Last week was tough for Nigerian businesses and consumers, no thanks to the cash shortage crisis that rocked the economy. And as expected, all eyes were on banks to perform by making cash available and facilitating transactions. Unfortunately, many of them failed to meet this expectation.
We will begin today’s Corporate News Roundup by looking back at how one of the banks addressed its failure to meet customers’ expectations amid the crisis.
On that note, thank you so much for reading this newsletter. And do keep in mind that Quidax makes this possible every Sunday. So, shoutout to them.
Let’s begin.
Kuda Bank’s app crash: Amid nationwide cash scarcity last week, many Nigerians resorted to online banking to facilitate trade. But the upsurge in online transactions put a strain on banks’ e-channels, causing some of them to underperform. In the case of Kuda Bank, the mobile banking app crashed, a development that worried many customers.
Kuda Bank then issued a statement assuring customers that their savings/deposits were safe and blamed the crash on a technical glitch. The app came back online over the weekend.
NNPC Ltd explains fuel scarcity: As you may know, cash scarcity wasn’t the only challenge Nigerians grappled with last week; they also grappled with the now never-ending issue of fuel scarcity. Amid this challenge, the CEO of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, explained that the fuel scarcity challenge was not due to fuel unavailability but more of a distribution problem.
He added that he understood the frustration many Nigerians feel over the lingering fuel scarcity challenge and assured that NNPC Limited will continue to do its part towards resolving the challenge.
MTN’s impressive 2022 results: MTN Nigeria became the first NGX-listed company to report N2 trillion worth of annual revenue. Now, that’s amazing! The telco’s annual revenue grew by 21.6% from N1.6 trillion reported in FY 2021. All segments of MTN Nigeria’s business lines contributed to the growth.
In the same vein, MTN’s profit after tax grew by 20.16% to N358.8 billion, up from N298.6 billion in FY 2021.
MTN Nigeria’s fintech boom: Still on MTN Nigeria, details of its impressive FY 2022 financial statements showed that its fintech business is booming. Nairametrics reported that active fintech customers rose to 14.9 million last year, having increased by 57.9%.
With the jump in MTN’s fintech customer base came an increase in fintech revenue. Specifically, the telco’s fintech revenue grew by 19.6% to N84.4 billion in 2022.
Dangote’s commercial paper: In other news, Dangote Cement launched series 4&5 of its commercial paper worth N50 billion last week. Nairametrics reported that the debt instruments were offered on January 30 and subscriptions closed on February 2nd, 2023.
The cement maker said it would use the money realised from the commercial paper issuance to finance its short-term working capital requirements.
Transcorp’s electricity mission: Transcorp Group announced that its energy subsidiary, TransAfarm Power Limited, has increased its electricity generation capacity by 138 megawatts. A statement by the company said this was made possible by the rehabilitation of its Afam 5 GT unit 20 Gas Turbine power-generating unit.
Transcorp Group CEO, Owen Omojiafor, said the rehabilitated power generation unit and subsequent improvement to the company’s power generation capacity has the potential to considerably improve Nigeria’s electricity output.
Shell is disgruntled over court ruling: Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) reacted to a court ruling against it by London High Court, arguing that the oil spills in the Niger Delta, for which it was convicted, were caused by illegal refining. A spokesperson for the oil company exonerated Shell of any wrongdoing in the oil spill, blaming it on the activities of oil thieves and illegal refiners who vandalise oil pipelines.
Note that the oil company earlier agreed to pay some €15 million in damages to some Niger Delta communities. It has also expressed commitment to clean up the areas affected.
Flutterwave exonerated in Kenya: Flutterwave announced that Kenyan authorities have dropped all charges of financial impropriety that were filed against it last year. The dismissal came seven months after the lawsuit was filed against the fintech company.
Recall that the Asset Recovery Agency of Kenya had, last year, obtained a court order to freeze Flutterwave’s bank accounts in Kenya as part of its fraud investigations against the company.
SunFi sealed a seed funding: In deals news, Nigerian cleantech startup, SunFI, announced a $2.3 million seed funding round led by Nairobi-based Factor[e] and Sterling Bank’s SCM Capital Asset Management.
A statement seen by Naurametrics explained that the funding would help the startup to expand its operations and improve its capabilities to better serve its customers.
UBA’s brand new Chief Executive: Lastly in today’s corporate news roundup, UBA Plc appointed Mrs Abiola Bawuah as its first female Chief Executive Officer. She will oversee the UBA’s operations across Africa, excluding Nigeria.
A statement by UBA said her appointment demonstrates the bank’s commitment to diversity. Across UBA Group, there are now eight female directors.
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