange, Financial Reporting Council, Nigeria Data Protection Commission, and the National Information Technology Development Agency.

“This raises serious questions about legislative overreach and an erosion of the doctrine of separation of powers, a cornerstone of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.”

Odukale maintained that the NIA was committed to lawful and constructive engagement with all arms of government, provided that such engagement respects the autonomy of statutory regulators and the boundaries established by the Constitution.

“The NIA will continue to provide its full support to all member companies while upholding the principles of legal compliance and sector-wide integrity,” Odukale concluded.

17 of the companies that went to court were represented by their lawyer, Mr Abimbola Kayode, at the meeting with the committee.


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Horn of Africa Leaders Seek Enhanced Digital Integration for Increased Regional Growth

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Finance ministers and development partners from the Horn of Africa have called for enhanced digital integration to boost trade, drive economic growth and promote regional stability during the 25th Ministerial Meeting of the Horn of Africa Initiative (HoAI).

Held in Nairobi, on July 14, the meeting was co-chaired by the African Development Bank’s Vice President for Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery, Nnenna Nwabufo and Somalia’s Minister of Finance, Bihi Iman Egeh. Discussions underscored the critical role of digital integration in reducing trade barriers, boosting government service delivery and creating employment — particularly for the region’s youth.

“Digital technologies are shaping today’s economy and tomorrow’s industries. By embedding these technologies into our programs, we can not only improve inclusion but also leapfrog outdated development models,” said Nwabufo.

She called for digital integration a “central enabler” in each of the Horn of Africa Initiative’s pillars – trade, infrastructure, resilience, and human capital,

Learning through experience

Drawing from global and regional success stories, speakers highlighted the transformative potential of technology-led development. The ministers pointed to the Philippines as a strong example, where ICT has generated millions of jobs in business process outsourcing. Similarly, Kenya’s fintech innovation—especially the success of M-PESA—was cited as a model for scaling digital financial services across the region.

Participants urged governments to proactively foster digital ecosystems by capitalizing on the demographic dividend, identifying infrastructure upgrades, tighter regulatory reforms, and digital skills trainings as priorities to enable broader participation in the digital economy.

Minister Egeh reiterated the need for more coordinated regional efforts to create the enabling environment required for accelerated digital integration and expansion. He referenced the HoAI Digital Policy Matrix, adopted in 2023 which provides a blueprint on how to address key obstacles to achieving effective digital integration across the region.

Barack Makokha, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury, underscored the importance of regionally-aligned public private partnerships and advocated for blended financing to reduce investment risk and expand digital access in underserved areas.

World Bank Vice President for Eastern and Southern Africa, Ndiame Diop, called for a comprehensive multi-pronged approach, combining cross-border coordination, large-scale financing, robust policy support, and digital infrastructure investments. He pointed out that such measures could transform digital integration into, “a powerful engine of economic transformation” for the Horn of Africa—ensuring no one is left behind in the digital era.

The meeting concluded with a shared recognition that sustained political will and the determination to implement a multifaceted approach are essential to unlocking the region’s economic potential and driving long-term growth.

The event also welcomed observers from the East African Community, Agence française de développement, and Shelter Afrique, reflecting strong regional and international backing for the HoAI in the development community.


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CSCS Inaugurates Custodian Portal to Enhance Digital Access, Operational Efficiency

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Central Securities Clearing System Plc (CSCS), Nigeria’s capital market infrastructure provider, has launched its Custodian Portal, a user-centric digital solution designed to optimise custodian operations through intuitive, secure and efficient features.

Haruna Jalo-Waziri, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CSCS, announced this in a statement on Monday.

The CSCS is a Public Limited Company with a diversified shareholder base, which serves as the Central Securities Depository for the Nigerian Capital Market.

It serves as the Central Depository for Equities, Commercial Papers, Corporate Bonds, Sub-National Bonds, certain Sovereign Bonds like the FGN Sukuk and the FGN Savings Bond, Equity-traded Funds, Real Estate Investment Trusts, Mutual funds and Commodities.

Jalo-Waziri said that the custodian portal offered a streamlined experience for market participants with powerful tools that facilitate comprehensive portfolio and trade management, document tracking, share transfer operations, client symbol search, and real-time access to vital data.

He explained that the portal, designed to operate through a flexible subscription-based model, empowered users to manage their records effortlessly and securely through convenient payment channels such as GTPay and Paystack.

According to him, “Digital transformation remains at the core of our strategy to enhance the efficiency, transparency and accessibility of Nigeria’s capital market services.

“The custodian portal is a significant leap in that direction, offering custodians a centralised platform to manage critical processes in real-time.

“We are excited about the value this innovation brings to our stakeholders, and we will continue to evolve the platform in line with users’ needs and industry trends.”

The CEO also explained that the portal was designed with user experience in mind with feature tools like portfolio viewing and downloads in PDF or Excel format.

He further said that it also featured tracking of stock movements across date ranges, inbox messaging and request tracking, as well as robust user management capabilities including role assignment and status tracking.

Similarly, the Divisional Head, Business Technology and Digital Innovation, CSCS Plc, Tobe Nnadozie, said that the portal aligned with CSCS’s drive to automate the market.

“In addition to the normal features, the platform is a part of an omnichannel platform for custodians, and includes API services.

“It also connects to the market-wide workflow, which CSCS has built to ensure secured communication and approvals across all major stakeholders in the market.

“The platform is well secured with best-of-breed cybersecurity solutions and our SOC,” he said.

The Custodian Portal reinforces CSCS’s commitment to leveraging technology to streamline back-office functions and support a more agile, data-driven capital market ecosystem.

All custodians in the Nigerian capital market have now been successfully on-boarded on the Custodian Portal, marking a significant milestone in CSCS’s ongoing drive to enhance collaboration, standardise operational processes, and promote digital adoption across the market.


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