By Favour Nnabugwu

Ecobank Group has launched the fifth edition of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge in it’s 33 African markets with a winning proce tag of $50,000 targeting African fintech startups.

Fintech companies and developers originating from any of Africa’s 54 countries, as well as global Africa-centered Fintechs, are eligible to enter.

Interested fintechs can submit their applications here. The applications close on 16 September 2022

Ten finalists will be inducted into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship after the finals and awards ceremony which will take place in October 2022.

“Ecobank believes that the only way to transform financial services in Africa is for Pan-African banks like Ecobank to continually support and collaborate with innovative Fintechs and start-ups. We invite and welcome Africa’s best Fintechs to work with us through the 2022 Challenge.” Ade Ayeyemi, Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Group, said.

In addition, all Fellows will qualify to explore opportunities with the Bank and its partners including an opportunity to pursue integration with Ecobank and potentially launch products in all or part of Ecobank’s pan-African 33-country ecosystem. Ecobank may also select some Fintechs as pan-African service partners within the Bank’s ecosystem.

Fellows will be given access to Ecobank’s APIs to test and improve their products for the pan-African market as well as priority access to Ecobank’s Venture Capital partners for funding exploration.

“The uniqueness of the Challenge is that it welcomes both early stage and mature start-up Fintechs alike and seeks to align them with different kinds of partnership opportunities within Ecobank that match their differing levels of maturity.” Dr. Tomisin Fashina, Operations and Technology Executive, Ecobank Group said.

The Ecobank Fintech Challenge was designed in partnership with an international advisory firm, Konfidants and is supported by partners across Africa and globally. So far 46 Fellows have been admitted into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship programme since it was launched in 2017.

By Favour Nnabugwu

Ministry of Finance has insisted that 5percent tax would be deducted on data and calls

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Zainab Ahmed, stated that proposed 5 percent Telecommunication Tax on calls and data.

In a statement, the Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Tanko Abdullahi, in Abuja, yesterday, the minister cited the Finance Act 2020 as the enabling legislation for the tax.

The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami had opposed the tax which he said was ill-timed.

However, the Finance Minister said she would implement the tax on all voice calls, SMS and data services, in addition to the existing 7.5 percent Value Added Tax (VAT), paid for goods and services across all sectors of the economy.

The five percent excise duty came to the fore during a recent stakeholders’ meeting, organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecoms industry regulator.

At that meeting, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, who was represented by the Assistant Director, Tax Policy, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Musa Umar, noted: “The five percent excise duty has been in the Finance Act 2020, but has never been implemented.

“Henceforth, the five percent excise duty will be collected by telecom operators and payment made to the federal government on a monthly basis, on or before 21st of every month.”

Against the comments by Dr. Pantami, concerning the five percent excise duty hike on telecoms services, Mrs. Ahmed said that there was a circular stating the planned hike which was addressed to the Communication Minister and other relevant ministries and agencies of government.

According to her, “The circular Referenced No. F. 17417/VI/286 dated 1st March 2022, and titled “Approval for Implementation of the 2022 Fiscal Policy Measures and Tariff Amendments” was addressed to different Ministers, including Honourable Minister, Communications and Digital Economy and other heads of government agencies.

The circular was addressed to The Secretary To The Government of The Federation, Attorney-General of The Federation, Ministers of Industry, Trade an Investment, Agriculture and Rural development, Mines and Steel and Development.

“It, therefore, means that all stakeholders have by that singular provision been aware of the Act.

“The excise duty on telecommunication services provided in Nigeria introduced through the Finance Act, 2020 with statutory enactment on 1st January, 2021 is yet to be implemented considering the need to ensure reasonable transition period before the implementation of the new tax, as well as providing clarity to all stakeholders on implementation modalities.

“As a matter of emphasis, Mrs. Ahmed had vide Circular dated 1st March, 2022 informed the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other heads of government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), including the Federal Ministry of Communication & Digital Economy about Mr. President’s approval of the implementation of the five percent excise duty on telecommunication services with effect from 1st June, 2022.

“An issue as serious as the excise tariff cannot be taken single handedly, as all stakeholders and agencies have been involved including Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Association of Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), who wrote to the Ministry to be involved in the modalities for implementation of the excise duty.

Mrs. Ahmed added that the National Assembly passed the Finance Bill before President Muhammadu Buhari signed it into law and that by so doing, the legislature supported the telecom tax.

She added that many countries in sub-Saharan Africa such as Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana and Burundi currently impose excise duty on telecommunication services ranging between five percent to 20 percent and that Nigeria should not be an exception.

By Favour Nnabugwu

Access Bank has secured $280 million financing from U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to help address the financing gap for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and advance financial inclusion in Nigeria to supporting women-owned and -led businesses.

Access Bank is one of the largest banks in Nigeria and has banking subsidiaries throughout Africa. Citibank acted as the coordinator and arranger/co-lender to help facilitate the loan

The Managing Director, Access Bank, Rosevelt Ogbonna, said ”Access Bank is extremely pleased to announce this strategic partnership with DFC to support the multitude of businesses across Nigeria who stand to benefit from greater access to finance, especially in an environment that is in need of stronger economic diversification.

” We look forward to utilizing the partnership with DFC in driving further economic expansion and inclusion in Nigeria, with a strong focus on non-oil sectors and women businesses.”

At this end, the Chief Executive Officer of DFC, Scott Nathan stated that ”DFC’s investment in Access Bank demonstrates U.S. support for private sector-led development in Nigeria and throughout West Africa.”

“The  $280 million loan from DFC will boost financial inclusion in Nigeria and empower women entrepreneurs, bolstering the country’s economic growth.”

The DFC financing for Access Bank will provide needed liquidity given the global economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The loan is expected to support at least 4,000 new SME loans in Nigeria.

In addition, the loan proceeds will be on-lent across more than a dozen sectors in the Nigerian economy, with specific focus on women-owned SMEs, and on loans with longer tenors, which will provide more flexibility to borrowers.

By Favour Nnabugwu

The United Bank for Africa (UBA), Africa’s global bank has extended its operations to the United Arab Emirates with the official launch of its new branch at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

United Bank for Africa Plc (DIFC Branch) will operate under the Category 4 license and will be regulated by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA), the financial regulatory agency of the special economic zone, the Dubai International Financial Centre.

Having been in operation for over seven decades. Today, the group is present in 20 African countries, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and France. The UBA branch in the DIFC will service corporate & financial Institutions and customers across the Middle East with a core focus on correspondent banking, relationship management and advisory services.

Through this new expansion, the UBA Group will be able to harness opportunities in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA), which comprise of 72 countries with an approximate population of 3 billion and a nominal GDP of US$7.7 trillion and thereby, reinforce its strong franchise as Africa’s Global Bank, facilitating trade and capital flows between Africa and the rest of the world.

Speaking during the launch of the new subsidiary in Dubai on Thursday, the Chairman, UBA Group, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, explained that with the Group’s foray into the Gulf Region, UBA continues to focus on its strategic intent to lead the way when it comes to doing business in Africa. He said “Collaborating with our franchises in 20 African countries and the major financial centres of London, New York and Paris, UBA (DIFC Branch) will facilitate the financing of trade transactions between the Middle East and Africa, enabling trade finance and investments,” Elumelu said.

“We have been looking forward to this day as it is the first time we will have presence in this part of the world. We know that our international expansion is incomplete if we are not present in the gulf”, he continued.

UBA’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, who also spoke at the event said, “Today, we are formally on four continents across the globe, operating in 24 countries, serving over 35 million customers and still growing.

“We are the only bank with Nigerian origin that has extended out of Nigeria to the UAE. Those before us have come through other locations and that shows the strength and respect the Dubai authorities have for UBA. Our presence in Dubai affirms that UBA is a strong franchise, expanding its reach across the world,” Uzoka said.

“The authorities and business environment here in the DIFC is phenomenal and UBA is seeing Dubai as the gateway for Africa and that is why we are here, to be closer to our clients, to be partnering with them and facilitate businesses and trade flows into Africa through the UBA franchise. So, we are super excited”.

On his part, the CEO, UBA(DFIC), Mr. Vikrant Bhansali, said; “Trade, commerce and Investments in Africa is expanding in the Gulf Region and Asia. Leveraging the presence of UBA Group in global financial centres, UBA (DFIC) will enhance the ability of the group to facilitate access of Gulf investors and banks to African markets. We will finance trade, facilitate commerce and help grow investment in Africa, across all sectors.”

Arif Amiri, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai International Financial Centre(DIFC) Authority, said during the ribbon cutting ceremony “UBA(DFIC) attests to the strong relationship between Dubai and Africa. It is a beautiful start as we are looking forward to achieving more interaction, channelling more trade and investments into Africa, and with UBA DIFC, we are closer to achieving our objectives. DIFC will continue to seek partnerships that will deliver winning relationships as we have just witnessed with UBA Group.

By Favour Nnabugwu

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has justified the decision to restructure the ownership of four electricity distribution companies, DisCos, saying the performance of the sacked owners was abysmal.

The Director General of BPE, Mr. Alex Okoh in a statement in Abuja reacting to opposition of the takeover  by sacked owners of Benin, Kano, Kaduna and Ibadan DisCos, said the utilities were the worst performing in the market.

Okoh singled out Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company, IBEDC for particular mention, stating that the company’s performance was worse under the management of the sacked owners than pre-privatisation in 2013.

He insisted that restructuring was temporary as the government expects the commercial banks who now manage the companies to sell them to new investors soon, as they had neither the licence nor capacity to manage electricity companies.

Recall that three days ago the companies’ owners were sacked by the government after lender, Fidelity Bank called in their loans.

But the owners has resisted calling the takeover illegal. But BPE said the decision was commercial and contractual.

According to the agency, “It is envisaged that the majority interest in these DISCOs would be sold to competent private sector investors with the requisite technical and financial capacity to re-capitalize and manage these entities efficiently.

“As an interim measure, NERC and BPE met on an Emergency Basis and activated the Business Continuity Process and appointed interim Managing Directors in the affected DISCOs as follows:

Kano DISCO – Ahmad Dangana
Benin DISCO – Henry Ajagbawa
Kaduna DISCO – Yusuf Usman Yahaya

“It must be reiterated that some of the publications from the Core Investors of these DISCOs have been quite disingenuous. Beyond the financial issues I have just discussed, the DISCOs affected happen to be the worst performing ones.

“Ibadan is currently being managed by a so-called Receiver Manager as a sole administration. The Receiver Manager has absolutely no capacity to manage a utility and has not been authorised by the Regulator as a manager of a DISCO.

“Ibadan is the worst performing DISCO as per the Performance Assessment  review conducted in December 2021. Ibadan DISCO has actually retrogressed in terms of their critical performance parameters as contracted in the Performance Agreement signed with the Bureau. In fact, the DISCO under the management of the Core Investor, Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited (IEDM), has performed worse than before it was privatized.

“The performance of Benin, Port Harcourt, Kano and Kaduna DISCOs have also been abysmal.

“It is necessary to state categorically that the poor performance of these DISCOs represents a clear and present threat to the power sector as a whole and no responsible government and shareholder, would stand idly by and allow this situation to persist.

“BPE wishes to assure Nigerians that notwithstanding the challenges in the sector, Government remains fully committed to ensuring optimal performance in the power sector and will not shy away from taking the necessary decisive action to achieve this”, it added.

Mr. Okoh explained that the government took action of the BPE and NERC were informed by Fidelity Bank Plc on Tuesday, 5th July, 2022, that a call on the collateralized shares of the Core Investors of Kano, Benin and Kaduna DISCOs had been activated by the lenders. The Lenders’ consortium include AFREXIM Bank, Keystone Bank, Stanbic IBTC, as well as Fidelity Bank.

“It is important to note that the action is a contractual and commercial intervention and is between the Core Investors in these DISCOs and the lenders. BPE’s involvement is to protect the 40% shareholding of the Federal Government in the DISCOs.

“It was on this basis that new boards reflecting this action were constituted as follows:

Kano DISCO: Hasan Tukur (Chairman), Nelson Ahaneku (Member), Engr. Rabiu Suleiman (Member) Benin DISCO: KC Akuma (Chairman), Adeola Ijose (Member), Charles Onwera (Member) Kaduna DISCO: Abbas Jega (Chairman), Ameenu Abubakar (Member), Marlene Ngoyi (Member)

“BPE has nominated Bashir Gwandu (Kano DISCO), Yomi Adeyemi (Benin DISCO), and Umar Abdullahi (Kaduna DISCO) as independent Directors to represent Government’s 40% interest in the aforementioned DISCOs, during this transition”, he stated