Mansard

AXA Mansard empowers female business owners

by with No Comment BusinessNews

AXA Mansard, a member of AXA, the global leader in insurance and asset management as part of the its plans to foster women empowerment and capacity building has collaborated with SME 100 Africa to empower one female business owner at the 2021 International Women’s Day Conference.

READ ALSO: Government targeting gender-sensitive public financial management processes

The conference which held on Thursday March 4, 2020 was themed ‘Choose to Challenge: Achieving An Equal Future in a COVID-19 World’.

It held in a hybrid (both virtual and physical) format and featured sessions from various successful female business owners such as Mrs. Funke Bucknor-Obruthe, the CEO of Zapphire Events Limited and Fade Ogunro the CEO of Bookings Africa.

It also featured a financial literacy session facilitated by AXA Mansard’s investment officer, Nneoma Mere.

The highlight of the session was the business pitch session where female entrepreneurs presented their pitches and keenly competed for a prize of One Million Naira (N1,000,000) towards their businesses.

GreenHill Recycling Limited founded by Mrs. Mariam Lawani – a social enterprise that provides sustainable solutions to the waste management crisis in Nigeria through recycling and upcycling emerged as the winner of the prize.

Commenting about the pitch competition, the Chief Customer and Marketing Officer at AXA Mansard, Mrs. Olajumoke Odunlami noted that “The pitch session was a thrilling and impactful experience for me.

I am very privileged to have been a part of this session and to have seen the great things that women are doing in business.

Women are the force for change and we must continue to strive to ensure that we are visible and relentless.”

Mrs Odunlami concluded by saying that “AXA is committed to gender equality through implementation of gender initiatives as well as sound and inclusive policies, processes and culture across the organisation.

We believe that women are the key to progress as they are a vital force for growth and development around the world.

We encourage women to take advantage of our SHE for Shield initiative which is tailored towards empowering women.

Every business owner who has made a pitch here is a winner as they are all doing fantastic things with their businesses.

I congratulate the winner of the prize money, Mrs. Lawani whose company is targeted at sustainability.

We at AXA are strong advocates of sustainability and this is also reflected in our targets and policies.

AXA Mansard was incorporated in 1989 as a private limited liability company and is registered as a composite company with the National Insurance Commission of Nigeria (NAICOM).

The Company offers life and non-life insurance products and services to individuals and institutions across Nigeria whilst also offering asset/investment management services and health insurance solutions through its two subsidiaries – AXA Mansard Investments Limited and AXA Mansard Health Limited respectively.

AXA Mansard was listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange in November 2009.

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gender sensitive

Government targeting gender-sensitive public financial management processes

by with No Comment BusinessNews

The federal government has disclosed that it is entrenching public financial management processes that would be more gender-sensitive and ensures the availability of credible disaggregated data.

READ ALSO: Investor Education Will Encourage Investor Participation

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, in her goodwill message yesterday during the commemoration of the “2021 International Women’s Day National Policy Dialogue,” noted that through the implementation of Finance Acts 2019 and 2020, the federal government is providing tax relief and other forms of support to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), many of which are owned by women.

Ahmed said: “We are also working to ensure that our public financial management processes are more gender-sensitive, and that credible disaggregated data is available. Such a focus will yield sustainable and scalable change.

“We are also scaling up existing and developing new interventions at the intersection of gender equality and fiscal policy/public financial management. These include gender- responsive budgeting, and assessments of the gender responsiveness of key fiscal interventions (including fiscal stimulus packages) with specific commitments aimed at improving the safety, livelihoods, and economic status of women and girls.

“This is an area in which we at the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning are focusing more deliberately and will be prioritising, in partnership with the Ministry of Women Affairs and other critical stakeholders.”

She pointed out that women and girls have continued to bear the disproportionate burden of the COVID-19 pandemic on the frontlines, in their homes and across various sectors and stated that they must be given the opportunities and tools with which to be socially, financially, and economically empowered.

The minister advocated that every woman and girl should be guaranteed safety in their respective homes, schools, communities, and places of work while calling for an end to gender-based violence and the so-called ‘shadow pandemic’ once and for all.

The minister observed that gender equality and women’s economic empowerment remained critical to ensuring inclusive and sustainable development.

“If we fail to act now, the goals espoused in the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 will remain out of reach,” she said.

She described this year’s theme “Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World” as a resounding call to celebrate the unfailing resilience and inspiring leadership of women and girls around the world.

She also applauded the efforts of the Minister of Women Affairs, Mrs. Pauline Tallen, adding that Tallen has been a tireless advocate for gender equality, and had taken a bold stand in the campaign to end violence against women and girls.

Ahmed noted that internationally, the country is proud to have the United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary-General, Mrs. Amina Mohammed, and the recently appointed World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) Director-General, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, among its gender advocates and champions of change.

gender-sensitive

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Fintech

Innovators Engage Investors At Fintech Webinar.

by with No Comment Businessfinance

Innovators Engage Investors At Fintech Nigeria StartUp Funding Webinar

The Fintech Association of Nigeria (FintechNGR) recently held its monthly webinar themed, “StartUp Funding Webinar:

READ ALSO: MSMEs: Deepening access to capital…

Innovators meet Investors, Who part with a Deal?” The association sought to educate participants on how to move from having an idea to moderating execution and obtaining funding.

FintechNGR members noted that startups play a major role in the development of an economy; however, the odds against startup success are usually higher, as they attempt to survive in very tough business environments. Statistics show that 31.5% of startups fail in their first year (Investopedia, 2020), as part of its mission of driving Fintech growth, FintechNGR partnered with a few organizations to include a startup pitch in its webinar in February 2021.

The webinar explored the varying challenges that accompany fundraising, navigating grey areas with VCs, out-of-the-box techniques to getting startup capital, legal issues associated with funding, and also live pitches with real investors.

Participants also got to learn some of the different regulatory frameworks applicable to certain industries that they need to pay attention to as startups as well as available programs and funding rounds available from partner organizations.



Also, startups were allowed to interact with investors, receive feedback on their ideas, and started investment conversations that could lead to funding. Phone POS, Palate Hub, The Bells Global, Crediometer, and a few others were some of the startups that participated in the 5-minute pitch session with the investors.

With panelists drawn from across different sectors- Adenike Sheriff, Principal, Future Africa, Mrs. Ashimi Tonbofa, Partner Tonbofa, Nsikak John, Head, Enterprise Innovation, NSE, and Dolapo Agbaje, Vice President, APIS Partners, the participants were equipped with in-depth practicable learning that could be easily put to work in their startups.

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Exports

First trade deficit in 4yrs as COVID hurts exports

by with No Comment Businessfinance

Nigeria records first trade deficit in 4yrs as COVID-19 hurts exports

Africa’s largest oil producer posted a N7 trillion trade deficit in 2020, with exports falling as much as 35 percent, according to data published, Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics.

For the first time in four years, Nigeria’s trade position was negative in 2020 as the pandemic crushed oil demand and sent the revenues of oil exporting countries tumbling.

READ ALSO: Nigeria can save N3.7trn by gutting inefficient MDAs

Africa’s largest oil producer posted a N7 trillion trade deficit in 2020, with exports falling as much as 35 percent, according to data published, Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics.

That compares to a surplus of N2.23 trillion recorded in 2019, with imports outweighing the county’s value of export.

A trade deficit occurs when a country’s imports exceed its exports during a given time period.

When that happens, the said country is denied the gains of foreign exchange which comes from the exports of commodities to other trading countries.

The huge trade deficit largely explains why Nigeria’s naira ran into troubled waters last year as Africa’s most populous nation was starved of the needed foreign exchange that would have helped in the accretion of the external reserves, and give monetary authorities the legroom to defend the naira from falling against the dollar.

Nigeria’s trade balance stood at N32.4 trillion with imports rising 17.32 percent to N19.9 trillion in 2020 from the N16.96 trillion in 2019, while exports fell 34.75 percent to N12.5 trillion from N19.2 trillion in 2019.

The last time the country witnessed a deficit in its trade was in 2016, when a collapse in the oil market and a restiveness back home in the Niger Delta region, slowed the growth of oil exports, the country’s biggest export commodity.

At that time, Nigeria recorded a deficit of N290 billion.

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Insurance Plan SME

Insurance Plan for SMEs in Nigeria

by with No Comment Businessfinance

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) tend to cycle outside the insurance loop for reasons ranging from ignorance to cost.

READ ALSO: Nigeria to reward every diaspora dollar inflow with N5

Corporate calculations at the lower part of the enterprise ladder appear to be different from calculations nearer the top, resulting in smaller enterprises preferring to take bigger uncovered risk.

Insurance for small firms is like dashing into the rain without an umbrella the consequence could be uncomfortable, but the choice is more the result of the lack of knowledge than the lack of money.

 Analysts in growing numbers are beginning to realise that small businesses do not insure their assets not because they do not want to, but because they cannot afford to, or so they think.

The problem with small enterprise insurance appears to be a perception of cost rather than an understanding of loss.

Smaller-sized entrepreneurs tend to cost their goods or services without considering cost of insurance, thereby undervaluing the cost of their goods or services.

The consequence is that in a time of crisis they end up sorry rather than safe.

Data from the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that local SMEs contributed about 48% of the national GDP in the last five years.

With a total number of about 17.4 million, they account for about 50% of industrial jobs and nearly 90% of the manufacturing sector, by number of enterprises.

The NBS report suggests that SMEs support industrialization and employment.  

More advanced economies have equally used SMEs to grow industries and promote development.

What is an SME? Running The Numbers

SMEs may look trivial, but they are the bedrock of several stable global economies.

Base research data indicates that the total cost of starting a micro enterprise (including working capital but excluding cost of land) is N5m but not exceeding N50m, with a labour size of 10 workers.

The total cost of starting a small enterprise (including working capital but excluding cost of land) is between N5m and N100m, but not exceeding N200 million, with a labour size of between 11 and 50 workers, while the total cost of starting a medium-sized enterprise (including working capital but excluding cost of land) is between N100m and N500m, with a labour size of between 51 and 200 workers.

Funding SMEs; The Search for Longevity and Stability

SMEs are usually faced with financial dark holes which have persistently led to their failure.

Despite a few federal and state-sponsored funding schemes for smaller businesses, several SMEs have hit the deck as they quickly run out of cash or find themselves buried under a heap of commercial debt.

Funding has been a key operational problem for SMEs as poor management capacity, weak record keeping, lack of operational transparency and no collateral conspire to keep SMEs out of the formal banking sector credit market.

Aside the lack of funds, other challenges that face SMEs include the lack of skilled manpower, multiplicity of taxes, high cost of doing business, and the low threshold for absorbing economic shocks.

…The Other Problems

Additionally, SMEs are confronted with risk-related issues ranging from, changing taste and preferences of consumers, economic vulnerability, infrastructural constraints such as poor power supply, inadequate supply of potable water, poor access roads, high cost of equipment, high rate of domestic inflation, management risk, marketing risk, reputation risk, natural disasters such as earthquakes, fire outbreak, and floods (especially in the farm belts), social unrest, and arson (like during the EndSARS protests).  

As an entrepreneur the best way to manage risk associated with a business (asides risks associated with managerial or operational competence) is by getting an insurance cover.

It is important to note that risks might be the reason why a venture capitalist would not invest in a business.

Nevertheless, before getting an insurance cover it would be reasonable to profile the business’s risk to determine the appropriate insurance policy to buy.

Admittedly, some of the risks of businesses are unforeseeable (‘black swans’) while others are known but the timing is unpredictable (‘grey swans’).

In identifying risks, it is important to understand that SMEs are businesses in the private sector, and they cut across all industries so, the nature of risk varies according to the industry.

The responsibility falls on the business owner to identify the risk associated with the industry and purchase insurance that reflect those industry-specific risks.

Some risks are uninsurable, in this situation the entrepreneur would do well to still approach an insurance professional to help in assessing the impact of an unforeseeable loss on the type of business the entrepreneur is engaged in and review the best risk-protection strategy.

In such situations, small businesses could self-insure by saving money for possible future losses.

A variety of insurance schemes or plans are critical to risk protection of SME businesses the kinds of risk protection arrangements include: Liability Insurance, Business Property Insurance, Workers Compensation Insurance, Health Insurance, Life Insurance and so on.

All About the Plans

SMEs require standard fare insurance protection schemes some of which include the following:

Fire and Risk Insurance Plan

Fire and Risk Insurance is a vital insurance plan for SME in Nigeria.

It covers your business against, earthquakes, fire outbreak, tsunami, flood, social unrest, intentionally inflicted damages that may occur in the line of your business.

An example was what happened during the end SARS protest that affected business premises and markets.

This insurance plan will protect your business against loss or damage because of rain, flood, and storm. 

Under this plan, your insurer will pay back all your losses, giving you the capital, you need to resuscitate your SME. 

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MSMEs women

Govt. Cushioning the Effects of COVID-19 on MSMEs

by with No Comment Business

How the Nigerian Government is Cushioning the Effects of COVID-19 on MSMEs

The negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has been overwhelming.

READ ALSO:Digital identity policy key to driving insurance growth

According to research, over 90% of business owners agreed that they were adversely affected. Their cash flow, sales, revenue and salaries/wages took the biggest hit.
While a number of medium and small scale business owners are struggling to keep their heads above water, the resultant effect for the others is devastating. With fast depleted fund reserves, most businesses are forced to close. Employees are laid off, and business owners, disgruntled. Over 82.8 percent of businesses are likely to lay off one to five employees.

MSMEs play a pivotal role in Nigeria’s economic development. They are responsible for over 84 percent of job creation in the country. Therefore, a continuous decline in their sales and profit may trigger a major unemployment crisis in the country.
In order to mitigate such occurrence, the Federal Government introduced the MSME Survival Fund. It is a N75 billion conditional grant to support micro and small enterprises and safeguard jobs in the MSMEs sector. Launched in September, 2020, the Fund is a part of ₦2.3 Trillion stimulus package, known as the Nigerian Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP).

The MSME Survival Fund Scheme has the following categories:
• Payroll Support: assist vulnerable MSMEs in meeting payroll obligations of between ₦30,000 – ₦50,000 per employee over 3 months.
• Artisans/Transport Workers Support: provide artisans and transport business operators with ₦30,000.
• Guaranteed Off-take Scheme: Bulk purchase of products from MSMEs to protect jobs and livelihood.
• General Grant: Support the survival of 100,000 MSMEs most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Formalization Support: Provide free CAC Business Name registration for 250,000 new businesses.

The program actively promotes gender inclusion – with 45% of the fund going to women-owned businesses.
Since the start of the program till date, the MSME Survival Fund has achieved the following results:
• Provided Payroll Support of between ₦30,000 – ₦50,000 for 3 months to 320,678 employees from 64,395 companies across 36 states and the FCT.
• Given one-time grant of ₦30,000 to 96,157 artisans and transport workers in 36 states and the FCT.
• Provided free business registration with CAC for 140,531 bMSMEs across the country.
Several beneficiaries across the country are thankful to the government for providing this timely intervention.

Mrs Nwodo Uche, the CEO of Andertek Global Roofing Ventures in Lagos State had this to say: “When one of our staff received her first payment from the Payroll Support, she was so elated because we had not been able to pay salaries for some months. It was really a welcome relief for us as a business and for our employees. The payments our staff received for three months seriously helped to cushion the effects of the pandemic. Our gratitude goes to the Federal Government for remembering small businesses in these trying times.”

Mallam Usman Ibrahim who is into fruit production in Kano State shared his experience: “I heard about the Survival Fund from one of my friends. I had to ask one of my staff to help us apply online and upload all our documents. I had ten employees before but I had to downsize to five, due to the effects of COVID-19. When we received our first payment in November, all my staff were so happy. We continued to receive the payments in December and January. It has helped us so much. Sales has now picked up this year and we can now afford to pay our staff again. I am grateful to the government for helping us, just at the time we needed it.”

Mrs Victoria Jashi, the head of Goodnews School in Gombe State was effusive in her praise for the government’s timely intervention: “We really thank the Federal Government for their help. Schools were not open for a long time and it affected our ability to pay salaries. The Payroll Support allowed us to register 10 employees which is the maximum per organization, although we had a staff strength of 52 employees. Every month that we received the payroll support, we brought all the funds together and shared it among all the staff. We just wanted everyone to partake of the benefits.”

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Women in Business

Nonos Catering empowers women in business

by with No Comment Business

Nonos Catering Service, a fast growing catering company in Lagos, is set to empower women in catering and events business via a one-day summit with successful female professionals in the Industry.

READ ALSO: M36 redefines digital investment in Nigeria

Organised by Nonos Catering Mentoring Initiative (NCMI), the summit tagged ‘Spend the Day with Successful Business Women in Catering and Events,’ holding on March 10, 2021 at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos, and would have notable successful women in the industry interact and teach the upcoming ones on how to build their businesses to become profit making ventures.

According to the managing director of NCMI, Abumere Uto’ the idea is for successful women who have reputable profit making businesses in catering and events to share their growth story to; inspire, motivate, empower and encourage the women who register to be NCMI mentees.

“By becoming a mentee, we hope that their businesses will gain more visibility, increase profit, employ better marketing strategies as well as reduce loss and wastage,” she said.

Buttressing on the vision which she birthed three years ago, Abumere pointed out that being a trainer and mentor to many women, she realised that there was a strong need to bridge the gap by bringing women at the business start-up stage to meet with established and successful women in the same line of business together.

She said: “I saw the eagerness to learn and hear the success stories of these women who inspired them on a daily basis.

“So on the 9th of March, 2018, I launched the NCMI by inviting 20 women that engage in the business of catering and events to understudy me for a day. The idea of the ‘meet and greet’ was to share my start up story, weaknesses and strengths, success stories and failures in the hope of; inspiring, correcting, motivating and empowering.

“It is my vision that the mentees of NCMI become women who network, collaborate, share business opportunities and increase the quality of their service and productivity. I want them to be women who will also increase their visibility through adverts and social media activities to create more business profitability and sales.

“Most importantly, I would want them to become mentees who will make better business decisions, reduce their cost prices and risks which in turn will guarantee the growth of their business from the time they joined NCMI.

“Through these benefits they are empowered to excel in their businesses as catering and events professionals in the Industry.”

Commenting on meeting the goals of the annual Summit, Uto who holds a Master Degree in Globalisation and Development from the University of Manchester, United kingdom, said her organising team observed the growth and keen interest of participants and decided to host a larger group as it received over 180 applications for the last mentoring initiative held on the 5th of September 2019.

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Stock Exchange

Stocks shed N245bn: Investors go for attractive yields

by with No Comment Businessfinance

Investors in Nigeria’s equities market became worse off in the trading week ended March 5 after booking about N245billion loss as funds moved out of equities due to impressive yields in the fixed income (FI) market.

READ ALSO: AfDB provides $400,000 grant for Nigeria’s SEC

Investors are now battling with the decision to either buy into the recent dip or to stay out of the market pending when there are major positives capable of reversing the negative trend.

The market disappointed despite significant increase in prices of crude oil –Nigeria’s major source of dollar revenue, coupled with the attractive dividend yields of a number of dividend-paying counters.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalisation moved from week-open highs of 39,799.89 points and N20.823 trillion respectively to close the review week at 39,331.61 points and N20.578trillion.

The NSE ASI closed negative in four out of the five-day trading week, causing the benchmark performance indicator of the Bourse to decrease by 1.18percent week-on-week (WoW).

This negative was fueled mostly by remarkable losses in consumer goods, insurance and oil & gas stocks as evidenced in their sectoral indices.

NSE-30 Index which tracks the top 30 companies in terms of market capitalisation and liquidity decreased by 1.46percent in the review trading week.

Except NSE Industrial index which rose by 1.39percent, other sectoral indices closed in red –NSE Consumer goods index (-6.30percent), NSE Insurance index (-4.99percent), NSE Oil & Gas (-2.16percent), NSE Pension (-2.83percent), and NSE Banking (-1.94percent).

The stock market of Africa’s largest economy had bullish run in 2020 with a record-breaking return of +50percent amid unattractive yields in the fixed income space, placing it as world’s best.

Likewise, the market kicked off 2021 with similar trend, gaining 5.3percent in January, but since February (-5.6percent) it has maintained a southward direction. As at close of trading on Friday, the market has lost 2.33percent of its year-open value.

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SEC, AFDB

AfDB provides $400,000 grant for Nigeria’s SEC

by with No Comment BusinessfinanceNews

The African Development Bank Group has signed a $400,000 grant agreement with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Nigeria to strengthen securities markets regulation and broaden market instruments.

READ ALSO: CBN extends interest rate cut on pandemic loans

The funds will go towards strengthening risk-based supervision framework, regulation of derivatives and green bonds, and build capacity for green finance. The grant will be sourced from the Capital Markets Development Trust Fund, a multi-donor fund administered by the Bank. AFDB

“This collaboration further underscores our mutual goal to grow our markets and create viable avenues for sustainable economic development for Nigeria and the region,” said Lamido Yuguda, Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission at the virtual signing ceremony.

The grant is aligned with the priorities of the Bank’s Country Strategy for Nigeria, which envisages measures to stimulate capital market development to unlock financial resources for productive sector investments, infrastructure development and private sector growth.

The project will reinforce the implementation of SEC’s Nigeria Capital Market Master Plan 2015-2025 and its vision to position the Nigerian capital market as a competitive and attractive destination for portfolio investments.

Lamin Barrow, Senior Director of the Bank’s Nigeria Country Department, (AFDB) noted the urgency for speedy implementation of activities contemplated in this project.

“At a time when countries are striving to build back better from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic, improvement of the enabling regulatory and supervision framework will boost domestic resource mobilisation efforts and leverage private sector contributions to achieve a greener, more environmentally sustainable and inclusive post-pandemic recovery” Barrow added.

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Stock Market

Nigerian stock market extends loss by 0.40%

by with No Comment BusinessfinanceNews

Nigerian stock market extended negative trend for the third consecutive trading session following sell pressure on Nigerian Breweries, Dangote Sugar Refinery and tier-1 banks.

READ ALSO: Small businesses get N53b to create 1 million jobs

The All-Share Index on Thursday declined further by 157.39 points or 0.40 per cent to close at 39,394.67 from 39,522.06 posted on Wednesday.

Accordingly, the month-to-date and year-to-date losses increased to 1.1 per cent and 2.3 per cent, respectively.

In the same vein, the market capitalisation shed N83 billion to close at N20.595 trillion against N20.678 trillion recorded on Wednesday.

The market loss was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks amongst which are; Presco, Nigerian Enamelware, Nigerian Breweries, Julius Berger and Ardova.

Consequently, market sentiment was negative with 47 losers in contrast with 13 gainers.

Fidson Healthcare led the losers’ chart in percentage terms with 10 per cent to close at N4.41 per share.

Northern Nigeria Flour Mills followed with a decline of 9.97 per cent to close at N6.32 per share.

NEM Insurance and Nigerian Enamelware shed 9.95 per cent each to close at N1.72 and N19.90 per share, respectively.

NCR declined by 9.91 per cent to close at N3.09 per share.

Conversely, University Press dominated the gainers’ chart in percentage terms with 9.91 per cent to close at N1.22 per share.

Morison Industries followed with 9.09 per cent to close at 60k, while Chemical & Allied Products increased by 5.26 per cent to close at N20 per share.

Lafarge Africa grew by 3.59 per cent to close at N20.20, while livestock Feeds rose by 3.17 per cent to N2.28 per share.

Transactions in the shares of Universal Insurance topped the activity chart with 83.26 million shares valued at N16.65 million.

Zenith Bank followed with 38.65 million shares worth N983.25 million, while FBN Holdings traded 31.25 million shares valued at N216.72 million.

United Bank for Africa accounted for 26.78 million shares valued at N211.57 million while Access Bank transacted 21.59 million shares worth N168.09 million

Meanwhile, the total volume of traded increased by 101.8 per cent as investors bought and sold 493.17 million valued at N4.72 billion exchanged in 5,486 deals.

This was against a total of 244.34 million shares worth N4.13 billion traded in 4,714 deals on Wednesday. (NAN)

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