Nigeria's naira is losing ground again

Over the past few weeks, the Nigerian Naira has taken a wild ride. It was making gains, but now it's trading at $1 = ₦1,511 as of May 19. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stepped in to shake things up, and the naira lost some ground.

The CBN tried to stabilise things by tweaking interest rates, adjusting foreign exchange reserves, and managing the flow of foreign currencies. But, the market saw these moves and got a bit spooked, thinking there might be bigger economic issues at play.

This whole saga is a reminder that while interventions can offer quick fixes, they might also make things more uncertain if people think they're covering up deeper problems.

For Nigeria, with its heavy reliance on oil exports, changes in global oil prices hit hard and affect the naira's value. Looking ahead, Nigeria needs to tackle the big stuff: diversify the economy, get better at managing finances, and create a growth-friendly environment.

Everyone's keeping an eye on the CBN's next moves and other economic signals to figure out where the Naira is headed next. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, did you read last Friday's newsletter? there is something in there for you.

Major News Stories

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has notified stakeholders in the communication sector of a temporary suspension of the issuance of new communication licenses in three categories: Interconnect Exchange License, Mobile Virtual Network Operator License, and ValueAdded Service Aggregator License. - Techpoint

Visa has announced the 20 startups shortlisted from across Africa to participate in the second cohort of its Africa Fintech Accelerator Program. The startups aim to address the challenges and opportunities in the Africa fintech landscape such as financial inclusion, access to credit, cross-border payments, and digital transformation. - Techeconomy

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has launched a 66.55 million euros fibre optic cable project. Funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the initiative boosts the country's ambition to become a digital hub in Central Africa. - Technext

SBM Intelligence has cautioned that the bribery allegations made by Binance CEO Richard Teng against Nigerian government officials could hinder the country's efforts to attract foreign investment. SBM stressed the need for a thorough investigation to uncover the truth and hold any guilty officials accountable. - BusinessDay

About 2/3 of Nigerian adult women lack mobile internet access. This reality highlights a 38% gender gap in smartphone ownership, according to GSMA. Only 33% of adult Nigerian women use mobile internet as against 52% of men who use mobile internet. - BusinessDay

Speaking at the opening of the Africa CEO forum in Kigali, Rwanda, MTN Group president and CEO, Ralph Mupita, urged Africa's governments, especially in the tech sector, to encourage increased investment in digital infrastructure. "I'd argue that the thing we do need to think about is harmonising regulatory developments, particularly in the tech space. How do we create regulatory systems that are common across Africa?" - IT Web

Market Moves

Apple is developing a slimmer version of the iPhone that is likely to be launched by 2025. The potential thinner version is likely to be priced higher than Apple's iPhone Pro Max, and is expected to be launched with the iPhone 17 in September 2025. Reuters

Spiro, an India-based electric vehicle company, has signed a $50 million debt financing deal with Afreximbank to expand its offering in its existing markets. The company operates in six countries: Benin, Togo, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and Ghana, and plans to expand to Cameroon and Morocco this year. - Technext

opens new tais developing a slimmer version of the iPhone that is likely to be launched by 2025, the Informat , opens new tabon Friday, citing three people with knowledge of t

Other stories we are following

The Department of Justice and TikTok asked a U.S. appeal court to expedite its consideration of legal challenges to the new U.S. law requiring parent company ByteDance sell the app or face a ban. - Axios

OpenAI no longer has a separate "superalignment" team to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) doesn't turn on humankind. The company said the superalignment team's work would be more deeply integrated with OpenAI's research teams - a change that began "weeks ago". - Axios

Written by

Omoleye Omoruyi

Edited by

David Afolayan

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