 A mobile financial services have tripled in Nigeria and other sorts of hermaphrodite countries in the last six years, according to a new report by Ericsson. The Consumer and Market Inside report titled Mobile Financial Services on the Right revealed that nearly half of all consumers in SSA use mobile financial services in 2021, that is more than three-four would increase in the last six years. The report also highlighted the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic on mobile financial services uptake, with 54% of consumers saying that they use mobile financial services transactions more now. We will explore the framework for financial infusion gains with a focus on mobile operations on the show today. Welcome to Business Insight and Plus TV Africa. I am Justin, at Pavilion. All right, electricity generation, scrapped agencies in the petroleum sector Africa's economic growth and poultry farming are rounded up business headlines for this week. Here are the highlights. Power generation companies in Nigeria have said they have suffered a loss of 1.66 trillion in seven years as a result of non-payment for deemed capacity. The Executive Secretary Association of Power Generation Companies, the umbrella body for the Gensco. Dr Joy Ogaji disclosed this on a stakeholders meeting on the regulator's monitoring program on electricity, organized by Hulay Showing Cast Center for Investigative Journalism. Ogaji said the available generation capacity dropped to 6,192.34 megawatts this year from 7,792.51 megawatt in 2020, while the average generation capacity rose to 4,120.96 megawatt from 4,050.07 megawatts. The federal government is to retain the about 1,500 employees of the defunct department of petroleum resources, petroleum products prize in regulatory agency and petroleum equalization fund. Many staff stayed for petroleum resources. Timi Parasilva said on Wednesday that no staff of the scrapped agencies would be sacked. He disclosed this while during meetings with employees of the affected organizations in Abuja. The International Monetary Fund IMF has projected a 3.7% growth rate for Sub-Saharan Africa in 2021. The director African Department of the Fund, Abebe Selessia, disclosed this during a press briefing on October regional economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa in Washington on Thursday. He said the fund estimates that the Sub-Saharan Africa's economy will grow by 3.7% in 2021 and 3.8% in 2022. The recovery supported by favorable external conditions on trade and commodity prizes. The prices of soybeans and maize, the basic grains in poultry production have increased by about 300% and 170% respectively, while granting the collapse of many poultry farms across the country. The Director General, Poultry Association of Nigeria, Onalo Aqours said this in an interview with a correspondent. Aqours said the worst-hit farms were those operated by small-scale poultry farmers, as most dealers in this category had closed shop due to their inability to purchase feeds. He said the cost of production in poultry farming was about 80% grain-based and these grains were maize and soybeans. President Richard Tide Edwin says the Nigeria-Turkey trade volume will be expanded by $5 billion immediately to further boost socioeconomic ties between the two countries. Edwin stated this when he addressed newsmen at the end of a closed-store bilateral meeting with President Mohamed Abu-Hari at the State House Abu-Jeran Wednesday. The President, who spoke through an interpreter, expressed the hope that the relations between the two nations would be further developed on the basis of win-win situation, in the basis of mutual respect. The question right now is how do you ensure sanity and, of course, to ensure that the practitioners of course and the people who patronize this service get value for money? Yes, actually when it started then there were some measures but we're not so keen but at a point in time people looked at it and said, ah I want to start this business so but in a way we are also trying to work in line with CBN and some other regulatory bodies whereby we can bring sanity into the business so that people won't fall victim or let me say the consumers won't fall victim of some agents who are not actually supposed to be in the business. As much as possible let's try and get some sort of differentiation between the mobile money agents, the operators because I know there are different categories in of operators in this particular business now so just who falls in the category of an agent or an operator or just how or is it that it's like it's an old commerce offense or just how does it work? Let me just, we have mobile money operators and we have mobile money agents. Mobile money operators are the licensed companies licensed by the Central by Central Nigeria to recruit mobile money agents. So the operators recruit the agents? So the agents act in that capacity for the for the mobile money operator. Okay so the mobile money operators are the big names we hear say the PAGA and the other ones money points money points and of course you know okay fine so where do you categorize those who under umbrellas and then of course kiosks? They are also mobile money agents. The agents? Yes. Okay. Do you not have licensed agents or just anyone can be agent even if they are not under any particular operator? There is no way you wouldn't be an under any operator. So you have to? You have to. So invariably I'm just trying to get a clear picture that for instance I am fresh out of school you know and I've not been able to get a job and I feel that I can maybe be self-employed and I have seen that there is an influx and a growth of agencies of you know mobile operation in Nigeria generally so all I need to do basically in my head I'm thinking that I just need to get a kiosk and get a maybe a POS mission. Do I need to go through a mobile operator or just how do I need or do I need to go through the banks themselves? Okay well the banks some of some of the banks too already have these licenses of course yeah okay to get to onboard. Okay banks are also operators? Yes some banks not all banks. Oh I see. So but mobile money operators are actually different they are not banks they started it they started it banks came into it so like you said if I just gradated and because I want to start something I want to be an entrepreneur everything you want to come into the business one you must still liars with a mobile money operator but these terms and conditions will be spelled out for you. These terms and these conditions are the rigorous or is it something that could actually you know be flowed away with that and something you could just deal with easily and of course and not have any issues? Yes it's a CBN organized entity business you cannot just fall into it without the be the necessary documentation. On the part of the agency? Yes on the part of the agent before you can become before you can become an agent. Okay. The necessary things is like your BVN is necessary would be would be requested for your NIN everything must be done your documentation and you must sign the agreement they will give you an agreement to sign. You signed with the operators? Yes you signed with the operators. Okay so so how um what does it really take to be a mobile money operator you know I know you have to be licensed by the central bank of Niger but you have to have maybe some sort of you know paid up capital. Yes there is a capital for them the way it is for banks. There is a capital for mobile money. Care to share. Care to share with us. Actually I cannot remember that now but for you to be mobile money operator you have your initial capital the capital given to you by CBN. Okay so how do we ensure sanity? I know I've asked that before but just to be clear because from all indications I just read not so long ago that the federal government through the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs Disaster Management and Social Development announced the launch of a mobile money agent program and the commencement of training for 1,850 beneficiaries in Nigeria. Let us talk about that for just one minute you know because I feel that there is a need to you know orientate you know these agents because some of them they don't really know the vastness of this particular you know business because to them it's just about a maybe withdrawal, depositing and transfers you know so just how far would you think this particular training would go and to take that from that particular place what more training could be done because the federal government alone cannot do all of it. Yes for something like this 1,050 they want to train like it's a plus but the 10 is this we are also looking at it even from the association and even organizationally differently that which there are some things that needs to be done so that some people we only want to benefit from things like this they don't have a pure heart. How do you mean they want to benefit and don't have a pure heart? Yes some people just take the federal government because they know they will be paid some money. Okay because they are just going into it because of what they could get not because they actually need the training itself. Yes they don't need it they only let me just go there and after that some people will be there after the training they might not even have a flare for the business. They say I don't like it because by the time you go for the training I conducted I was one of the facilitators in one training of recent when I said so when I told people about some the pros and cons in the business some people were like wow can I continue this thing? Okay fine glad you've mentioned pros and cons because a lot of people you know they just see only the pros as it were they feel that the way you need is just get maybe at least 109 for each transaction that you do but then what are some of the hazards you know involved in this particular business? Yes some of the hazards involved one is that it's it's not a corporate entity I can start the business and employ anybody not like the corporate entity okay the organization I work for I sign an agreement yes so if in any at any time I embezzle funds it will get me they know where to go they have your information yes but most people will start the business you bring in a sales boy a sales girl to man the place for you at the end of the day risk your money your capital I have a lot of reports of such and they cannot even treat them where they are aside that we also have a major the major fact problems we have there now is the problems of most customers go to the bank to report transactions that were approved whereby they were given they were paid money okay the transaction was successful at the end of the day the customer goes to the bank to report that this thing was not successful okay and most times banks will just automatically debits just like when you've done your own investigation yes it happens like that because they believe that the customer that came so how do you how do you protect you know your agents I know they have several I don't know I know of one exactly association I know of this I'm back and all of that you know so is it just you know the only recognized association you know to cater to all of the issues in the particular sector sub-sector as it is now because if there are issues of them I am being an agent getting debited when they are they there's not being too far or investigation on the part of the bank I mean I'm running at the loss I should have some sort of interest and maybe an organization protecting me yes actually I'm presently I'm the chief attorney officer of Amban legal state okay we are trying our best possible to make sure that agents coin are into are brought into this association and we are trying our best possible to see that the association as they say not because not because we have seen all these things happening we have a lot of cases EFCC cases SFU cases police cases agents are customers at times we won't go and rest and agents and take them to the police I see I went there to make a withdrawal of 100,000 era I was debited it not give me money at the end of the police we still arrested the agents if it takes for you to even explain to the police do we want some of them will tell you that give that money it's manifest after paying the man case won't be followed up thoroughly but the decision is actually working on things like that let us see you want to get a lot of support from the up the then we say the regulators okay that's the CBN CBN we want to get you're going to at least everybody so that at least when an agent has an issue we should be able to trash it out okay let's talk about the future as we run from this particular discussion let's talk about the future of mobile money you know from what happened so it goes beyond cash withdrawals cash deposit and of course you know transfers you know just where do you see you know in the next five years do you see a situation where there'll be more sanity and of course there'll be better organization yes but it's good yeah there'll be more sanity and better organization because we we have seen the pros we have seen the problems when it started actually when it started it was unlike everybody wanted it I remember when we started then the first customer that came to my outlet asked me would this money go down to transfer in your place you understand but now everybody has seen the the the the the that this thing is not forced so and most people just want to come into it to do it and mind you because the p o s ever look at the p o s it's not really p o s we don't call it p o s we call it mobile money agents everybody call it p o s business p o s agents it's not just p o s agents now people most people just they want to go when the government started or when this started this cashless policy we brought the that was when this thing came we have the merchant p o s and we have the mobile money agent p o s but unfortunately a lot of things are coming through it whereby even my chance so there's a big future there's a big opportunity yes potential yes for this particular yes there is a very vast one for this sector all right I wish we had much time or more time to discuss and further because there's a whole lot of interest in things you know happening in this particular industry when we talk about financial inclusion indeed we have to bring you on again and just talk about the development you know that are bound so far thank you so much yeah I'm grateful thanks all right we have been speaking with a mobile money you know a stakeholder and indeed like we have said there's a lot we can do from this particular sector and of course Cain de Olaynka is the coordinator money point Legos Ezon and he joined us on the show to look at all of the development and of course how far we can take this particular sector once again we say thank you for your thought and your input thank you very much all right we will conclude on housing development in Nigeria the federal government research state governments to harness the opportunities in the housing sector and recommit to its development most of walks in housing but but in the fashion of set this at the last day of a 10th annual meeting of the national council of lands and urban development in Legos we'll leave you with details of that particular report as put together by Jacinta Obuquo see you again next time I am Justin Acadone bye for now as the council concludes its annual meeting the stakeholders including commissioners permanent secretaries gathered to put together all the deliberations reached the conclusion of the meeting is no without the presence of the minister of works in housing Babatunde Fashola as he highlighted some of the strides achieved in the sector and what more is to be done the federal government is undertaking a national housing in all states except Legos and rivers which has not started and I want to clarify that it has not started in Legos and rivers because their land is unique this government has given us land in Legos but it is going to cost some money to landfill it and that would add to the cost of the construction I seek to persuade all members of this council to go back to our states to go and persuade our governors to recommit to housing development the host of the meeting governor Babajide Sonmulu pointed that his administration is poised to eradicating housing deficit in Legos state we're ensuring that we look at the costs of developing that will be able to utilize the full value of the land we need to be very smart you know with the kind of houses that we can build with the kind of model you know when we say to people if you don't need a four bedroom or a five bedroom stay with your two bedroom and ensure that you are efficient in your allocation and your utilization of space next is the council's communique which was read by the works in housing minister approved by council of proposals to reduce the maximum advanced rent payable with respect to housing for middle and working classes there shall houses to no more than one year to be further reduced by states who have achieved one year in order to make housing more accessible and affordable for Nigerians to rent the hope is that the resolutions made here will bring about policies that will enable inclusion and development in housing sector jacinta obu for plus tv africa