 A president, Mohamed Buhari, has signed 16 bills into law in a bold move that will bring changes to several parts of the 1999 constitution. Among other things, the assent of the presidency will devolve part of the federal government to the states, making it possible for states to generate and transmit electricity within their borders. The president's move has been lauded by many as a long-desired win for national development, as it finally gives state government the power to stabilize electricity within their regions. However, questions remain unanswered about how these will be implemented and what it could mean for the tech ecosystems and other sectors across the country. Well, that's our focus for today. Welcome to Business Insights on Clause TV Africa. I am Justin Acadone. Now, first off, Nigerian businesses have been advised to optimize the benefits the rightful from email marketing in order to scale up. These advice was given by the founder of TRIPAC, Oqbe'emi Immanuel, during a webinar titled, Email Marketing Trends How to Scale Up Your Business by Over 50% in 2023. Details in this report. Email is one of the oldest forms of digital communication, but it is also one of the most effective marketing strategies out there. Sure, there are newer methods of communicating with your audience and customers, like social media and live chat. However, what a user base of over 4.5 billion people, email is the king of marketing channels. What is this customer segment that's convening the region to maximize the power of TRIPAC? At this webinar, Oqbe'emi Immanuel says TRIPAC's mandate is to ensure more entrepreneurs, and marketers have necessary digital tools to succeed in the African continent. He shares more insights. Different platforms, they do well in different areas, right? So I can mention some of the examples, sending new active campaigns, so they do well in different they have their strengths and they have their weaknesses, right? So, but business always looking for, okay, for my kind of strategy that I'm implementing, which platform can give me the best of both worlds? Can I achieve? Does that platform provide me with good ability very well? Do they have a very good IP reputation? Do they have, you know, do they allow me to use my own personal domain? At the same time, you can reach as many people as possible. According to some statistics, at least 306 billion emails are sent and received each day as of the year 2021, and this is 2023. So, of course, these numbers would have increased by now. Leon Oakby, popularly known as Email Marketing Apostle, addresses how to manage email deliverability. He speaks alongside others who share on what businesses are looking out for when peaking email marketing platforms among other issues. What I do is, if I have a long form puppy, all right, and I send it and it lands in promotion, what I do is I remove each paragraph and test. So I remove the first paragraph and I test. I see where it lands. If it lands in inbox, then I know the particular paragraph that is responsible for my email landing in promotions. Then I know to rewrite that particular paragraph, just tweak it and then see where it lands again. Sometimes it could be your subject line. Most of the email marketing platforms that you are using, they send your email through an IP address. If that IP address is listed, your email will most likely land somewhere that you do not like. Generally, people love free stuff, and if you have a free offer, highlight things like the word free. What you should do for every copy that you are putting together is you have to think like the person that you are sending it to. I think for me, collaboration is key, especially when you are able to really identify that the people you want to target are in certain communities and you are able to show value. I think it's really strong. Currently in Nigeria, mobile technology has made marketing to be a lot easier and better for marketers because they no longer participate in verbal marketing. Instead, they market their product directly to a particular target group through the use of an email. And now to the discussion of the day. After 63 years of independence, Nigeria is still unable to supply reliable power to its citizens. Now, the country generates only 12,522 megawatts of electricity, way below capacity for its over 200 million people, which represent about 45 of which are not connected to power. In comparison, Norway, a European country of approximately 4 million people produces 36,000 megawatts. There are many reasons for this power shortage, which include infrastructure deficit, lack of policy support, poverty, and share complacency of some government agencies. Well, the recent development is here light at the end of this very dark tunnel. But joining us now to analyze these is an economist, Mukta Mohamed. Many thanks for joining us on Business Insights, Mukta Mohamed. Thank you. Now, let's give you a program. All right. Let's talk about this new development. First of all, how feasible is this and just how can we ensure workability because Nigerians have been suffering in darkness as it were for a very long time? It's a good development. Most of us have talked about the exclusive list. Hopefully the federal government will go back and also see what that item will move from the exclusive list, especially the mineral resources, resource control, whereby every state can be able to control some of the resources that they found in their, is that is found in their state. For me, it's a good development. I remember that some state has actually been able to generate their own plan, but they have to transfer it to the national grid, state like Akwaibon. I think even Lagos state, we are even Lagos state, but they have to transfer it to the national grid. So what it means that by the time they generate, they could also be able to generate and transmit. Now, the workability of that is going to be what we have to watch, we have to stay. I mean, we need to watch it because what will happen is that the national electricity regulation commission with this state owned power company be under them, or are we going to have a nasty electricity regulation commission? So those are part of the things I think we are sticking with for the workability of that. But outside of that, I think it's a good development, especially some state could just decide to, if state like Lagos could decide to look at the industrialized area of Lagos and say we are going to provide power for them for the industrialized area of Lagos, or could look at also the area that have more population and say look, we are going to generate electricity for them. So it's all down to the workability, because if the state would then apply for license, what are the procedures, what they need to do to also get licenses, would there be state electricity regulation commission like I just said. So all that is what hopefully we are watching and hopefully we think that this might be resolved. Let me paint a scenario here, because experts believe that this ambition will actually drive state government to boost the economy of their state and the power narrative would actually change with what we've had over the past decade. But the question right now would be, for instance, if it was completely devolved and all states are to be provided their own electricity, how feasible can that be? Judging by the fact that most states are not even viable on their own accord when they go cap in hand to the federal government every month to get allocation that they need to drive on the economy of their state, if it were to be that the states are supposed to generate electricity for themselves, does that mean that some states might be suffering perpetual doctors? I think the national grid is still there. Some states might be able to generate an immune cell to the national grid. We don't know what they are saying. Is it both states will be able to generate and transmit or states could only generate? We've not got clarity on that. And when you talk about, yes, I think you hit the nail on the head when you talk about states that cannot generate revenue, how they're going to be power plants. But we are looking at PPP. The states could look at their state, their infrastructure or being the one that can apply for this license as their own collateral. So definitely, I think it's going to be PPP team. It's not going to be that a state can just come up and build a power plant. It's capital intensive. And also you need to look at the technicality of it. So definitely, I think it's going to be PPP. Most states, I think in the section for some state, maybe like a Kwaibon or Rivers, no state have commissioner for power. So are we going to begin to seek commissioner for power in states? So it's, there's a lot of work. This is just the first step towards- So invariably, Mukta, it's not something that might just happen in the next six months or one year because there'll be like a structural adjustment per se. Like you said, now most states don't have ministries for power, electricity and all the energy as it were. Because as it is now, if they were to do that, they'll still need to go back to their state assemblies or even the national assembly to do some sort of legislation. Anybody in the national assembly have done the ass. They have to go to the state assembly. National assembly have given them power that states can own power plant. But we're not clear that it can also generate and transmit. Because as it stands now, the federal government is so distributed. I mean, it's solely responsible for generation. So is the distribution company the discourse that distribute to a household? So are we going to see that play out also with states? And so those are part of the clarity we are waiting for. But I think, like you said, it will not be something that will happen in the next one to two or three months. The state also need to reject their own legislation as regards this new policy that are coming in place. Unfortunately for the states also, they have a president-elect that was also, when he was governor of Lagos, he was pushing for something like this. He didn't see the light of the day. So definitely I think it's a good development for the short and the long term. But when you look at the financial capability of a lot of states, only very few states will be able to get involved in this project. Maybe you look at the arrival, you look at the reverse, you look at Lagos. Those states that are financially stable and variable, all of those states might just struggle. But like I said, there's always a leeway of PPP. And we must be careful of those kind of PPP. Because sometimes what has happened in the distribution company is that we saw politicians hijacking it, become chairman. They didn't have the expertise or the technical well-being. No, no, no, no without to hand you some of this approach. I think that is what they need to work at and make sure that this is not politicized whereby politicians of states are the one that are now getting the license, bringing in foreigners sitting on the board and making the state instead of generating electricity for the states. All right, I'm glad you mentioned, you know, PPP, a public-private and partnership in all of that. Because we've also talked about the state government and, you know, they are similarly less financial muscle, as it is. Now, I wonder how many private investors would want to partner with some of this state knowing by the fact that they've not been able to, you know, generate enough, you know, to do their state economy. But let's just leave that for one moment and talk about distribution as it were. I'm still trying to, like, you know, wrap my head surrounding issues like and distribution. With all of this now, how would the discos work? Well, the discos, as you said, that's what we talk about competition. And that's what we've been talking about, liberalization, deregulation. It brings competition. So the discos now, we know that they have competitors. I doubt the competitors will be from the state government. We will see a state government that will also have generation companies and also have distribution companies. So it's not it is not straightforward because if I want to change now to the state and distribution company, how do I go about it? Knowing that all our grid are connected to the national grid, they will now begin to reconnect to the state grid or we can connect to the national grid. There's a lot of technicality in it. And I think what most states might be doing is to get generation and pass it on to the distribution company and say, OK, you distribute social amount for my own people in this state. You pay me. I think most states will not just go into generation and distribution at the same time because there's a lot of technicality involved in it. So I think most of them might be doing generation first and then later on, they might be looking at the technicality of also doing distribution. But I think that the long run, they might be doing generation and then selling it to some of those companies that are distribution company and telling those distribution companies to to to to in terms of transmitting and use it within their own state of origin. So it is a good development and hopefully it will work. But there are a lot of challenges that will come with it, like any new project will have a team challenge. But I strongly believe that in the next couple of years, we'll see this as a game changer, especially in the area of generation and distribution of electricity in Nigeria. OK, let's talk about opportunities that could abound from this recent development. In my head, I'm thinking about distribution. I'm thinking about prepaid meters and, you know, that particular value chain could actually be broadened. But what other opportunities do you see in the value chain? Yeah, the value chain, you said it all, we could also begin to see prepaid. We could get companies that would say, look, we are going to do prepaid meters. So individuals, we're going to get generation companies that might come and say, look, I'm only going to generate electricity and give to only Lagos Island or only Kejia or in Kejia, maybe small locality close there. They may have to be able to generate up to like 50 megawatt or 100 megawatt to just meet the demands of some of them. Like what we've seen most of the conglomerate do, especially the cement companies, they all generate their own electricity themselves and they use it in their company. So we could see that also play out. So for me, I think that that could just be it. All right. So with all of this now, state governments being able to maybe generate and even distribute either part to residents and all of that, would you actually change the narrative of low-shedding unstable power supply? Would that be really improvement in real terms? Yes, sorry, again, you talk about the value chain in the first place. So maybe I didn't address that also. The value chain, number one, when you when you are coming out with a product, you are creating market innovation, you are keeping competition. The innovation with time moves to profitability. Profitability will bring a culture. Remember, innovation also comes with job creation. Job creation also comes with profit for the private and the public sector. Because when these people begin to pay tax also as a snowball effect in the public sector, so that and then the companies also will be profiting. Then the culture that you're talking about will come to a culture whereby each individual will know what it's supposed to do. So we will get the point of this low-shedding. So you could always begin to look at companies that, OK, fine. But I don't know how that works. That will work in the electricity sector. I'm using an example like the telecom sector, whereby you think one network is not being friendly to you. Then you cannot switch off to another network. So we may begin to see that play out where some people begin to say, look, in Kejia electricity or equal electricity or whatever, being in electricity or Calabar electricity, you are not doing it very well. I'd rather go to the private electricity. So it creates competition. And when there is competition, there is job creation. And once the competition and job creation comes, there is value for customers. And when there is value for customers, then they must be customer satisfaction in the area of production. So it's going to be a win-win situation for the Nigerians. Electricity consumers, because I believe they suffer so much. OK, let's just spread some sort of opportunity that would be bound from all of this. I've talked about opportunities that are derivable from the sector itself. But looking at the real sector, looking at the manufacturing sector, over time they have been complaining that the power they spend huge cost generating electricity by themselves for their businesses. So how soon can we really say there is an Uhuru for the real sectors of the economy with this recent development? Would we would we have better ways of doing business with all of that be changed in Nigeria soon? And just say, we always say that the greatest challenge Nigerians have is infrastructure. And when we talk about Nigerian infrastructure, we talk of power. Once we get power right, it will be a game changer. In every area of our economy, even in the life of Nigerians. So the manufacturing sector may sound to benefit from it. I think we have moved now to where by Governors government companies can begin to go states. I mean, states can begin to generate who might begin to see whether license we give in for private sectors to also generate. Good. So it could be some companies that will say, OK, like I said, the industrial area I want to generate for the manufacturers. If you look at the bigger conglomerate, the bigger conglomerates, like the smell companies or the bigger the the the consumer goods companies realize that most of them already have their own private power plant that they they they have made using gas to burn using gas, especially. Well, you know, the cost of gas production is high. And that's why we are seeing cost of some of these goods and services go up when there is a spike in the price of gas. Most of them have their own into one that's power plant. Even some even look some estate within Lagos and Abuja have also generated their own independence plan. And they just use the power holding as a standby. And the main companies are the one that generate electricity to lose it. So we are going to be seeing this sector evolving, evolving, evolving. And the more they evolve, the more they create more variety for for customers. And also they begin to create value. And they decided I really looked at is that once there is market innovation in any in any sector aspect of any economy, then you are beginning to see job creation. And once you begin to get job creation, then you begin to see the value change begin to improve and improve, because once that job creation comes, the person that knows that look, I need to be up to my game to continue to receive salary. So you'll be there will be the value to be able to handle his customers to deal with them. Not just like what we obtain now, whereby sometime you call, call, call. They have their own customer care. You say there's a problem. You don't see them. No, you begin to see that value because there is competition. The members sometime in this country, when only one particular communication company was in charge of both mobile and and and and also also from homes, we line lines are mobile and we saw how much we suffered. But immediately we did realize that sector. People have been enjoying communication and we have various communication companies coming to play. That might be what will be played out in the power sector. But the challenge with the power sector is that it will not be just straight line like what we have obtained in the communication sector. It will be right if you require a lot of teaching, a lot of technicality to work in the long run that that value chain with them. And always know that investors should investors know that there is value. The power sector have not just been crashed in Nigeria. That's why you see a lot of African development bank invest investing in a good ego power plan. So they know the value, they know the profitability that will come because of the population and the number of people that will be in need of electricity. So definitely will not be devolved investors coming into the market. And once investors begin to come, then we are beginning to see the snowball effect in every area of our economy. All right. Thank you. Now we're pretty sure you just conclude your thoughts. You're going to say something to conclude your thoughts. Sorry about that. So what I'll say that once all this comes to play, then where creation will come prosperity for the people and then they'll begin to have value for what they pay for. I thank you so much, Mokta, for all that you've said. Beautiful analysis. We do appreciate your time. My pleasure, Justin. All right. Just before we go over 400 women in a limo show area of Lagos, they have received free digital training to scale up their businesses. Well, this one part of the financial literacy and inclusion program organized by the she enabled project in collaboration with Google. Women in Nigeria are highly interested in coming entrepreneurs, but face unique challenges, including access to financial and business development services, as well as information that are critical to formalizing and growing their businesses. She enabled is a financial and digital inclusion project by the Eagle Foundation, which seeks to empower women and girls living in underserved communities in Nigeria. To Luwashi Olanio is executive director. He speaks alongside others designed to support women, particularly women at the grassroots, to help them in terms of deepening their financial literacy, financial knowledge, and also deepening their digital knowledge. If we have good education, if we have the same training the men do in terms of from primary education, teach them, teach them digitalization, teach them digital transformation, how to move your business, how to scale up. And now with what's going on everywhere, you need to scale up. We have to create more methods to be able to help them understand why it's necessary to have some certain things in place and how those things can be beneficial to them. So for financial institutions, microfinance banks, insurance companies, the regular cluster, they need to be able to change the way they interact, document and how they promote their knowledge or disseminate information so that these people can actually benefit. The she enabled project addresses the United Nations sustainable development goes one, three and five, targeting unemployed females leaving below two dollars per day. Some of the participants share concerns and opportunities. There are so many challenges out there, like one. Though we are in digital world now, so visibility is part of it. Then secondly, at times, financial support. Benefits are actually limitless because we are people from different categories of businesses, we do different things. I don't know when I'll need some services. So I feel that events like this will help us meet people outside of our own niche. The major problem is the same problem that we have always had, right? And we need to continually reemphasize it's that I mean, a lot of them feel that it's not needed for them as such because they feel that the home is built around the month. According to global entrepreneurship monitor, Nigeria has the highest number of women entrepreneurs in the world. This high level of women's participation in entrepreneurship has been found out to be necessity driven. That's the size of the show. I am Justin Acadone. See you again next time.