The insurance commissioner told everyone at some summit that the new capital requirement checks are getting handled by Big 4 audit firms because they need outside verification to keep things legit. Olusegun Ayo Omosehin compared the whole process to airport security scanners that every company has to pass through, and he said insurance operators are actually being cooperative about it. Boards already approved plans for raising fresh cash or merging with other companies, and the commission finished reviewing those plans.
After wrapping up the minimum capital stuff and giving licenses to companies that qualify, regulators will immediately roll out their Risk-Based Capital framework that matches requirements to each firm's actual risk...
OPay just opened a legit upgraded branch in Ibadan after running some lower-tier setup there before, and they brought out the whole squad of business partners and merchants to celebrate the launch. Elizabeth Wang from the company said they want people who prefer face-to-face banking to actually have somewhere decent to go instead of being forced online, and they plan to renovate all 28 offices across 25 states to match this new standard. The facility will handle merchant support and help regular users sort out issues faster.
The partnership head mentioned that customers should expect better collaboration programs and more support structures as the company keeps expanding across Nigeria. OPay rolled out Face ID security features and...
Nigeria hit severe hunger levels that have experts freaking out about the country needing major system overhauls to fix food production. About 50 million people are starving while the global average sits way lower, and the north is getting destroyed with rates pushing 50 percent. Some foundation called IRF ran an event at the University of Lagos, where speakers blamed broken government policies instead of parents for the crisis, and they want food to be treated as a basic right rather than something you buy.
Professors pointed out that Nigeria wastes half its food every year, even though millions can't eat, and climate damage, plus outdated farming methods, keep making things worse. Security problems have farmers too scared to work...
Nigeria and IFAD kicked off their second checkup mission for the agricultural processing zones program, and the IFAD country director said they profiled over 41,000 small farmers across Ogun and Kano while handing out inputs and training to almost 15,000 people. The whole thing is backed by multiple development banks and lines up with the president's farming agenda to modernize food production through better market connections and job creation in rural spots.
The program locked in 24 partnership deals connecting cassava, rice, tomato, and groundnut farmers to buyers who guarantee purchases, which helps farmers avoid getting screwed on prices. They also rolled out digital climate tools to nearly 16,000 farmers and processors while...
The advertising crew behind LAIF is throwing their big creative conference at the Lagos Marriott Hotel in Ikeja, and they're celebrating two decades of the festival with some theme about being crazy for 20 years. The event pulls together ad people from Nigeria and beyond to talk about AI, storytelling, and how African brands can break into global markets while staying authentic to their cultural roots.
Panels will cover everything from tech evolution in creative work to how advertising intersects with film and entertainment. Jay Chukwuemeka from the LAIF Management Board said the festival has basically become one of West Africa's most important creative gatherings, and they're honoring both their history and where the industry is...
Hanson Johnson from Start Innovation Hub just got voted in as the new board chair for Nigeria's Innovation Support Network, and the tech crowd seems pretty hyped about it. The guy runs a network connecting over 230 innovation hubs spread across 32 states, which makes it one of the bigger organizations pushing tech entrepreneurship in the country. He thanked everyone for trusting him with the gig and said he wants ISN to become the top platform for helping startups actually succeed.
Johnson's main focus involves making these innovation hubs run better by upgrading their programs and standards, so startups get legit training and mentorship instead of half-baked support. He also wants to build better connections between entrepreneurs and...
FCMB teamed up with some Dutch development bank and HeaveVentures to wrap up their AgriTech Hackathon thing, where seven Nigerian startups pitched their farming tech solutions. Qiqi Farms walked away with the top prize, and Farm Monitor plus Tuplant grabbed second and third place. The other four companies each got a million naira as a consolation for showing up and trying.
The bank's agribusiness boss said they want to push innovation in agriculture by hooking startups up with funding and mentorship to make Nigeria's farming sector more competitive globally. HeaveVentures' CEO talked about how collaboration between banks and tech companies can actually produce decent results when everyone stops being useless and works together for once.
Nigeria's oil minister checked out the African Energy Bank headquarters in Abuja and said the building looks fire after getting fully decked out. Senator Heineken Lokpobiri told reporters that his country handled everything it promised as the host nation, and the facility sits in a prime spot with all the fancy furnishings locked in. He kept stressing that Nigeria delivered on every single obligation, and the space is basically move-in ready for the actual bank operations to start rolling.
The minister said they're just waiting on APPO and Afrexim Bank to show up and officially open the place since those two organizations are basically running the whole project. Lokpobiri wants to get all the APPO ministers together for a tour to prove...
Bayelsa State just landed its first government-owned plane at the airport in Yenagoa after Governor Douye Diri and a bunch of political heavyweights took the inaugural flight on an ATR-72/600 that seats 72 people. The governor said this whole thing proves his administration actually followed through on connecting Bayelsa to the rest of Nigeria by air, and he wants the plane's registration switched from Pioneer Airline to something like Air Bayelsa or Bayelsa Air before commercial flights kick off. Fire trucks gave the aircraft the water cannon treatment when it touched down.
Diri gave props to past governors for getting the airport built in the first place, while Pioneer Airlines will handle the actual operations on a dry lease...
