News
FBNQuest Partners Teach for Nigeria to Deliver the Incubation Hub Pitch Contest

In line with its commitment to deliver impactful community-focused initiatives, FBNQuest, the investment banking and asset management subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc, has continued to strengthen its partnership with Teach for Nigeria (TFN) by supporting the TFN Incubation Hub Pitch Contest and the TFN Annual Mentoring Programme.
Teach for Nigeria is a non-profit organization committed to developing leaders and promoting educational development across the nation by recruiting graduates and professionals to teach in under-served schools as full-time teachers.
FBNQuest partnered with TFN on its Incubation Hub Pitch Contest, a 3-month Incubation Programme that provides TFN alumni a unique opportunity to accelerate growth through their social impact projects. The Incubation Hub is designed to equip participants with the practical knowledge required to build and sustain their enterprise.
This is delivered through an intensive training workshop, access to post-program support, mentoring and an opportunity to pitch for seed funding for their enterprise. The Bookaclan Literacy and No Box Initiatives emerged as winners of the contest and were given seed funding to scale their projects in 2021.
Commenting on the Incubation Hub Programme, Folawe Omikunle, CEO, Teach for Nigeria stated “We are on a mission to address educational inequality in Nigeria. We believe that equipping our alumni with the skills and knowledge to start and scale their initiatives will bring us closer to our vision of educating all children in Nigeria”.
Employees of FBNQuest also volunteered to mentor TFN Fellows in the area of professional development as they transition from the Fellowship programme, as well as support them to implement their social impact project themed Be the Change Projects in their placement schools.
Commenting on the partnership with Teach for Nigeria, Lolade Sasore, Head, People & Knowledge Engagement at FBNQuest stated “We recognise the role education plays as a catalyst for growth and development, and we remain committed to equipping our youth with the right skills to excel.
“Through this and other partnerships, we hope to provide access to more opportunities for young leaders to actively contribute to building a stable economy.” she added.
FBNQuest continues to demonstrate its commitment to supporting and enabling education in Nigeria through its various education investment products designed to secure the future of young adults.
Some of the products include the FBN Education Endowment Plan and the Children Education Trust. FBNQuest also participates in various knowledge and skills development initiatives, as well as people empowerment and financial literacy initiatives to build future leaders.
News
DBN Awards N13m in Grants to Tech Startups

Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) has awarded a total of N13 million in grants to three standout tech startups at the 2025 Techpreneur Summit held in Lagos, reinforcing its commitment to innovation and inclusive growth among Nigeria’s micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The winners include: BuyScrap, a digital marketplace for recyclable materials – N6 million; Qiqi Farms, which connects local farmers to hospitality and export markets – N4 million; Eco-Cyclers, a youth-led recycling initiative based in Enugu – N3 million
Alongside the grant awards, DBN also launched a new digital data asset, a first-of-its-kind platform aimed at enabling data-driven decisions within the MSME ecosystem.
The platform offers deep insights into business trends, sector-specific challenges, and growth opportunities—supporting smarter policymaking and targeted investments.
In his keynote address in Lagos, Tony Okpanachi, managing director/ CEO, DBN, described the event’s theme, “CTRL + SHIFT: Tech Empowered Movement for Naija,” as a strategic call to reimagine enterprise development in Nigeria.
“This isn’t just a keyboard shortcut,” he said. “It’s a mindset reset—powered by technology—to build a more inclusive, innovative, and resilient business landscape. From financing to innovation, DBN remains committed to enabling MSMEs to thrive.”
Okpanachi emphasized that the Summit aligns with DBN’s AMPLIFI Strategy, which integrates digital transformation, sustainability, and scalability into its core programs.
He highlighted initiatives such as the Digital Shift Workshops and the Eco-Innovation Challenge as key steps toward embedding innovation in Nigeria’s MSME sector.
Encouraging young innovators, he added: “The future belongs to those bold enough to imagine and build it. DBN is proud to support the ideas that will shape tomorrow.”
A major highlight was the unveiling of the DBN Data Asset—a digital platform designed to provide real-time, evidence-based insights into Nigeria’s MSME landscape.
The platform combines DBN’s proprietary data with external sources like the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) to offer a comprehensive view of MSME performance by region and sector.
Jeremy Dan Okayi, DBN’s Head of Strategy, Policy & Innovation, described the platform as: “A reservoir of insight, potential, and direction—built on two years of collaboration and shared vision. This tool will support informed decision-making across the public and private sectors.”
News
FCCPC Shuts France, Belgium, and Italy Visa Centres in Abuja Over Alleged Consumer Rights Violations

In a bold enforcement action, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), supported by the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), has sealed off the visa application centres of France, Belgium, and Italy in Abuja over alleged consumer protection breaches and obstruction of regulatory investigations.
The affected centres—located at Mukhtar El-Yakub House in the Central Business District and operated by TLS Contact, a Teleperformance Company—were shut down following reports that they refused to accept formal correspondence from the FCCPC regarding a consumer complaint. The Commission cited further infractions, including obstruction of investigation and alleged assault of its officers during lawful duties.
Speaking to journalists at the scene, Mrs. Boladale Adeyinka, Director of Surveillance and Investigations at the FCCPC, explained: “This is an enforcement operation against TLS. On March 25, 2025, we served them a letter to address a consumer complaint, which they refused to accept. Instead, TLS officers assaulted our team, and in a subsequent visit on June 17, they also allegedly assaulted uniformed police officers.”
Citing Section 33 of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA), Mrs. Adeyinka emphasized that failure to comply with Commission directives constitutes a criminal offense, punishable by imprisonment, fines of up to ₦20 million, or both.
TLS has been ordered to appear before the Commission on June 20, 2025, to provide testimony, submit evidence, and make formal depositions. The company may be held liable for any financial losses suffered by applicants due to the disruption of visa services.
Despite multiple requests for comment, management at TLS Contact declined to respond as of press time.
News
How and Why N210 Trillion is Missing in NNPCL – CFO

Adedapo Segun, chief financial officer (CFO), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), has explained why there is a missing sum of N210 trillion in the company’s audited financial statement spanning from 2017 to 2023.
According to Segun, the missing funds are cash calls requested by joint venture (JV) partners and settlement to the JVs.
He spokeat a session of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts chaired by Aliyu Wadada.
Segun was responding to an alarm raised by the committee over missing N210 trillion in NNPCL’s audited financial statement.
Recall that Wadada issued a one-week ultimatum to NNPCL to account for the missing N210 trillion.
Reacting, Segun said, “The N103 trillion and N107 trillion are made up of joint venture cash calls that have been requested by the JV operators and JV cash call payments made by NNPCL, which are yet to be reconciled because governance procedures were not done at that time.
“That is why you see the description reflecting those two items would be washed out because they are two sides of the same transaction, which is the cash calls by JV partners and the settlement by NNPCL.”
However, Habu Sadeik, a financial analyst, in a post on X on Thursday, said Segun’s response was unsatisfactory.
Saidik faulted NNPCL’s response about the fund discrepancies, noting that something is not right with the audited financial statement.
“Forget about the senators’ lack of knowledge.
“The CFO’s response is not satisfactory. Are you saying that cash calls worth hundreds of trillions are just appearing on your FS only in 2024 without 31 disclosure?
“If it’s a cash call, why hasn’t the disclosure said so?
“Which cash call is over 100 trillion?
“Something is definitely not right, and I hope they retrospectively correct that FS.
“Someone somewhere did a chef’s work,” he wrote on X.
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