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Local vaccine production could cost Nigeria more than Pfizer, AstraZeneca’s

A locally developed COVID-19 vaccine prospect in Nigeria, listed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) among 183 others in preclinical trials globally, might cost more to manufacture than the relatively pricey Pfizer-BioNTech and even the considerably cheap AstraZeneca vaccines, BusinessDay findings on vaccine types and platforms show.

The Nigerian vaccine, which is being developed by Ogbomoso-based biomedical research firms, Helix Biogen Consult and Trinity Immonoefficient Laboratory, is based on a production technology that scientific studies suggest is more difficult and expensive to manufacture than mRNA-based vaccines.

The two leading vaccines in the global race for immunity, Pfizer-BioNTech at $14 per dose, and Moderna at $18 per dose are based on the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) technology. The technology uses a synthetic version of the virus to instruct the body cells to produce protein spikes that can trigger an immune response. The viral vector-based AstraZeneca is one of the cheapest options at $3, while Novavax, a protein-based vaccine, similar to the one being developed by the Nigerians, costs $16.

Ahead of recapitalization deadline, microfinance banks sell off ventures

Some microfinance banks that cannot meet up with the April recapitalization deadline have decided to sell off their ventures.

Some of the microlenders that have sold off their businesses include Cardinal Rock MFB, Cowries MFB, Aguda Titan MFB, First Ideal MFB, High Street MFB, MoneyWise MFB, Owotutu MFB, Irolu MFB, and Royal Blue MFB, among others.

“Most buyers are ex-bankers. Some of them acquired the micro banks when they were about to leave the bank or after they had left,” a top official of a microfinance bank told BusinessDay.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had on October 22, 2018, reviewed upward the minimum capital requirement of the three categories of MFBs as follows – Unit microfinance banks from N20 million to N200 million, State MFBs from N100 million to N1 billion, and the National MFB from N2 billion to N5 billion.

Read Also: Nigeria’s ‘most promising’ vaccine could cost more than Pfizer, AstraZeneca’s

Nigeria’s worsening insecurity heightens call for restructuring

Pick up five different Nigerian dailies any day and the gory tales of killings and orgies of violence ravaging Africa’s biggest economy would stare you in the face. Insecurity has become Nigeria’s biggest nightmare as more and more citizens worry over the safety of their lives and property.

Daily, news of kidnapping, insurgency, banditry, farmer-herder conflicts and so on grabs the headlines, telling of lives being destroyed, business activities brought to a halt, millions of displaced citizens seeking shelter in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps.

When he sought the votes of Nigerians in the 2015 elections, President Muhammadu Buhari had vowed to return peace and stability to a country harangued by the deadly Boko Haram sect.

Twitter picks Nigeria over Ghana for its first African base

While many expected that Twitter would have chosen Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy as the preferred destination to set up its first presence in Africa, the American microblogging and social networking service picked Ghana.

CEO Jack Dorsey, via a tweet on Monday, announced that the company would be setting up a presence in Africa. “Twitter is now present on the continent. Thank you, Ghana and Nana Akufo-Addo,” he said.

In a statement, Twitter says it is now actively building a team in Ghana “to be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the continent.”

Twitter indicated several roles, from product and engineering to design, marketing, and communications, for job openings in the company. However, individuals will fill these roles remotely as Twitter makes plans to establish an office in the country later.

“The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is excellent news.

Government and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country,” said Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo.

He also revealed that he held a virtual meeting with Dorsey on the 7th of April, where the two parties might have finalized the deal.

“As I indicated to Jack in our virtual meeting on 7th April 2021, this is the start of a beautiful partnership between Twitter and Ghana, which is critical for the development of Ghana’s hugely important tech sector. These are exciting times to be in and to do business in Ghana,” he added.

According to Twitter, the decision to kick off its African expansion with Ghana stems from the country’s dealings with AfCFTA and its openness toward the internet.

Binance enables users to trade tokenized stocks, starting with Tesla

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance is allowing its users to buy fractions of companies’ shares with a new tokenized stock trading service, starting with Tesla.

The crypto exchange announced Monday the launch of Binance Stock Tokens, zero-commission digital tokens that qualify holders for returns including dividends. As of 1:35 p.m. UTC (9:35 a.m. ET) April 12, users will be able to buy fractions of actual Tesla shares, which trade at $677 a share at the time of writing. Users will be able to purchase as little as one-hundredth of a Tesla share, with prices settled in Binance USD (BUSD).

The new service removes the hurdle local investors go through to buy stocks of international companies.

”If you want to buy stocks of international/US companies like TESLA we have to go through a lot of documentation, permissions and also there’s a limit on how much money you can invest”, Hritesh joshi, an Indian-based investor said on Twitter.