Category: Business and Economy

  • Successful entrepreneurs recognize when to move on

    Successful entrepreneurs recognize when to move on

    The main thing that you have to remember on this journey is just be nice to everyone and always smile. Refreshingly, what was expected of her was the same thing that was expected of Lara Stone: to take a beautiful picture.

    We woke reasonably late following the feast and free flowing wine the night before. After gathering ourselves and our packs, we headed down to our homestay family’s small dining room for breakfast, where we enjoyed scrambled eggs, toast, mekitsi (fried dough), local jam and peppermint tea.

     We were making our way to the Rila Mountains, where we were visiting the Rila Monastery.

    We wandered the site with busloads of other tourists, yet strangely the place did not seem crowded. I’m not sure if it was the sheer size of the place, or whether the masses congregated in one area and didn’t venture far from the main church, but I didn’t feel overwhelmed by tourists in the monastery.

    Headed over Lions Bridge and made our way to the Sofia Synagogue, then sheltered in the Central Market Hall until the recurrent (but short-lived) mid-afternoon rain passed.

    Feeling refreshed after an espresso, we walked a short distance to the small but welcoming Banya Bashi Mosque, then descended into the ancient Serdica complex.

    We were exhausted after a long day of travel, so we headed back to the hotel and crashed. I had low expectations about Sofia as a city, but after the walking tour I absolutely loved the place. This was an easy city to navigate, and it was a beautiful city despite its ugly, staunch and stolid communist-built surrounds. Sofia has a very average facade as you enter the city, but once you lose yourself in the old town area, everything changes.

    If You Have It, You Can Make Anything Look Good

    Clothes can transform your mood and confidence. Fashion moves so quickly that, unless you have a strong point of view, you can lose integrity. I like to be real. I don’t like things to be staged or fussy. I think I’d go mad if I didn’t have a place to escape to. You have to stay true to your heritage, that’s what your brand is about.

  • Fake engagement is only half the problem

    Fake engagement is only half the problem

    The main thing that you have to remember on this journey is just be nice to everyone and always smile. Refreshingly, what was expected of her was the same thing that was expected of Lara Stone: to take a beautiful picture.

    We woke reasonably late following the feast and free flowing wine the night before. After gathering ourselves and our packs, we headed down to our homestay family’s small dining room for breakfast, where we enjoyed scrambled eggs, toast, mekitsi (fried dough), local jam and peppermint tea.

     We were making our way to the Rila Mountains, where we were visiting the Rila Monastery.

    We wandered the site with busloads of other tourists, yet strangely the place did not seem crowded. I’m not sure if it was the sheer size of the place, or whether the masses congregated in one area and didn’t venture far from the main church, but I didn’t feel overwhelmed by tourists in the monastery.

    Headed over Lions Bridge and made our way to the Sofia Synagogue, then sheltered in the Central Market Hall until the recurrent (but short-lived) mid-afternoon rain passed.

    Feeling refreshed after an espresso, we walked a short distance to the small but welcoming Banya Bashi Mosque, then descended into the ancient Serdica complex.

    We were exhausted after a long day of travel, so we headed back to the hotel and crashed. I had low expectations about Sofia as a city, but after the walking tour I absolutely loved the place. This was an easy city to navigate, and it was a beautiful city despite its ugly, staunch and stolid communist-built surrounds. Sofia has a very average facade as you enter the city, but once you lose yourself in the old town area, everything changes.

    If You Have It, You Can Make Anything Look Good

    Clothes can transform your mood and confidence. Fashion moves so quickly that, unless you have a strong point of view, you can lose integrity. I like to be real. I don’t like things to be staged or fussy. I think I’d go mad if I didn’t have a place to escape to. You have to stay true to your heritage, that’s what your brand is about.

  • Using Instagram to promote your YouTube videos

    Using Instagram to promote your YouTube videos

    The main thing that you have to remember on this journey is just be nice to everyone and always smile. Refreshingly, what was expected of her was the same thing that was expected of Lara Stone: to take a beautiful picture.

    We woke reasonably late following the feast and free flowing wine the night before. After gathering ourselves and our packs, we headed down to our homestay family’s small dining room for breakfast, where we enjoyed scrambled eggs, toast, mekitsi (fried dough), local jam and peppermint tea.

     We were making our way to the Rila Mountains, where we were visiting the Rila Monastery.

    We wandered the site with busloads of other tourists, yet strangely the place did not seem crowded. I’m not sure if it was the sheer size of the place, or whether the masses congregated in one area and didn’t venture far from the main church, but I didn’t feel overwhelmed by tourists in the monastery.

    Headed over Lions Bridge and made our way to the Sofia Synagogue, then sheltered in the Central Market Hall until the recurrent (but short-lived) mid-afternoon rain passed.

    Feeling refreshed after an espresso, we walked a short distance to the small but welcoming Banya Bashi Mosque, then descended into the ancient Serdica complex.

    We were exhausted after a long day of travel, so we headed back to the hotel and crashed. I had low expectations about Sofia as a city, but after the walking tour I absolutely loved the place. This was an easy city to navigate, and it was a beautiful city despite its ugly, staunch and stolid communist-built surrounds. Sofia has a very average facade as you enter the city, but once you lose yourself in the old town area, everything changes.

    If You Have It, You Can Make Anything Look Good

    Clothes can transform your mood and confidence. Fashion moves so quickly that, unless you have a strong point of view, you can lose integrity. I like to be real. I don’t like things to be staged or fussy. I think I’d go mad if I didn’t have a place to escape to. You have to stay true to your heritage, that’s what your brand is about.

  • We asked the best: male influencers talk pricing

    We asked the best: male influencers talk pricing

    The main thing that you have to remember on this journey is just be nice to everyone and always smile. Refreshingly, what was expected of her was the same thing that was expected of Lara Stone: to take a beautiful picture.

    We woke reasonably late following the feast and free flowing wine the night before. After gathering ourselves and our packs, we headed down to our homestay family’s small dining room for breakfast, where we enjoyed scrambled eggs, toast, mekitsi (fried dough), local jam and peppermint tea.

     We were making our way to the Rila Mountains, where we were visiting the Rila Monastery.

    We wandered the site with busloads of other tourists, yet strangely the place did not seem crowded. I’m not sure if it was the sheer size of the place, or whether the masses congregated in one area and didn’t venture far from the main church, but I didn’t feel overwhelmed by tourists in the monastery.

    Headed over Lions Bridge and made our way to the Sofia Synagogue, then sheltered in the Central Market Hall until the recurrent (but short-lived) mid-afternoon rain passed.

    Feeling refreshed after an espresso, we walked a short distance to the small but welcoming Banya Bashi Mosque, then descended into the ancient Serdica complex.

    We were exhausted after a long day of travel, so we headed back to the hotel and crashed. I had low expectations about Sofia as a city, but after the walking tour I absolutely loved the place. This was an easy city to navigate, and it was a beautiful city despite its ugly, staunch and stolid communist-built surrounds. Sofia has a very average facade as you enter the city, but once you lose yourself in the old town area, everything changes.

    If You Have It, You Can Make Anything Look Good

    Clothes can transform your mood and confidence. Fashion moves so quickly that, unless you have a strong point of view, you can lose integrity. I like to be real. I don’t like things to be staged or fussy. I think I’d go mad if I didn’t have a place to escape to. You have to stay true to your heritage, that’s what your brand is about.

  • Photographer snaps gorgeous photos in nature

    Photographer snaps gorgeous photos in nature

    The main thing that you have to remember on this journey is just be nice to everyone and always smile. Refreshingly, what was expected of her was the same thing that was expected of Lara Stone: to take a beautiful picture.

    We woke reasonably late following the feast and free flowing wine the night before. After gathering ourselves and our packs, we headed down to our homestay family’s small dining room for breakfast, where we enjoyed scrambled eggs, toast, mekitsi (fried dough), local jam and peppermint tea.

     We were making our way to the Rila Mountains, where we were visiting the Rila Monastery.

    We wandered the site with busloads of other tourists, yet strangely the place did not seem crowded. I’m not sure if it was the sheer size of the place, or whether the masses congregated in one area and didn’t venture far from the main church, but I didn’t feel overwhelmed by tourists in the monastery.

    Headed over Lions Bridge and made our way to the Sofia Synagogue, then sheltered in the Central Market Hall until the recurrent (but short-lived) mid-afternoon rain passed.

    Feeling refreshed after an espresso, we walked a short distance to the small but welcoming Banya Bashi Mosque, then descended into the ancient Serdica complex.

    We were exhausted after a long day of travel, so we headed back to the hotel and crashed. I had low expectations about Sofia as a city, but after the walking tour I absolutely loved the place. This was an easy city to navigate, and it was a beautiful city despite its ugly, staunch and stolid communist-built surrounds. Sofia has a very average facade as you enter the city, but once you lose yourself in the old town area, everything changes.

    If You Have It, You Can Make Anything Look Good

    Clothes can transform your mood and confidence. Fashion moves so quickly that, unless you have a strong point of view, you can lose integrity. I like to be real. I don’t like things to be staged or fussy. I think I’d go mad if I didn’t have a place to escape to. You have to stay true to your heritage, that’s what your brand is about.

  • Work  to commence on Itakpe-Lokoja rail line in 2021  says Amaechi

    Work to commence on Itakpe-Lokoja rail line in 2021 says Amaechi

    Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has said the Itakpe-Lokoja-Abuja railway project which will connect the new Warri port, will commence in 2021.


    Amaechi who stated this said at the 2021 Budget Defence  in Abuja said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government is committed to connecting different parts of the country with rail, to ease the burden of transportation.


    The Minister added that the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Eastern narrow gauge, the Deep-sea port in Bonny and railway industrial park in Port Harcourt are also part of the project for next year.

    “The reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Eastern narrow gauge railway, construction of new branch lines and trans shipment centres for future railway development connecting with this corridor is very important.
    “This project is also integrated with a deep-sea port in Bonny and railway industrial park in Port Harcourt, that are being developed through direct investment by the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, CCECC partnering with Chinese financiers.”


    Continuing, Amaechi noted that the “construction of the central railway from Itakpe to Abuja, connecting to a new Warri port, construction of a 378km single trackstandard gauge rail line traversing Kano-Katsina-Jibiya with a 20km extension to the commercial boarder town of Maradi in Niger Republic, are projects proposed for 2021.”According to him, the problem with the  coastal rail lines like other projects, is paucity of funds, adding that the Ministry of Finance was negotiating loan to fund the Kano-Maradi, Lagos-Calabar and Port Harcourt-Maiduguri railway projects.

    Amaechi further said extra works on the Lagos- Ibadan corridor, amounting to $656 (funded by the federal government) has commenced.According to him, the extra works include the construction of upgraded railway stations,  signaling and telecommunication system,  power supply scheme and construction of pedestrian and overpass bridges.


    “These additional and extra works amounting to $656million which is to be financed 100 per cent by the federal government has been approved by the Federal Executive Council for implementation.“The project contractor, Messrs CCECC Nigeria Limited on the instruction of the ministry has commenced work and reached an advanced stage. Therefore,  in order not to forestall the progress of implementation,  adequate fund needs to be provided in the 2021 budget proposal to facilitate the completion of the project, ” he added.


    Amaechi,  further said that for the implementation of Ibadan-Kano railway project, one of the conditions precedent to signing of the loan agreement is to release an advance payment of $864million, saying government has so far made a part payment of $218.7million.

  • Okonjo-Iweala made to wait as WTO cancels meeting on appointment

    Okonjo-Iweala made to wait as WTO cancels meeting on appointment

    Nigeria’s Former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, will have to wait to know her fate as the next Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

    This is because a meeting of the organisation originally scheduled for Monday, November 9 on the issue has been postponed.

    Okonjo-Iweala had been proposed by a WTO nominations committee on October 28 for the job, only for the United States to veto the recommendation.

    It is, however, believed that the postponement of Monday’s meeting is due to the fresh surge in the spread of COVID-19 and restrictions being imposed in some countries which may prevent some delegates from attending.

    No new date has yet been fixed for the meeting.

  • FG gives N30,000 grants to Ariaria market artisans in Abia

    FG gives N30,000 grants to Ariaria market artisans in Abia

    The Federal Government has announced that the first batch of artisans in Ariaria International Market in Abia State has received their one-time grant of N30,000 each.

    This was according to a tweet shared by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Survival Fund.

    The Government of Nigeria also announced via Twitter that the Payroll Support Scheme had received over 50,000 applications.

    READ ALSO: BREAKING: Oando tank farm guts fire in Lagos

    It noted that the scheme aimed at MSMEs adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic would provide payroll support to a maximum of 10 employees per qualifying MSME.

    “More than 50,000 applications were completed before the portal closed,” the government tweeted

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  • Nigerian policy makers asked to engage FOCAC for development.

    Nigerian policy makers asked to engage FOCAC for development.

    Experts on Nigeria-China relations have charged policy makers in Nigeria and other African countries to design strategies to fully take advantage of the Forum for China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to develop the economy.

    The call was made at a dialogue on the 20th anniversary of FOCAC organized by the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria and the Centre for China Studies (CCS).

    The theme of the programme chaired by the executive director of CCS, Charles Onunaiju is titled: ‘Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) at 20 year: Achievements and Prospects’.

    The experts called on African presidents, foreign ministers, representatives to chart the continent’s beneficial relationship with China, to avoid policy somersaults and lack of coherence.

    The Director of Renaissance Development Forum and the Nigerian Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), Ambassador Sariki Usman called on Nigeria and African countries to develop structured engagement and implementation strategy in the initiatives with other countries.

    “We are not benefitting as much as we should do from the FOCAC initiative in Nigeria. Countries like Kenya, Djibouti, Zimbabwe, South Africa and others are on a per capita basis deriving more benefits from the FOCAC and other initiatives between Africa and China than Nigeria. In per capita, we are over 200 million people and landmass of 927, 000- that is a huge bulk of real estate,” he said.

    In his presentation, the Editor-in-Chief of Daybreak newspaper, Dr Austin Maho said China devoted a total of $120 billion for direct interventions in Africa under FOCAC within six years, which shows how China has been developing its relationship with Africa and said African countries must chart their own development in partnership with China and discard the debt trap diplomacy been propagated in the West to discredit China and FOCAC.

    In his presentation, Prof Nazifi Darma of the University of Abuja called for better trading relationship than aid or assistance to African countries, technical skills and the need for greater China involvement in building sustainable peace in Africa. He called for the use of more Public Private Partnership (PPI) rather than loans to build Africa’s infrastructure.

    Similarly, Prof Yusuf Zoaka of the University of Abuja called on African countries and Nigeria in particular, to open their borders and markets for the intra-Africa trade with the resumption of the African Continent Free Trade Agreement (ACfCFTA) in January, 2021.

    Prof Gani Yoroms of the Nigerian Defence College said there is opportunity for Nigeria-China cooperation in peace-keeping, military equipment industry, and satellite launches.

    Also, Prof Ghali Ibrahim Sheriff of the University of Abuja said the future of FOCAC will see Nigeria and China contributing to peace in the world, and deepen economic cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era.

    Earlier, the Charge d’Affairs of the Chinese Embassy, Zhao Yong reiterated China’s determination to work with Nigeria to achieve better outcomes for the FOCAC and other initiatives of the Chinese government. He noted that Nigeria is China’s 40th biggest trading partner.

  • Nigeria debts to hit N38.68trn in 2021 – Zainab Ahmed Reveals

    Nigeria debts to hit N38.68trn in 2021 – Zainab Ahmed Reveals

    The total public debts of Nigeria is projected to hit N38trn by December 2021, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has said.

    The Minister stated this on Tuesday, November 3, during her presentation to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts.

    The Minister said: “The total public debt stock comprising the External and Homes debts of the Federal and state governments and the Federal Capital Territory stood at N31.01trn (USD85.90 billion) as at June 30, 2020.

    “It is projected, based on existing approval, to rise to N32.51 trillion by December 31, 2020, and N38.68 trillion by December 31,2021.”

    She stated that the reason for numerous abandoned road projects across the country is due to inadequate funds released occasioned by dwindling revenue.

    She explained that the current Sukuk fund is N162bn for 45 roads cutting across the six geopolitical zones.

    She said, “I am one person that feels that we should just take one major road in one geopolitical zone and finish it.

    “We were not able to do that because of the processes in which appropriation is made both at the executive as well as the legislative arms of government.

    “But truly, if we are able to just take one or two projects at a time and complete it before going to the next one, it will be better.

    “What the contractor does is the bit that has been cut out for him to do in that particular area.

    “Once the fund is released and it is finished, we stop again. That’s the consequence of these numerous projects that we put in the budget.

    “It is not related to Sukuk-funded projects alone, it cuts across all the projects.

    “You will see a road that costs, may be, five billion Naira, and you will see a provision for N100m, N200m or 300m.

    “Of course the project will never finish. After two years, the contractor comes back and asks for variation, and the amount keeps growing.

    “I wish that we get to a point when we sit down as government and agree that let us select a few projects, finish them in 2020, and then in 2021, we select the next.

    “So that on a geopolitical basis, those selections are done as a collective process.”

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