Business

FG, NBTTF Join Forces To Develop More Nigerian Youth

Published

2 years ago

January 19, 2024

Joel Ajayi

The federal government has reiterated its commitment to not leaving any stone unturned to ensure more skill acquisition initiatives are put in place for the growth and development of young people in the country.

The Minister of Youth Development, Dr Jamila Bio-Ibrahim, said this on Thursday in Abuja, when a delegation led by Mr Bob Achanya, President, of the Nigeria-Bangladesh Trade and Technology Forum NBTTF, paid her a courtesy visit.

She expressed that, the ministry will partner with NBTTF to develop the skills of the young.

According to her, We want to engage the youths so that they will not be involved in illegal activities.

“The blue economy is the priority of President Bola Tinubu and young people will be the focus/

“We will also need to engage young people, especially in the insecurity-prone areas, because they can be used for bad things but when we engage them, they will not be involved.

She disclosed that the ministry was proposing to engage the young people in the South-South geo-political zone due to the natural resources in the area.

In his early remarks the leader of the delegation of the Nigeria-Bangladesh Trade and Technology Forum, Achanya said that the visit was to increase economic relations between Nigeria and Bangladesh, adding that continuous high-level engagement by the governments and private sector would help address the issue of poverty.

Acharya said that the forum sought to progressively add value to existing and ongoing bilateral relations and leverage strategic trade and investment opportunities by match-making businesses and industrialists.

The NBTTF president added that the forum would focus on skills development to remove people from poverty, adding that the forum would host a summit where countries would display their products.

“The forum will have a three-year collaboration with the country to build the capacity of young people.

“Through strategic partnerships, we will foster growth, champion South-South cooperation and usher in an era where businesses and individuals can flourish on the global stage.”

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Business

TAJBank Emerges Nigeria’s Biggest Non-Interest Bank

Published

2 weeks ago

October 23, 2025

The Gleamer

Cyril Ogar

After five years of operations in Nigeria’s rapidly evolving non-interest banking (NIB) space, TAJBank Limited has become the biggest player in the NIB subsector based on its total assets and gross earnings values.

Disclosing this during his paper presentation on the key performance indices in the non-interest banking space over the past few years at a seminar organized by Leaders Corporate Services with the theme “Roles of Non-Interest Banks In SMEs’ Financing” for SME entrepreneurs yesterday in Abuja, an investment expert, Mr. Olabode Akeredolu-Ale, maintained that based on the non-interest banks’ approved financial statements for the half year 2025, TAJBank currently remained the biggest in terms of its total assets.

The expert, a chartered stockbroker, specifically confirmed that his recent investment researches on the NIBs and their financial performances showed that TAJBank, with its total assets rising to N1.017 trillion in half year 2025 up from N953.098 billion as of December 2024, which is about N53 billion higher than the nearest NIB’s assets, now ranked top in the banking subsector.

According to him, TAJBank’s gross earnings for H1 2025 also surged to N53.752 billion from N32.86 billion as of December 2024, representing a 64% growth, and higher than the nearest NIB’s gross earnings in the period under review.

This is even as he disclosed that on the NIBs’ earnings per share during the half year, TAJBank reported N61.36 kobo earnings per share, about 92% higher than the earnings per share of the next NIB during the period.

Akeredolu-Ale, who is also a chartered accountant, clarified: “The figures I am reeling out here on the NIBs are sourced from the banking and capital market regulatory institutions’ platforms, which anyone can access to verify.

“I am part of this event because of my research interest in non-interest banking and how the players in the subsector in Nigeria can help to leverage their competencies in innovation and ethical banking to support our MSMEs.

“Today, the MSMEs cannot access DMBs’ loans due to high lending rates and other inclement macroeconomic factors. This is where I think the NIBs have become very crucial to Nigeria’s economic growth.

“Overall, my findings on the NIBs indicated that they are all trying their best with non-interest loans to support entrepreneurs, particularly the MSMEs owners. I have advised those of them at this seminar to explore the cost-friendly financing options of the NIBs to grow their businesses by opening accounts with the NIBs”, the expert added.

Another speaker at the event, Benjamin Chukwudi, also commended the NIBs for their “catalytic roles in helping SMEs to access interest-free loans and providing them the needed financial management advisory, which have been helping them in sustaining their operations in the face of rising cost of doing business in the country.”

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