Public-Private Dialogue: Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on the Nigerian Digital Economy and Post Pandemic Strategies

May 28, 2020

Key decision makers and experts in the Nigerian digital space, including the Honourable Minister for Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Ali Pantami convened to share insights on measures to fast track the attainment of a digitalized economy, particularly in the face of the pandemic.

Prior to the convening, the COVID-19 Technology Business Impact Assessment survey was deployed to gather data and information as key input into the dialogue.

The knowledge assets from both the webinar and the survey will feed into NESG’s future advocacy for Digital Transformation, Digital Government and Digital Trade and Innovation, all geared towards a Digital Economy across all sectors for inclusive and sustainable socioeconomic development.

Applications for FATE Foundation’s 6-month Agribusiness Accelerator Closes in 2 Days

May 28, 2020

The ScaleUp Lab Agribusiness Accelerator programme is focused on entrepreneurs leading growth-stage businesses across the agribusiness value chain.
Since 2017, this highly selective programme has enrolled 10 entrepreneurs per year to participate in a 6-month scale focused Accelerator which is Free for the entrepreneurs through the partnership and support of the African Capital Alliance (ACA) Foundation.
Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the essential role agribusinesses have and should play in job creation, food security, nutrition and value chain, this year’s Accelerator will be run virtually and will be focused on the following interventions:

  • Strategic Repositioning
  • Value Chain Optimisation
  • Cashflow Management
  • Process Improvement
  • Product Readiness
  • Investment Readiness
  • Digital Enablement & Transformation

With the support of the ACA Foundation, the FATE team will be expanding the programme to 20 outstanding and high potential Nigerian agribusiness Founders, CEOs and Owner Managers from across the country who will participate in our virtual one-week accelerator Bootcamp, interactive workshops, consulting sessions, business support services, one-on-one and group mentoring sessions with a team of seasoned sector faculty members and advisors.
Are you one of the 20 entrepreneurs we are looking for? If yes, click on the green button below to apply now.
Know anyone suitably qualified? If yes, do share this newsletter with them and encourage them to apply.
Applications close on the 30th of May 2020. For any questions and enquiries, do email the team at scaleup@fatefoundation.org. Click here to read more.

Public-Private Dialogue: Fostering Economic Diversification through University-induced Collaboration

May 21, 2020

The NESG in conjunction with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the National Universities Commission which make up the Nigeria triple Helix roundtable held a dialogue session to find new measures to foster economic diversification and collaboration between government, the private sector, industries and the academia.

With the Covid-19 outbreak and the effective crashing of oil prices around the world, the cry to diversity Nigeria’s economy from sole reliance on crude oil has become louder. There is need to build and grow the industrial sector by manufacturing our raw materials and encouraging exportation.

The session, which had experts in the tertiary education industry like the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, Prof. Abubakar Adamu Rasheed and President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Engr. Mansur Ahmed , addressed the need for a structured approach to enhancing partnerships between academia and industry, understand the steps required, identify the different areas in which such collaboration is possible or feasible and develop a roadmap for institutionalizing academia-industry collaboration in Nigeria.

COVID-19 Households Impact Assessment Survey

May 20, 2020

The overall aim of this survey is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 lock-down on households in Nigeria. The study utilised both quantitative and qualitative methodologies to gather relevant data. The NESG leveraged its Bridge Fellows across the 6 geo-political zones and their wide network of contacts across the country to conduct a Mobile Phone Panel Survey. Samples were drawn from all the 36 states of the federation and Abuja. In addition, an in-depth review of mitigation measures and policy directions of other countries, including New Zealand and Malaysia, that seem to have made progress was done.

Findings from the survey will help government and development organizations to evolve effective and evidence-based policies and strategies for improving the living conditions of households in the country during and after the pandemic.

Enactus Nigeria Student Teams Respond to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Despite the challenges and uncertainties occasioned by the outbreak of the novel COVID-19 pandemic – particularly with the closure of schools and with the social distancing rules – Enactus Nigeria have continued to find ingenious ways of serving communities through the Enactus students teams, demonstrating leadership by strictly adhering to the social distancing rules and implementing programs that help to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in communities across the country.
Highlighted below are some of the courageous and inspiring work that Enactus students have embarked on in their communities, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

1. The Enactus team from Kaduna Polytechnic is helping its community stay safe and healthy by ensuring people not only have easy access to hand sanitizers and water to wash their hands often, but that they actually imbibe the practice of hand washing and the use of hand sanitizers. The team creatively transformed waste (and other) materials into hand washing basins fully fitted with running water from a tap. The team also produced affordable hand sanitizers which people can easily access and use to protect themselves from the coronavirus. #EnactusCares #SocialDistancing

2. Determined to put their community first and protect them from the ridiculously inflated cost of the now scarce hand sanitizers, the Enactus team from Kaduna State University got to work and produced affordable and effective hand sanitizers with an alcohol content of 80% – meeting the WHO standards. In partnership with pharmacies, superstores and hospitals, the team has already produced and sold over 6000 bottles of the hand sanitizers at a rate far cheaper than the going rates. Again, taking entrepreneurial action, the Kaduna Polytechnic Enactus team also produced and distributed safe and recyclable face masks at a rate cheaper than what is available in the market.

3. Committed to ensuring that young people in his community put this lock down and social distancing period to productive use, Oluwatomilola Idris Mustapha, a student member of the Enactus team from Tai Solarin University, created the Leaders Hub – a virtual program that connects, engages and builds the brightest minds through a 30 day Learning Challenge on WhatsApp by 5am-7am . Participants would engage in various activities, such as vision engineering, meditations, affirmation, career talk, and a host of others – creating a culture of excellence among Next generation Leaders. At the end, successful participants will be paired up with Enactus Alumni for a six-month mentorship program.

4. In Rivers state, the Enactus students from University of Port-Harcourt have also joined the movement in producing and making affordable hand sanitizers available to the communities around them, at more affordable prices.These students also began a free online skill acquisition classes for students given that schools across the country have shut down all physical operations due to the pandemic.

5. Having previously organized an online sensitization program about the dangers of the ongoing COVID – 19 pandemic and its preventive measures, the Enactus team from the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, also realized that residents of their host community were oblivious of the reason for the government mandated lockdown and were also not really aware of the deadly nature of pandemic. Therefore, the team repurposed the laudable online program to a communal engagement program which allowed them to visit a rural community in Ekiti state to enlighten the people about the dangers of the virus and the necessary preventive measures they must imbibe. During this engagement, the team also distributed relief materials to the residents of the community.

6. In Ota, Ogun state, the Enactus team from Covenant University reached out to one of the exposed and vulnerable group – Police Officers – on patrol duty to enforce the lock down directive by the government. The Enactus team from Covenant University provided the police station in their immediate community with face masks to protect them from getting infected during their daily operations.

7. The Enactus team from the Federal Polytechnic, Idah provided their support in bridging the gap between buyers and sellers of food items, due to the social distancing directives. To this end, the Enactus team has developed an e-commerce platform linking food sellers (who cannot take their goods to the market because they are closed) to buyers (who are in need of these goods, but they have to stay safe at home). Once the connection is made, and the orders placed, the Enactus team ensures that the orders are delivered to the buyers in record time.

8. The Federal University of Agriculture Makurdi in Benue state houses a great team of students who also saw opportunity in the problems caused by the Covid pandemic, and joined the movement in encouraging people to maintain proper hygiene and protect themselves against the virus, through the production and commercialization of alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

9. Committed to ensure that vital information about the deadly corona virus gets to the people most vulnerable in rural communities, and in languages they can understand, the Enactus team from Bayero University, Kano, using materials from credible sources, created an engaging and very informative video explaining the safety precautions to take against the virus in Hausa language and disseminated same in different communities. This way, they can be sure that the uneducated and non-English speaking members of their communities get the right information about how to protect themselves from the deadly virus.

10. The Enactus team at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, has successfully organized and hosted a social media campaign on twitter. This allowed the team share educative content and host live panel discussions to keep their audience engaged and informed about the corona virus.

In addition, the Ahmadu Bello University Enactus team will be providing relief materials to the poor and vulnerable families in the Zaria community through its new initiative – The Enactus ABU Food Support Program. The goal of the program is to provide relief materials including food and other essential products to 150 families in 6 different communities and help cushion the effect of the lock down on the families. The program will be implemented in 3 phases, with the first phase (outreach) scheduled for May 28, 2020. In this phase, the goal is to provide relief materials for 50 predetermined vulnerable families in the Bomo and Samaru communities of Zaria.

For Enactus Nigeria, the belief has always been that, with the right motivation, mentorship and support, the Nigerian youth can leverage their youthfulness, energy and innovative genius to make meaningful contributions to national development and cohesion.

Updated 2020 Macro Economic Outlook: COVID-19, Global Oil Price and the Nigerian Economy

May 11, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic with its attendant restriction on economic activities and severe impact on the oil market is set to reverse Nigeria’s growth of 2.3% achieved in 2019. There’s no gain saying that the economy of Africa’s most populous nation is heavily reliant on crude oil. Therefore, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, updated its annual macro-economic outlook report to reflect the major shift due to the global pandemic. In report released in May, three scenarios were projected for the Nigerian economy in 2020. The projection factored in movement in crude oil price and volumes, government capital spending, the effect of the pandemic on non-oil sectors and other factors.

The lockdown of several states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the second quarter of the year 2020, will have an immense negative impact on GDP growth throughout the year. The three major GDP components – household consumption, government spending, private investment – were constrained during the lockdown effected due to the spread of coronavirus and are expected to perform poorly in full-year, relative to 2019. This is based on the high level of uncertainty over the pandemic as well as the fragility of the economy exemplified by the poor performance of major macroeconomic indicators.

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Public-Private Dialogue- Impact and opportunities for the Sports sector in a Post-COVID Nigeria

May 7, 2020

Since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, the sports industry in Nigeria has taken a big hit and has been adversely affected. There was thus a need to re-strategize (short, medium and long term) and analyse the effects of COVID19 on the industry with a view to incorporating same into a new national Sports Industry Policy

In view of this, the Sports Industry Thematic Group (SITG) of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development held a webinar which had in attendance key stakeholders of the industry including the Honourable Minister for Youth and Sports Development. Mr. Sunday Dare, to discuss and examine the issues raised by COVID19 and its effects on how sport may be consumed in future across all spectrums of the value chain of the sports industry – participants, investors, regulatory agencies and fans.

NESG’s responds to COVID-19: MASK UP. STAY SAFE.

May 4, 2020

The impact of COVID-19 on the global economy is severe and the near-term economic outlook appears gloomy. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the pandemic will inflict a deep economic recession on the world economy. For Nigeria, the threat of economic recession is worsened by the pre-existing fragility of the nation’s economy and the sharp decline in crude oil prices with a resultant downward revision in the 2020 Budget. These factors combined will lead to further adverse impact on the economy, businesses and households.

As Nigeria’s foremost economic think tank promoting the sustainable growth and development of the Nigerian economy, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (https://nesgroup.org/) has continued to generate and share policy-oriented research and analyses on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the different sectors of the economy, businesses and households. This is done with a view to proffering strategic recommendations to policymakers and development partners on effective policies and strategies for recovery from the shocks and disruptions of the pandemic.

 

COVID Innovations: A Tale of 4 Inspiring FATE Entrepreneurs

As a result of the global pandemic, entrepreneurs are fast adjusting their business models to ensure continued productivity and relevance. For entrepreneurs within the FATE Foundation Network, every situation presents opportunities to add significant value and solve problems, while getting creative with its delivery.

Here are 4 inspiring stories of innovation and entrepreneurship from the FATE Foundation pool, that has gained spotlight amidst the seeming crisis.

Handwashing is extremely important to mitigate the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Ayinla Ahmed (AEP 75), the FATE entrepreneur from Citi Foundation sponsored AEP Tertiary programme, built a Contactless Mobile Hand Washing Device as his contribution towards safe hygiene processes, and preventing the spread of viruses in our environment. This device can be used in homes, schools, malls, marketplaces, construction sites and public places.

This foot-operated device is movable, durable, easy to operate, can be easily dissembled and assembled. Find out more about the features of this product by watching a video demonstrating the use of the product here.

Ikenna Princewill (AEP 65) the founder of Nzuko.

Nzuko is powered by Allweda Child Safety, one of Nigeria’s finest Tech startups. In response to the COVID – crisis, this tech tool provides access to a collaborative work platform and ensure seamless remote working for working professionals in Nigeria. Nzuko is an online collaborative tool that provides real-time sharing of audio, video, slides, chat and screen. It can be used to hold corporate meetings, webinars and classified broadcasts.

The site was launched May 6, 2020 and has recorded over 66 signups from individuals and schools on the platform. To find out more about this tool, visit nzuko.club today.

 

To ensure students get to study, amidst the COVID-19 crisis, Isaac Oladipupo, and his team developed ClassNotes.ng; an education resource platform that provides educational video lesson for Nigerian Students.

The site was launched on the 5th of April,2020 and within 2 weeks had a soaring 93,790 views. The team are working hard to provide more content on the secondary school curriculum to ensure greater impact.

Isaac Oladipupo (OCN1) is the Co-founder, Afrilearn and an incubatee from the Kingdom of Netherlands sponsored Orange Corners Nigeria, incubation program.

Afrilearn is an education technology company that integrates teachers, software developers and animators to deliver excellent education targeted at Africans, anywhere. These culture-specific educational video lessons are developed into engaging animation and deployed for users’ consumption via App, Web and data-free Dongle services at highly affordable rates.

 

Following the Lagos Statewide Lockdown, Deborah Oloyede (AEP 62) had to make a quick transition to virtual, from an onsite office closure, to a virtual delivery of classes, using virtual audio and video channels such as WhatsApp, Zoom and YouTube. She only had to create bite-sized modules to help students get exactly what they need.

This strategy has enabled her to generate revenue during the lockdown and receive payments. For online training, the smaller modules made it easier to track student progress and the viability of this method of delivery has been proven because students have been able to complete the same projects included in physical classes.

Deborah Oloyede is the Creative Director of Èlan Clothiers, an Afrocentric Clothing and Apparel company that also provides Fashion Designing Training. She attended the FaceBook sponsored Aspiring Entrepreneurs Program: Digital.