FrieslandCampina is one of the world’s largest dairy companies with products sold in more than 100 countries. In Nigeria, the company is known through the PEAK MILK brand. It began as a cooperative of farmers in the Netherlands, around 1871, and set out for a global domination. All dairy farmers produce milk from their cows, and those are paid for and collected at distribution centers, and then processed for global export, through the FrieslandCampina brand.  Those farmers collectively own FrieslandCampina and the company publishes and enforces standards which all members adhere to. Using this business model, the company generates excess of US$12 billion in yearly revenue.

There is something we can learn from this company for textile, footwear, and other categories in Aba and other Abia cities. Let us assume that a group of business leaders come together and set up a company – and that company specifies product specifications, quality standards, etc across product lines.

 For footwear, let’s say we have Aba Global Footwear producing under “Enyimba” brand logo; footwear makers within that ecosystem will become the majority shareholders.

In operations, every footwear produced by members would be bought by Aba Global Footwear which has a core mission to market and distribute the footwear locally and globally. The artisans will just focus on making quality shoes for “Enyimba”, knowing that the brand owner (Aba Global Footwear) will buy whatever they produce.

This model has the core spirit of Igwebuike (strength in unity) baked with entrepreneurial capitalism. It supports the core thesis of the Igbo Apprenticeship System and “Onye aghana nwanne ya” [do not leave your brethren behind] since they mutually compete and cooperate while maintaining the core element of free enterprise.

The state government (via ministry of trade) will regulate “cooperatives” which are actually fully-structured enterprising entities owned by members mainly to ensure those artisans are well protected. 

The government cannot transform Aba and our cities by itself. We need new business models engineered by companies and businesspeople to come and help us.  

We’re looking at new business models which can make it easier for innovators to organize and drive growth in Abia State. For this, can you invest in this business model? Or simply, what do you think of it?

Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe

Co-chair Abia State Economic Transformation Transition Council

When the federal government created states in Nigeria, there were cardinal cites, upon which those states would be built upon. In Abia State, Aba, the Enyimba City, is the fulcrum which was expected to take the God’s Own State to the heavenly gates of opportunities, abundance and shared prosperity for all Abians. That has not happened because Aba is the city that needs to be saved from the miry clay, instead of it providing the greener pastures. Yes, the promises are latent and remain unlocked.

The Abia State state motto as captured in the coat of arms  is “prosperity through enterprise”. Aba will lead that because Aba is a center of enterprise and opportunity. To make that happen, there are many ideas which are being explored as we architect a plan for Dr Alex Otti, Abia State Governor-elect. Do we just give Aba its own ministry to help fast-track its development?

Sure, it is not going to be a ministry by name, but one that rebuilds, expands and advances a great city. With focused intervention programs, the Enyi of Ndi Abia will rise again. And when it returns to parity, that ministry could be scaled down.

What do you think of this playbook? Do you think it could help bring urgency to the development of Aba, the land of enterprise and opportunity, in God’s Own State? #AbiaIsBetter for your investments.

Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe

Co-Chair, Abia State Economic Transformation Transition Council

The business of digital lending has been one of the most positively disruptive intrusions into the Nigerian finance sector, checking the process of loan applications that in the past used to take a lot of time and a lot of bottleneck as well as cumbersome disbursement procedures.

Leveraging on just mobile telecommunications, digitally sourced credit ratings, and online-base KYC (Know Your Customer) checks, online lending has bloomed into one of the most active areas of fintech in Nigeria, but not without its own problems.

Many digital lenders have proven to be very unethical and unscrupulous, becoming nothing more than glorified loan sharks using totally unsavory recovery measures like public shaming and damaging cyber-defamation in the form hacking into the contact lists of their defaulting borrowers and harassing close contacts to repay those loans while spreading false and scandalous allegations about these hapless customers.

This has led to the introduction of further regulatory checks and a new licensing framework governed by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) which decided to do something about the avalanche of complaints and petitions from aggrieved victims of digital loan sharks.

This article will be looking at the most important provisions of the 2022 FCCPC Digital Lending Regulations/Registration Guidelines & what they mean for techpreneurs and finance experts going forward.

Which regulatory agency now has jurisdiction over the registration of digital lenders in Nigeria?

Digital lending is now regulated by :-

– The Ministry of Home Affairs of various states.

– The FCCPC

– The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)

– The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

What are the requirements for the registration of digital lenders with the FCCPC?

After initial registration with the CAC and CBN or state ministry of home affairs, a prospective digital lender is to provide the following requirements :-

– A completed form DLG 001 which should contain :

1. The name of the lender

2. Its physical address

3. Website

4. Telephone numbers

5. The identities & nationalities of promoters, directors & initial key role players of the lending company

6. Affiliations with any other companies, institutions or similar businesses, whether domestic or global

7. Consultants, agents or any person assisting with the registration process, operations or management of the lending company

8. Bankers of the company

9. Proposed interest rate regime and loan balance calculation methodologies

10. A list of all loan apps in operation or intended for operation.

Are there any further documents required for a digital lending company registration?

Yes there are. Some of these documents include the following :-

1. A certified copy of the certificate of incorporation of the applicant

2. A brief description of the business of the applicant

3. Organogram showing role players and location of key role players & any operational person of authority in the company.

4. An FCCPC Interim digital lending guidelines form 002 (Declaration For Digital Lending Businesses in Nigeria)

What is the minimum share capital for lending companies in Nigeria?

The minimum share capital for lending companies in Nigeria remains 20 Million Naira.