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.
The strategic partnership would see Interswitch utilise TranzAxis, an award-winning, token-based, cloud-native technology and other innovations developed by Compass Plus Technologies for Verve, Visa and Mastercard credit card processing.
Managing Director, Payment Processing and Switching (Interswitch Purepay), Mr Akeem Lawal, stated this in a statement in Lagos recently.
Lawal said the collaboration forms part of the company’s comprehensive response to the evolving and constantly expanding demand by the African market.
He stated that the partnership would boost Interswitch presence across the continent as it continues to deliver on its promise as the gateway to Africa’s payment ecosystem.
“We are pleased to announce this partnership with Compass Plus Technologies, which aligns with our commitment to making payments easy and convenient.
“Migrating our card processes to the TranzAxis platform will allow us to further improve our service offerings as we remain focused on providing cutting-edge solutions that optimise service delivery”, he said.
Also speaking, the Vice President and Deputy Managing Director, Middle East and Africa, Compass Plus Technologies, Adil Ahmed, said Interswitch has always strived to drive positive change in Middle East and Africa region.
“We are delighted to partner with Interswitch, one of the biggest processors in Africa, and now that they have TranzAxis to support their ambitions, they will continue to revolutionise Africa’s payments space in the region
“This will further strengthen the Verve payments network, and manage their Visa and Mastercard credit card business more efficiently.
“By utilising TranzAxis, Interswitch can rely on its extensive Application Programme Interface (API) capabilities for seamless integration, which significantly accelerates time to market.
“It also provides operational workflows to segregate system set up in compliance with rules and controls required to scale and meet unique market requirements, “ he noted.
The Tide’s source reports that the new platform had been deployed in one of Interswitch Group’s technology hubs domiciled in Nairobi, Kenya.
The platform would have the capability to process transactions for Interswitch clients across Africa, with localised instances for each country tailored to meet clients’ unique needs.
Its Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, said this at the 90th edition of Telecom Consumer Parliament (TCP) held in Lagos recently.
Danbatta said NCC, through the support of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, would ensure the deployment of spectrum to further accelerate the growth of Nigeria’s broadband services.
“The final letters of award have been issued to MTN and Mafab Communications, which emerged winners of the 3.5GHz Spectrum auction conducted on Dec. 13, 2021.
“In line with the information memorandum, the licensees are expected to commence rollout of 5G services effective from August 24, 2022.
“The successful completion of the process leading to the final letters is confirmation that the rollout of 5G technology services in Nigeria is on course”, he said.
The EVC reiterated that the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) had revealed that 5G network would ensure Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB); Massive machine-type Communications (mMTC) and Ultra-reliable and low-lattency Communications ( URLLC).
He said with the estimated population of 214 million Nigerians, with an average growth rate of 2.6 per cent annually, approximately 76.46 per cent of the population should be under the age of 35.
“In line with the demographic changes, internet penetration grew from three per cent in 2004 to 73.82 per cent as at September 2022, while broadband penetration increased from less than 10 per cent in 2015 to 40.01 per cent in September 2021.
“The potential for expansion is a great opportunity for 5G deployment as operators are certain of recouping their investment”, he said.
He noted that some challenges of the spectrum identified by ITU included the requirements for more spectrally efficient technologies, which were more than what the current 3G and 4G system required.
According to him, ITU also identified intrinsic propagation characteristics of millimetre waves, which may require greater number of base stations.
“It is a challenge that stakeholders must collaborate to address as Nigeria rolls out 5G technology services”, he said.
Danbatta continued that the goal of the commission was for Nigeria to be one of the leading nations with 5G technology deployment that would benefit all stakeholders and contribute maximally to the digital economy policy of the Federal Government.
The theme of the meeting was “5G Technology: Opportunities and Challenges”.
The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity in an exclusive chat with The Tide in Port Harcourt yesterday, said the reason for the planned switch to electronic system of service is to ensure that the agency is not left out in the 21st century mode of business transaction.
The officer noted that the Nigerian Immigration is on ground to promote quick service delivery, hence, the decision to go digital.
According to him, some of the delay in their services to the public is due to the semi analogue system still practised in the agency.
Not exonerating the service of any form of challenge, he stated that the paramilitary outfit would do better upon full digitization of the organisation.
On the recent complaint by members of the public about the delay in the Passport Unit, he said such was misconstrued because the personnel at the unit are doing their best.
He expressed regrets that some persons will only raise alarm when they did not receive the special treatment they requested, and not praise them subsequently when treated as demanded.
“What they do not know is that, we cannot please every person the same time. Some of them will come with a near difficult work and want you to perform the magic almost immediately”, he said.
The officer did not state how soon the digital operations will commence, but said that it may not exceed this year.
“It has to pass through due process, that is why we may have some delay. But internally, we are prepared to take up the new challenge. I think we are equal to the task”, he said.
The Tide gathered that the Service in Port Harcourt, especially the Passport Unit, is on ground and is gradually removing all bottlenecks associated with the job.
By: King Onunwor
-
Business2 days agoCustoms Breaks Revenue Record In Apapa
-
Business2 days agoBusiness Executive Blames Nigeria’s Economic Woes On Resources Under-Utilisation
-
Business2 days agoPrioritise Sorghum In Agric Dev Programme, Expert Urges FG
-
Business2 days agoHouse Probes Petrol Subsidy Regime From 2017 To 2021
-
Sports2 days ago
Nigeria’s Sports Journalists Amongst Best In World – Sports Minister
-
Sports2 days ago
NPFL: Rivers United Receive Commendations Over Title Win
-
Sports2 days ago
FIBA W’Cup Qualifiers: D’Tigers Secure Second Round Ticket
-
Business2 days agoEstablish More Fuel Depots, Reps Urge NNPC