As part of the process of improving food security and the profitability of the agriculture industry, the government is turning its attention to stoking not only production but also the consumption of staple crops. The government wants to play to the industry’s key strengths and, as such, is hoping to extract greater benefit from the most widely produced crop in the country: cassava. If the strategic…
Vocational and technical training has been placed at the centre of education policy, with Muhammadu Buhari, the president of Nigeria, emphasising the need to revive vocational training centres and put relevant skill development at the heart of tertiary education. In October 2015 the president announced that Nigeria must follow the global trend of fostering a knowledge-based economy by focusing on the…
A transfer price is the price charged between related parties (e.g., a parent company and its controlled foreign corporation) in an intercompany transaction. For example, if a subsidiary company sells goods to a parent company, the cost of those goods paid by the parent to the subsidiary is the transfer price. Transfer pricing (TP) could apply to the transfer of tangible goods. In addition, it could…
Both the government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have identified increased private sector lending as a priority, which has been made all the more urgent by a pressing need to stimulate the economy. As a result, the CBN has employed its monetary and regulatory tools to increase liquidity in the system and shore up banks’ balance sheets in the hope that lenders will increase lending in the…
A domestic margin lending crisis in 2008 and 2009 led to a significant shake-up of Nigeria’s banking sector. In the wake of the period, banking executives were charged with mismanagement, lenders were nationalised and the industry as a whole was in need of support. This was evident in a myriad of ways, but one of the most visible was the proliferation of non-performing loans (NPLs), which had risen…
In January 2012 the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) launched the first phase of its “cashless” policy, which aims to reduce the volume of cash transactions and in turn cut the cost of banking services. Since then, the move towards electronic payments has spurred the growth of numerous electronic payment and commerce initiatives. The cashless strategy is part of the state’s Vision 20:2020, which…
Founded by the Treaty of Lagos in 1975, ECOWAS has served as a force for regional integration in areas ranging from education to security to monetary policy. The organisation is comprised of fifteen neighbouring countries including Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo. ECOWAS aims to…
President Muhammadu Buhari has embarked on an active foreign policy during his first year in office. Nigeria’s new head of state has had a busy overseas itinerary, adopting an aggressive diplomatic agenda in pursuit of key policy aims laid out in his 2015 election campaign. The policy has reaped some rewards for Abuja’s security and economic goals. Building Relations It is perhaps unsurprising…
Dangote Cement’s (DanCem) foray into cement manufacturing started in 2000, with its acquisition of the federal government’s equity stake in the Benue Cement Company. With investments in excess of $5bn, DanCem’s rise to the top has transformed the industry, taking the sector’s installed capacity in Nigeria from around 4.8m tonnes in 2000 to over 38.1m tonnes currently. DanCem is expanding its…
Private equity (PE) has solidified its position on the cutting edge of the Nigerian economy in recent years, taking stakes in technology, mobile and electronic payments infrastructure, and e-commerce. Local firms have also been especially active in the real estate and consumer goods markets. Developments have sought to strengthen the PE segment. On The Move First, in 2010 Nigeria’s National…
