Business News
FG grants new MSMEs 80% discount on NAFDAC registration
“It is quite clear that the President is committed to supporting existing MSMEs and encouraging the rise of new ones, as a sure way energizing and sustaining our economy through these times.” –Osinbajo
The Federal Government has announced that new Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) will access National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) registration of their products at an 80% discount, over the next 6 months.
Eligibility: This concession covers MSMEs that are into production of foods, drugs, and related consumables.
Vice President and Head of the Economic Sustainability Committee, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, announced this on his Instagram handle on Friday night.
READ ALSO: LSETF suspends loan repayment for SMEs, startups amidst lockdown
“Of importance to government response, therefore, was not just to find a way of giving succour and assistance to existing MSMEs, but also ensuring that there is practical and active palliatives to new MSMEs so that the growth of the sector is not discouraged by the current economic trauma,” he said.
The new businesses will also be able to process product registration remotely, using the NAFDAC’s e-Registration assistance for MSMEs through the Automated Product Administration and Monitoring System NAPAMS.
READ ALSO: FG to disburse N97.3 billion to tech innovators, agric enterprises
Other palliatives: As an added incentive, the first 200 micro and small businesses to register on the e-platforms will be allowed to do it at no cost – zero tariffs.
In view of current economic challenges faced by businesses due to the pandemic, the government has also authorised NAFDAC to grant waiver on administrative charges for overdue/late renewal of expired licenses of products for a period 90 days.
“It is quite clear that the President is committed to supporting existing MSMEs and encouraging the rise of new ones, as a sure way energizing and sustaining our economy through these times” Osinbajo noted.
He thanked the Director General of NAFDAC and the team for their thoughtful and strategic response to the economic devastation caused by the pandemic, especially on small businesses in Nigeria.
The Vice President also assured business owners that the government of Nigeria and its regulatory agencies are “prepared to back MSMEs and businesses that are prepared for the innovative and interesting times that lie ahead of us.”
Economy & Politics
CBN reacts to videos, pictures of new N2,000 and N5,000 in circulation
The videos and pictures of the purported circulation of the N2,000 and N5,000 banknotes as false, a piece of fake news that is being pushed out to the members of the public and asked them to disregard the falsehood.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has reacted to the circulated videos and pictures that claimed it had introduced N2,000 and N5,000 banknotes to members of the public.
The apex bank in a statement described the videos and pictures of the purported circulation of the N2,000 and N5,000 banknotes as false and a piece of fake news that is being pushed out to the members of the public and asked them to disregard the falsehood.
Going further, they asked the members of the public to report to law enforcement agencies if they found anyone in possession of such banknotes.
This was disclosed by the Central Bank of Nigeria in a tweet post on its official twitter handle on Sunday, May 31, 2020.
The CBN stated, ‘’Videos and pictures of purported circulation of N2,000 and N5,000 banknotes are false and fake. Members of the public are advised to disregard such falsehood and to report anyone found in possession of such banknotes to the law enforcement agencies’’.
https://twitter.com/cenbank/status/126713171778308505
It would be recalled that the planned introduction of the new N2,000 and N5,000 banknotes by the CBN under the leadership of the then Governor, Lamido Sanusi, in 2012, had elicited some mixed reactions from some experts.
The Federal Government at that time said that the proposed N5,000 banknotes will not be for mass circulation, but would only be reserved for banks and heavy cash users.
Business News
UPDATED: CBN revises timelines for resolution of dispense errors, refund complaints
The apex bank said this is in line with its resolve to enhance the quality of service bank customers are given. Nigerian banks are, therefore, required to implement the revisions starting from June 8, 2020.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has revised the timeframes for the resolutions of all botched online transfers, POS transactions, and ATM withdrawals.
According to a brief statement that was posted on its official Twitter handle this evening, the apex bank said this is in line with its resolve to enhance the quality of service bank customers are given. Nigerian banks are, therefore, required to implement the revisions starting from June 8, 2020.
Below are the revisions
In line with the revisions, any failed ATM transaction that occurs when a customer tries to withdraw from their bank must be reversed instantly. In the event that instant reversal fails due to technical challenges, the money must be manually reversed within a 24-hour period. Note that prior to the revision, the timeframe for such reversal is usually three working days.
a.1 Failed “On-Us” ATM transactions (when customers use their cards on their bank’s ATMs) shall be instantly reversed from the current timeline of three (3) days.
— Central Bank of Nigeria (@cenbank) May 31, 2020
Similarly, the resolutions for failed ATM withdrawals occurring when bank customers use their ATM cards on other banks should not exceed 48 hours, the CBN said. Before now, such a resolution would normally take three working days.
Also, starting from June 8, banks will be required to resolve all disputed/failed online transfers and POS transactions within 72 hours. In other words, resolution for such disputes shall no longer be taking five working days as it used to.
In the meantime, the apex bank advised banks to ensure that all pending failed transactions/complaints are resolved “within two weeks starting June 8, 2020”.
“Meanwhile, key service providers in the Nigerian payments system have also committed to establish an integrated dispute resolution platform for the industry and enhance their payment system infrastructure and processes to reduce incidences of transaction failure,” the statement further disclosed.
Tech News
Why Nigeria must invest in digital technology – El Rufai
Nigeria needs to look for a way to move from the agrarian and industrial into the services sector, and ICT is a way to do that.
If Nigeria is to join the richer countries of the world, she must invest aggressively in technology, improve local production, and cut cost of governance.
These were some of the opinions presented by experts during a virtual colloquium tagged Government Unusual: Innovative Economic Solutions to Unlock Mass Prosperity held on Saturday afternoon.
While making a presentation at the Rauf Aregbesola colloquium, Governor Nasir El Rufai noted that investment in digital technology must become a priority if Africa hoped to join the league of developed countries. He said,
“Investing aggressively in digital technology is the only way Africa can preserve its growth and continue to lift people out of poverty. We must invest in the digital because henceforth, every sector of governance and living will depend on the digital.”
READ ALSO: FG sets committee to support tech start-ups with affordable internet access amid lockdown
He added that one of the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic was the need for Nigeria to embrace technological advancement so that Nigerians could benefit from the numerous opportunities that came with it; and pointed at the recent decision to crash right of way charges as the first way to go.
In agreement with his position, CEO Lotus Capital, Mrs Hajara Adeola, added that investment in technology was the best way to get Nigerian youths to take advantage of global opportunities without migrating to other countries.
“Nigeria needs to look for a way to move from the agrarian and industrial into the services sector, and ICT is a way to do that. Our youths are innovative and capable, so if we can train our youths in technology, then we can get homegrown solutions to some of our issues without them having to migrate” she said during the panel discussion.
Infrastructure for business
Unless infrastructural developments are shaped and directed towards business developments, the country will continue to invest in infrastructure which have no benefits.
“You don’t shape infrastructure as how you think it makes sense. you do it in a way that follows the money because ultimately that is where prosperity comes for everybody,” Chairman of Citibank Nigeria limited, Yemi Cardoso said.
The global terrain continues to change and Nigeria must develop a framework to align its growth strategy with the changes, identifying and eliminating bottlenecks as we go forward.
The colloquium, which was held online (via zoom), had over 700 participants across several countries, and was also streamed live on Youtube.
Panelists at the colloquium were Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Governor, Kaduna State; Sen. Abubakar Bagudu, Governor, Kebbi State; Mrs. Hajara Adeola, CEO, Lotus Capital Limited; Mr. Bismarck Rewane, CEO, Financial Derivatives; Dr. Joe Abah, Country Director, Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI); Dr. Yemi Cardoso, Chairman, Citibank Nigeria, and Boason Omofaye, the Moderator.
Dr Yemi Kale, Statistician General of the federation and CEO of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was also present.
Abdulrazak Muhammad Aliyu
May 18, 2020 at 4:39 am
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