A few years ago, Ghana pegged 1 cedi to 1 US Dollars. Today, many things have gone bad; you need at least 8 cedi to get 1 USD now. It did not take long.

But for the Euro, that one is intriguing. For the first time in 20 years, 1 USD = 1 Euro and the USD is already pulling ahead in some exchanges. If Russia does go ahead and pause gas supply to Germany, the EU may be rattled.

There are many lessons here: Africa has no reason to be looking for loans and begging the world for help. Look at Russia, they have the same natural resources that we have – and as Europe sanctions it,  both follow the same trajectory: equal opportunity pains. Indeed, they have built a fairly decent economy that can withstand a high voltage sanction. And that voltage is burning kingdoms, empires and nations, with Russia marginally affected, at least in the short-term.

Sure, not here to praise Russia, but I must note that I am impressed by their economic defense and they did it purely from their natural resource wealth. Africa has no reason not to do better. Simply, Russia’s natural resources have worked for it!

In the Igbo Nation, the elders will say “ochu nwa okuko nwe ada, nwa okuko nwe nwenwe oso” [he who chases a chicken will fall and the chicken will get away]. That can only happen when you have economic resilience. I call on the leaders of Nigeria and Africa to architect a future where we build systems that will lift a generation out of poverty and hopelessness.

Comment on LinkedIn Feed

Comment: Context is also important here. Russia has been an established empire for centuries, so straight comparison with fragmented African economies is probably inaccurate. That said, I think I understand the message.

My Response: “Russia has been an established empire for centuries” – that is not relevant here. The USSR collapsed because they failed to build a resilient economy. With oil mess, etc, the empire broke down. Before the birth of the new Russia Federation (RF), many African countries have been around. That messed up USSR, out of it, Russia has risen. If they had not done that, what happened to the old USSR would have happened to RF last quarter.

Africa’s key economies are older than the new RF (yes, post USSR Russia) which withstood the sanctions. That is my message. So, the imperial Russia is not relevant; what is relevant is that the post-USSR Russia did not go down on what killed the old communist empire.

Comment 2: For knowledge sake, how does fiat redenomination help a people’s currency? Does it have any positive impact or value adding? Sierra Leone recently did and I would really want to learn how it benefits a country. Thank you in advance Prof.

Another member Responds to Comment 2: There is absolutely little to no economic value for currency redomination. It is mostly done for accounting or record keeping convenience, or other purposes of cosmetic value. Imagine if you had to be accounting for business using too many digits. It’s also to avoid the Venezuela situation where you would now need to weigh currency notes as opposed to counting them on face value to pay for goods or services. To understand the Ghana situation properly, replace 8 cedi to 1 USD with 80,000 Cedi to 1 USD.

I add that this is only to reflect the actual pre-redomination nominal exchange rate cedi versus the usd. To get the equivalent real value of the usd in Ghana of today, you would have to adjust for purchasing power parity.

Optimism over a possible cryptocurrency market rebound is gradually dying down as the assets led by bitcoin take further pounding. Investors are now doubting if the market could return to bull by the end of the year.

A new survey conducted from July 5-8 showed that the majority of 950 investors involved believe bitcoin’s price could drop as low as $10,000. The survey, which was conducted by Bloomberg MLIV Pulse, also showed 28% of respondents expressed confidence that cryptocurrencies are the future of finance while 20% believe they are worthless.

The question posed was: “Which level will bitcoin trade at first? $10k or $30k? 60% of respondents said bitcoin would drop to $10k at first, according to the result published on Monday.

The poll became necessary as the crypto industry undergoes its worst crisis, losing 40% of its value over a year. The resulting mass selloff has triggered loss of confidence among investors, prompting the debate on how further low they expect the coins to go.

Shark Tank star Kevin O’leary said last week he doesn’t believe we’ve seen the bottom yet. “It’s impossible to know where the bottom is,” he said, “I don’t believe we’ve seen the bottom yet and I have a different view of it.”

Volatility has been one of cryptocurrencies’ biggest concerns. The current market situation which has seen the assets lose about $2 trillion of its all-time-high value has cast a huge doubt on the minds of crypto believers. Further drop in bitcoin price will mean increased pessimism.

What about bankruptcy?

The number of crypto companies filing for bankruptcy is increasing as the market dips further. Last week, crypto lender Voyager filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy over volatility and contagion in the crypto markets.

“The prolonged volatility and contagion in the crypto markets over the past few months, and the default of Three Arrows Capital (‘3AC’) on a loan from the company’s subsidiary, Voyager Digital, LLC, require us take deliberate and decisive action now,” the company said in a statement.

3AC is one of the most prominent crypto hedge funds in the world, with assets worth about $10 billion. The company’s default spell more bankruptcies for a chain of other companies that their existence depend largely on its ability to stay afloat.  So, just like Voyager, many others are expected to file for bankruptcy if the market does not bounce back soon.

This means that investors’ expectation that bitcoin will drop to $10,000 will mean more harm to the already troubled crypto market. Though bitcoin is expected to return $30,000 by the end of the year, the free fall trajectory may have put a lot of companies out of business.

She is a really brilliant young woman, creating an amazing company. A chartered accountant, certified fraud examiner and MBA holder with a bachelor degree in one of the nation’s best – UNIBEN. Tekedia Capital invested in their mission at AjoMoney. Join us on Tuesday at 7pm WAT at Tekedia Mini-MBA Live as Chineye Ochem ACA, CFE, MBA shares how to start and build a modern startup. Visit ajo.money to learn about her company. They are growing rapidly, expanding into Rwanda and other countries.

What is one creative way for a business to use Instagram Live?

Instagram Live is a feature where Instagram users can have a live video session with followers and customers. In addition to streaming your videos live, your users can interact with you instantly by commenting. You can add others to the video session as guests and have the option to make the recording available for replay.

Even though the numbers say that over 100 million people use the Instagram live feature daily, many business owners have not started exploiting the potential of this feature. It is not just a feature for coming online to laugh and make idle chitchat. If you are not using this feature in a way that affects your bottom line, you may be cheating yourself out of something huge. Of course, you can read about private Instagram viewer’s here.

There are several ways businesses can use it, but here I will share one very creative way a company can use this feature.

Getting customer feedback

How can this work for your business?

1.    Validation: Hearing other customers talk about their experience with your product may be all the validation your business needs to increase sales. People want to buy a product or service that others are buying already. Some companies already use the testimonial feature by attaching screenshots, but many customers will argue that such write-ups are made up. Having people speak live is having them validate your product. In these times where several many people get defrauded by online businesses, and Instagram live session like this could do much good to your business.

2.    Replying and handling queries: Some businesses find themselves in a situation where a customer makes a post complaining about a wrong product, service, or delivery. And just like that, the position could go viral without anyone hearing your side of the story. The bigger your business, the more likely you cannot answer your Direct Messages fast enough. If, however, you had a live session where the customers can express themselves and get instant replies to their questions and solutions where applicable. I have seen a cosmetic vendor on Instagram do this and answer customers’ questions about their skin reactions to the product and other experiences.

Good People, let me add my voice that some of the responses to Senator Tinubu’s choice of Kashim Shettima as his vice presidential partner in Nigeria’s presidential election for 2023, are unnecessary [yes, the Muslim-Muslim ticket]. Let us keep this debate polite, fact-based without innuendos. Politics is a contact sport, and you play to win. If that is what Tinubu wants to do to win, good luck to him. Obi has his own; good luck to him. Atiku has his own; good luck to him. But all playbooks will be evaluated by the Nigerian people. If INEC makes it free and fair, we have democracy.

I have never voted in America. But the day Trump started insulting Africans (1st generation and newbies in America), I decided to vote. He lost. Those insults were strategic for him but he also activated more opposing voters like me. 

Like in chess, every move has consequences. BAT, Atiku, Obi, etc must be respected as they deploy their strategies. You have your rights to respond how you want. But they have the right to plan how to win. There is no need to insult Senator Tinubu or his partner if indeed we believe in democracy.  That has to change; Christians will vote for Muslims and vice versa. Sure, for national cohesion, Tinubu’s choice is unique and bold, but that should not result in insults. 

Your focus should be: everyone has made choices, I will respond with my vote based on those choices. Politics in Nigeria is inherently unbalanced, I understand. A few weeks ago, many Igbos were accused of not supporting their own when the delegates voted for non-Igbos in PDP and APC conventions. Today, most of the same people who threw those insults are now accusing the same people of being tribal for supporting Obi. 

What changed? Nothing, it is all positioning. But we can move that conversation to show civility. I have visited 93 universities in Nigeria, from Usman Danfodio Sokoto to ABU Zaria to OAU to Uniben, one thing is constant: Nigerians are actually nice people in their natural states. But demons become activated when politicians stimulate us. We must cast those demons out in 2023!

In this election, we need to grow up and focus on what matters: economy, security, social welfare, and general opportunities. Everything the candidates do should be examined within these core factors and more. Respecting the candidates will go a long way.

Refocus to economy, security, social welfare, and general opportunities. Who offers a better plan?