The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has introduced a new initiative that could boost private sector lending to the agriculture industry. The Nigerian Incentive-based Risk-sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) was formally unveiled at a conference in Abuja on July 5-6. The purpose of the CBN-organised event was for stakeholders to gather to discuss the new initiative.One of the key goals of…
New publication puts ambitious reforms and ECOWAS integration in spotlightNigeria, 14th July 2011: Nigeria’s bid to push forward with new economic reforms which include targeting corruption, revamping the energy sector and forging closer links with major international economies is mapped out in a wide-ranging report recently published by Oxford Business Group (OBG).The Report: Nigeria…
Robert Tashima, Regional Editor, Oxford Business GroupI’d now like to provide a snapshot of the Nigerian economy as OBG sees it, highlighting the opportunities and challenges for foreign investors.We will start off with an overview to gain a sense of the current state of the market and then take a closer look at the country’s comparative advantages and the more significant challenges that…
Two years after the margin lending crisis first struck, the process of cleaning up Nigeria’s banking sector continues. Most recently, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) aggressive efforts to improve governance and reporting requirements have grown to include a revision of the licensing framework, which looks to provide greater segmentation in the market. Several financial institutions were recently…
Nigeria's plans to further develop its Islamic finance sector received a major boost on June 20 when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) granted a local bank provisional approval to operate as an Islamic bank and unveiled plans to issue a sovereign sukuk in the coming years.On the sidelines of the International Islamic Finance Forum in Dakar in late June, it was announced that Jaiz Bank International…
After a decade of rapid growth tempered by rising unemployment, Ghana’s education sector is working to develop a plan for the future. In June 200 representatives from the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service and civil society met in Accra to formulate a 10-year strategy for the annual budget request in September.Over the past decade access to education has radically improved. Enrolment…
A recent move by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to list its N1.68trn ($10.85bn) bond on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) will give a boost to the country’s emerging fixed-income market.AMCON was established last year to recapitalise troubled lenders that had been rescued by the government during the 2009 bank bailout. The goal of this quasi-government agency is to buy up bad…
In a bid to increase the sector’s contribution to economic growth, Ghana’s national mining policy is set to undergo a major reworking over the next few months.The mining sector has performed steadily over the past year, particularly in gold production. In all, it generated revenues of $2.83bn, an increase of 27% compared to 2009, while contributing over 6% to GDP. Investment in the sector reached…
Two new submarine fibre-optic cables have gone on-line in Nigeria in the past two years, with a third set to land in June. While this should eventually improve the nation’s spotty internet access, customers are still waiting to reap the benefits of increased bandwidth and lower prices. Nonetheless telecoms operators are switching over to the fourth generation (4G) platform to accommodate future expected…
Nigeria’s efforts towards improving the safety of its aviation sector, in the wake of a disastrous 2005 and 2006, have finally begun to pay dividends, as international recognition of the regulatory upgrades paves the way for greater efficiency and an improved business climate for the country’s domestic airlines. However, a concomitant proliferation of fees and charges has sparked an outcry from…
