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Heritage Bank MD Advocates Strategy for Next Gen of African Corporates

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Ifie Sekibo, managing director/chief executive officer of Heritage Bank, has said that concerted promotion and protection of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) through the establishment of a solid framework supported by clearly articulated government policy is the first step in creating an active SME sector that could spearhead the much needed revolution Nigeria and indeed Africa urgently requires in the area of building the Next Generation of African Corporates.

He sated this at the 2nd US-Africa Trade & Investment Forum/Africa Investment & Development Awards which took place at St. Regis Hotel, New York, USA where he was selected to speak as an authority on “Small & Medium Enterprise Funding in Africa – a banker’s experience”, on account of what the organizers described as the outstanding efforts of the new Heritage Bank in the area of SME Banking in Nigeria.

Sekibo observed that in Sub-Saharan Africa, SMEs are more credit-constrained and this typically affects growth possibilities as significantly low number of start-ups who apply for financing actually succeed.

Studies, he noted, indicate that more than 70% of the SMEs lack access to medium-longer-term finance, creating an SME funding gap of more than $140 billion in Africa alone.

“Using Nigeria as a case study, between 2003 and 2009, SME loans as a percentage of total credit, decreased from 7.45% to 0.18%. Yet by 2012, Nigeria had about 17.6 million MSMEs employing about 32.4 million people. Although it is generally accepted that SMEs enhance competition and entrepreneurship, and their development has a positive impact on innovation and productivity growth, policy and infrastructure factors to mitigate risk and costs that SME sector cannot internalise needs to be seriously worked upon by all relevant stakeholders”

He further revealed that in Nigeria, most SMEs die within the first five years of existence while another smaller percentage goes into extinction between the sixth and tenth year, with only five to ten percent surviving, thriving and growing into established corporate status.

He listed the leading cause of such sub-optimal output to include: Poor access to funds, Weak institutional support, unstable macroeconomics, complicated and unstructured legal framework/regulation, inadequate business information, infrastructure and business environment as well as Human capital factors among others.

Sekibo particularly lauded recent response to financing SMEs in Africa by Development finance institutions that are engaging partnerships with commercial banks and other SME focused lenders to initiate advisory and innovation interventions to promote diverse SME funding windows.

He listed these as including the African Development Bank (AfDB), Ecowas Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) and the relatively new African Guarantee Fund which was officially launched in June 2012 as a focused intervention fund to enhance international funding access to lending institutions with strategic and demonstrable focus on the SME space, among others.

“5 out of the top 10 fastest growing economies in the world are in Africa. The 39 fastest growing economies in 2013 have an average size of $78 billion. Growth in these countries is largely driven by SGBs – Small Growing Businesses such as Agriculture, Solid Mineral, and Retail Distribution. Small is no longer risky, it is the way to building the Next Generation of African Corporates”, he concluded.


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E-Financial

Lagos State Appoints MoneyMaster as Payment Partner for “Ounje Eko” Programme

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“Ounje Eko”, the food price discount initiative of the Lagos State Government, has appointed leading payment service bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited (MMPSB), as its collaborator in the bid to ensure ease of payments at the market.

MoneyMaster is one of the Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed Payment Service Banks (PSBs) to promote financial inclusion across Nigeria.

Under the partnership, MMPSB will apply its cutting-edge payment solution to engender easy payment and reconciliation in order to make   the experiences of Lagosians who will be getting their food supplies from the markets pleasurable. Its payment solution is also all-encompassing and ensures real time value to payment destinations.

The mobile bank was appointed as the collection and payment partner for “Ounje Eko” Food Markets programme which is a government initiative serving the five divisions of Lagos State. Consequent on this, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank will collect payments in 57 LCDAs in the state.

The partnership gives credence to the quality of payment solutions that MoneyMaster is reputed for in its services to its growing business clientele in private and public sectors.

 


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E-Financial

CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is investigating irregular foreign exchange transactions and forward contracts valued at approximately $2.4 billion.

CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering

The  inquiry follows an extensive audit by Deloitte, which scrutinized $7 billion in dollar debts accumulated under the bank’s previous leadership.

In the aftermath of the 294th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, Yemi Cardoso, governor of CBN,  disclosed to journalists that the investigation, supported by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, among other security bodies, aims to clarify the legitimacy of these FX allocations identified as problematic by the audit.

“It was determined that a number of these transactions did not qualify…they were outright illegal. The law enforcement agencies are now looking into those transactions that as far as we are concerned, are not valid to be paid,” Cardoso detailed, emphasizing the unlawful nature of these forex deals.

The crux of the investigation lies in the audit findings that a significant portion of the scrutinized transactions lacked proper documentation and, in many instances, were deemed outright illegal.

However, the unfolding investigation has raised concerns within the organized private sector, with some entities contemplating legal action against commercial banks for unresolved forex bids.

Despite these tensions, Governor Cardoso reassures that the foreign exchange market remains open and transparent, inviting stakeholders to address their forex needs through the official channels.

Furthermore, Cardoso clarified the distribution of fertilizers to farmers as a one-off measure and not indicative of a shift back to direct interventions by the CBN, underscoring a commitment to strategic, regulatory governance rather than direct market involvement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks in the country to expedite action to increase their capital base from the current ₦25bn.

CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, stated this during the apex bank’s 294th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday in Abuja, when the MPC hiked the interest rate by 22.75% to 24.75%.

The apex bank chief said the MPC examined developments in the banking sector and expressed satisfaction that the industry remained stable. The committee, however, said to guard against risk, commercial banks in the country should accelerate their recapitalisation efforts.

Cardoso said, “The MPC also reviewed developments in the banking system and noted that the industry remains safe, sound, and stable. The committee thus called on the bank to sustain its surveillance and ensure compliance of banks with existing regulatory and macro-potential guidelines.

“The MPC also enjoined the banks to expedite actions on the recapitalisation of banks to strengthen the system against potential risks in an increasingly globalised world.”

 

 

 

 


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