Greetings! We’re very excited to note that Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 11 has started. It began on Monday. If you registered but for any reason did not get your login instructions yet, please the instructions are here.

On Saturday, the first Zoom session will begin with Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe’s “Mission, Innovation and Growth of Firms”. Zoom links are in the Board.  The following have been scheduled for Zoom live sessions. 

• – June 13 – Design Thinking and Innovation –  Aderinola Oloruntoye, SAP Africa
• – June 15 – Lean Supply Chain Applications in Business – Chibueze Noshiri, NATO Luxembourg
• – June 17- Ndubuisi Ekekwe

• – June 20 – Business Strategy and Execution-  Eromosele Omomhenle. Microsoft USA
• – June 22 – Developing Effective People Management System in Companies, Ibironke Tolu-Ogunpolu, Afterschool Careers Hub
• – June 24- Ndubuisi Ekekwe

•  -June  27 – Human-Centered Product Design, Dr. Obinna Anya, Google USA
• -ETC ETC

Dozens of faculty members from some of the leading companies in the world will teach in this edition. It is going to be the best edition yet.

Some of our members here will join the upcoming  “Venture Investing and Portfolio Management” program scheduled for July 3 – 29 , 2023. We want to welcome everyone as you get ready for that also.

As a team, we want to thank you for choosing Tekedia Institute. We’re here to serve.

Tekedia Institute Team

The World Bank has marked Nigeria’s output growth for the year 2023 down to 2.8 percent, due to the slow performance of the country’s economy in the first quarter of the year.

In its June Global Economic Prospects, the World Bank said that Nigeria’s economy is expected to see faster growth of three percent and 3.1 percent in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

The Washington-based financial institution had projected a 2.9 percentage point output growth. June’s 2.8 percent estimate is 0.3 percent lower than the 3.1 percent real growth expansion recorded last year.

The Bank has expressed concerns over the sluggish growth of the country from 2023 to 2024, emphasizing that it falls short of the necessary progress required to effectively address extreme poverty.

During the first quarter, the gross domestic product (GDP) experienced a slowdown due to a shortage of cash, resulting in a modest growth rate of 2.3 percent.

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is projected to achieve an average growth rate of 3.2 percent this year, surpassing the global average of 2.1 percent by over one percentage point.

The report highlights that financing requirements are expected to remain high due to increased borrowing costs, reduced oil production and prices, and ongoing fiscal and external pressures, compounded by weak domestic revenue generation.

The report states, “Nigeria, the largest economy in the region, experienced further easing of growth in early 2023 as challenges in oil production persisted, constraining its recovery.”

“The non-oil sector, which drove economic activity last year, lost momentum at the beginning of this year due to persistently high inflation, foreign exchange shortages, and a shortage of banknotes resulting from currency redesign,” the report adds.

More than half of the downward revision for SSA growth in 2023 can be attributed to a significant slowdown in South Africa. Downgrades are widespread across energy and metal producers, as well as countries with limited natural resources.

“Excluding South Africa, growth in SSA is expected to decelerate from 4.2 percent in 2022 to 3.9 percent this year. While this represents a slight revision from January, this rate of expansion is still one percentage point below the average observed between 2000 and 2019,” the report explains.

Regarding the global forecast, the report states, “Stronger-than-expected activity in early 2023 is anticipated to push average annual growth 0.2 percentage point higher than the January forecast, despite an expected slowdown in the second half.”

However, the report cautions that the projected growth for 2024 is weaker than previously anticipated, primarily due to the delayed impact of increased monetary policy rates and additional challenges stemming from tighter credit conditions.

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has announced a measure to alleviate the hardships faced by the people due to the removal of fuel subsidy. In a statement he personally issued, Obaseki expressed empathy with the citizens and assured them of the government’s support during these challenging times.

The governor acknowledged the significant increase in fuel prices, which has resulted in a rise in the cost of goods and services, as well as the overall cost of living. In response to these circumstances, the Edo State Government is taking steps to reduce the burdens and mitigate the sufferings of the people.

Obaseki highlighted that his administration had already increased the minimum wage for workers in Edo State to N40,000, the highest in the country. He affirmed the government’s commitment to maintaining this wage and expressed hope for further increments if the state receives an additional allocation from the Federal Government due to the anticipated savings from the fuel subsidy removal.

Recognizing the hardships caused by the policy, particularly the increased transportation costs affecting workers’ wages, the Edo State Government has decided to reduce the number of workdays for civil and public servants. Instead of the usual five days a week, employees will now only need to commute to their workplaces three days a week. The remaining two days will be designated as work-from-home days.

Furthermore, the government plans to expand the EdoBEST@Home initiative, which aims to create more virtual classrooms. This expansion will lessen the commuting expenses for teachers, parents, and students. The Edo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) will provide more details on this initiative in the coming days.

Another governor towing the same path is Sheyi Makinde of Oyo State. On Monday, the governor constituted a committee to review the state’s workers’ salaries as part of efforts to mitigate the impact of the subsidy removal.

“Yes, the fuel subsidy removal is going to affect all of us but we do have control over certain things in this state, and one of these is to be proactive and engage ourselves. They may call for strike or certain actions at the Federal level but the labour leaders in the state must be aware of our own situation. So, we must appreciate the fact that our economy is fragile. We must be proactive and set the tone without prejudice to whatever negotiation is happening at the Federal level,” the governor said.

The Trade Union Congress (TUC), in a statement signed by its president, Festus Osifo, and Secretary General, Nuhu Toro, on Monday, demanded an immediate increase and implementation of N200,000 per month minimum wage, from the current N30,000. The union also demanded adjustment on Cost of Living Allowance (COLA), like feeding, transport, housing, etc. before the end of June.

Calls for a minimum wage increase have risen in the wake of the removal of fuel subsidy late last month, especially following economic reports that the federal government’s decision will have a severe economic impact on the Nigerian people if palliatives are not provided.

KPMG, a multinational audit, tax, and advisory services firm, on Tuesday, predicted that the subsidy withdrawal could see the inflation rate climb to 30 percent from June.

“Our internal macro model also supports the World Bank’s findings with a forecast of an increase of about six percent over the June 2023 inflation rate to bring it to about 30 percent,” the firm stated.