1.The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has
approved a $500 million International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) credit to increase access to finance for Micro, Small and Medium scale Enterprises (MSMEs). In a statement from the bank’s country office in Abuja Nigeria, the Country Director, Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, explained that the fund is meant to stimulate economic growth and create jobs in the country.
2.
Heritage Bank Limited has announced plans to host its maiden business fair to support the small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the country. The two-day exhibition is one of the activities to mark the bank’s 2014 customer service week scheduled for October.
3. The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) plans to
spend about $100 million on a larger scale for the development of the proposed Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks geared towards boosting the manufacturing of oil and gas components.
4.Africa Investor,
Ai, has announced its $1billion Africa investor Sovereign Infrastructure Investment Platform, for African pension and sovereign wealth funds. The new Ai platform is uniquely designed to increase intra-African investment, which is currently at a mere 5 per cent compared to intra-European investment levels in excess of 70 per cent.
5.
Coca-Cola HBC AG, parent company of Nigerian Bottling Company, NBC Limited has been named industry leader amongst beverage companies in the 2014 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices, DJSI. This is the seventh consecutive year that Coca-Cola HBC has been included in the indices and the first year it has led both the World and European indices.
6.
Kaduna State Government and Skye Bank Plc have entered into a partnership with the aim of increasing the state’s internally generated revenue (IGR). This partnership is expected to accelerate the pace of development in the state.
7. Canadian smartphone maker,
BlackBerry Limited, has introduced into the market the BlackBerry Passport. Featuring a large square touch screen and new qwerty touch-enabled keyboard, the new device is purpose-built for productivity-driven business professionals who want a smartphone that empowers them with the mobile tools they need to get things done, without sacrificing style or portability.
8. Paga, a mobile payment service firm in Nigeria
has announced the launch of its new business focused service line – Paga for Business. ‘Paga For Business,’ according to a statement, is a “one-stop-shop solution for any business looking for a smart way to collect payments from its customers in person, online, or remotely from anywhere in the world.” The solution, according to the company, also allows businesses to disburse cash to any phone number or bank account as well as to disburse airtime to phone numbers in real-time.
9. Acting Director-General, National Agricultural Seed Councils (NASC) Dr. Philips Olusegun-Ojo, said that the
Federal Government was targeting 20 million farmers to distribute fertiliser to for the 2015 farming season. Olusegun-Ojo made this known when he declared open a three-day training on seed certification and quality control held at the Institute of Agricultural Research (IAR) in Zaria.
10. Analysts at Renaissance Capital have
retained their buy rating on GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria (GSK) Plc and raised its expected trading price (TP) to N76 per share.
