The boss man signs the appropriation bill into law. Yes, President Buhari has signed the 2021 Nigerian budget of N13.588 trillion (about $36 billion) into law. The budget estimate increased by N505.61 billion from the initial N13.082 billion presented to the National Assembly in October.
Now, let us execute it 100%. Still very low at N13.588 trillion but better than last year’s. Nigeria needs great companies for the promise of having great budgets. It has to happen because the promises of politicians are the taxes of companies (and citizens).
Amazon has announced that it’s acquiring Wondery, a podcast startup that has caught a glimpse of popularity with top-rated podcasts and millions of listeners.
“We’re pleased to announce that Wondery has signed an agreement to join Amazon Music. Wondery is an innovative podcast publisher with a track record of creating and producing top-rated podcasts that entertain and educate listeners, including “Dirty John,” “Dr. Death,” “Business Wars,” and “The Shrink Next Door,” Amazon said in announcement.
Amazon said Wondery will become part of its music and add support for podcasts, including its own original shows in September.
“Wondery is already delighting listeners with its collection of immersive podcasts, and the company is evolving this entertainment medium into a truly new and exciting experience. When the deal closes, nothing will change for listeners, and they’ll continue to be able to access Wondery podcasts through a variety of providers,” Amazon added.
With Amazon Music, Wondery will be able to provide even more high-quality, innovative content and continue their mission of bringing a world of entertainment and knowledge to their audiences, wherever they listen, the company said.
It is the season of podcasts and companies are betting big in the market through acquisitions. Spotify has acquired Gimlet, SinuXM acquired Stitcher and New York Times acquired Serial Productions.
With Amazon’s entry into the market, although it seems late, the competition is going to heat up.
Amazon Music launched podcasts in September 2020; the company said together with Wondery, it hopes to accelerate the growth and evolution of podcasts by bringing creators, hosts, and immersive experiences to even more listeners across the globe, just as it does with music.
Amazon founder
“This is a pivotal moment to expand the Amazon Music offering beyond music as listener habits evolve. Our commitment to podcasts, our focus on high quality audio with the Amazon Music HD tier, and our recent partnership with Twitch to bring live streaming into the app, make Amazon Music a premiere destination for creators,” it said.
Amazon said the partnership will ensure that it will continue to bring more customers to streaming and expand selection and ensure they become a destination for their customers to find, discover, and listen to the creators and artists they enjoy.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed as it is yet to be closed. Amazon assured listeners that nothing is changing for today.
Techcrunch reported that the deal is valued around $300 million. Wonder has raised a total of $15 million in funding from Advancit Capital, BDMI, Creycroft, Lerer Hippeau among others, according to Crunchbase.
Wondery has become popular in the US. It was ranked by Podtrac as the fourth largest podcast publisher in November, with an audience of more than 9 million listeners in the US.
“The ant-hills are not built by elephants but by the collective efforts of the little rejected ants”.
No one made it over 2020 by his or her individual efforts; it took a village, a community, and a nation. Covid-19 showed us that the strongest among us is limited by the weakest in our midst. When a disease could not be classified as “African”, “poor nation”, “developing world”, “poor hygiene”, etc, you suddenly see that exceptionalism, most times, could be driven on perception.
In 2021, may the world preach the message of “The Rise of All”, and not just a few! Happy New Year
I closed the year for clients in my Private Client Services – Corporate this morning. It was a two-hour presentation where I offered perspectives on how 2021 would be. I have modelled PCS-C after private banking where you serve special bank customers in personalized ways. Specifically for Nigeria, I told our business leaders that Nigeria would be devaluing the Naira very very soon. I expect the next exchange to be in the range of N405 to N415.
This is not a debatable matter because some of the loans which Nigeria took require that recalibration. Yet, I expect the Naira to become more stable due to the new remittance policy where banks pay recipients in US dollars. That policy will provide more US dollars supply and stabilize the forex equilibrium rate.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) team just ended a great week on policies. I think they deserve our commendations. I understand that the economy is still hurting. But over the last few days, the CBN is recalibrating. I am reversing my projection on the continuous deterioration of Naira against the US dollars at scale; the marginal loss remains due to our poor productivity quotient and overall poor balance of trade.
The CBN under Governor Emefiele ran a solid good monetary policy under President Jonathan. But at the inception of the President Buhari administration, he cannibalized what was working. It was very strange and I have written here to show my frustration on the evolution of these policies.
But today, they are getting back to the fundamentals. I expect more funding for startups. I also expect more remittance hitting Nigeria. In short, the biggest export Nigeria has run for years now is the human capital. And those citizens reward the nation via remittance. I estimate about $1.8 billion – $2.2 billion monthly remittance into Nigeria. If that happens, that means more foreign currency will be in circulation, giving Naira a breathing space.
To allow our members to speak freely and ask questions, we do not record the conversations. Only me is identified. My overriding message is that private companies will do well mainly due to productivity which digitalization has unleashed in most sectors.
I have opened applications for a new batch into my Private Client Services: Startup Growth. This service offers founders, CEOs and entrepreneurs 24/7 access to me. We talk over business mechanics, strategies, growth and wins. We bring our people, invisible but great, to make those wins happen. This call is global as PCS has founders from the United States, Germany, Nigeria and beyond.
If you are an innovator and doing something amazing in any part of the world, you would like to be part of our portfolio. You have an option to be completely “invisible” with no one knowing we are working together. When banking talks of private banking, we talk of private client services for startups, and if you get in, we charge no fees.
As we look at the projection on Naira, I invite you to check our 2021 Outlook (video below). I expect 2021 to be a year of accelerated growth due to the fact that technology through digitization has brought higher productivity in markets.
Naira will stabilize but that stabilization will be towards the end of Q1 2021, and I expect that to happen above N405 per US$1 at the official rate.
I have opened applications for a new batch into my Private Client Services: Startup Growth. This service offers founders, CEOs and entrepreneurs 24/7 access to me. We talk over business mechanics, strategies, growth and wins. We bring our people, invisible but great, to make those wins happen. This call is global as PCS has founders from the United States, Germany, Nigeria and beyond.
If you are an innovator and doing something amazing in any part of the world, you would like to be part of our portfolio. You have an option to be completely “invisible” with no one knowing we are working together. When banking talks of private banking, we talk of private client services for startups, and if you get in, we charge no fees.
All portfolio companies are admitted intoTekedia Mini-MBA at no cost.
We work with unrivaled tenacity, bringing all our assets and networks to ensure growth takes place. It is hard to get in because we do not accept payments; we win only when you have won.
As you build, we want to work with you. Though we come with humility to learn on what you do and have done, our value addition is unbounded.
We have advised Fortune 500 CEOs, and some in the richest 1% club. You will like to build with me. If you run a startup that utilizes technology, and is looking for an invisible or visible growth-maker, click and email my team with a description of what you do, or simply send us a link of your website.
(this is an ongoing application call; apply anytime)
