Five things to know to start your Monday

Dangote refinery has started exporting to more African countries

Dangote Industries has recently started exporting petrol to several African countries. In the past few weeks, the company has sent petrol to Cameroon, Angola, Ghana, and South Africa.

During a meeting with a Japanese business delegation, Devakumar Edwin, who leads the Oil and Gas division at Dangote Industries, shared some promising news. The delegation was led by Japan’s Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, Suzuki Hideo.

In a statement on Sunday, the company’s spokesman Anthony Chiejina quoted Edwin explaining that their refinery’s products are meeting international standards and are now being sold around the world.

Edwin proudly stated: “In recent weeks, we’ve exported petrol to Cameroon, Ghana, Angola, and South Africa, among others. Diesel has gone all over the world, and jet fuel is being heavily exported to European markets. Our products are already making their mark internationally.”

Bitcoin hit a new record high

Bitcoin’s price soared to an all-time high, climbing over $106,000 in early Asian trading on Monday. The dramatic increase came after comments from President-elect Donald Trump indicating he would create a national bitcoin reserve, similar to the United States’ strategic oil stockpile.

The cryptocurrency jumped more than 3% to reach an unprecedented price of $106,493, breaking its previous record from December 5th. Overall investor confidence is also high in the digital currency market.

Trump is moving toward creating a friendly regulatory backdrop for digital assets, undoing the crackdown imposed by the outgoing Biden administration.

Nigeria has received over $600m in agricultural loans this year

The Nigerian government has secured over $600 million in foreign agricultural loans this year to improve food production and support rural communities.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security’s website, the government obtained a $134 million loan from the African Development Bank to help increase seed and grain production across the country.

“The Federal Government has secured a loan facility of $134m from the African Development Bank to help farmers boost seeds and grain production in the country,” the statement read.

The government also secured an additional $500 million loan from the World Bank through the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project, bringing the total funding to $634 million.

Read Also: Economic Week Ahead: What to expect as Nigeria publishes November inflation data 

Canada’s Housing Minister is resigning from Trudeau’s cabinet

Canadian Housing Minister Sean Fraser is resigning from his cabinet position. He also does not plan to run in the next election. This decision comes at a challenging time for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party, which is currently performing poorly in the polls as the 2025 election approaches.

According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., a government official, speaking anonymously, said Fraser will make his resignation public today (Monday).

Trudeau is already planning to reorganise his cabinet due to several recent departures. But Fraser is one of the highest-profile exits and had been seen as a rising star in the party.

Cyclone Chido claimed several hundreds, maybe thousands of lives

A devastating cyclone struck Mayotte, a French island group in the Indian Ocean, potentially causing massive loss of life. A top local French official warned that the death toll could be staggering, ranging from several hundred to potentially thousands of people.

“I think there will certainly be several hundreds, maybe we will reach a thousand, even several thousands,” Prefect Francois-Xavier Bieuville said on local media channel Mayotte La 1ere.

The French interior ministry acknowledged the challenges in determining the exact number of casualties, stating that it would be difficult to account for all victims at this early stage.

Cyclone Chido unleashed its destructive power overnight, with winds exceeding 200 kilometres per hour (124 miles per hour). The storm caused extensive damage to homes, government buildings, and even a hospital. Meteorologists noted that this was the most powerful cyclone to hit the islands in over 90 years.