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Business Leaders Guide Youth on Turning Passion into Profit at Stanbic IBTC’s YLS

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Stanbic IBTC Ranks Top 3 in LinkedIn’s Best Places to Work

Business Leaders Guide Youth on Turning Passion into Profit at Stanbic IBTC’s YLS

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, Nigeria’s leading end-to-end financial services organisation, held the 2021 edition of its Youth Leadership Series (YLS) on Thursday, 08 April 2021. The event held virtually this year due to the pandemic. Youths from across Nigeria and various parts of the world including the UK, USA and UAE were in attendance.

Dr Demola Sogunle, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, delivered the opening address. He stated that the YLS was birthed as an avenue to engage and empower young Nigerians into becoming future business leaders. He pointed that the youth made up over 50 percent of Nigeria’s population. Dr Sogunle asserted that the organisation remained committed to the vision of grooming young Nigerians and providing guidance in order to become successful in every sphere of life.

He said, “The Nigerian youth require support, guidance and empowerment to propel them to the pinnacle of their various fields. The innovative projects and tech disruptions championed by the youth in virtually every sector are proof of their ingenuity, skill, brilliance and resourcefulness. At Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC, we believe in breaking boundaries, hence our tagline, IT CAN BE, which is hinged upon the premise that everything is possible as long as we are dedicated and put in the requisite effort to make it work.”  

The 2021 edition of YLS was themed ‘WINNING’ and had an array of well-versed speakers in the areas of trading and investments, building businesses and monetising with social media. These speakers shared their invaluable entrepreneurial experiences, challenges and success stories in three (3) breakout sessions, much to the delight and admiration of the youthful audience in attendance.

Debo Adebayo; an entertainer better known as Mr. Macaroni, spoke during the ‘Winning with Social Media’ breakout session. He said his passion and urge to succeed propelled him into the business of entertainment. He added that having realised he wanted more visibility; he invested in himself from his meagre resources.

He advised youths to be passionate about their cause, and added that with passion, resilience could be sustained in the face of debilitating challenges.

Ms. Ifedayo Agoro, the founder of Diary of a Naija Girl (DANG), an online lifestyle website, revealed that the need to be heard and give women a voice made her leave a thriving career in the oil and gas industry and started her online community. She noted that although she did well in her career, she was unhappy until she found fulfilment with DANG.

She said the first six months were not encouraging as many people didn’t really understand her vision, but she kept at it.  “Winning doesn’t only involve consistency, it also involves constantly adapting to change”, she added.

At the ‘Winning with Entrepreneurship’ breakout session, the duo of Olumide Soyombo, co-Founder, Bluechip Technologies and Tracy Batta, co-Founder, Smoothie Express addressed business strategic moves, that included the rudiments of nurturing businesses. The panellists shared their experiences and entrepreneurship journeys with the participants.

Soyombo alluded that it was common to encounter challenges and uncertainty with business start-ups and advised entrepreneurs to remain flexible and well adapted to the ever-changing business climate.

On ‘Winning with Investments’, Akin Bamidele Akintola, Head of Equity Sales, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers, emphasised the need to make adequate preparations for the future. He explained that it was better to save in investments such as stocks and mutual funds, as the economy was largely unpredictable.

Co-founder of Bamboo Invest, an investment platform that allows Nigerians to invest in United States stocks, Yanmo Omorogbe said her major challenge was getting funding and investors before the pandemic. She advised people to believe in themselves, improve pitching skills and be persistent. She also stated that when entering any investment business, it was important to know the regulators. 

As Wole Adeniyi, Chief Executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank PLC, gave his closing remarks, he assured thousands of the participants at the event that Stanbic IBTC would  continue to make productive investments in the lives of the younger generation, as well as providing the needed financial solutions that would help them achieve their dreams.

The general takeaway from this year’s YLS was that consistency, passion, self-development and value-addition remained essential ingredients for winning.

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Dennis Ekamah Isn’t Building Houses—He’s Redefining What Home Means for Africans Through PropTech

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Dennis Ekamah Isn’t Building Houses—He’s Redefining What Home Means for Africans Through PropTech.

 

The founder of coHouse.ng is reimagining how millions of Africans access, experience, and share housing through technology.

 

In Africa’s rapidly evolving innovation landscape, the most transformative companies are no longer defined by the industries they enter, but by the systems they redesign.

 

For Dennis Ekamah, the opportunity was never about constructing buildings, it was about confronting a deeper question.

 

why is access to housing still so structurally difficult for millions of Africans in a digital age?

 

Rather than stepping into real estate as a developer. Dennis chose a different path, positioning coHouse.ng as a PropTech platform rethinking how housing is accessed, experienced, and shared. At the heart of this vision which is connecting potential home owners together via resource pooling for the purpose of either Living or Growth. Simply, *Connect. Live. Grow.*

 

*A Platform Not a Property Company*

 

coHouse.ng is not a real estate company. It is a technology-driven ecosystem connecting like-minded individuals into structured communities where they can live intentionally, invest collectively, and grow within a shared system.

 

From Insight to Recognition

 

In 2025, coHouse.ng was recognised among the Top 50 Tech Startups in Africa. Even ahead of its official launch, the platform attracted over 1,000 early waitlist users, individuals eager to be part of a new way of living and investing.

 

Solving for Access, Alignment, and Trust

 

Dennis Ekamah’s diagnosis goes deeper than supply shortfalls. The real barriers he argues are access, coordination, and trust. coHouse.ng tackles all three through identity verification powered by a third party verification system api. coHouse is not flying solo without the help and collaboration with government bodies across Nigeria and other African countries.

 

In his words;

“Imagine what you would achieve as an individual or group if you’re living with the right people or like-minded individuals around you.”

 

I’m not a developer, I’m not a professional realtor, I’m just someone who sees the need for this solution based on the problem we face as youth/young entrepreneurs in today’s housing deficiency across Africa.

— Dennis Ekamah

 

Join our waitlist by visiting www.cohouse.ng

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Landmark Judgment: Federal High Court Dismisses ₦50bn Oil Spill Claim Against ExxonMobil

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Landmark Judgment: Federal High Court Dismisses ₦50bn Oil Spill Claim Against ExxonMobil

 

The Federal High Court sitting in Uyo has dismissed a ₦50 billion lawsuit filed against ExxonMobil, sued as Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, now Seplat Energy Producing, in a ruling analysts say could significantly reshape oil spill litigation and compensation claims in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.

Delivering judgment on April 29, 2026, Justice Onyetenu held that the suit instituted by the Ejige Ore Njenyisi Muma & Fishing Co-operative Society Ltd was incompetent and liable to dismissal for lack of jurisdiction.

The plaintiffs had sought ₦50 billion in damages over an alleged hydrocarbon spill said to have occurred on September 12, 2021.

However, counsel to the defendant, Chinonso Ekuma of KENNA LP, successfully argued that the claimants failed to disclose any legally recognisable violation attributable to the oil firm.

In its findings, the court held that the plaintiffs failed to establish any actionable wrongdoing against the defendant.

A key element in the court’s decision was the Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) Report tendered by the plaintiffs themselves, which showed that the alleged spill incident was confined within ExxonMobil’s operational facility and did not impact the members of the cooperative society or their sources of livelihood.

The court further ruled that claims arising from such incidents must be pursued strictly under the statutory compensation framework provided in Section 11(5) of the Oil Pipelines Act, rather than through common-law claims founded on negligence or nuisance.

Justice Onyetenu held that the plaintiffs’ attempt to circumvent the statutory regime by framing the suit as a tort action rendered the matter incompetent before the court, thereby depriving it of jurisdiction.

Legal analysts say the judgment reinforces the supremacy of the Oil Pipelines Act in determining compensation procedures relating to oil pipeline incidents and environmental claims in Nigeria.

The ruling is also seen as strengthening the evidential weight of Joint Investigation Visit Reports, particularly in cases where such reports indicate no direct impact on claimants or host communities.

Industry observers believe the judgment will have far-reaching implications for future oil spill litigation, especially regarding the procedural requirements for compensation claims against oil operators.

The court’s decision further provides clarity for operators within Nigeria’s energy sector by reaffirming that compliance with Section 11(5) of the Oil Pipelines Act is mandatory and cannot be sidestepped through alternative legal formulations.

While K.O. Uzuokwu appeared for the plaintiffs, the defence was led by Chinonso Ekuma of KENNA LP on behalf of ExxonMobil.

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Union Bank Honoured by ASBON at Nigeria National SME Business Awards

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Union Bank Honoured by ASBON at Nigeria National SME Business Awards

 

 

Lagos, Nigeria – Union Bank of Nigeria has reaffirmed its reputation as a strong supporter of Nigerian businesses, receiving the Best SME Growth Banking Initiatives Award for 2025 from the Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON) at the Nigeria National SME Business Awards, held recently in Lagos.

The award was presented to the Bank in recognition of its strategic leadership in advancing the growth and resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises, through a differentiated suite of solutions designed to enable business expansion and long-term value creation.

Receiving the award on behalf of the Bank, Ayokunnumi Abraham, Head of SME Segment at Union Bank, described the recognition as a strong endorsement of the Bank’s commitment to supporting small and medium-sized businesses. He said:

“We are honoured to receive this recognition, which reflects Union Bank’s continued commitment to helping SMEs grow by making banking simpler, faster, and more accessible. Through enhancements to our specialised platforms such as Union360, we have meaningfully reduced the time it takes for businesses to come on board and begin transacting. These improvements have shortened onboarding, increased digital adoption among our SME customers, and supported the acquisition of new business clients. Our focus remains on delivering practical solutions that help Nigerian businesses thrive.”

Organised by ASBON in partnership with the Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, the event convened stakeholders from the public and private sectors to recognise individuals and organisations driving meaningful impact across Nigeria’s SME ecosystem.

Union Bank remains focused on deepening its support for SMEs through customer-led solutions and processes that strengthen business growth across the ecosystem.

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