General News
Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation Targets 10,000 Jobs in Imo State

The Leo Stan Ekeh Foundation (LSEF), a futuristic Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) which focuses on promotion of 21st century knowledge through quality education, practical entrepreneurship, healthy living and enhanced lifestyle, is set to flag off a project to create over 10,000 employment opportunities for residents of Imo State, while also equipping entrepreneurs and other beneficiaries with useful knowledge and interest free loans to grow their businesses and improve their global competitiveness.

Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman, Zinox Group
As part of the initiative, globally renowned tech companies like Microsoft, Meta (FaceBook), among others, are expected to certify the participating graduates who complete the programme.
Tagged the Imo Wealth Project, the humanitarian scheme is open to entrepreneurs, unemployed and underemployed graduates, as well as students in tertiary institutions across Imo State in their final year of studies. The aim of the project is to create quality opportunities for the youths to reduce tension in each geo-political region in Nigeria, starting with Imo State in the South East.
The programme kicks off with a three-day mandatory on-boarding training programme scheduled to run daily from Tuesday, June 28 to Thursday, June 30, 2022 at the Imo State University Auditorium, Owerri, Imo State from which successful candidates would be selected. The programme kicks off by 9am each day, while accreditation of attendees holds from 8am.
Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman, Zinox Group, will personally open the conference each day with a 15 minutes’ inspirational session.
A prospective candidate is only expected to attend one of the daily training sessions for a chance to be selected. Interested candidates are advised to register on www.lsef.org to indicate their interest in participating. Registration and participation is free of charge for intending candidates.
Once successfully registered on the website – www.lsef.org, each candidate would be assigned a specific day on which to attend the training programme.
The training sessions will witness masterclasses from a carefully selected faculty of world class resource persons. Among other things, participants would be exposed to mentorship sessions, a finishing school class, knowledge empowerment and business success sessions. Outstanding entrepreneurs who make the final cut stand a chance to gain access to interest-free loans to grow their business, while others will be exposed to employment opportunities in their areas of competencies.
Thousands of prospective candidates are expected to take part in the training sessions for the Imo Wealth Project which commences next week at the Imo State University Auditorium.
Notably, LSEF is partnering with several tertiary institutions, including the Imo State University, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede; Alvan Ikoku Federal College of Education, Imo State University of Agriculture and Federal University of Technology, Owerri to train and certify qualified Imo graduates.
The foundation has commenced equipping these institutions with best-in-class digital tools, starting with the Imo State University and plans to do same in a state in each geo-political region in Nigeria, if the Imo project is a success.
General News
Nigeria’s BNPL Market is Projected to Value @ $2.6B by 2030

Nigeria’s Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) market is on a fast-growing trajectory and is predicted to be valued $2.61 billion by 2030, up 83% from $1.42 billion in 2024, owing primarily to the rapid emergence of fintechs in the country.
This observation was stated in EnterpriseNGR’s State of Enterprise 2025 report, which focuses on how fintechs are reshaping Nigeria’s business landscape through digital innovations, accessible credit systems, and mobile-first financial tools.
As a credit system, BNPL allows users to stagger payments for products and services, making it a key development driver in Nigeria’s developing digital economy.
From 2021 to 2024, the BNPL experienced a compounded annual growth rate of 23.1%. Fintechs have contributed to the rapid growth by providing a range of flexible loan alternatives for e-commerce, retail, and services, bridging financial gaps for millions of disadvantaged Nigerians.
The report highlights how fintechs have contributed to Nigeria’s flexibility and resiliency by simplifying digital payments, automating invoicing and payroll systems, and democratising credit through platforms such as Renmoney and FairMoney.
The report also shows a significant rise in remittance inflows into Nigeria following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s 2024 policy adjustments.
According to the report, by 2024, Nigeria boasted over 400 licensed digital lenders who extend collateral-free credit to those commonly excluded by banks.
General News
FG, Netherlands Partner on Digital Migration for NIS

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) strengthened bilateral relations with the Netherlands’ government through an agreement targeted at improving migration governance and border security.
This partnership was confirmed during a meeting at the NIS headquarters in Abuja, which was attended by a Dutch team led by Jurgen Bartelink, Chargé D’Affaires of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Nigeria.
The meeting focused on increasing bilateral migration cooperation and came after the comptroller general of Immigration, Kemi Nandap, paid a working visit to the Netherlands.
Under the agreement, the Dutch government pledged to continue supporting technology-driven solutions targeted at boosting Nigeria’s border control systems and improving migration management.
During the Netherlands Embassy diplomats handed over essential operational tools, such as Edison Software licence keys and the Passport Examination Programme Manual App.
According to NIS spokeswoman ACI Akinsola Akinlabi, “The partnership focuses on enhancing bilateral collaboration on migration management and reviewing ongoing capacity-building efforts.”
Bartelink, Chargé d’Affaires of the Netherlands Embassy in Nigeria, underlined the Netherlands’ commitment to helping Nigeria’s continuing border security and migration reforms.
Also speaking, Rob Bokhoven, head of international affairs, repatriation, and deportation services at the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security, emphasised the country’s strong bilateral relations and announced plans to share a mobile border software solution with the NIS.
Receiving the equipment, Nandap said the delivery of the gadgets would boost West African country’s border security, significantly improve the service’s document verification border management capabilities and support the implementation of Nigeria’s National Migration Policy.
“The engagement will further reinforce the strategic partnership between Nigeria and the Netherlands advancing shared goals in migration governance, border security and international cooperation,” she added.
General News
AfDB Cuts Nigeria’s Growth Projection to 3.2%

Peter Enogb, principal country economist, African Development Bank (AfDB), says the rise in global uncertainty, emanating from increases in global trade tariffs, has slowed Nigeria’s projected growth to 3.2% in 2025.
“Without this level of heightened uncertainty, our projections would probably have been somewhat higher. We’ve reduced our projections for Nigeria. We initially were projecting 3.5% – 3.6% growth in 2025.
“But given the current situation, our models are showing that we’re taking a more cautious approach. So that’s why we produced this and, of course, the main driver is uncertainty in the global economy,” Enogb said.
He said this at the launch of the 2025 Nigeria Country Focus Report (CFR) on Thursday.
AFDB projected that real GDP growth would hit 3.1% in 2026. Following the 2024 consumer price index (CPI) rebasing, with lower weights for food items, the inflation rate is expected to reduce over the medium term to 24.7% in 2025 and 17.3% in 2026.
As imports start to rise over the medium term, the current account is projected to decline to 3.9% of GDP in 2026.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported that Nigeria’s headline inflation slowed for the second consecutive month to 22.97% in May. This is down from 24.48% at the start of the year
This is contrary to the World Bank projection that Nigeria’s economy would record steady growth of 3.6% despite the shift in the global trade dynamics.
Joseph Ogebe, head of research and development at Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), also said that global uncertainty had been very high in recent times, resulting from the Trump 2.0 effect.
“And also with the recent war between Israel and the international community, we’ve seen what’s happening to oil prices. Even with the call-off of the war, we’ve seen the effect on oil prices too, which has implications on the fiscal side. So it has implications for the general economy,” he said.
The head of research at NESG said that rather than focusing on just growth, what should be looked at is a strategy called growth with depth.
“Growth with depth means that your growth must be diversified, export-led, productive, and technologically driven,” he said.
Ogebe said that if the Government works towards adopting a strategy of growth with depth, there is a tendency for the government to move towards its goal of achieving a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
The report revealed that the country’s recent policy moves, including fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, and tax reforms, reflect a commitment to long-term transformation.
However, it also pointed out that at about 13%, Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio is among the lowest in West Africa, noting that fiscal reforms are urgent.
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