Ict/Telecom
Tech Firm Rolls Out N3bn Green Bond
OneWattSolar (OWS), a technology company, has announced the successful issuance of the first series of its N10 billion Green Bond Issuance Programme,
The programme comprised a N2 billion seven-year Green Bond Issue (Tranche I) and a N1 billion seven-year Green Sukuk Issue (Tranche II).
Nelly Akpaka, Country Manager, Hudson Sandler, an independent strategic communications consultancy firm, disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos, on Friday.
“The issuance is the first of its kind in several categories. In Africa, it is the first: Corporate Green Bond for Off-Grid Renewable Energy Project, Corporate Green Sukuk and Corporate Joint Green Bond and Green Sukuk; and it is the 13th Green Sukuk in the world.
“The bond is rated BBB, in line with standards established by DataPro Limited, a registered Ratings Agency in Nigeria. TUV Nord Certification also provides Second Party Opinion on the green bond framework of the company.
“Comercio Partners Capital Ltd. (“CP Capital”) the investment banking subsidiary of Comercio Partners Ltd, led the bond issuance as Issuing House/Financial Advisers.
“The issue was also supported by Marble Capital Ltd. as Shariah Advisor, and Bloomfield LP as Legal Advisers. In addition, Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa) provided immense technical assistance in support of the issue,” she said.
Akpaka said the issuance was consistent with the company’s mission and mandate to accelerate and build on the achievements of Africa’s decarbonisation pathway goals in the energy sector.
“The company’s goal is to provide over 14GW off-grid solar energy by 2030 across sub-Saharan Africa.
“Furthermore, the issuance reinforces the company’s unfettered commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris agreement on Climate Change, leveraging its innovative and scalable business model that is consciously built on strategic partnership, advanced technologies and Big data.
“The company intends to allocate the net proceeds from the issue to purchase renewable energy assets required to implement its pipeline of off-grid energy access projects in Nigeria.
“This will be in line with the eligibility criteria, as defined in its Green Bond Framework, and support the adoption of best market practices and reporting standards to deepen the green bond market, “she noted.
Mr Jubril Adeojo, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of OWS said the issuance enabled the company to roll out two commercial flagship products.
“This issuance has enabled us to commercially roll out our two flagship products – CHIOMA being the Internet of Things-enabled Digital Assets & Hardware Technology, and AMINA being the Advanced Artificial Intelligence Software Technology.
Ict/Telecom
Nigeria Set To Host International Conference On Biotechnology
The Director-General of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), Prof Abdullahi Mustapha, has disclosed that Nigeria will be hosting International Conference on Biotechnology in June.
Mustapha, who made the disclosure recently in an interview with The Tide’s source in Abuja, said the conference would take place in June, adding that the agency was determined to introduce new things for the benefit of Nigerians.
“That is why we are organising this international conference where people across the globe will showcase what they are doing in their various countries in biotechnology. NABDA will also showcase what we are doing and had been doing to engage all our people in the country”, he said.
According to him, the conference would offer a platform where industries, private organisations, universities and others would have the opportunity to showcase their works.
The Director-General said the conference would be tailored around environment, industry, agriculture, genomics and bioinformatics as well as health.
Mustapha disclosed that he had inaugurated a committee toward organising the conference, adding that it had started work.
“The Nigerian policy on biotechnology was prepared in 2000, and I have seen that its about time to effect a change.
“This is imperative because the world is moving fast from what was regarded as the norm to a certain level of precision and accuracy in terms of investigations and deliverables”, he added.
He continued that Nigeria could meet up with advanced countries’ biotechnology as it could boast of scientists and experts.
“Whatever document we are going to produce is going to look at Nigeria and its projects in the next five to 20 years. This policy is what will drive Nigeria’s biotechnology to success”, he said.
Ict/Telecom
Expert Tasks Female Journalists On Content Creation
A digital media expert, Mr. Chimodo Paul, has charged female journalists in Rivers State to generate good contents in order to carve a niche for themselves in journalism.
He gave the charge at a one-day capacity building workshop held last Thursday, at the NUJ Press Center, Moscow Road, Port Harcourt.
The workshop, tagged, “Maximizing New Media Platforms: Upscaling Digital, Entrepreneur Skills of Journalists”, was organised by the Step-up for Women in Journalism Initiative (SWIJ), with support from Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Rivers State Council.
Paul urged the women to upscale their digital skills in order to enable them improve their career prospects and earning potentials.
He expressed dismay that ego had prevented some veteran journalists from upscaling their digital skills, which, he said, had deprived them from reaching their full potentials and becoming visible in the present new media era.
He also urged those stucked in old fashion media to start maximizing the social media tools.
The women was further challenged to invest in themselves by acquiring good digital gadgets, subscribe to online trainings, sponsor their good contents on social media platforms.
“Most journalists do not know how to maximize the new media platforms yet. Ego and pride is not allowing them to learn digital tools. This is the major reason they are where they are and it’s not helping to build and improve professional competence in this new media era”, he said.
He insisted that journalists must identify the social media tools that aligns with their line of job and build presence on it to gain from opportunities that abound from such tools.
“Social media has made it easier for journalists to collaborate on stories with other journalists, photographers, and videographers. Collaborations can help journalists reach a wider audience, tell more complex stories”, he stated.
Ict/Telecom
Expert Wants Telcos To Prioritise Improved QoS
A Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy Advisor, Mr. Jide Awe, has urged telecommunication operators to give priority to improving Quality of Services (QoS).
Awe, who is also the Founder of Jidaw.com, made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in Lagos State, recently.
He said it was necessary to improve the current poor QoS using strategic investment in infrastructure to support current and future needs.
Awe said the future needs included increased number of users and increased traffic volumes of transactions among others.
“Customer journey has evolved significantly over the years, largely influenced by the advancements in telecommunications technology.
“Customers now expect seamless and uninterrupted connectivity across multiple touchpoints, be it through their smartphones, laptops, or Internet of Things (IoT) devices”, he said.
Awe also noted that the telecoms industry was plagued with right-of-way charges, multiple taxation, and insecurity of telecoms infrastructure.
According to him, addressing these challenges is essential for consumer protection to ensure QoS standards are met, and that consumers receive the promised level of service quality.
The policy advisor added that solving the issues would also help in promoting affordable broadband services.
On the role of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) as a regulator, he said the NCC needed to adopt an innovative, supportive, and visionary regulation approach that appreciated the importance of innovation and expansion.
“As new technologies continue to emerge, regulation cannot afford to be static. NCC should inculcate a spirit of innovation and growth in the sector.
“Innovative regulation helps to cultivate an environment that attracts investment to propel sectoral growth. Investor-friendly initiatives, simplification of regulations, strategic and disruptive thinking/approaches are crucial”, he said.
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