The United States African Development Foundation and All On have announced the official opening of the 2021 Nigeria Off-Grid Energy Challenge, which will provide up to $100,000 in blended finance per enterprise for successful applicants.
 
The Rockefeller Foundation is also providing support via the All On Hub for the programme whose application window opens on January 15 and closes on February 28, 2021, according to a statement issued by All On on Wednesday.
 
“We are proud to be partnering again with All On for the fourth edition of an initiative that is fostering the growth of local enterprises committed to bringing power and connectivity to underserved Nigerians,” said the President and Chief Executive Officer, USADF, C.D. Glin…
 
More details through:
https://punchng.com/usadf-firm-begin-100000-off-grid-energy-challenge/
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About 1.4 million Nigerian micro and small enterprises have moved their businesses online and accepted a range of digital payments from their customers, Mastercard has said. The company stated this in its Economics Institute’s global outlook report- Economy 2021- which provides detailed analysis of the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, including permanent changes in digital consumer spending habits, growth of online banking, fintech disruption and opportunities to boost financial inclusion.
 
According to the report, “as e-commerce rapidly becomes a way to pandemicproof a business, adoption by older generations and added convenience and lower costs for consumers will contribute to the continued growth of digital demand in 2021.
 
“In Nigeria, SME-in-a- Box, a new low-cost payments solution, enables small business owners to move their businesses online and accept a range of digital payments from their customers. Additionally, NetPlusDotCom and Innovectives have already onboarded 1.4 million Nigerian micro and small enterprises with digital payment tools such as Mastercard QR, USSD codes and contactless to advance their business…
 
More details through:
https://www.newtelegraphng.com/mastercard-1-4m-nigerian-small-enterprises-embrace-digital-payments/
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Buoyed by the coronavirus pandemic that forced many to embrace the use of the internet, telecommunications operators in Nigeria recorded a double growth in data subscriptions last year. Between January and November, the operators were able to garner approximately 28 million new internet subscriptions compared with 14 million recorded in 2019.
 
This came as the highest growth ever recorded in a year, even with December figure yet to be added. According to the industry data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), internet subscriptions across the GSM, fixed wired and VoIP networks stood at 154.9 million as of November 2020.
 
In 2019, internet subscriptions in the country grew by 14 million to close the year at 126 million. While the telcos’ primary source of revenue had over the years been the voice calls, the table turned last year as the operators began to record minimal growth in voice revenue but a massive increase in data income. According to industry analysts, voice is becoming saturated while data is becoming the new mainstream source of income for the service providers…
 
More details through:
https://www.newtelegraphng.com/covid-19-telcos-double-internet-growth-in-2020/

Beer maker Heineken B.V. is on track to expand its control of the Nigerian brewery business, after racking up further 1,903,609,538 ordinary shares of Champion Breweries Plc in a move bringing its stake in the Uyo-based brewer to 84.7 per cent.
 
Heineken, headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, consummated the share acquisition through its Nigerian subsidiary, Raysun Nigeria Limited, putting it in a strong position as the majority shareholder to make a takeover attempt. It will help broaden its dominance beyond Nigeria’s most capitalised beverage maker, Nigerian Breweries Plc, where Heineken wields 37.94 per cent stake via ownership of 3,034,100,563 shares.
 
Consumers in Nigeria, Brazil and the United Kingdom – the brewer’s three biggest markets – drank 1 million hectolitres of Heineken brands in the 12 months of 2019, according to its 2019 financial results…
 
More details through:
https://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/436655-heineken-extends-dominance-of-nigerian-brewery-market-with-potential-champion-breweries-takeover.html

Despite recent challenges leading to a hike in the cost of subscriptions by pay- TV operators, Nigeria has been projected to be the largest pay- TV market with 11 million subscribers by 2026. According to the latest forecast by Digital TV Research, the country will be driving rapid growth in the African pay-TV market, which is projected to have 51 million subscribers in the next five years. According to the report, South Africa will be second in Africa with nine million subscribers.
 
The African market which had 34 million subscribers at the end of 2020 is projected to add almost 17 million pay-TV subscribers between 2021 and 2026 to hit the 51 million mark. Speaking on the report, Principal Analyst at Digital TV Research, Simon Murray, said: “Multichoice had 15.51 million subs across satellite TV platform DStv and DTT platform GOtv by end- 2020. This total will grow to 19.67 million by 2026, with a marked slowdown of satellite TV growth.”
 
“China-based StarTimes/ StarSat will enjoy the most impressive growth: from 10.11 million subscriptions at the end of 2020 to 16.86 million by 2026. France’s Vivendi had 5.41 million subscriptions to its Canal Plus satellite TV platform and Easy TV by end- 2020, which will climb to 7.90 million by 2026…
 
More details through:
https://www.newtelegraphng.com/report-nigeria-to-lead-africas-pay-tv-with-11m-subscribers/
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The Chairman of Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) and former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ahmed Wadada Aliyu, yesterday forecasted that Nigeria will import used cars and motorcycles worth $7.7 billion (N3 trillion) in 2021.
 
He also described the recent tariff reduction on automobiles as a policy somersault from the recommendations of the Automobile Standing Committee set up by the federal government through the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to examine factors hindering the growth of the automotive sector.
 
Ahmed, during a media parley on, “The tariff regime for automobile assembly plant in the 2020 Finance Bill,” yesterday in Abuja, also accused the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd), of succumbing to the lobby of vehicle dealers with no matching investments in local vehicle assembly…
 
More details through:
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2021/01/13/peugeot-forecasts-nigeria-importing-n3tn-used-vehicles-motorcycles-in-2021/
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The Federal Government on Tuesday put the rice production gap in Nigeria at 500,000 metric tonnes.
 
It, however, stated that the country would soon close the gap and meet the seven million metric tonnes production capacity required to attain self-sufficiency. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja by the Deputy Director, Information, Eno Olotu.
 
More details through:
https://punchng.com/nigerias-rice-production-gap-now-500000mt-says-fg/

Despite global low air passenger traffic occasioned by COVID-19 disruptions, Nigerians airlines are taking the bold step to purchase airplanes with anticipation that the industry will rebound soon. Azman Air, one of Nigeria’s domestic carriers, has announced the acquisition of a second Airbus A340 aircraft as part of its expansion drive in 2021…
 
More details through:
https://businessday.ng/exclusives/article/nigerian-airlines-buy-planes-in-anticipation-of-rebound-despite-low-passenger-traffic/
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Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Olamilekan Adegbite has said the Federal Government is set to build a gems’market in Ibadan, Oyo State.
 
Adegbite made this known yesterday in Ibadan when he received two hectares of land documents donated for that purpose by the Oyo State Government. The land is located at Ojoo, along Ibadan-Oyo Road, in Akiinyele Local Government Area of the state.
 
“This is an initiative of President Muhammadu Buhari; part of the post- COVID-19 palliatives that is being done by the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development. It is aimed at developing the activities in the sector within the six zones in the country,” Adegbite said…
 
More details through:
https://thenationonlineng.net/fed-govt-to-build-gemstone-market-in-ibadan/

With the uncertainty trailing oil exports and revenue due to the lingering impact of the pandemic, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has advised Nigeria and other African countries to be strategic in their energy transition plans, while exploring opportunities in gas development.
 
Noting that much of Africa’s gas supply growth will come from Nigeria, PwC, in its Africa Oil and Gas Review 2020, themed energising a new tomorrow, added that the positive outlook for natural gas, which is often termed the renewable bridging fuel due to its lower carbon footprint, will see stronger price and demand recovery as countries move to rebuild their economies.
 
The report reflected the opportunities in gas export for Nigeria, noting that Africa consumes 63% of its total gas production, predominantly for power generation, even though the continent’s gas exporting countries saw a total decline of more than 6% in 2020 from 39.7 mtpa in 2019 to 37.3 mtpa in 2020…
 
More details through:
https://guardian.ng/energy/pwc-projects-nigeria-to-drive-africas-gas-supply-from-2021/
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