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BUSINESS ROUNDUP: Nigerians borrow to survive hard times. Fraudsters target GTBank accounts… Other stories

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Private sector got over N46trn in loans from banks in 9 months –NBS

Hello, and welcome to the Business Roundup this week. Here, we bring you highlights of events that happened during the week -from the capital market to the mainstream business activities, while not forgetting the tech/economy build up.

Here are the Headlines:

· Nigerians borrowing to survive as cost of living continues to rise

· Fraudsters target GTBank accounts, as customers lose millions

· CBN is not mandated to provide dollars to airlines – Emefiele

· Shell buys Lagos-based renewable company Daystar

Summary:

The World Bank has approved a $750 million support facility for the Nigeria State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) Programme-for-Results.

The Washington-based organization disclosed this in a statement titled:  “Improving the Business Enabling Environment in Nigeria to Create Jobs and Boost Inclusive Growth” on Friday.

The loan was in the form of an International Development Association (IDA) credit to support SABER.

Royal Dutch Shell has announced the acquisition of Nigeria-based hybrid renewable energy provider Daystar Power for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition is part of Shell’s conscious move to expand its global renewables footprint and seek to work towards its carbon emission reduction policy.

Read also: BUSINESS ROUNDUP: Fraudsters steal N523m from bank; Nigerian govt’s debt servicing hits N1.87trn in H1… other stories

Shell earmarked $2-3 billion in capital expenditure for renewables and energy solutions in 2022.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, on Tuesday warned foreign airlines on the demand for payment in dollars.

Emefiele, who spoke during the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting at the CBN headquarters in Abuja, said the banks are responsible for providing dollars for foreign airlines based on the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA).

Recall Ripples Nigeria had reported that the CBN came to the aid of the foreign airlines following difficulty in repatriating their proceeds from sales of tickets.

Nigerians are approaching their banks for loans to cover expenses amid the rising cost of living in the country.

Ripples Nigeria had earlier showed how much inflation has eaten into the salaries of Nigerian workers and increased the pressure on households.

The half-year financial statements released by Access, Zenith, United Bank for Africa, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), FCMB Group, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, and FBN Holdings Plc revealed that customers are requesting more loans and advances for various reasons.

Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) seems to have become the go-to financial institution for fraudsters, as they target account holders in the bank led by Miriam Olusanya, the managing director.

Customers of GTBank, which is a subsidiary of Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) say they have been experiencing fraudulent and suspicious deductions from their accounts, which happens mostly during Fridays and weekends.

Such a situation was experienced by paint manufacturer and housing exterior decorator, Oyeyemi Oluwatobi, whose account with GTBank was allegedly hacked, as a suspected fraudster withdrew about N700,000 from his account.

On NSE ROUND UP: NGX Group fails to tender N35bn fundraising request amid disagreement with shareholders

The management of Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc failed to tender the request to raise funds from the equity market at their 61st Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos on Friday.

Ripples Nigeria reported that the NGX Group had written to the company’s shareholders before the AGM and requested N35 billion to run its operation.

The management planned to raise N20 billion from the equity market with N15 billion expected to come from debt.

On the tech scene, Afreximbank, Quickteller, Livestock Wealth, Technext, Calendly, iiDENTIFii, Pigment, Vendease were some of the names that made the headlines in the tech ecosystem this week.

A Nigerian-owned scheduling startup, Calendly, acquired a recruitment specialist startup, Prelude, as it looks to play in the recruitment space.

Also, during the week, Vendease, a Nigerian food procurement platform for African restaurants, secured $30M Series A funding led by Partech Africa and TLcom.

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