EnuguSME, Author at Enugu SME Centre

Nigerian team builds technology for Microsoft

Microsoft Mesh, a new mixed-reality platform powered by Azure – that allows people in different physical locations to join and share holographic experiences on many kinds of devices, was launched on Tuesday by Microsoft.

The team of engineers behind the technology mostly worked from Lagos, Nigeria’s most populated commercial city.

Mixed-reality technology allows real and virtual elements to interact with one another and the user to interact with virtual elements like they would in the real world. The new technology essentially changes the experience people would have in a virtual meeting where they can only participate with their voices.

With the Microsoft Mesh launched, participants would not only speak to one another, but they also get to be in the same virtual room and interact with virtual objects like in real life. In that sense, Mesh is more than an app for holding virtual meetings. It is an all-encompassing platform built on top of Azure that Microsoft is hoping developers will tap into.

“Today, the world finally gets to hear about Microsoft Mesh. Our incredible engineering team here in Lagos has been working tirelessly towards this day for a very long time. So proud of what we have accomplished,” Hoop Somuah, engineer manager, tweeted on Tuesday.

Somuah, who joined Microsoft as a software engineer in June 2003, became the software engineering manager in January 2019. He also heads the mixed-reality team in Nigeria. Microsoft maintains engineering teams in Nigeria and Kenya.

Mesh is likely the future of the Microsoft Team – the company’s virtual meeting app. Microsoft is hoping architects, engineers and designers will all see the promise of Mesh, particularly during a pandemic when it is difficult to work with 3D physical models without all being in the same room.

“This has been the dream for mixed reality, the idea from the very beginning,” said Microsoft technical fellow, Alex Kipman. “You can actually feel like you are in the same place with someone sharing content or you can teleport from different mixed-reality devices and be present with people even when you are not physically together.”

The new platform is the result of years of Microsoft research and development in areas ranging from hand and eye-tracking and HoloLens development to creating persistent holograms and artificial intelligence models that can create expressive avatars.

Millions of MSMEs pushed to the brink amid lockdown

A large chunk of Nigeria’s 41.5 million MSMEs could go under due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown aimed at halting the spread of the deadly virus.

Joshua Adekunle happily survived on packets of sweets before the coronavirus-induced lockdown. His entire life was anchored on the daily sales he made under Obalende Bridge in Lagos. All his wares were worth N5,500 and he made daily sales of N500 to N1,000. As little as these were, they took care of him.

But since the announcement of total lockdown in Lagos two weeks ago by President Muhammadu Buhari, Adekunle’s life has seemed hopeless. He has sold all his wares at an auction and spent the money on food.
“My biggest concern now is to eat some food,” Adekunle, who sleeps in a dingily-lit one room at Ajah with four other micro business owners, said.

“I don’t know what to do after the lockdown because there will be no money to start life again,” he said.
A large chunk of Nigeria’s 41.5 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) could go under due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown aimed at halting the spread of the deadly virus.

The measure to control the virus is in line with global best practices, but it will lead to shocks, shutdowns and unprecedented job losses in Nigeria as the Federal Government continues to drag on plans to provide palliatives to help the businesses, analysts say.

Millions of workers will not return to their jobs after the pandemic, with unemployment peaking at 23 percent before the pandemic. The World Bank said in a 2015 report that 40-50 million additional jobs were needed between then and 2030 to reduce poverty and boost inclusive growth. MSMEs contribute 50 percent to Nigeria’s GDP and account for 86.3 percent of jobs (59.6 million jobs in 2017), according to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).

Ike Ibeabuchi, chief executive of a small-scale manufacturing outfit in Enugu and Abuja, said he has no money to pay his workers because there is no production, distribution and, consequently, revenue.

“The year is lost for some of us who are in small and medium businesses,” Ibeabuchi, who produces chemicals, said. “Even after the pandemic and lockdowns, the consumers will be so poor that they can’t buy, and firms won’t be able to raise prices, even though the situation warrants that.”

In 2016, oil price fell to below $40 per barrel, leading to low foreign exchange inflows into the Nigerian economy that relies on oil proceeds for 75 percent of its revenue and over 90 percent of FX.

Between 2016 and 2017, about 272 MSMEs were forced to shut down, with 180,000 jobs lost, according to a 2017 survey jointly done by NOI Polls, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Centre for the Studies of Economies of Africa.

The current situation will be worse, say analysts, with everything from production to supply on lockdown, and recession knocking.

Chukwubuike Nnoli, chief executive of Zubnol Limited, producer of pillows and mattresses in Anambra, has asked his workers to go home. Raw materials he ordered have not arrived and his customers are in their rooms.

Temiloluwa Smyth, CEO of Smyth Couture, a fashion designer, said since the pandemic, people have stopped making outfits as there are no events or occasions to wear them to.

The national survey of MSMEs conducted by NBS and SMEDAN in 2017 said the number of MSMEs has risen from 37 million to 41.5 million MSMEs. The growth is due to the rising number of survivalists who opened micro businesses in the face of economic slump in order to survive. Small businesses face multiple taxation, high energy cost, poor access to credit and infrastructure, but the current situation has combined with these age-old problems to worsen their plight.

“The number of medium-sized enterprises decreased significantly from 4,670 in 2013 to 1,793 in 2017, indicating a 61 percent drop,” the NBS and SMEDAN report, which covered between 2013 and 2017, said. This means that 2,877 firms shut down within four years.

Degun Agboade, president, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), said the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown have been devastating for MSMEs in the country, especially for micro businesses who survive on daily incomes.

“The impact has been colossal on us. Everything is totally paralysed and many of us will not be able to recover when all this is over. The impact will be longer than we expect and the government is not doing enough to support us at this time,” he said.

NBS, SMEDAN, to Confirm Number of MSMEs in Nigeria

The process of authenticating claims by the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN) that Nigeria has 37 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has commenced.

The nation’s stats office, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), is assisting in confirming this figure.

Last month, Director-General of SMEDAN, Mr Dikko Radda, disclosed at a conference in Abuja that there were about 37.1 million MSMEs operating in the country.

Mr Radda made this disclosure at the India-Nigeria Cultural Conference organised by the All India Universities Alumni Association, Abuja Chapter, themed ‘Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in combating unemployment in Nigeria: India experience.’

“There are presently about 37.1 million MSMEs in Nigeria. That is huge.

“Their contribution to the Gross Domestic Product is about 48.7 percent, while their contribution to export is about 7.2 percent.

“That is to tell you how significant they are to our economy,” Mr Radda had stated at the conference.

He based his figure on the last national survey conducted in January 2014, where it was revealed that 37.1 million enterprises operating in the economy were employing 59.7 million persons.

Speaking at a one-day workshop on MSMEs Survey yesterday, Mr Radda said in the survey that will commence nationwide soon, two micro enterprises sub-class would be categorized instead of the former undifferentiated micro-enterprises class.

According to the SMEDAN chief, who was represented at the event by Mr Wale Fasanya, a senior employee of the agency, “This will help distinguish an establishment-leaning microenterprise sub-class (or salaried paid employment) from the other microenterprise sub-class of unpaid or part-time household members.”

SOURCE

$1.4bn deal, sealed to produce ammonia

The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has sealed a $1.4bn deal with the OCP of Morocco as well as the Akwa Ibom State government to develop a plant where ammonia and diammonium phosphate will be produced.

Partners in the deal also include the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Gas Aggregation Company Nigeria Limited (GACN), and Fertilizer Producers & Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN).

The new deal comes under NSIA Gas Industrialization Strategy and will drive implementation of the Multipurpose Industrial Platform project, a backward integration initiative which builds on the successes of the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) and other sovereign bilateral initiatives between Nigeria and Morocco.

The project is structured to commercialize Nigeria’s vast natural gas resources and satisfy Morocco’s demand for cost-competitive ammonia.

Five crucial agreements were signed under the deal designed to create a clear path for the second phase of the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative as well as the creation and operationalization of a Multipurpose Industrial Platform (MPI) in Nigeria. The MOUs were signed Tuesday at the Mohamed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in Benguerir, Morocco.

The first phase of the project will produce 1.5 million tons per annum of ammonia in two phases. Up to 70 percent of the ammonia produced will be allocated for export to Morocco and the balance will be routed to the production of 1 million tons per annum of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) and NPK fertilizers to feed domestic demand.

“It is expected that project construction will commence no later than Q3, 2021,” NSIA noted in a statement.

“US$1.4 billion will be invested in building out the plant and its supporting infrastructure with a target operations-commencement date of 2025.”

The project will be sited in the gas-rich Akwa Ibom State. Land availability and accessibility; gas adequacy; sufficiency of marine draft; and other environmental and social considerations informed the decision to site the plant in Akwa Ibom.

At completion, the integrated ammonia and fertilizer plant will house – within its battery limits – the process plants for ammonia and fertilizer production, administrative buildings, fertilizer bagging units, water purification units, storage for raw materials and finished goods, onsite power plant and other ancillary facilities.

Non-profits can manage their fund raising

Non-profits are borne out of the need to impact society, which like any other venture requires a well-established system of consistent funding. However, for smaller ones despite the promise of genuine impact, they face a plethora of challenges ranging from lack of structure, inexperience, and financial mismanagement. Here are some ways small non-profit leaders can improve their funding efforts.

Define Core Objectives: We are living in an unprecedented time, so why should anyone want to give to your organization? An important thing to do before soliciting external help is to do an honest appraisal by examining the objectives and needs of your organization. Why are you pursuing this cause? Who will benefit from it? What is your budget? What are your needs? When do you need resources? Having answers to these questions helps you put things in perspective. You will know who your potential supporters are and be able to start the conversations that will create an emotional connection. While on this, be sure to pay attention to their needs and how your organization can help meet them. Understand their priorities. Communicate your good works and never forget to express gratitude. Your sponsors should know how their help has allowed your organization to accomplish its mission.

Set up a team: Smaller non-profits do not have the luxury of recruiting professionals to manage fundraising efforts, but they can capitalize on the shared passion of like-minded volunteers who have some experience and will donate their skills and time. By forming teams within this group, not only will they will multiply efforts through ideas, knowledge sharing and network exchange; commitment, accountability, leadership and the much-needed support for cloudy days are examples of what teamwork can yield. Delegate and assign leaders who would be responsible for key activities including planning and budgeting, donor and sponsor engagement, operations and logistics management, and other tasks that will place the organization in face of the right audience through marketing. As much as possible, non-profits leaders should engage with volunteers. While some may not have fundraising experience, they can donate other complementary skills. For instance, you would need them to put the word out there or help with event set up or even sell tickets. And even in uncertain times, studies have shown that volunteers who cannot offer their time and skill are more willing to help financially.

Leverage on social media: Social media makes it easier for grassroots organizations to access a wider audience interested in community-based projects from all parts of the world, but effective and consistent communication, publicity, and using the right tools make this happen. There are legitimate crowdfunding websites that allow many people to contribute to causes or projects that appeal to them. A popular example is GoFundMe. There’s Global Giving and Causes by Facebook. These websites can collect secure donations efficiently by collaborating with prominent payment companies. Now that transaction processing has been taken care of, small nonprofits should focus on driving the right messaging. It is also important not only for them to have an online presence, using suitable social media channels to enhance visibility while pushing appropriate content will produce user reaction from even potential donors.

Oil spillage is still a thing in the Niger Delta

Just last week, we reported on the resurfacing of Niger Delta freedom fighters stating the injustices their region grapple with and how they have been marginalised, not to mention the failure of the amnesty program.

It was an opportunity – and still is – for the present administration to reacquaint themselves with the deteriorating conditions of Niger Delta communities, ranging from lack of infrastructure, loss of livelihoods, or absence of social services, arising from crude oil exploitation largely caused by the activities of international oil companies.

This is well-documented.

At this point, the Niger Delta should be prioritised in the context of ecological reparations, which simply means fully giving land, financial and material compensations to indigenes after years of environmental toxicity and destruction.

But this can’t be actualised when the politicians still appear oblivious of what’s happening, or are only just finding out and would most likely do nothing. As in the case of Eti-Osa Federal Constituency, Lagos Representative, Ibrahim Babajide Obanikoro, who in a recent tweet went to the South south and saw for himself an incident of oil spillage committed by international oil companies.

While Obanikoro’s experience further legitimises the situation in the Niger Delta, his show of empathy will surely not improve the living conditions of the people who can no longer fish in creeks or rivers, or use lands.

Only a sincere policy drive from the government can make the difference. The oil spillage in the Niger Delta often occur during extraction and for those who reside in waterfront settlements, because of how cheap or accessible shelter are there, they are faced with this kind of environmental pollution.

Ecological reparations as a pillar of environmental justice means channeling resources to restore the integrity of rivers.

As it is, Niger Delta freedom fighters are agitating against the continued exclusion from benefitting from their region’s natural resource. And it’s time the government listened.

SOURCE LINK

Business legislation will give govt “dramatic authority”

Analysts have expressed concern about the National SME Amendment Bill and the potentially harmful consequences it could have on South African businesses.

The bill was released for public comment on December 11 and aims to change the way governments deal with the impact of the law on SMEs.

It also regulates the relationship between SMEs and other companies and introduces a new dispute resolution process that includes the concept of “unfairness” in contractual transactions.

This is done through the introduction of a new SME ombudsman service that acts as a support function for the minister.

In analyzing the bill, the Free Market Foundation raised concerns about this ombudsman service and the power it could have.

The bill states that the minister, based on the ombudsman’s recommendations, may ban certain practices related to SMEs as unfair, including the transfer of commercial risk to weaker parties. ..

The FMF said abstract values such as “fairness” cannot constitute the substantive rules that courts use to intervene in contracts.

“If the contract is unfair, the idea that the contract does not have to be enforced creates legal and commercial uncertainty and undermines the rule of law.

“If the parties agree to the terms of the contract, the law should not be used to provide relief for unfair terms,” he said.

Gary Moore, senior researcher at the Free Market Foundation, said the change was particularly problematic, as virtually any contract could be challenged in the future.

“All contracts, no matter how carefully negotiated, are subsequently unfair in some of their terms and cause immense damage to business conduct, personal trust and respect for the law. It will be opened in response to the objection.

“Imposing these notions of fairness will have the unintended consequence of discouraging large companies from dealing with small businesses, as opposed to government policy,” he said.

Moore already applies common law rules, such as interpreting ambiguous contracts as lightly as possible, coercion, excessive influence, and rules on public policy when bargaining power is found to be unequal. He added that it would be done.

Sweeping power

The Small Business Institute (SBI) raises similar concerns, with planned changes providing radical authority to both the minister and the proposed Ombud, violating the civil and contract laws already established in South Africa. , Said it could be disabled.

“Ombud’s arbitrary definition of what constitutes” unfair trading practices “and intervenes in” contractual arrangements or other legal relationships “between” SMEs “and” other parties. ” Empowering can lead to indiscriminate intervention and its potential. SBI CEO John Doldre said, “Ombedprener is unstoppable under the amendment for disgust and frivolous claims.”

He said the amended bill is unlikely to over-contribute to the “already stunning amount of bureaucratic formalism” faced by micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMMEs) and promote prompt payment of invoices. Added.

This is another example of a policy on hoofs, Dludlu said, without the minister’s authority to exercise and the regulatory impact assessment actually required of her fellow ministers.

Other potential issues identified in the bill include the fact that there are already a large number of ombuds already available to small business owners, and the lack of specificity regarding what constitutes “deferred payment.” Said.

Business legislation planned in South Africa will give the government “dramatic authority” over contracts: analysts

SOURCE LINK

Stock market reverses gains as index drops by 0.59%

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has reversed positive sentiment to close on a downturn yesterday as the shares of Nestle Nigeria and 25 others decline, leading to a fall of the All-Share Index (ASI) by 0.59 per cent.

At the close of trading, ASI contracted by 234.01 absolute points, representing a decrease of 0.59 per cent to close at 39,697.62 points while the overall market capitalisation value lost N122 billion to close at N20.77 trillion.

The downturn was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks including Nestle Nigeria, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Ardova Plc, Lafarge Africa and Unilever Nigeria.

Analysts at Vetiva Dealing & Brokerage

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative, as 26 stocks declined relative to 18 gainers. Academy Press recorded the highest price gain of 9.76 per cent to close at 45 kobo, while PZ Cussons Nigeria followed with a gain 9.38 per cent to close at N5.25 kobo.

Royal Exchange and Beta Glass Company went up by eight per cent each, to close at 27 kobo and N54, while Regency Alliance Insurance rose by 7.69 per cent to 28 kobo.

On the other hand, Mutual Benefits Assurance led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at 36 kobo, per share. Ardova followed with a decline of 9.97 per cent to close at N16.25 while Champion Breweries shed by 9.69 per cent to close at N2.05 kobo.

The Initiates lost 9.62 per cent to close at 47 kobo while Sterling Bank shed 8.75 per cent to close at N1.46 kobo. Meanwhile, the total volume of trades decreased by 59.1 per cent to 222.574 million units, valued at N5.390 billion, and exchanged in 4,470 deals.

Transactions in the shares of Zenith Bank topped the activity chart with 48.102 million shares valued at N1.236 billion. United Capital followed with 20.238 million shares worth N121.971 million, while Mutual Benefits Assurance traded 19.443 million shares valued at N7.224 million.

Japaul Gold and Ventures traded 17.057 million shares valued at N10.483 million, while AXA Mansard Insurance transacted 8.972 million shares worth N9.379 million.

SOURCE: NEWSCENTRIC

COVID-19 vaccines arrive in Nigeria

In line with the Global effort to exterminate the novel coronavirus disease which took the world by storm, the World Health organizations, have begun to send vaccines across the nations of the earth, to ensure that all are vaccinated from the deadly disease.

Nigeria has received nearly four million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, shipped from the COVAX Facility, a partnership between CEPI, Gavi, UNICEF, and WHO.

COVAX shipped 3.94 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, arrived from Mumbai to Abuja around 11.30 am.“Nigeria has just received the first batch of Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID—19 vaccine,” presidential aide Bashir Ahmad tweeted.

According to a statement from the United Nations in Nigeria, the arrival marked a historic step towards the goal to ensure equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines globally and also the first wave of the distribution.

UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Edward Kallon, said, “The UN Country Team in Nigeria reiterates its commitment to support the vaccination campaign in Nigeria and help contain the spread of the virus.

“The arrival of these vaccines in Abuja today marks a milestone for the COVAX Facility in its
unprecedented effort to deliver at least 2 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines globally by the end of 2021.”

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency had said it would commence the vaccination of Nigerians in priority groups, starting with frontline healthcare workers.

“This is a landmark moment for the country and the COVAX Facility’s mission to help end the acute phase of the pandemic by enabling equitable access to these vaccines across the world. We are glad to see Nigeria is amongst the first to receive the doses from COVAX.

Thanks to the excellent level of preparedness put in place by the Government of Nigeria,” Managing Director for Country Programmes at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Thabani Maphosa, added.

“Gavi looks forward to these vaccines being made available to the people most at risk, as soon as possible, and to ensuring that routine immunization services for other life-threatening infections are also delivered to avoid other disease outbreaks.”

Dr. Walter Kazadi Mulombo, WHO Representative in Nigeria, said, “It is heart-warming to witness this epoch-making event and WHO wishes to congratulate the government of Nigeria for its participation in the global vaccine collaboration (COVAX) efforts and its commitment to protecting Nigerians against this pandemic.

Risks facing Africa requires urgent IMF special fund

The risks facing Africa and the rest of the world make the issuance of additional International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) more urgent, according to a report released on Tuesday by Afreximbank.

Special drawing rights are supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets defined and maintained by the Washington based IMF.

SDRs are the IMF’s reserve asset, and are exchangeable for dollars, euros, sterling, yen and Chinese yuan or renminbi. The IMF has so far allocated SDR 204.2 billion, equivalent to roughly $285 billion.

Deploying additional SDRs will bolster investor confidence and strengthen Africa’s economic recovery, besides preventing liquidity crises from morphing into solvency crises, the report says.

The risks facing Africa’s growth outlook include weaker-than-expected recovery among the continent’s key trading partners; abrupt tightening of financing conditions; a premature return to fiscal consolidation; climate change and extreme weather events that could cause food prices to spike; and longer-lasting COVID-19 infection rates.

Most of these are contingent on the pandemic’s evolution, which could undermine the recovery process and weaken governments’ capacity to respond effectively to prolonged hardship.

Another risk facing Africa’s growth is if vaccine deployment is hindered by supply bottlenecks or some citizens’ reluctance to be vaccinated – as has been the case in parts of Europe – new waves of infection could rage. Slow growth in Africa’s main trading partners could inhibit the region’s resurgence through lower export demand and reduced investment.

According to the report, the development impact of such a move will also be broad-based and longer-lasting. It will benefit low-income Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) eligible African countries as well as those larger nations, like Nigeria and Kenya, that opted out of the G20 initiative to preserve access to international capital markets and will play a key role in the region’s recovery as major drivers of intra-African trade.

Enugu SME Centre

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