Nigeria records 35m Catholics, as faith shifts to global south by Tony Onyima - ITREALMS

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According to the 2025 Pontifical Yearbook released by the Vatican's Central Office of Church Statistics, Nigeria has emerged as Africa’s second-largest Catholic nation with 35 million adherents. 

This milestone signals a profound demographic and spiritual shift in global Catholicism.

Dangote refinery receives second one million barrels of crude - ITREALMS

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Dangote Refinery has made a further move towards the commencement of production of refined petroleum products with the receipt of an additional one million barrels of bonny light crude supplied by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).

The fresh one million barrels of crude from the Shell terminal via the MT Otis owned by Trafigural is the second consignment to be delivered to the Dangote facility out of the six million barrels of crude being expected by the world's largest single-train refinery.

Short-termism impedes progress of million people

ITREALMS:

A major report released in advance of the G20 and World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings has revealed that short-termism impedes progress of hundreds of millions of people, reports ITRealms.

According to the reports, the prospects of around 800 million of the world’s poorest people remain dire.

The global economy, the UN report hinted, is experiencing a moderate upturn, and momentum around sustainable investing is growing.

But the vast majority of investment is still short-term oriented and commitments by the international community to create sustainable economies are not being met.

ITRealms gathered that there is an increasing interest in socially responsible investing, but that is no substitute for a broader transformation in the financial system.

Just as the report states that the current system rewards investors, financiers and project managers that prioritize short-term profits. Similarly, policy makers are excessively focused on short-term considerations. But there is a price to pay. Infrastructure projects are shelved in favour of short term priorities. Small businesses and women remain excluded from the financial system.

LIU Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General for the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs said, “The good economic news in some regions masks the very real risk that the poorest will be left behind, There is no room for complacency.”

“If we don’t invest in infrastructure projects like bridges, roads and sewage systems, if the poorest and women are cut off from access to credit and other financial services, we have little prospect of achieving our global goals,” he added.

Per capita growth remains negative or insignificant in many countries where the poverty rate is already high, entrenching inequality.

Overcoming the short-term outlook of many investors is a complex but urgent issue, according to “Financing for Development: Progress and Prospects,” the 2018 comprehensive annual progress report on how to finance the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Pension funds, insurance companies and other institutional investors hold around $80 trillion in assets. But the majority of their resources are invested in liquid assets, such as listed equities and bonds in developed countries.  Investment in infrastructure still represents less than 3 per cent of pension fund assets, with investment in sustainable infrastructure in developing countries even lower.

The lack of long-term investment horizons also means that major risks, such as those from climate change, are not incorporated into decision-making.

According to the report, the solution lies in a multifaceted approach. It includes changing payment practices: the compensation of financial advisors and portfolio managers is too often linked to short term results. More transparency also helps: some countries now require all listed companies to disclose financial risks they face from climate change.

Short-sighted policies also result in a lack of access to finance for countries in urgent need. Support for countries affected by disasters is often too little, too late. Innovative financial instruments exist that provide quicker access to funding. Countries can set up insurance-like mechanisms, and the international community can support those that can’t afford premiums. Loans can be set up to reduce repayments automatically during crises. But so far, major funders have not taken up these promising tools.

“We have to reach beyond the quick fix if we are going to create a world that can sustain all of us,” said Navid Hanif, Director of Financing for Sustainable Development Office. “Political leadership and public policies are indispensable.”

It takes leadership to overcome short-term political cycles, devise and enforce rules which have widespread benefits but may face resistance by powerful groups, for example tax reforms and stopping illicit financial flows, the report notes.

The report emphasizes that in donor countries, political leaders must do more to meet their commitment to provide financial assistance to the world’s most vulnerable countries. 

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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She Leads Africa partners GTBank on female enterpreneurs, $15,000 up for grabs

ITRealms:

She Leads Africa has entered into partnership with GTBank to empower female African enterpreneurs as they thrown $15,000, about N2,984,250.00 million up for grab, reports ITRealms.

The flagship of the event, ITRealms gathered, is the premier platform for young female entrepreneurs looking to grow and scale their businesses across Africa. 

Participants, ITRealms also gathered will vie for United States $15,000 in cash prizes, media features in international news outlets, and exclusive meetings with top investors.

ITRealms recalls that the 2014 edition received nearly 400 applications from 27 countries for just 10 finalist positions. The top finalists were featured in Forbes, Ventures Africa, Venture Burn and several other international news outlets. They also had the opportunity to pitch their businesses to a panel of leading business personalities including Aliko Dangote, Hakeem Belo-Osagie, Audu Maikori and Omoyemi Akerele.

Based on the fact that female entrepreneurs are often underestimated, hindered and overlooked, GTBank and partner found the need to empower the zealous entrepreneurs in the continent.

This year teamwork championed by GTBank is to illuminate on women who are driving Africa's growth through leadership, commerce and innovation.

Corroborating the need of empowering female entrepreneurs, Yasmin Bello-Osagie, Co-founder, She Leads Africa says, “We decided to launch She Leads Africa because we saw a critical gap in the market - no one was investing in high growth female entrepreneurs. Through our Entrepreneur Showcase we not only give exceptional entrepreneurs a space to connect with investors and the media but we also provide them with training and mentoring to ensure that they are able to take advantage of the experience."

Affirming the effect of the competition, the 2014 winner, Cherae Robinson founder of travel startup Tastemakers Africa stated "participating in the She Leads Africa pitch competition literally changed my life and my business, by putting me on a rocket ship towards success." "I was able to hire my first employee with my winnings and I continue to receive support from the team nearly one year later," she concluded.

Application window has been specially extended for SME businesses listed on the GTBank SME MarketHub until 27^th July 2015 at 11:59pm. Businesses from any industry are eligible to apply as long as there is one woman on the founding team between 18-35 years old. 

To apply please visitwww.smemarkethub.com/she-leads-africa and don't forget to attach your pitch deck. 

Considering the fact that there is nothing like concrete plan, paying attention to dreams, nurture it and taking advantage of every opportunities, Anals Nin urges “ Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.”

 @GTB

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Lord’s Chosen pastor killed, gunmen disappear with N3m church money

 ITRealms

The Lagos State Coordinator of The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, Pastor Chukwuemeka Okpokpo, was on Monday shot dead by armed bandits at Apple Junction,Amuwo Odofin in the state, ITRealms reports.

The gunmen, according to information, used a motorcycle and trailed the deceased from a Diamond Bank branch, where he had withdrawn N3 million for the church.

ITRealms gathered that the gunmen fired sporadically into the air, sending other road users and passers-by scampering for safety. The reports added that Pastor Okpokpo had attempted to escape when it became obvious that he was the target. Eventually, he slowed down on reaching a bad spot on the road, and the criminal elements shot at the tyres of the Chosen vehicle he was driving, bringing the vehicle to a halt instantly.

The gunmen then walked to the vehicle and shot Pastor Okpokpo in the stomach. Acording to Vanguard report, the robbers had made sure that Okpokpo was no longer breathing before they took the nylon bag containing the money, went back to the motorbike and zoomed off.

When news of the tragedy filtered into the church, those who knew him wept uncontrollably, dispelling the report as rumour, while some said he was still in Ogun State, where he had gone to organize a crusade.

ITRealms learnt that a prayer session aimed at resurrecting him held between 12.30p.m.and 8p.m.Some of the church members were, however, of the view that the gunmen could have been hired assassins and not robbers.

However,the Lagos State Police Command stated that it had begun investigation into the murder, adding that it was too early to say if it was a case of robbery or assassination.A police source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said “We are leaving all avenues open in our investigation.”

Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE 

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World Bank boosts Nigeria’s MSMEs with N99.5b

ITRealms

The World Bank Group has given a boost of $500 million, about N99.5 billion to finance Micro, Medium and Small-Scale Enterprises (MSME) in agriculture, trade, light-manufacturing, services, and other areas, reports ITRealms. 

The project ITRealms gathered, is an International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) credit to fund the development finance projects to facilitate increased access and availability of financing for MSME.

World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, affirmed to ITRealms that the project is fully in line with the priorities set out in the new Country Partnership Strategy which calls for focusing on increasing access to finance, including long-term financing for key sectors such as housing, SMEs, agriculture, and infrastructure, through various mechanisms involving both private sector and public sector partnerships.

ITRealms further learnt that the development finance project provides a stable and predictable funding source through the establishment of a Development Finance Institution (DFI). The DFI will provide funding to eligible financial institutions to finance long-term lending to MSMEs, as well as funding to Micro-Finance Banks for on-lending and to expand their outreach.

The proposed operation ITRealms gathered, addresses the provision of finance, including long-term finance, through eligible Participating Financial Institutions to expand outreach to urban and rural Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise

The project is a joint effort between the World Bank Group, African Development Bank (AfDB), the German Development Bank, French Agency for Development, and the UK’s Department for International Development, the information made available to ITRealms further revealed.

Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE

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