I am proud to be Nigerian — Nigeria Born British Citizen Hollywood actor, Chinwetel Ejiofor

                                                       Chinwetel Ejiofor

London-born Nigerian Hollywood star, Chinwetel Ejiofor, on Friday said he was proud to be identified as a Nigerian.

Ejiofor said this in Lagos at the premiere of a movie “Half of a Yellow Sun’’ based on a novel written by a Nigerian novelist, Chimamanda Adichie.

He said that there was a wrong impression that he claimed not to be a Nigerian.

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) said it plans to grow its loan book between 15 and 20 per cent this year.

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) one of the most successful bank in Nigeria said it plans to grow its loan book between 15 and 20 per cent this year.

In order to achieve the, the bank listed its target sectors to include telecoms, oil and gas, manufacturing and maritime.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, GTBank, Mr. Segun Agbaje, who said this during the presentation of its 2013 full year results to journalists in Lagos, also assured stakeholders that profitability would be driven by loan growth.

The GTBank boss also said the bank would maintain low cost and ensure the growth of its subsidiaries this year.

Aliko Dangote, The Richest Man in Africa is getting Richer and Richer as Dangote Cement doubles its production capacity in 2014;

Aliko Dangote – Founder and Chairman Dangote Group

Truly, the rich would always get richer and the poor might get poor and poorer unless he or she begins to invest, one of the secrets i have discovered from the rich people, is that they keep on investing and expanding their capacity- Chiugo Anthony Josephat-Nwokolo

I foresee Aliko dominating the African economy in the next years ahead, with the billions of dollars he is raising and investing in oil refinery to the billions he is pumping in to expanding the capacity of his cement industries across Africa, I think he will cling on to the No. 1 Richest person in Africa for something until person offers more of essential commodities as he does. I implore you to let that seed in your hand today be placed into the soil, so that it shall not tarry alone or you spend it, but if you sow (invest) it today, tomorrow you shall read the fruits. Think about it. This is the secret for success.

Nigeria’s biggest company by market capitalization, Dangote Cement, expects to double its cement production capacity across Africa this year to 40 million metric tons ( 44.092 million tons).

The company will add 9 million tons to its Nigeria operations, bringing them to 29 million tons, and open plants across Africa that have been several years in the making, adding a further 11 million tons.

Dangote Cement, owned by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote with a personal fortune of US$25 billion, saw its 2013 profits increase by 40 percent to 190.76 billion naira (US$1.16 billion), from 135.64 billion naira (US$ 825 million) a year earlier.

Dangote has cement plants spanning Africa, from Senegal to South Africa, but most have been in construction phase and between them they contribute less than a million tons to the group’s current overall production capacity.

That will change this year, as plants in Senegal, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Zambia, South Africa and Ethiopia come into operation in the current year.

Additional capacity in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Liberia, Tanzania, Congo and in Nigeria would mean that by mid-2016 Dangote Cement would have a 60 million ton capacity.

Almost all of this expansion has been funded with internal cash flows, unlike rivals firms.

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Nigerian oil company (Seplat Petroleum valued at $1.9 billion in market debut, as it offer its shares to the public in both Lagos and London Stock Exchange

One of the Nigerian leading upstream oil company Seplat Petroleum Development Company is offering the public an opportunity to hold a stake in their company. I think its a good place to invest because the company has recorded a steady growth record, and the chairman Dr. A.B.C Orjiakor, a surgeon turned Oil baron is an astute  business leader,  one of the few humble, generous and conserved billionaires in Nigeria that does not show off. The company has recorded huge success and are one of the major players in the upstream sector.

Nigerian oil and gas firm Seplat has offered 26.4 percent of its shares in a combined market debut in Lagos and London that values the group at about $1.9 billion.  The company, which has sold 143.2 million shares to investors, is raising 82.5 billion naira ($500 million) at a price of 576 naira and 2.10 pounds per share respectively, the oil and gas firm said in a filing with the London Stock Exchange.

Conditional trading in the shares will start in London on Wednesday.  In fact, Seplat is the first Nigerian company with dual listings in Lagos and London.  ”Despite a challenging market for oil and gas stocks, the response has been excellent and demonstrates strong demand in both London and at home,” Seplat chairman Bryant Orjiakor said in a statement.

Seplat plans to use the net proceeds from the offer to acquire new oil assets and pay down debt and a shareholder loan of $48 million. French Bank BNP Paribas and South Africa’s Standard Bank acted as joint global coordinators and book runners with Renaissance Securities, Citigroup and RBC Capital Markets.  Seplat said it has an option to issue additional 10.33 million shares to international investors over the next 30 days.

Source: The Africa Report

Nigerian Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Wins Prestigious Award

The Nigerian amazon economist has been recognized internationally. Truly, a Prophet is without honour only in his home town. Some ungrateful elements in Nigeria are tongue lashing Dr. Iweala while the international communities are celebrating here. 

The Nigerian Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has received the prestigious David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award.  Okonjo-Iweala, also coordinating minister for the economy, was honored for her capacity to deliver on the economy and lead in a very difficult environment

“The only other Nigerian who has previously received the award for her decades-long work of empowering women is Mrs. Bisi Fayemi,” noted a statement from Nigerian finance ministry.  Nigeria has been facing political crisis affecting economic activities especially in its northeastern region as a result of clandestine operations by an Islamist militant group, Boko Haram.

Okonjo-Iweala was honored alongside Paul Polman, the chief executive officer of Unilever and Simao Jatene, governor of the state of Para, Brazil in New York.  The event was organized as part of the Synergos Institute University for a Night and brings together leaders from business, government and civil society to discuss innovative ways of addressing global problems.

The organization supports initiatives in more than 30 countries and regions.  It has staff and representatives in Africa, Europe, Middle East and Latin America.  Synergos is a group of leading philanthropists that look at issues such as unleashing the leadership capacity of young people; changing the lives of women and girls; women’s health and social justice; improving governance to meet human needs; overcoming violence and sustaining peace.

Okonjo-Iweala joins a list of eminent persons who have been honored in the past such as Nelson Mandela, Kofi Anan, Bill Clinton, Sir Richard Branson, Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, Bill Gates and president of Liberia Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.  Okonjo-Iweala is esteemed for her work at the World Bank as one of managing directors and for her two successful terms as Nigeria’s finance minister.  An alumnus  of  Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Okonjo-Iweala is a respected economist.

Source: CNBC Africa

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Success Stories and Strategies from Dr. Ola Orekunrin, the Brain Behind The Flying Doctors Nigeria

Dr. Ola Orekunrin, and her Flying Doctors is a success story, about a young lady's sheer creativity and entrepreneurial spirit. She is really and inspiration to a whole lot of Nigerian youths and business people out there that one can actually create wealth against all odds.

She became medical doctor at the age of 21 but yet with the brightest of futures ahead of her in the UK, she abandoned a high-flying job, packed her things and came back to Nigeria where she founded Flying Doctors Nigeria,West Africa’s first air ambulance.

In this article-interview, she kindly takes us to a ride through her journey to entrepreneurship and opens up about her ambition to change the face of healthcare system in Nigeria.

Dr. Ola Orekunrin’s story starts far from Nigeria “I was born and grew up in the UK and studied medicine and surgery at the University of York after which I worked in Acute Medicine across the UK. I then went on to be awarded the Japanese MEXT scholarship which allowed me to further my studies in Tokyo, Japan.”

She was the youngest doctor in UK at the time she graduated, she flies helicopters, she saves lives, she speaks Japanese...Though when asked about herself, she keeps it real, “I'm a medical doctor, a trainee helicopter pilot and an entrepreneur. I’m passionate about healthcare in Africa and works with various foundations, charities and governments to improve standards of healthcare nation-wide. “

Her organization, Flying Doctor’s Nigeria is West Africa’s first indigenous air ambulance service. It saves hundreds of lives across the region every year and despite the high costs of aviation business, Flying Doctors Nigeria manages to keep their prices down.

Flying Doctors Nigeria is a 100% Nigerian air ambulance service provider offering national and international evacuation services.

They have both fixed and rotary wing aircrafts that are strategically located in four (4) major Nigerian airports i.e. Lagos,Abuja, Warri and Port-Harcourt as well as qualified doctors, trained and certified in aviation medicine.

The company has licensed landing facilities at all major Nigerian hospitals, mostly in Lagos and has the accreditation of the Society for Underwater Technology (SUT), as well as the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).

In addition, Flying Doctors Nigeria also offers a variety of solutions for remote site locations like they are currently doing for some of their clients in the oil and gas sector with such needs. They also provide health and safety audits services, clinic procurement, clinic staffing, telemedicine (eMed), first aid training as well as medical evacuation.

As often in entrepreneurship, the motivation behind Dr. Ola’s decision to create Flying Doctors Nigeria comes from a personal experience. Sadly, it was a tragedy for her and her family.

“My younger sister was very sick and needed air ambulance service. We searched but there was no such service provider in Nigeria and West Africa. The one we found is 6 hours away from Nigeria. We paid but by the time the air ambulance arrived, my sister was dead. That was a wake-up call for me.”

To realize her dreams, the young woman has to make some big sacrifices. As she confessed in an interview withPunch Nigeria, "I quit my job, said goodbye to my political aspirations for president of the British Medical Association and Minister for the conservative party, I sold my car and my house, and bought my one way ticket to Lagos."  

When asked about that decision to leave everything behind, she says “I didn't feel the discomfort of that decision too much because I was motivated by the fact that I wanted to start a business which not everybody is willing or born to do. Though I felt I wanted those things but commitment to my country and adding a great meaning to life pushed me ahead.”

From outside, one may think the young achiever has never come face-to-face with failure in her life. However, Dr. Ola Orekunrin admitted in an interview "I was rejected more times than I can remember."

On how she handled those rebuffs, she explains “I was frustrated at the beginning because all those were hard and also the lack of cash. I was going to England working and returning to spend my earnings on and off until I met a man who asked me what I do and I told him. I didn't hear from him for a while until one night at 3a.m he called that his son was sick and needed air ambulance. I did the job and discovered that he was married to an influential woman in Nigeria. They began introducing me to people. “

About the secret of Flying Doctors Nigeria’s success, she says, “I will just say I was surrounded by people who were willing to work despite not much on ground.”

Despite the challenges, Dr. Ola Orekunrin is determined to improve the healthcare system in her country. Looking ahead, she plans to expand her organization to more countries and people in Africa.

Nigeria Overtakes South Africa to Become Africa's Biggest Economy with $510billion Assets

Nigerian biggest Economy with biggest Economic, Social and Security Challenges. What does the recent GDP of Nigeria depict and how does it meet the needs and challenges bedeviling the most populous black nation? Michelle Faul reporting from Associated Press sheds more light on Nigeria and its economy and her position in the Africa economy.
Nigeria's recalculated economy is worth $510 billion, by far the biggest in Africa, officials announced Sunday using long overdue revised data that gives the West African nation continental bragging rights but does little for the 70 percent of its citizens living in poverty.
The new value of Nigeria's GDP adds previously uncounted industries like telecommunications, information technology, music, airlines, burgeoning online retail outlets and Nollywood film production that didn't exist when the last GDP count was made in 1990. Then, there were 300,000 landlines. Today, Nigeria has 100 million cell phone users.

The new figures also will take account of growth in agriculture and tourism that have flourished since democracy was restored in 1999, ending decades of military dictatorship.

With one fell swoop, Nigeria knocked out of the ring South Africa, whose GDP of $353 billion was previously counted the biggest on the continent and which is the only African member of the G20.
"Nigeria's success is a reminder that Africa is moving ahead despite its current challenges," said investment manager Kevin Daly of UK-based Aberdeen Asset Management, which invests in Africa. He pointed out that it is a Nigerian, billionaire Aliko Dangote, who is building Africa's largest privately owned oil refinery.

Investors' attention will be drawn by the fact that while oil remains the biggest source of government revenue, about 80 percent, oil production is declining while Nigeria's agriculture, communications and service sectors are enjoying healthy growth.

Nigeria has been Africa's biggest drawer of direct foreign investment despite myriad woes, from massive corruption and oil thefts costing the country some $20 million a day to an Islamic uprising in the northeast that has killed more than 1,200 people so far this year, to a paralytic electricity supply that keeps businesses dependent on diesel-run generators.

Finance Minister Ngozi Ikonjo-Iweala told a news conference Sunday that the new data makes Nigeria the 26th largest economy in the world and raises its per capita income to $2,688, making it No. 121 in the world, up from No. 135.

That is still feeble compared to South Africa's $7,336 for its population of 48 million. South Africa, bedeviled by mining strikes, violent protests over services and a lackluster performance that has kept annual growth at around 3.5 percent, still has infrastructure unrivaled on the continent, most notably a power sector that generates 10 times more electricity than Nigeria.

Nigeria's revised figures will lower its much-vaunted growth rate of 7 percent but also will decrease an already low debt to GDP ratio of 21 percent, which should lower interest rates should the government want to borrow more, economists said.

Ikonjo-Iweala blamed decades of military rule for the delay in repositioning Nigeria's economy, but the country is not alone. Ghana's economy jumped by 60 percent when it recalculated its goods and services production in 2012, and Kenya and Zambia are considering the same.

Ikonjo-Iweala has said that Nigeria's economy needs to grow at about 10 percent to address massive poverty and youth unemployment. Government statistics say unemployment increased from 12.7 percent in 2007 to 23.9 percent in 2011; the World Bank says unemployment among young Nigerians stands at 38 percent but analysts say it is as high as 80 percent in many parts of the country.

Financial analyst Bismarck Rewane called the revisions "a vanity. The Nigerian population is not better off tomorrow because of that announcement. It doesn't put more money in the bank, more food in their stomach. It changes nothing."

Nigerians took to social networks to share their feelings. "So Nigeria has now supplanted South Africa as Africa's largest economy. But I've not had light (electricity) for seven days, so it means nothing to me," said one tweet.

Another commented: "Nigeria is Africa's biggest economy - on paper. So technically, I'm rich in theory."

Article written by Associated Press writer, Michelle Faul.