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Form A for PTA
The Foreign currency (FX) regime in Nigeria is a little complex – there are 3 different markets for FX all at different price points with varying means of access and availability. In this environment you need to be clear on how to get FX when you need it and thankfully…
It’s time for your financial health check!
When it comes to health, whether it be physical, mental or emotional, It pays to prioritise it, be intentional in taking steps to become and stay healthy and also to review your progress periodically. The same principles can and should be applied to your financial health – prioritise it, set…
How to assess an Investment
Driving down any highway or major road in Lagos you will come across adverts for various investments ranging from property to pig farming and cryptocurrency. Whilst its wonderful to have so many investment options available it can also be daunting, after all you want to get it right and figure…
Give Binance a chance
One of my favourite shows is Nigerian Idol for unveiling amazing talent as well as its mix of comedy and drama. This year’s edition prompted this post because of one of its sponsors, Binance, the cryptocurrency exchange, whose adverts seem to be playing every time I switch on the tv.…
What’s the impact of the Finance bill 2021?
The Finance act is a key piece of legislation that has been updated regularly in the last few years. In 2020 I wrote a post about the changes introduced in 2019. Since then there have been two sets of changes including the most recent that were signed into law by…
Domiciliary accounts in Nigeria
Saving and investing in foreign currency (FX) is one of my top strategies to preserve the value of my money. If diversifying into foreign currency is good enough for Africa’s richest man then I am happy to emulate the approach that he is taking to preserve his wealth. Domiciliary accounts…
Hello 2022! Top 5 financial goals
Happy New Year 2022! I no longer write a list of new year’s resolutions or decide to make changes in my life solely based on the fact that a new year is starting. I find my goals are ongoing for the most part and whilst I do have a clear…
2021 Financial goals review
I really enjoy reading, viewing and hearing about how people are progressing on their personal transformation journeys whether they are physical, mental or in some other important area of their lives. Progress shows that effort and discipline have combined to create something new and/or improved. At the end of every…
6th Lagos Small Business Summit
The 6th Lagos Small Business summit took place on Friday 10th December 2021 and I was thrilled to be asked by Charles Odii and the SME 100 Africa team (the conveners of the conference) to join a panel of amazing CEOs and funders to talk about startups and funding. SME…
Introduction to Pensions – Part 4
Welcome to the final post in the Introduction to Pensions series, this post focusses on Step 3 of How Pensions work: Withdraw Step 3: Withdraw Ideally money should not be withdrawn from a pension plan during the years that it is being contributed to (aside from under certain circumstances) as…
Introduction to Pensions – Part 3
Although Pensions are covered in the ‘Savings’ category of the blog, Investing plays a significant part in their success. The act of Saving is putting money aside for a purpose which for Pensions is to fund retirement. Investing speaks to what you do with the funds to achieve growth and…
Introduction to Pensions – Part 2
Welcome to Part 2 of Introduction to Pensions. This post focuses on Step 1 of the Idio’s ‘3 steps to how Pensions work’ . Step 1 is Contribute. Step 1: Contribute Contributions into a pension are made by the Contributor and their Employer (if employed) on a monthly or periodic…
Introduction to pensions – Part 1
Like most employees, I was first introduced to what a pension is when I first started working and I was provided with one as a benefit of employment. I didn’t have to choose to opt in to one at all as it was, and still is, mandatory for employers to…
The E-₦aira and you
Update: Subsequent to this post, the launch date of the E-naira was pushed to 25th October 2021 The 1st October, going forward, shall not only be the birthday of Nigeria but also of the CBN’s new digital currency, the ENaira! It came as a surprise when it was first announced…
CBN vs. AbokiFX
The last two or so weeks have seen the dramatic slide of the Naira vs other currencies. This is proving traumatic to many of us especially given the acceleration of the decline which has made, once again, expenses creep up even further. Additional concern has been raised by the Governor…
CBN vs. The Fintechs
On the 17th August 2021, CBN took action against 4 extremely popular Fintech companies by freezing the accounts they hold with a number of commercial and microfinance banks. CBN seems to be continuing in its ‘war’ against Fintechs and laying the blame for the terrible state of the Naira on…
Which coin should you buy?
The range of crypto currencies available today is massive and, according to Investopedia, there are over 4,000 of them as at January 2021. Coins are the investment opportunity of the moment with critics and proponents in equal measure. Accessibility to buying and selling coins using a Nigerian bank account has…
CBN’s directives on FX in 2021
The last year has seen the Naira dive by over 30% from a valuation of ₦362 to $1 in January 2020 to $470 at the end of 2020. As we near the end of March 2021 the situation at the black market has not improved at all with black market…
NASD International Women’s Day Message
To mark International Women’s Day I was asked to say a few words relating to career and also speak to challenges that I had encountered on the way. I hope you enjoy this video. Thanks for listening https://www.youtube.com/embed/AWuEMaNVUx0
100 Women: International Women’s day Conference 2021
The Team at SME100 are doing an excellent job of supporting and helping businesses to actualise and reach their full potential. I was delighted to be invited to speak about access to finance for business and also breaking into the Finance industry, at the 100 Women International Women’s Day Conference…
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Should you Q?
If you haven’t heard of Initiative Q or received an invite to join millions of others that have already signed up to it, I am pretty certain that in the next few days or weeks you too will be invited to become part of the intriguingly named, Initiative Q. This…
Compliance Conversations
I had the pleasure and honour to have a conversation about Strategic thinking in Compliance with my great friend and colleague Kudzai Chaka who runs a Compliance Consultancy and is a foremost thinker in Compliance. Take a look at the video below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaYn_25_2z8
Claim your dividends now!
Introduction The value of unclaimed dividends in Nigeria is extremely high and was estimated at c.₦150bn, in the middle of 2020, and rising. This represents trapped wealth which, instead of being reinvested to earn compound returns and ultimately increase net worth, is currently being held in the bank accounts of…
What’s your financial plan for 2021?
I started 2020 with a list of 5 financial goals that i hoped to implement and achieve by year end. December is the time during which I make a deliberate and intentional effort to reflect on and review the previous 12 months finances and put in place a plan that…
Access Bank’s Quick bucks
I am no stranger to loans and have had to apply for them in the past to help manage cashflow humps where I needed to make large payments for an asset without too much stress. One thing in common with the loans that i have accessed so far is the…
Managing your business finances during Covid-19
I took part in a really enriching and informative webinar about managing business finances during Covid-19. I gave some recommendations as to what critical steps businesses should be taking at this time as well as talked about the funding and investment options available to them. Please check it out, the…
This is what you need to know about the 2019 Finance bill
The 2019 Finance bill was finally signed into Law by President Muhammadu Buhari on the 13th January 2020. The changes introduced impact individuals and corporates and, as with many things related to government finances, have the ultimate aim of increasing government revenues by (generally) increasing the amounts of tax paid…
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Savings Options – December 2019
This is a short summary of savings options in Nigeria in the month of December 2019. Please note that these are savings options as opposed to investments although some of the options are ‘investment like’. Generally savings options are:- Shorter term in nature (this is with the exception of a…
An introduction to saving – part 3
This post is part 3 of the ‘Introduction to saving’ series and to recap:- Part 1 covered the idea of saving and made a case for its necessity in meeting your financial goals;- Part 2 explored the ‘How’ of saving and discussed how much to save as well as an…
An introduction to saving – part 2
Welcome to part 2 of the ‘Introduction to saving’ series. Part 1 covered the idea of saving and made a case for its necessity in meeting your financial goals. This post goes further and explores the ‘How’ and ‘Where’ of saving, specifically: 1. How much to save2. How to categorise…
An introduction to saving – part 1
‘Saving’, as a consistent and regular practice, is a fundamental part of wealth creation so much so that if you are not able to save then it may be more difficult to achieve your financial goals. We all have varied goals when it comes to our finances – my primary…