The Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma has continued to leverage on opportunities, National and International, to bring the dividends of Democracy to Imo people and move the Economy of the State forward.

Once again, the visible and proficient efforts of Governor Hope Uzodimma in the growth of the state’s economy through Agro based programs and projects has yielded fruit as Imo State is chosen as the pilot State in Nigeria for the Special Agro Processing Hub to support Nigeria by the African Development Bank (ADB).

His Excellency, Senator Hope Uzodimma in his address, commended the Delegation for choosing Imo State benefit in the Agro Economic Agenda in Nigeria: The Imo Special Agro Processing Hub by the African Development Bank (ADB).

Governor Uzodimma disclosed that according to the Concept note of the program, it has a value chain benefit, it not only creates the social infrastructure but will also boost the economy of the State by creating economic activities.

He charged them to Domesticate the program in a manner the people of Imo State must benefit from it and also align the program in the local regulatory environment in a manner that will create a win win situation where the local laws are not violated and yet implementing the new guidelines of operating the program of the Delegation.

Governor Uzodimma assured them of the Government’s support and commitment to the program.

Speaking earlier, The head of the delegation, Mr Patrick commended Governor Hope Uzodimma for his already implemented vision to elevate not just Imo State but the entire region which is based on the findings they have made so far in their visit, especially the Imo Cargo Terminal of the Sam Mbakwe Airport which he stated that its fit and will be the best Cargo Airport for the Agro Economic Agenda in Nigeria: The Imo Special Agro Processing Hub.

Mr Patrick stated that their visit in Imo State is because Imo State is one of the choosen States for the special Agro Economic program in the country.

He further disclosed that they are in Imo State to scale up the Agro activities and Infrastructures in the state and to address what is needed as support for the special project of of the Program designed to support Imo People and move the Nigerian Economy forward, by African Development Bank ADB.

Professor Ejesi, one of the team members, disclosed that Imo State will be the livestock processing hub where dairy, Leather and the beef Industry will be the integrated place.

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Digital content creators called to participate in fully online DLA#5

The fifth edition of Digital Lab Africa (DLA), the first mentorship and incubation program for African creatives in innovative and digital content, has launched its next call for applications. DLA is calling on artists, producers, designers, collectives, students or entrepreneurs from both creative and cultural industries, including from across Sub-Saharan Africa to apply.

DLA aims to incubate emerging talent by offering them a springboard to jump-start and accelerate their projects with the support and expertise of the DLA ecosystem. Led and managed by Wits University’s Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, and supported by the AFD (Agence Française de Développement).

The Pan-African accelerator focuses on 5 key categories: Immersive Experience, Video Games, Music, Animation and Digital Art. The programme initiated five years ago by the French Institute in South Africa (IFAS) counts SACEM, TRACE, TV5 Monde Afrique, the French Embassy in Nigeria, amongst others, as partners. Applications for the animation and immersive experience (XR) categories are now open and close on 4 April, while applications for video, digital art, and music categories can be submitted between 17 May and 11 July.

In 2020, DLA received more than 500 applications from over 32 countries. For its fifth edition, Digital Lab Africa is switching to a fully online format. The incubation and mentorship programs followed by the DLA#5 laureates will include online activities, online mentorship, and participation to online industry events.

Chief Executive of the Tshimologong Precinct, Lesley Donna Williams, says the DLA applications reflect the vitality and uniqueness of the African continent in the field of digital cultures and new technologies. “Each year the level innovation in terms of form, storytelling, content and technologies gets better. We expect DLA#5 to once again exceed our expectations and look forward to receiving quality applications.”

To apply, visit: https://digilabafrica.com/submit-a-project/

For more information contact Nicolas Doyard, DLA manager on email via nicolas@tshimologong.joburg.

In an initiative that will see the growth and development of payment services within the East Africa region, leading digital fintech platform provider, Ukheshe, has announced the conclusion of a new agreement with the Kenya-based lender KCB Bank Kenya.

Through the agreement, KCB will sponsor Ukheshe’s Bank Identification Number (BIN) number, which will allow Ukheshe to immediately issue both physical and virtual cards across East Africa where KCB has an extensive footprint.

According to Victor Ndlovu, Vice President of Ukheshe Africa, the deal will include other innovative digital products such as QR issuing and acquiring: “By joining forces with KCB we are well-placed to address several open loop market opportunities while boosting wider consumer adoption. Payment options across various segments will benefit such as payroll, companion cards, multi-currency prepaid cards, travel cards and gift cards, together with social security and other government benefit programs such as insurance claims.”

Ndlovu says financial inclusion remains a massive challenge in the region and across the continent where millions of people are either unbanked or severely underserved. “With a shared objective of contributing to economic growth and financial freedom on the continent, Ukheshe and the KCB will meet the bourgeoning demand for viable cash alternatives.”

In recent months, Ukheshe has ramped up efforts to establish and enhance key partnerships in Africa as the continent shifts towards digital channels, products and services across all categories.

“Embracing a digital-first approach is not only a win for African consumers but for fintechs, banks, payment processors, as well as issuers and merchants. Our agreement with KCB will escalate our impact in transforming the payment space while collaborating with key industry players to stimulate the uptake of digital payments,” notes Ndlovu.

Commenting on the collaboration, Executive Director for Ukeshe Africa, Mark Dankworth, says: “We’ve found a long-term strategic partner that shares our vision of simplicity and transparency in payments whilst driving financial inclusion and opening up new pathways to innovation. We look forward to a highly productive working relationship.”

“We are keen on continually expanding our digital offering and card business to serve customers and deepening financial inclusion. KCB has been at the forefront of digitising transactions to offer customers seamless services,” says Annastacia Kimtai, KCB Director Retail Banking.

In addition to providing fintechs, telcos and banks with payment solutions, Ukheshe creates customer focused products and services more efficiently with its rich Eclipse API ecosystem.

In a region still dominated by cash and mobile money options, like M-Pesa, new collaborations between fintechs are looking to capture the price-sensitive market with innovative, open-loop digital payment solutions in East Africa. According to Mark Dankworth, President International, Ukheshe Technologies, the region is poised for a surge in digital banking growth, with the likes of MCQR and virtual cards likely to make the biggest impact.

This follows the Kenyan retail-tech startup, Tanda, leveraging Ukheshe Technologies’ cutting-edge Eclipse API to increase their digital banking offering in Kenya and East Africa to include QR payments, digital wallets and the issuing of physical and virtual cards. The move will empower Tanda agents and merchants throughout East Africa to implement 100,000 physical touch points within the next 24 months.

Dankworth says that despite Kenya’s continued innovation in financial services, thanks to mobile money platforms, a report from FSD Kenya suggests that between 2016 and 2019, traders received over 90% of their revenue in cash. “High transaction fees on many digital payment platforms, coupled with inadequate access to traditional banking infrastructure, have limited the greater adoption of digital payments, particularly in the more price-sensitive sectors of the market of the Kenyan and East African region.”

As a leading fintech enabler, Dankworth says Ukheshe is providing financial service players, telecommunications providers and other organisations in the region, with truly digital-first solutions thanks to the Eclipse API, making informal banking an accessible and lucrative growth market for Ukheshe partners. “As the East African region remains heavily under-served, collaborating with Tanda as an enablement partner ensures we can be at the forefront of providing the right solutions to increase the uptake and use of digital payments.”

He notes that as Eclipse is an orchestration framework layer, it enables single API integration to access multiple payment solutions with the inclusion of third-party products. “Through Eclipse our clients are able to customise and cherry-pick from a vast range of payment products. We remove the heavy lifting for fintechs, banks and telcos by offering seamless payment solutions that are as convenient as they are affordable” says Dankworth.

Geoffrey Mulei, CEO of Tanda says the startup chose to partner with Ukheshe because of the dramatically simplified manner in which digital wallets, card issuing and acquiring can be rolled out. “Traditionally, these capabilities have either been highly inaccessible or cost prohibitive for a significant majority of players in the fintech space, and can take several years to deploy. The Tanda / Ukheshe collaboration has the potential to close these critical gaps, as it enables cheap transactions on digital platforms and accelerates the deployment of banking infrastructure.”

Dankworth adds that Eclipse provides cost-effective payment solutions for organisations to enable their small merchant customers to accept digital payments. “With simple, accessible and affordable solutions that solve real-world pain points; touchless, paperless digital innovations will likely accelerate exponentially in East Africa and across the entire continent.”

By: Andrea Tucker, Director of MortgageMe

Being wary of taking on debt is a wise default position. Borrowing cash to fund unnecessary extravagances will probably only buy you more worries in the long term. Of course, there is also a good side to debt, and it can be a big benefit to you if used appropriately.

Should I refinance my home?

Refinancing your home is worth considering if you have an existing bond on your home and need access to cash fairly urgently or want to consolidate other high interest-bearing debt. Managed correctly, you can reduce your monthly expenditure and improve your overall financial situation.

Another reason you might want to consider refinancing your home is to obtain a new mortgage for your property based upon its current (new) value, and not on the amount your purchased if for. This scenario assumes you’ve been diligently paying off your home for three to five years during which time it has increased in value. This means you have created equity on your property by making regular repayments over a period of time and can reap even more benefit because your home has increased in value. Let’s take a look at some numbers to get a clearer picture of how this would work: Let’s say you still have R200,000 left to pay on your property, but the property is newly valued at R900,000 – you have created ‘equity’ to the value of the difference of R700,000. You can use a portion of this to consolidate other debt.

Before you take the plunge:

• Refinancing your home means you must reapply for credit which means your credit history and affordability will be taken into account. There might also be new bond registration costs for which you are responsible.
• Refinancing your home is a good option if you plan on making big improvements to increase its value even further. The good news is you can also shop around for the best interest rate as you don’t have to use your current bank or lender.

What about a secured personal loan?

If you’re in the very fortunate position of having paid off your bond, then you would be able to use your property as an asset to take out a secured loan against. A secured loan requires you to have an asset (in this case, your property) which is used as collateral for the loan until it is paid off. These loans are traditionally less risky, as the lender can take ownership of the asset if you default on your payments, and rates are set accordingly when making offers.

Before you take the plunge:

• The lender doesn’t take possession of the asset over the duration of the loan which means you can still live in your house.
• The stakes are much higher if you run into problems and default on payments as you could lose your home.

Ends.