Nigerian Billionaire Tony Elumelu Commits $100 Million To Create 10,000 African Entrepreneurs In 10 Years

Nigerian billionaire investor and philanthropist Tony Elumelu has committed $100 million to create 10,000 entrepreneurs across Africa over the next 10 years.

Let us do the maths  Create 10,000 entrepreneurs in Africa in 10 years.  That is impressive.  We need more philanthropists like Mr. Elumelu.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2014/12/01/nigerian-billionaire-tony-elumelu-commits-100-million-to-create-10000-african-entrepreneurs-in-10-years/

Mara Messenger App to Target Africans Worldwide - Forbes

Mara Group, the Pan-African conglomerate founded by Ugandan businessman Ashish J. Thakkar, plans to challenge the dominance of WhatsApp in Africa with the launch of a new messenger App targeted at Africans all across the world.


 Read:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2014/11/09/mara-group-challenges-whatsapp-with-new-african-messaging-app/

Crowdfunding Platform for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises

A new platform has been created to allow Micro Small and Medium Enterprises to raise needed capital for start up or expansion through Crowdfunding.

Crowdfunding is by definition, "the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet."

To start realizing your dream visit www.msmefund.com

Featured Company - FETS Wallet

FETS - Funds and Electronics Transfer Services was incorporated in 2010.   FETS has grown into a mobile payment and solution company with a proven track record of technological innovation and corporate culture that thrives on challenge.

Through a robust offering of generic and bespoke value add solutions for both individual and corporate users,  FETS  is  achieving its  vision  of  becoming a  leader  in  the  evolving mobile payments space in Nigeria.

FETS currently operates in Nigeria, with an outlook for the West African sub region and eventually Africa.

FETS is incorporated in Nigeria,  its ownership consists of institutions and seasoned businessmen and professionals

FETS presently ranks tops of the mobile payment industry in Nigeria, this is underscored ranking number two in the Central Bank of Nigeria license audit. FETS also demonstrates its industry leadership by processing over 800 million Naira monthly in transactions.

For additional information visit:

www.fetswallet.com

Nigeria Targets 80% Access to Financial Services by 2020

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it has begun a campaign to ensure that at least 80 per cent of Nigerians have access to financial services by 2020.

It said the campaign was aimed at reducing the number of Nigerian adults excluded from financial services from 46.3 per cent where it was in 2010 to 20 per cent by the year 2020.

The Branch Controller of CBN in Port Harcourt, Mr. Jude Ndubisi Ekwebelem, disclosed this in an address he presented at the national financial inclusion workshop organised by the bank and other stakeholders in the banking sector in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Ekwebelem said, “The ultimate goal of the financial inclusion strategy (FIS) is to reduce the percentage of adult Nigerians that are excluded from financial services from 46.3 per cent in 2010 to 20% in 2020.”

He expressed the hope that the workshop would arm participants with adequate information on how to access financial services so that they would be good ambassadors of financial inclusion for the various organisations they represent.

The branch controller, represented by the acting controller, Mr. Emmanuel Etok, stated that recently, the CBN launched the N220 billion development funds for micro, small and medium enterprises in the country, pointing out that 60 per cent of the fund would be channelled to women entrepreneurs.  In her presentation, the head, National Financial Inclusion secretariat in CBN, Mrs. Temitope Akinfadeyi, said financial inclusion would only be achieved when all Nigerian adults have easy access to financial services no matter where they are in the country.
Fielding questions from journalists after her presentation, Akinfadeyi said the team had paid courtesy visits to government agencies in the state.

She explained, “Financial inclusion is a national strategy. It is something we are doing not just as CBN but it is for the whole of Nigeria. It is about improving the lives of our people. It is actually about empowering people through access to finance because when people have access to finance, they can take decisions to improve their lives. In the first stage we are focusing on five services; payments, savings, loans, insurance and pension. We believe that all Nigerians should have access to these services.”

She said the CBN was seeking collaboration of other stakeholders in the sector, as the CBN was more concerned with setting the policy direction. She said while the campaign started from Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, it would ultimately get to the local government levels.

SOURCE:THISDAY

Cashless Society Gradually Becoming a Reality

With the proliferation of smart mobile phones and various apps; it is within a short time that consumers will be comfortable conducting businesses using their mobile phones.

A recent post on from Forbes magazine by contributor Tom Groenfeldt highlights this trend.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomgroenfeldt/2014/10/18/cash-is-king-no-more-as-mobile-payments-soar/ 

Investing in Africa's Future is Good for America

America is really concern about the in roads made by other trading partners in Africa.

Mr. Raheem Brennerman  the Chairman and CEO of The Blacksands Pacific Group, an international oil and gas exploration and production company (www.blacksandspacific.com). makes a case for America engagement in Africa through his post on the Hill.

Read more:

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/220564-investing-in-africas-future-is-good-for-ours