Five things to know to start your Wednesday

Bitcoin reached a new all-time high

Bitcoin reached a new record high above $75,000 early Wednesday morning in Asia, as election results showing a strong performance by crypto-friendly Republican Donald Trump began coming in.

Bitcoin’s price rose 7.5% in 24 hours, with a sharp increase in the last two hours matching Trump’s improving odds on betting site Polymarket. Bettors now give him an 85% chance of winning the presidency. Many traders believe a Trump victory would benefit the crypto industry more than Democrat Kamala Harris, who is seen as less supportive of cryptocurrency.

Unpaid care work keeps 708 million women unemployed – ILO

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) reports that unpaid care work prevents 708 million women from fully participating in the economy, limiting their ability to earn money and achieve financial independence.

A new ILO report highlights how care responsibilities are keeping millions of women worldwide from entering paid employment. With climate change and shifting demographics expected to increase the need for care work, the report emphasizes the urgent need for measures to support the care economy.

The ILO released these new global estimates on Tuesday, which was the International Day of Care and Support. The figures show that in 2023, 748 million people aged 15 or older were unable to participate in the workforce due to care responsibilities. This represents one-third of all working-age people who are not in the labour force. The gender disparity is striking: 708 million of these caregivers were women, while only 40 million were men.

FG promises single-digit interest loans for SMEs in 2025

The Federal Government plans to start giving loans with low interest rates (below 10%) to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by mid-2025.

This announcement came from Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, the Senior Special Assistant on job creation and MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises), during a nationwide town hall meeting in Abuja on Tuesday. The conference focused on explaining the Presidential Grant and Loan Scheme for MSMEs.

Adekunle-Johnson explained that the government is focusing its support on MSMEs because small businesses need both a supportive business environment and proper funding to succeed.

Getting affordable loans has been an ongoing challenge for both small businesses and large manufacturers in Nigeria. This problem has been made worse by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s continued increases in its key interest rate. At its most recent Monetary Policy Committee meeting, the CBN raised this rate by half a percentage point to 27.25%, which has slowed down business activity across the country.

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Okowa is still in the EFCC’s custody

Former Delta State governor Ifeanyi Okowa remains in custody at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) office in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, spending his second night there.

The Delta State chapter of the All Progressives Congress has supported Okowa’s detention, saying it represents progress in Nigeria’s fight against corruption.

Okowa, who was Atiku Abubakar’s vice-presidential running mate for the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 election, went to the EFCC office on Monday after being summoned by investigators. The investigation concerns allegations that he diverted 1.3 trillion naira. He was arrested and detained upon arrival.

Sources say that Okowa is also facing questions about an additional 40 billion naira that he allegedly claimed was used to buy shares in UTM Floating Liquefied Natural Gas, but failed to properly account for.

Trump is leading the US elections

Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, won 15 states in Tuesday’s presidential election, while Democratic candidate Kamala Harris won seven states plus Washington, D.C., according to Edison Research projections. However, the overall winner remains unclear, with several key states’ results still pending.

The early results followed expected patterns. The final outcome will likely depend on seven swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Polls taken before Election Day showed Trump and Harris running extremely close in all these states.

As of report time, polls had closed in 41 states and Washington, D.C. Trump had 162 electoral votes to Harris’ 81 electoral votes, but both still had multiple paths to victory. A candidate needs a total of 270 votes in the state-by-state Electoral College to claim the presidency.