Former Director General of the Nigerian Institute for International Affairs (NIIA), Prof. Bola Akinterinwa, on Thursday said Nigeria loses approximately $7 billion annually as a result of poor bilateral relations with the Israeli government.
Akinterinwa, who spoke at a one-day symposium geared towards promoting partnership on Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) between the two nations., explained that Nigeria’s relation with the Jewish nation was categorised into political, economy and religion and it has suffered severely due to the non-committal posturing of Nigeria.
While arguing that Nigeria-Israeli diplomatic relations remained lopsided, with only the religious angle flourishing, Akinterinwa added that a more robust diplomatic relations could have yielded more positive results in both the political and economic fronts, such as grants, low interest loans and knowledge exchange to support Nigeria.
The symposium was organised by the Citizens Centre for International Relations Research (RICC) and the Israeli Embassy with the theme: ‘Nigeria-Israeli Relations: Focus on SMEs, Agriculture and Solid Minerals.’
Akinterinwa harped on the need for Nigeria to review her relationship with Israel, saying that, “we have not been taking good advantage of many opportunities taking place in Israel,” he stated.
Minister of State for Industry Trade and Investment, Hajia Aisha Abubakar, in her submission at the event, stated the federal government will continue to put in place initiatives to promote Mirco, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) especially among unemployed youths.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has disclosed that the Federal Government will next week announce a major overhaul of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation as well as the firm’s unbundling into 30 different companies.
According to him, the government has started resolving the governance issues in the oil and gas sector, adding that an overhaul had not happened at the corporation in the past 20 years.
Kachikwu, who disclosed this at the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Oloibiri Lecture Series in Abuja on Thursday, also stated that the latest financial report of the NNPC for the month of January showed that the corporation’s losses had reduced from the over N160bn of some six months ago to about N3bn.
Explaining the restructuring by the Federal Government in the oil sector, the minister said, “We are starting first with simple governance issues; those that are not contentious, that are very rapid and that deal a lot with the transformation of the national oil company.
“For the national oil company, a lot of work is going on; I am sure some of you have seen the effects; but within the next one week, we are going to be announcing some real major overhaul of the system, one that hasn’t been done in over 20 years.”
Kachikwu added, “The effect of that will be to quite frankly unbundle the huge company into four to five main operational zones – the upstream, downstream, midstream, refining, and of course, every other company that is trending to the venture group.”
“But what is more important is that at the same time, we are also unbundling the subsets of these companies to close to about 30 independent companies with their own managing directors; and so, titles like the group executive directors, which you have been used to in the last 30 years, will disappear; and in place of those, you are going to have chief executive officers.”
This, he said, would make people take responsibility for their titles, as the positions must mean something and not administrative roles.
On the slump in global crude oil prices, Kachikwu said the government had been meeting with other oil exporting countries, and expressed the hope that the price of the commodity would soon rise to around $50 per barrel.
The minister further stated that focusing on gas policies was a key element for him, adding, “The target that I am setting for myself is a 12-month type agenda to try and arrive at some of these conclusions: some working with the (National) Assembly, and some working with policymakers and the industry.”
Kachikwu said he had been involved in so many conversations with oil companies and that the essence was to define stipulated contractual terms in the industry.
He noted that production sharing contract terms had not been revised for quite a while, adding that the government was focusing more on how it could bring PSC-type contracts into joint venture structures.
The Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode has ordered that the popular Mile 12 Market be shut and has imposed curfew on four streets in the area.
The governor’s order was as a result the mayhem that engulfed the Mile 12 area on Thursday.
Members of the Hausa and Yoruba community in the area had clashed, leading to the burning of houses and churches on Thursday.
Ambode, who spoke at the State House, Ikeja, said the closure of the Mile 12 Market and the curfew would help security agents to restore peace.
He added that the curfew would only affect four streets — Oniyanrin, Maidan, Agiliti 1 and Agiliti 2.
He said, “In order to further restore peace to the community, I have ordered that the Mile 12 Market be temporarily shut. I advise traders and other stakeholders to eschew violence and be law abiding. Furthermore, I have ordered temporary restriction of movement in four streets, namely Oniyanrin, Maidan, Agiliti 1 and 2.”
The governor said the police and other security officials were managing the situation, adding that some hoodlums had exploited a minor clash to cause a breakdown of law and order in the area.
“After the intervention of security agencies, the dispute appeared to have subsided. This type of clash does occur from time to time in a multi-ethnic city like Lagos. And the government has always responded appropriately.
“The public is thereby assured that we will not shy away from our responsibilities to protect life and property in the state. Ee will deal decisively with those criminal elements involve in the clash. I have been assured by the Commissioner of Police and other security agencies at the scene that the situation has been brought under control.
“I want to assure residents of Lagos State that the state is home to every ethnic group. No one should give this clash any ethnic colouration. Every law abiding citizens should go about their businesses.”
The CP, Fatai Owoseni, said policemen had already been deployed in the area to enforce the order of the governor, adding that nobody died in the clash.
Oil giant ExxonMobil is looking to take advantage of the oil price crash to acquire other petroleum companies, but will wait for the right opportunity, chief executive Rex Tillerson has disclosed.
Tillerson alluded to the company’s history of big takeovers during oil busts, as when Exxon acquired Mobil in 1999, a deal which saw an expansion of Exxon’s presence in key oil producers such as Kazakstan and Nigeria. A 2009 acquisition of XTO Energy significantly boosted its holdings in US shale.
Analysts at an ExxonMobil investor day expressed surprise that, given the current market conditions, the company had not made a big acquisition to boost its portfolio of oil and gas plays.
As US prices have fallen from more than $100 a barrel in July 2014 to the current $34 a barrel, many smaller oil producers have seen profits dry up and face problems paying debts.
Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, h disclosed that the amount in the Treasury Single Account had risen to N2.9 trillion.
She made this known during a meeting of the Joint Appropriation Committees of the National Assembly with government officials on the 2016 budget.
However, she explained that contrary to popular impression that the money in the TSA was meant to fund the budget, the money belonged to different agencies of government, which had the right to access the funds.
Her explanation was against suggestions by the legislators that the Federal Government should use the TSA to fund the 2016 budget amidst liquidity problem arising from the slump in global crude oil prices.
Adeosun said all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the government had their monies transferred into the TSA and should have access to them.
She also disclosed that the government had commenced the training of its personnel on the operation of the TSA such that any agency of government that needed its share of the funds in the account would not find it difficult accessing it.
The Central Bank of Nigeria on Thursday expressed concern over about $20 billion (N3.94 trillion) was lying dormant in different domiciliary accounts of Nigerian citizens in various banks across the country.
Deputy Governor, Financial System Surveillance, CBN, Dr. Joseph Nnana, stated this during a meeting of the Joint Appropriation Committees of the National Assembly with government officials on the 2016 budget.
He alleged that some privileged Nigerians were behind the consistent slide in the value of the naira by embarking on dollar speculation to the detriment of the local currency.
The CBN deputy governor, however, expressed the hope that the passage of the 2016 budget would put a stop to the unrestrained drop in the value of the naira.
He said, “The CBN will embark on aggressive liquidity mop-up to enable the naira regain confidence. The CBN will not sit down and watch the consistent fall of the naira. After the passage of the 2016 budget, the naira will begin to bounce back.
“Those who speculate on dollars will have their fingers burnt.”
Parent company of MTN Nigeria, MTN Group, has expressed confidence that the N780bn fine imposed on its Nigerian subsidiary by the Federal Government will be reduced and has set aside $600m (N118.2bn at the official exchange rate of N197 to a dollar) for the total settlement of the fine.
The firm had last week paid N50 billion to the government and on Thursday expressed the hope of paying up the anticipated balance of N68.2bn before the end of this month.
While announcing the group’s results in South Africa on Thursday, MTN said that it might also reduce its 2016 dividend should more funds be needed to pay the fine.
The total provision accounts for only about 15 per cent of the total fine, which was imposed by the NCC after the telecoms company failed to cut off Subscriber Identification Module cards that were not properly registered.
Its Nigerian subsidiary said the provision was set aside in the group financial results, and was in accordance with the Principle of Prudence in generally accepted accounting standards.
The Corporate Executive, MTN Nigeria, Amina Oyagbola, said, “MTN’s auditors have required that the company make a provision in line with the International Financial Reporting Standards.”
The Executive Chairman, MTN Group, Mr. Phutuma Nhleko, also told Reuters on Thursday that the firm might list its Nigerian unit on the Nigerian Stock Exchange once it had resolved the fine issue with the Federal Government.
Nhleko said that the company was continuing settlement talks “in an attempt to ensure an amicable resolution in the interest of MTN Nigeria, its stakeholders and the Nigerian authorities.”
Commenting on the company’s financial statement in the country for 2015, the Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Ferdi Moolman, said while weak economic conditions and heightened regulatory pressure impacted performance, “MTN continues to invest in Nigeria for the long term.”
Uber and United Bank for Africa on Thursday announced a partnership, which would see the bank’s cardholders getting up to N6,000 worth of free Uber ride from now till the end of this month.
UBA cardholders, who sign up for Uber, according to a statement by the bank, will get up to N3,000 off each of their first two rides.
The statement said, “Uber gets you a ride at the push of a button; there’s no waiting on the street or walking through unfamiliar neighbourhoods to find reliable transport. It’s the most convenient way to get a safe, reliable and affordable ride.
“The app detects your location, tells you about your driver in advance, and means you can pay without using cash; so, it is easier and safer for both riders and drivers. It’s why more than one million people use the app globally every day.”
Speaking on the partnership, UBA’s Divisional Head, Digital Banking, Yinka Adedeji, said, “It’s our pleasure to partner Uber on this initiative. We encourage all UBA cardholders to take advantage of this offer and share their UBARIDES experience.”
The General Manager, Uber Lagos, Ebi Atawodi, added, “This is extremely exciting for us; UBA is one of the largest banks in Nigeria and we are thrilled to be able to offer their customers free first two rides. We look forward to further growing this partnership with UBA across Nigeria.”
The Ogun State Government has pledged its support for manufacturers within its domain. The state’s Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr. Bimbo Ashiru, who made the pledge on behalf of the state government recently while on a tour of some manufacturing firms in the state, disclosed the plans of the state government to take the manufacturers’ case to the federal ministries of finance, industry, trade and investment.
According to him, the state government is also working on the roads and infrastructure to make the state more conducive to investment.
He said, “We have started work on the Shagamu Road and some of the Federal Government roads as well. Most of the roads we are doing in Ogun State are Federal Government roads but there are no Federal Government people.
“Our government is committed to creating the enabling environment through good road network because if they are producing all these goods and we don’t have good road network, the goods are dead on arrival. We are also building bridges in order to reduce the traffic.”
Ashiru, who also visited the Sonia factory in Shagamu, expressed satisfaction at the level of manufacturing and employment provided by the firm.
The commissioner stressed the need for synergy between manufacturers along the value chain adding that manufacturers should patronise their counterparts across sectors in order to cut down on importation and high cost of production.
He stated, “We are allocating lands to industries in the same line of raw materials and production so that they can take advantage of forward and backward integration and business can be easy for all our investors in Ogun State.”
The Central Bank of Nigeria has granted an approval-in-principle to Innovectives to operate as a super-agent in the country’s financial services system.
With the approval, Innovectives, a provider of secure and affordable transaction channels for the unbanked and under-banked members of the public, says it will leverage on the Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement System switching infrastructure to enable inter-scheme Cash-In-Cash-Out at all its agent locations.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Innovectives, Emmanuel Agha, said the CBN expected the company and its partners to “deploy, operate and manage a robust, efficient and interoperable agency banking and mobile financial payment network with selected retail outlets operating as agents under the framework as approved by the CBN.”
According to the CBN’s Regulatory Framework for licensing Super-Agents in Nigeria, the super-agents shall be responsible for monitoring and supervising the activities of the agents; and have information on the volume and value of transactions carried out for each type of service by each agent.
The central bank stated in the framework that the volume and value of transactions should be made available to the principal; monitor effective compliance with set limits and establish other prudential measures in each case, and take all other measures such as onsite visits and ensure that agents operate strictly within the requirements of the law, guidelines and the contract.
Agha said the company’s financial inclusion strategy was to ensure that all categories of informal workers in Nigeria have access to affordable financial services through its agent network.
He said the proposed suite of services would address critical social challenges of informal workers such as savings culture, access to credit, wage payment, health insurance, and informal pension.
South African retail chain, Shoprite, has offered 10,000 gift vouchers to consumers to mark its 10th year anniversary in Nigeria.
According to a statement from the firm, customers visiting Shoprite between February and April stand to benefit from gift vouchers valued at over N100, 000.
The statement quoted the Executive Director, Shoprite Nigeria, Mr. Adeola Kagho, as saying that the points-of-sale at Shoprite would randomly select winners during this period.
He said, “Consumers will automatically be entered into the competition when shopping at Shoprite, with vouchers to the value of N1,000, N10,000 or N100,000 up for grabs.
“We are very excited to celebrate ten years in Nigeria with our loyal customers who have been with us over the years. That’s why we are giving away lots of vouchers in all our stores across the country.”
Household name and maker of Morning Fresh liquid wash, PZ Cussons, has announced the launch of a promotional campaign worth over N40m to reward consumers of the brand nationwide.
The campaign, tagged: ‘Morning Fresh Kitchen Makeover,’ will see customers rewarded with various gifts ranging from microwave ovens, gas cookers to airtime and a complete kitchen makeover comprising kitchen furniture, appliances and equipment.
Managing Director, Family Care Unit, PZ Cussons, Mr. Alex Goma, said the promotion is a sign of appreciation from the firm to consumers of Morning Fresh for staying faithful to the brand in spite of the harsh economic realities in the country, while the Brand Development and Activation Manager for Morning Fresh, Mina Georgewell, disclosed that the campaign would consist of regional draws taking place in Port Harcourt, Abuja and Ibadan.
She said, “For customers who buy two bottles of the promo pack, there is a code on the packs that they can text to a particular phone number. The text message is free because the customer gets an instant airtime reward as soon as the text message is sent.
Trading activities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, on Thursday, March 3, maintained a positive momentum with the market indices soaring further by 1.65 per cent.
The All-Share Index, which opened at 25,396.83, soared by 419.46 points or 1.65 per cent to close at 25,816.29 following gains by major blue chip equities.
Also, the market capitalization jumped by N144 billion to close at N8.880 trillion compared with N8.736 trillion recorded on Wednesday.
Dangote Cement for the third day running topped the gainers’ table, appreciating by N8 to close at N168 per share.
CAP trailed with a gain of N1.78 to close at N37.56, while PZ Industries appreciated by N1.10 to close at N24.10 per share.
Unilever gained 50k to close at N27.50 and Dangote Sugar Refinery also appreciated by 50k to close at N5.99 per share.
On the other hand, 7UP led the losers’ chart, dropping by N8.50 to close at N161.50 per share.
Seplat came second with a loss of N2.78 to close at N349.52, while International Breweries declined by 38k to close at N18.15 per share.
Nigerian Breweries shed 20k to close at N98.20 and Air Service depreciated by 11k to close at N2.18 per share.
FCMB Group was most active, accounting for 75.62 million shares worth N51.99 million in 265 deals.
Zenith Bank followed with 45.79 million shares valued at N537.66 million achieved in 487 deals, while FBN Holdings traded 44.44 million shares worth N162.29 million achieved in 160 deals.
UBA sold 38.65 million shares valued at N123.27 million in 335 deals and GT Bank accounted for 26.61 million shares worth N425.69 million transacted in 308 deals.
The volume of shares traded closed higher as investors staked N2.27 billion on 317.48 million shares transacted in 3,335 deals. This was against the 275.09 million shares valued at N1.64 billion exchanged in 3,344 deals on Wednesday.
Policy Advocacy and Campaigns Manager of Action Aid, Tunde Aremu, said Nigeria lost 2.9 billion dollars yearly to tax incentives to multinational companies operating in the country.
Aremu disclosed this when he visited a member of the House of Representatives, Odeneye Kehinde (APC-Ogun) on Thursday, March 3, in Abuja.
He said that there was need for the National Assembly to review the laws that granted incentives to the multinational companies, adding that the legislature should also probe the processes of granting the tax incentives.
“How are these incentives negotiated? Our suspicion is that the processes of negotiating these incentives are not open.
“The companies go under the rugs to negotiate these incentives
“The Nigerian parliament should start querying the processes and demand that they should be open and transparent and that the representatives of the people should be informed when these incentives are being negotiated,’’ he said.
Aremu said that although that tax avoidances were legal, “they are actually legal means of stealing money’’.
He described e-trading, over invoicing, mispricing and price shifting as some of the technical terms adopted by the companies to encourage illicit financial flow from the country.
“The bulk of the money leaving Africa that we are losing contrary to impression, is not due to corruption, crime, drug trade or trade in human trafficking or other crimes
“Over 75 per cent of the money leaving Africa illicitly is actually through tax avoidance practices which unfortunately is not regarded as illegal,’’ he stated.
He also urged the legislature to demand for the audit of the incentives, saying that such measure would check abuses of the incentives.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted an Approval-in-Principle to Interswitch Financial Inclusion Services(IFIS), a subsidiary of Interswitch Group that has a mandate to grow an active Agent Network of 150,000 by 2020. Trading as Quickteller Paypoint, IFIS aims to increase the availability of digital financial services in financially-excluded locations in Nigeria from 44% to over 70% in five years.
Confirming the development, Divisional CEO, IFIS, Mike Ogbalu commented, “We are very happy to confirm that CBN has granted the required authorization for us to operate as a Super Agent. This is an ambitious undertaking and with Quickteller Paypoint, we seek to become the largest and most used agent network in Nigeria by YE 2016. This is the beginning of what promises to be a new chapter in Nigerian financial services and our national development as a whole new frontier of commercial activities will be opened up through Quickteller Paypoint.
We want to thank our numerous partners and stakeholders and the CBN for trusting our vision enough to give us the opportunity to unlock the value of agency banking and financial inclusion services in Nigeria. Issues around non-robust agent management platform, poor liquidity management, lack of agent interoperability, low agent value proposition, poor investment in agent branding and support have all been duly identified and would be addressed effectively. The hard work starts now but we are going to relish every moment.”
The nod from the Apex bank is expected to signal new levels of collaboration amongst Nigerian Banks, other financial and non-financial institutions to leverage the reach and product innovation offered by the Quickteller Paypoint network.
This would enable the extension of their services to previously unreached customers via a shared infrastructure. Interswitch deployed a similar model that delivered the successful rollout of ATM technology across Nigeria.
Adopting the Quickteller brand, which currently has over 5000 merchants and services such as funds transfer, airtime recharge and more recently, retail insurance, provides immediate value for the agents who from day one will have a rich bouquet of offerings for customers. Quickteller’s brand strength will also be a major leverage for the agents. To this extent, Quickteller Paypoint checks all the keys to agent success which include content, strong brand awareness and user-friendly agent interfaces.
In December 2015, IFIS was introduced to Nigerian e-business personalities at the 2015 Committee Of E-Business Heads Conference, which held in Uyo, and it will be recalled that Head of e-Banking, Fidelity Bank, Adedeji Olowe had this to say;
“If there is a Nigerian organization capable of taking this on, it’s Interswitch. Just like they have been able to do with switching and linking the banks, I expect them to be able to make this work.”
Interswitch has been known since its launch in 2002 to be one of the strongest proponents of the attainment of a truly cashless society and has been known to push the boundaries of technology in achieving this. The company in 2014 was listed by Deloitte as the fastest growing tech company in Africa with a year-on-year growth rate of over 1500%.
Interswitch has also made considerable inroads into the East African market with the acquisition of Paynet Kenya alongside a strategic partnership with KCB Bank across several East African countries.
Alhaji Gbadebo Olatokunbo Co-founder of Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA).
Recently, the Director- General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mallam Mounir Gwarzo, was on the floor of the national Assembly (NASS), lamenting the low patronage of one percent of citizens in the country’s capital market and that the commission was targeting to increase it to five percent in the next 10 years.
Really, the targeted increase of another four percent in the next 10 years exposed the unpreparedness and short-sightedness of SEC in attracting Nigerians to the capital market and I sincerely wish to encourage them do more.
To be candid, SEC could do more if the issue is deeply and seriously reflected upon with the determination to make A BIG DIFFERENCE, and l have the following suggestions.
THE MAGIC
We could increase the participation from the current one percent to a higher figure of around 40-60 percent in the next 10 years, if it were the intention, vision and mission of SEC to seriously work on long-term-attractiveness-project on Nigerians in order to improve participation in the market from the current position of one percent.
Education on the capital market must be directed at both rural, urban, educated, less-educated, professional bodies, in both formal and informal sectors of the economy, while SEC/NSE and other stakeholders should specifically target the “less-privileged”, because they could free their resources for long-term investments (which is the bedrock of capital market) and might show less interest in speculative investments.
WORKERS & ALL INCOME EARNERS
Fixed income earners must be educated that it is another way to earn extra income while still working, and to encourage savings towards their retirement. Workers from day one of engagement should be educated and encouraged to get involved in capital market activities, no matter how small their investments might be as beginners.
Employers of labour – federal, state and local governments and agencies in the private sector, including the informal sectors – with the assistance and encouragement of SEC/NSE/Stockbrokers should be part of The Capital Market Activities Campaign and sell its benefit to the nation’s economy and her citizens.
ENLIGHTENMENT
The campaign should now be moved by SEC/NSE from “Overseas-Road-Shows” to the Nigerian schools, work-places, ministries, agencies, markets, mechanics, builders and vulcaniser workshops etc.., technical colleges, higher institutions, masons, petty traders, motor parks and all professional bodies with encouraging captions like “Extra Retirement Benefit for Workers” and “Retirement Opportunities for The Informal-Sector”.
NIGERIANS IN DIASPORA
SEC, NSE and other stakeholders should create platforms via Nigerian Embassies for them to get involved with great assurance on the safety of their investments, while all operational loopholes should be blocked with higher sanctions on defaulting operators.
OPPORTUNITIES
One of the greatest side-effects and opportunities is the likely reduction in corrupt practices in Nigeria when citizens know that they can get extra incomes through capital market investment, that will reduce pressure on their cash-demands.
It will also encourage savings that would then be a vehicle for creating more wealth and better retirement packages for citizen-investors and above all it will give the capital market the needed long-term investment regime and economic stability that is the hallmark of every progressive capital market, as well as discourage speculative activities.
CONCLUSION
The magic to making the capital market attractive to citizens is to refocus on the home-front with seriousness of purpose and great determination to achieve results, and to now run less after foreign portfolio investors, those that l tag: ‘Casino Players’. We should make policies that would discourage foreign investors from off-loading stocks that were bought less than A YEAR AFTER PURCHASE in the capital market.
If this is done, a lot of cash that is outside the banking industry would find its way to the capital market sooner than later. Believe me, WE CAN and WE SHALL.
Really, I wish SEC, NSE and other stakeholders the best of luck and much can be expected, with hard work and determination of purpose.
Alhaji Gbadebo OLATOKUNBO is a shareholder activist and co-founder of Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association (NSSA) in 1985. He can be reached on: 08055514565, 08099148585.
Oracle provides the world’s most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems, with more than 370,000 customers including 100 of the Fortune 100 representing a variety of sizes and industries in more than 145 countries around the globe.
Oracle has an outstanding track record for delivering business value in the communications industry.
Oracle offers integrated hardware & software solutions that deliver end-to-end support for the key business processes for Enterprise companies from service creation, offer management, and order orchestration, through provisioning and service delivery, to charging, billing and reporting.
The Oracle Communications Global Business Unit (CGBU) has one of the most comprehensive footprints in the industry the recent acquisitions ensure that we are best placed to help enterprise customers deliver on their current & future communications strategies.
The Oracle Communications Applications portfolio consists of the following products:
Billing & Revenue Management
Service Fulfilment Suite
Order & Service Management
Inventory Management
Service Activation
Configuration Management
Network Intelligence & Network Integrity
Network Analytics
Unified Communications
The merger of enterprise IT solutions and enterprise communications is opening up many new opportunities for the CGBU and we are in the process of recruiting to take advantage of this market shift. This sales role will be to develop new business in the Enterprise market across EMEA.
Scope of the role
In this sales role, you will be the sales lead address the enterprise communications market for Oracle Communications and work in close cooperation with your colleagues from other Oracle lines of business.
You will be working with Oracle’s large enterprise customers across EMEA.
This is a sales role and requires a large degree of passion, customer intimacy and sales focus.
Responsibilities
Selling Oracle Communications Applications solutions to large enterprise customers across EMEA.
Responsible and accountable for achieving allocated quarterly and annual sales quotas for license software and first year maintenance.
Expand awareness of Oracle Communications’ products in EMEA, building a sustainable and pipeline of opportunities.
Work in conjunction with Oracle CGBU account teams and other Oracle lines of business to identify opportunities in the Oracle installed base and/or net new accounts.
Lead the development, presentation and sale of opportunity specific value propositions with your team.
Manage key sales negotiations, customer pricing and contractual agreements within the team.
Qualifications and Experience required:
Successful track record of selling (direct and indirect) solutions including software applications products into the enterprise market, ideally including billing/rating & or Unified Communications solutions.
Excellent organisation skills.
Strong business and technical acumen with a good understanding of the market drivers and company strategies.
Strong collaboration and networking skills.
Good English communications skills (written & spoken).
Established trusted relationships at various levels within large enterprise organisations.
Strong demonstrable sales acumen and ability to participate and influence cross-lines of business opportunities.
Demonstrable experience in selling to key influencers, stakeholders, committees and decision makers.
Consistently achieved or exceeded sales quota objectives.
International sales and sales management experience preferred.
Capabilities Expected:
Passion and enthusiasm.
Sales skills.
Working within a matrix organisation.
Proven ability to meet sales objectives.
Bid shaping and business case justification skills.
Detailed Description and Job Requirements
This position is responsible for new account development and/or expanding existing accounts within an established geographic territory.
Works as part of an account team to identify, qualify and deliver Hardware products/ solutions.
Responsible for the account plan to drive goal attainment in assigned territory. Coordinates with the other members of the sales team (employees and partners) to support account sales and business development strategies.
Helps identify and engage the appropriate partner to meet customer specifications.
Becomes trusted advisor to key customer influencers and decision makers.
Drives company’s strategy into assigned accounts.
Follows all companies’ methodologies and processes related to sales opportunity pursuit.
Ensures that the company’s sales programs are known and executed in assigned territory, including personal follow-up and engagement in selected opportunities.
Achieves or exceeds the quarterly and annual sales goals.
May travel frequently.
Leading contributor individually and as a team member, providing direction and mentoring to others. Work is non-routine and very complex, involving the application of advanced technical/business skills in area of specialization.
8 years relevant work experience.
BS/BA preferred.
Application Closing Date
Not Specified.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidate should APPLY
Bell Oil & Gas was incorporated in January 2002 and has experienced unprecedented growth in the Nigerian oil industry. The company is an independent oil services company which was formed and wholly-owned by Nigerians. We have quick access to international markets via our geographical spread and technology, together with access to international lines of credit.
We are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job Title: Assistant Business Development Manager
Location: Port Harcourt, Rivers
Functional Area: Business Development in Oil and Gas industry (Upstream)
Reports to: Business Development Manager
Overall Purpose of the Job
To assist the Business Development Manager (BDM) to ensure that company’s business targets are met and supervise Business Development Executives (BDEs) to ensure that Business Development Processes are followed and unit goals are met.
Responsibilities
Exhibit sound knowledge of the company’s business strategy.
Exploit opportunities to sell company’s services/products.
Exhibit sound knowledge of company’s offerings and coach BDEs in order to bring them up to speed.
Meet sales targets
Ensure that profiles are built for our customers by identifying immediate and long term goals.
Collate client-specific intelligence and map out ways of relating with them.
Generate request for quote on your assigned accounts and encourage other BDEs to do so on their accounts.
Effectively manage the accounts assigned to you to ensure sales targets are met and also supervise other BDEs to ensure they do the same.
Ensure full payment for all supplies and services
Reconcile customers’ accounts and ensure proper documentation
Prospect for and acquire new and financially viable high volume customers
Identify and recommend as most appropriate, technical assistance for key customers
Provide regular updates on plans and progress in your accounts and on other accounts in the unit.
Demonstrate consistent business development success and target – driven achievement
Build customer profile by identifying immediate and long term goals
Define strategy for relating with each customer group and create a Customer Relationship Plan per group
Generate Request for Quotation (RFQ) and Purchase Orders (PO) on your assigned accounts and ensure other BDEs do the same on their accounts.
Effectively manage each customer account to ensure sales targets are fully achieved
Collate and communicate business intelligence
Assist in the preparation of tenders where necessary
Be aware and responsive to threats to our business goals.
Prepare up to date reports on activities in the unit and agree on ways forward with the BDM.
Exhibit sound business report writing skills and coach other team members to do the same.
Attend presentations to and negotiations with prospective clients.
Assist the BDM in preparing reports for the monthly management meeting.
Represent the BDM at meetings as delegated.
Person Specifications/Competencies
A graduate
Minimum of five (5) years relevant experience in Upstream Oil and Gas Service doing business development/sales.
Super contacts in the IOCs, EPCs and E&P companies.
In-depth understanding of Business Development/Technical Sales in the Upstream subsector of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry
A graduate.
Analytical skills to define and solve problems.
Excellent relationship management skills.
Excellent intelligence gathering skills.
Good documentation skills.
Proven tenders preparation knowledge.
Passion to deliver
Good interpersonal skills
Excellent written, presentation and oral communication skills
Hamilton Lloyd and Associates – Our client is a multinational FMCG Company with major operations in Nigeria. Due to internal expansion; they are recruiting to fill the position below:
Job title: Finance Analyst
Location: Lagos
Job Summary
The Finance Analyst is accountable for the ongoing analysis of all costing elements in the factory, margin analysis, and tracing costs back to underlying activities.
The cost accountant must also construct and monitor those cost effective data accumulation systems needed to provide an appropriate level of costing information to management.
Job Responsibilities
Coordinate physical inventory counts and cycle counts.
Investigate cycle counting variances and resolve issues.
Update standard costs in the bill of materials.
Review standard and actual costs for inaccuracies.
Validate the cost of goods sold as part of the month end close.
Work with the supply chain to locate and dispose of obsolete inventory.
Help the Supply Chain controller to conduct ongoing process constraint analyses
Report on break even points by products.
Report on margins by product and division.
Report periodic variances and their causes, focusing in particular on spending variances.
Analyze capital budgeting requests.
Monitor the posting of spare parts to inventory and expense account.
Prepare the conversion cost report (fixed and variable)
Monthly overtime analysis.
Required Education, Knowledge, Skills & Abilities
B.Sc/HND degree in Accounting with minimum of second class lower degree/upper credit.
Minimum of 3years working experience in a multinational company.
Extensive knowledge about the costing rules and tools applied in the manufacturing area with Management accounting/Business administration background
Strong analytical skills, good understanding of processes and workflows.
Flexibility
Proactive person with ability to work independently.
Good personality and interpersonal skills.
Application Closing Date
16th March, 2016.
How to Apply
Interested and qualified candidates should forward CV’s to:angel@hamiltonlloydandassociates.com kindly make the subject of the mail the job title
Note: Only successful candidates will be contacted.
Tasty Time Nigeria Limited is a family-owned business with a continuous operation for more than two decades. In recent and past years, it has built and expanded its manufacturing facilities in order to serve and further emphasize product quality and service. Our products pricing has also become more competitive as a result of this.
We are recruiting to fill the following positions below:
