Author: Gift Ifeanyi

MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA — Turning a deep scientific understanding of molecular mixing into a commercial enterprise, a Nigerian pharmacy student has built a fast-growing fragrance brand from Borno State. Khadija launched Fragrant Flair in 2023, operating on a foundational premise that personal care and identity-defining scents should not be gated as luxury items, but should remain accessible to everyday consumers. The startup’s catalog expands well beyond traditional body sprays, manufacturing localized perfume oils, scented body milk, traditional aromatic beads, home-focused reed diffusers, and customized corporate souvenir bundles. Applying Pharmaceutical Precision to Fragrance Formulations The growth of Fragrant Flair highlights a highly…

Moving beyond concentrated urban startup hubs like Lagos and Abuja, the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has partnered with AfriLabs to launch InnovateNaija. The ₦250 million national campaign is explicitly designed to discover, fund, and scale homegrown deep-tech inventions engineered by grassroots innovators across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The campaign is driven by a simple but urgent realization: breakthrough innovation in engineering, manufacturing, and clean energy is happening every day in informal markets, rural farms, and local classrooms, but these solutions routinely lack visibility, structured support, and capital. By combining NASENI’s mandate…

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Peace, Allen Onyema, has called on Nigerians to adopt a strict, non-violent economic boycott of South Africa. The proposal comes in response to a volatile wave of anti-immigrant and xenophobic hostilities currently targeting African migrants and their commercial properties. Speaking during an exclusive interview on Arise Television, Onyema strongly condemned the recurring violence while warning citizens against destructive street retaliation that could inadvertently hurt Nigerian workers and local shareholders. Accusations of Institutional Negligence Onyema took aim at South African authorities, alleging a systemic failure to protect foreign nationals and cross-border traders during…

A wave of public anger has swept across Nigeria following recommendations from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urging the Federal Government to slap new taxes on telecommunications services and petroleum products. The controversial proposal, detailed in the IMF’s latest Article IV Consultation Report, was pitched as a strategy to boost state revenues and fund social interventions. However, the suggestion has hit a brick wall of fierce resistance from citizens, business leaders, and fiscal experts who warn it could entirely crush the country’s fragile economic recovery. Government Moves Quickly to Disown the Proposal Seeking to calm frayed nerves, the Federal Government…

 Moving beyond its core mandate of electricity generation, Egbin Power Plc has officially graduated its first cohort of 24 youth innovators from its newly established Tech Empowerment Programme. The graduation ceremony, held at the Bright Gyimah Innovation Centre inside Powerfields Schools in Ikorodu, marked the completion of an intensive six-month digital boot camp designed to boost youth employability and tech entrepreneurship within the power plant’s host communities. The initiative is part of Egbin Power’s Personal Corporate Social Responsibility (PCSR) framework. It targets young residents in the Egbin, Ijede, and Ipakan communities, providing free, structured access to technical skills that are…

Marking a historic milestone for West Africa’s creative and tech sectors, the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Daren Tang, has officially inaugurated the WIPO Nigeria Office in Abuja. The high-level diplomatic mission included bilateral meetings with Vice President Kashim Shettima and key federal ministers to fast-track the implementation of Nigeria’s National Intellectual Property Policy and Strategy (NIPPS), which was adopted in 2025. The initiative establishes a unified framework to transform raw intellectual property ($\text{IP}$) into tangible economic assets, sustainable jobs, and structural economic growth. Key Milestones of the WIPO Diplomatic Mission The visit yielded several critical…

The Federal Government of Nigeria and the Republic of South Korea have officially launched a multi-million dollar bilateral initiative to accelerate technology-driven entrepreneurship, job creation, and economic growth. The program is being driven by the Abuja Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE) project—a strategic partnership between the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). The announcement was made on Monday during an inauguration ceremony in Abuja, marking a key milestone in future economic cooperation between the two nations. Building a World-Class Innovation Hub The ACE project is designed to establish a world-class training…

Building solutions provider Lafarge Africa Plc has officially changed its corporate identity and name to HBM Nigeria Plc. The transition follows a $1 billion takeover by Chinese cement manufacturer Huaxin Building Materials (HBM). The structural rebranding was finalized after a majority shareholder vote at the company’s 67th Annual General Meeting (AGM), led by Board Chairman Gbenga Oyebode. The name change marks the formal alignment of the premium-listed construction giant with its new majority ownership structure, following Huaxin’s acquisition of an 83.8% stake in the business. Company executives confirmed that the rollout of the new corporate identity, localized branding assets, and…

Wema Bank Plc has signed a landmark €50 million (approx. ₦78.5 billion) credit facility with EIB Global, the development branch of the European Investment Bank. The agreement, finalized at Wema Bank’s headquarters in Lagos, marks the first-ever transaction between the two financial institutions. The wholesale financing package is designed to lower borrowing costs for small and medium-sized enterprises ($\text{SMEs}$) across Nigeria. Backed by the European Union’s Global Gateway initiative and aligned with Nigeria’s Financial Inclusion Strategy, the credit line has strict allocation rules to ensure the money reaches underserved sectors: Youth-Owned Enterprises: At least 50 percent of the loan portfolio…

Digital financial services provider OPay has officially launched a new regional office in Kaduna State, marking a major step forward in its strategy to deepen financial inclusion across Northern Nigeria. The launch event brought together local merchants, trade group representatives, and members of the fintech firm’s executive leadership team. The new Kaduna facility is designed to serve as a central operational hub for customer experience, merchant onboarding, and strategic business partnerships within the state and its neighboring communities. By establishing a permanent physical presence, the platform aims to provide localized technical support and build closer relationships with the region’s large…

 To break structural gender barriers and reduce long-term maintenance costs for public utility systems, WaterAid Nigeria has partnered with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) to formalize an all-female technical network in Lagos State. The initiative focuses on reviewing the impact of the Advancing Inclusive Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (AI-WASH) project, which equips local women with the engineering skills needed to run, service, and repair vital community water facilities. The collaborative review meeting brought together high-level administrators from the Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, local council representatives, and community leaders from Ikorodu…

LAGOS, NIGERIA — In a major move for West Africa’s capital markets, the Dangote Refinery has appointed Zedcrest Securities as one of the key market operators to manage its upcoming initial public offering (IPO) and planned listing on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). The proposed transaction is widely anticipated to rank among the largest equity capital market listings in Nigeria’s history. It is expected to attract significant pools of domestic and international institutional capital while drastically increasing the depth, liquidity, and global attractiveness of the local stock exchange. Strategic Milestone Following FirstRand Subsidiary Takeover The selection of Zedcrest Securities on this…

African payments technology giant Paystack has officially launched a major support initiative aimed at helping local merchants survive and scale. The Paystack Small Business Program moves the company beyond pure transaction processing, positioning it as an end-to-end growth partner for the micro, small, and medium enterprise ($\text{SME}$) ecosystem. The program addresses everyday operational hurdles—such as fragmented bookkeeping, expensive digital tools, and complex logistics networks—by providing discounted infrastructure, hands-on growth guidance, and direct equity-free funding. The Three-Part Strategy for SME Growth The program is built on three core initiatives designed to target different stages of a small business’s lifecycle: The Small…

The Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems has called for stronger, structured collaborations across the public and private sectors to unlock the massive financial potential of the country’s culinary ecosystem. The call was made during the 2026 World Gastronomy Day celebration, hosted in partnership with Culinara Group, Tantacom, and the Most Influential People of African Descent ($\text{MIPAD}$) at The Library on Victoria Island. Held under the theme “A Seat at the Table,” the landmark forum brought together high-ranking government officials, creative industry pioneers, global diplomats, and corporate investors to discuss transforming Nigeria’s food culture into a predictable engine…

In an aggressive move to accelerate localized food production and minimize severe post-harvest storage losses, the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems has officially opened applications for the Lagos Agrithon 2026. The flagship innovation challenge is explicitly designed to identify, fund, and scale high-impact agritech startups, innovation-driven enterprises, and early-stage agribusiness entrepreneurs across Nigeria. The open call for applications follows recent state-level policy shifts—such as the newly launched Lagos State Industrial Policy ($\text{LSIP}$)—aimed at modernizing the sub-national economy and integrating technological infrastructure directly into raw food networks. Vetting Criteria and Target Value Chains The ministry is targeting scalable,…

The intersection of local crop harvesting, culinary tourism, and structural supply chain management took center stage in Lagos as the state moved to formalize its multi-billion Naira food economy. At a landmark gathering at The Library on Victoria Island, the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture and Food Systems—in partnership with Culinara Group, Tantacom, and the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD)—hosted the World Gastronomy Day celebration under the theme “A Seat at the Table.” The high-profile event brought together top government administrators, private equity investors, and international diplomats, led by the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Systems,…

Removing regional red tape and simplifying corporate compliance has become the primary strategy for sub-national governments looking to capture foreign direct investment. At a high-profile technical workshop in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State Government teamed up with the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) and the Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency (RSIPA) to launch a series of structural regulatory updates designed to turn the oil-rich state into a preferred home for non-oil private capital. Opening the summit, Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara—represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Dagogo Wokoma—emphasized that modern, sustainable economic growth is entirely reliant…

In a major move to tighten corporate oversight and prevent market monopoly, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) have rolled out a strict new compliance directive. The joint policy mandates that all licensed telecommunications firms in Nigeria must obtain formal regulatory clearance before executing any significant changes in ownership or corporate control. The inter-agency directive, announced in a joint statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by NCC Director of Public Affairs, Mrs. Nnenna Ukoha, and CAC Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Rasheed Mahe, takes immediate effect. The rule establishes a dual-clearance framework designed to scrutinize…

Moving away from short-term humanitarian handouts, international development agencies and private agro-industrial conglomerates are shifting toward market-driven economic models to tackle displacement crises. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has signed a three-year economic empowerment pact with TGI Group. The project will be executed by TGI’s specialized agribusiness arm, WACOT Limited, across Benue and Cross River states. The joint program will establish localized, high-yield supply chains, directly supporting over 5,000 smallholder farmers and creating 10,000 jobs. The partnership focuses heavily on vulnerable and displacement-affected populations, aiming to benefit between 25,000 and 35,000 individuals—including refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs),…

Relying solely on formal university degrees without building practical business skills is becoming highly risky for graduates entering the modern African job market. At the 2026 induction ceremony for the Department of Educational Foundations at Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, students were challenged to break out of traditional academic bubbles and actively combine their studies with trade and manufacturing. The charge was delivered by Chief Anthony Okafor, Chief Executive Officer of TK Foods and Beverages (and a prominent Labour Party chieftain). Speaking on the theme “Foundation for a New Nigeria: Reimagining Education for Innovation and Nation Building,” Okafor delivered a…