Nigeria needs a $3.5 billion investment annually to generate 40,000MW of electricity by 2030, the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, has said. He spoke yesterday in Abuja at the investor match-making event for Solar Power Naija Programme meant to provide the opportunity for potential investors to pitch their financial offerings to developers.
 
He said with the recent legislation that has empowered state governments to generate and distribute electricity, there are limitless investment opportunities in the sector. “I am here to tell you that the power sector is strategic to Nigeria’s Industrialization.
 
“And it is estimated that the country will require investments of at least $3.5b per annum in power generation in order to achieve the target of 40,000MW by the year 2030.
 
More details at:
https://thenationonlineng.net/nigeria-needs-3-5b-investment-annually-to-generate-40000mw
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The World Bank has disclosed that Nigeria and other metals and mineral resource-rich countries in Sub-Saharan Africa can double revenues from natural resources such as minerals, oil, and gas. In a statement announcing the new Africa’s Resource Future report, the World Bank noted that these countries could achieve double revenue by adopting a better set of policies, implementing reforms, investing in better fiscal administration and promoting good governance.
 
The Washington-based bank noted that on average, countries capture only about 40 per cent of the revenue they could potentially collect from natural resources.
 
It added, “In other words, at a time when countries are burdened by slow growth and high debt, governments could more than double revenues from natural resources such as minerals, oil, and gas by adopting a better set of policies, implementing reforms, and investing in better fiscal administration and promoting good governance.”
 
More details at:
https://punchng.com/nigeria-collects-only-40-of-natural-resources-revenue-world-bank

The Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said that the Intra African trade tariff is too high at 435 per cent and is detrimental to trade activities as well as the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
 
This high tariff, she said, is one of the reasons for the low trade volume among African countries which stands between 13 and 18 per cent while other blocs like the European Union achieve 60 per cent internal trade activities.
 
Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said if trade barriers like tariffs, poor infrastructure, poor logistics etc are removed, intra-continental trade can grow by 53 per cent while trade outside the continent can grow by 15 per cent which translates into significant income increase and 10 per cent increase in real income.
 
More details at:
https://leadership.ng/at-435-intra-african-trade-tariff-too-high-okonjo-iweala
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The African gaming industry is experiencing a thrilling evolution, driven by the explosion of live streaming’s popularity. Whether amateur or professional, esports players flock to live-streaming platforms to showcase their skills and engage with their audience. The result is a dynamic and constantly growing community of gamers across the continent.
 
The African gaming industry has undergone a remarkable transformation in the last five years, no longer restricted to outdated internet cafés. Thanks to the rise of smartphones and high internet penetration, 95% of gamers on the continent now play from home. But that’s just the beginning. With the seismic shift to live streaming, the African gaming scene is about to take off, offering boundless opportunities for gamers and developers alike. Get ready to witness the explosive growth of African gaming.
 
According to a report by Newzoo and Carry1st, the industry recorded a massive uptick in the number of gamers in Sub-Saharan Africa from 77 million in 2015 to 186 million in 2021. This is mainly due to the expansion of internet connectivity, digital technology, and social media, combined with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
More details at:
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/05/05/how-live-streaming-is-transforming-gaming-movement-in-africa 

Yesterday, the Financial Times, and research company, Statista released a report on Africa’s fastest-growing companies in 2023. The list highlights how the top 100 African businesses from across different sectors—fintech, renewable energy, healthcare, commodities and agriculture—kept their businesses afloat while most of the world’s businesses shut down.
 
Although fintech and agriculture hold top spots, Africa’s fastest-growing companies list shows a balanced representation of companies across different sectors. Companies from across IT & Software, Logistics & Transportation, Real Estate, Energy & Utilities, Construction & Engineering, Food & Beverages, Media & Telecommunications, Agriculture, Retail, Hospitality, Professional Services, E-commerce, Management & Consulting, Manufacturing, Education, Metals & Mining, were all on the list with varying degrees of representation.
 
Fintech and IT companies had the highest number of representation on the list, with nineteen and sixteen businesses, respectively. Agriculture, with a representation of nine countries, comes in third and is closely followed by the Metal and Mining sector, with eight companies contributing to the list.
 
More details at:
https://techcabal.com/2023/05/03/unpacking-africas-fastest-growing-companies-list 

For the first time in the last three months, the country’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) has risen above the 50.0 no-change mark to stand at 53.8 in April compared with 42.3 in March, according to Stanbic IBTC Bank’s Nigeria PMI report for last month. The report attributed the expansion to the easing of the cash crisis which adversely affected economic activities in the first three months of the year.
 
The report said: “The headline PMI moved back above the 50.0 no-change mark for the first time in three months during April. At 53.8, the index was up from 42.3 in March and pointed to a solid overall improvement in business in the private sector.
 
“According to respondents to the latest survey, the operating conditions reflected an easing of the cash crisis which has severely affected the economy in recent months. Panellists reported a more normal business environment as customer numbers improved in line with greater access to cash.
 
More details at:
https://www.newtelegraphng.com/report-nigerias-pmi-rises-to-53-8-in-april 

Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, stated that the electronic transaction volumes in Nigeria increased by 836 per cent between 2017 and 2021.
 
He added that the use of cash and cheques continued to diminish, as web-based transactions such as PoS, NIP, ATM and MMO have increased substantially, saying:
 
“For instance, between 2021 and 2017, the volume of transactions via electronic channels such as ATM, POS, WEB, MMO and NIP increased by 99.76, 1,775.72, 35,502.58, 2,413.44 and 836.50 per cent, respectively,”
 
More details at:
https://nairametrics.com/2023/05/02/nigerias-e-payment-transactions-soar-by-836-increase-in-four-years-emefiele/  

Despite its perennial underproduction in the last two years, Nigeria has been able to ramp up its crude oil output compared to its budget benchmark from an average of about 60 per cent to 75 per cent between H2, 2022 and Q1, 2023, data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has revealed.
 
THISDAY analysis of production data showed that with a projection of 1.88 million barrels per day of crude oil production in the 2022 federal budget, Nigeria under-produced to the tune of over 277 million barrels of the commodity between January and December 2022, leaving average production at 60 per cent.
 
But with the renewed zeal to tackle oil theft and assets vandalism in the Niger Delta, the country managed has now managed to drill 115 million barrels of the commodity in the first quarter of 2023, raising the average to 75 per cent, a rise of about 15 per cent.
 
More details at:
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2023/05/02/nigerias-average-crude-oil-production-climbs-15-in-2023/
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Gas demand in Nigeria will increase by 50 per cent in the next 30 years, according to the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited.
 
The Managing Director of NLNG Limited, Dr Phillips Mshelbila, while delivering his address at the 13th edition of the Nigerian Gas Association International Conference in Abuja, said the country’s gas demand was growing in tandem with its population.
 
“It is no news that Nigeria has gas reserves of 209 trillion cubic feet but that would not pull Nigerians out of poverty if we do not do everything, we can bring it out of the ground, get it across to consumers and then use it to industrialisation our economy.
 
“Demand is growing and will continue to grow by 50 per cent in the next 30 years as the population grows.
 
Nigeria’s consumption of LPG has increased by over 2,500 per cent from 60,000 metric tons in 2007 to over 1.3 million/MT in 2021.
 
More details at:
https://punchng.com/nigerias-gas-demand-to-jump-by-50-says-nlng
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The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry, Olukayode Pitan, has said globally, small and medium enterprises account for the majority of business enterprises.
 
He said they were contributing to production output, exports, and boosting innovation, which represented hallmarks of economic growth in most economies, and contributed between 40 per cent and 55 per cent of Gross Domestic Product and 50 per cent to 80 per cent of employment in most economies, according to World Bank.
 
According to him, 22 per cent of Africa’s working-age population were entrepreneurs, which was the highest rate in the world according to African Development Bank.
 
“In Nigeria today, we have 39.7 million MSMEs, contributing 46.3 per cent to national GDP, accounting for 96.7 per cent of businesses, 87.9 per cent of employment, 6.2 per cent to exports,” he said.
 
More details at:
https://punchng.com/smes-promote-economic-growth-globally-boi/