Fighting climate change

The Conference of Parties (COP 27), organised for nations to deliberate on tackling the global challenge of climate change, has officially kickstarted in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

This session of the conference is crucial to the African continent, which is most affected by the disruptive effects of climate change. The Nigerian government, for one, has expressed optimism about achieving the country’s expectations for climate financing, and carbon trading, amongst other issues. Climate change costs Nigeria $100 billion per annum and could cost $460bn by 2050. 

Can the two weeks long conference help solve the country’s climate change-induced problems? We will find out on the 18th of November. 

Naira hits N800/$1

Going by the official exchange rate, one can say the performance of the Naira is not all gloomy. This is because it has only dropped by 4% against the US dollar this year. However, from a larger economic view, this isn’t commendable. The official exchange rate is largely used by the government, but engagement with the dollar is solely in the black market, translating to a 37% drop against the dollar. 

On Friday, the dollar was exchanged at N880.00 and sold at N885.00 on the parallel market as against the official rate of N439.38. There are projections that $1 will equal N1000 Naira before the year runs out. The Central Bank of Nigeria can not afford this, but how will this looming reality be averted? Increased export or Naira beautification?

Twitter layoffs and the cost of verification 

The recent acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk is already coming at a cost for many people – from users (Tweeps) to workers. For example, Twitter users would have to pay $8 per month to get or remain verified. This has raised concerns from users who feel the badge of authenticity is better earned and monetizing it partly erodes its essence.

We earlier reported how the business magnate started a series of layoffs, starting with top executives like CEO Parag Agrawal and chief financial officer Ned Segal amongst others. We further asked if this layoff would affect Africa’s Twitter team. Sadly yes, there is already a trickle-down impact on the African Twitter team, which came into existence only 18 months ago after a symbolic launch of Twitter Africa operations in Ghana. Several members of the 20-person Twitter team in Africa have been laid off. 

Obviously, this development threatens the establishment of new offices on the African continent. But only time can tell what Musk has in plans for an African expansion. 

ICYMI: Market roundup

• The NGX All-Share Index and Market Capitalization appreciated by 0.81% to close the week at 44,269.18 and N24.112 trillion respectively. The top gainers were FTN Cocoa (13.33%), Nigerian Aviation Handling Co (10.47%), Dangote Cement (8.84%), Courteville (8.70%), and Regency Alliance Insurance (8.33%). The top decliners were Chams PLC (-14.81%), Ikeja Hotel (-12.96%), Cornerstone Insurance (-12.00%), Sovereign Trust Insurance (-10.71%), and Livestock Feeds (-10.62%).
• The Nigerian naira started the week at 439.93 NGN/$1 to close at 439.38 NGN/$1.
• Brent crude closed the week at $98.75, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude closed at $92.60.
• The global cryptocurrency market cap stood at $1.06T at 6 pm on Sunday, 4 November. Bitcoin gained 3.11% to close at $21,255.34, Ethereum gained 2.32% to close at $1,620.28, and Binance Coin gained 12.67% to close at $353.16. 
• SmallSmall which gives renters access to monthly rent payments and offers landlords a way to vet tenants, increase their income, and manage properties, has raised USD 3 million in seed funding.
• Egyptian fintech startup MoneyFellows, a mobile-based platform that digitizes money circles or Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) has announced a USD 31 million  investment for its Series B round funding.