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NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I **WEDNESDAY 20 FEBRUARY 2019 I VOL. 15, NO 250 I N300
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PDP cautions against military intervention in elections OWEDE AGBAJILEKE & TONY AILEMEN, Abuja
P
Continues on page 38
Inside Zenith Bank declares N2.80 total dividend, stock soars to 7-month high
P. 2
Understanding the economy of Nigeria’s 36 states – Bayelsa & Cross River
14.49
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g L-R: Mahmood Yakubu, chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); Hailemariam Desalegn, former prime minister of Ethiopia, and Jakaya Kikwete, former president of Tanzania, at a news conference on the forthcoming Presidential and National Assembly elections in Abuja, yesterday. NAN
... as IGP reinforces Buhari’s shoot-at-sight directive residential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, on Tuesday cautioned the military against executing President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive to shoot ballot-box snatchers, declaring the directive as an unlawful order. Atiku, who spoke at the 84th National Executive Committee (NEC) of the PDP in Abuja, accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of plot to manipulate smart card readers during the rescheduled Presidential
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FinTech lending platforms fill credit gap for individuals, businesses
As RenMoney, Lidya, Credit Direct leverage credit scores to disburse loans
CALEB OJEWALE & FRANK ELEANYA
F
inancial technology (FinTech) platforms are gradually filling the lending gap left by Nigerian commercial banks by creating a new way of accessing credit.
Before FinTech lending platforms became popular in Nigeria, raising money to take a small business from point A to point B was often a herculean task when a deposit money bank was involved. Similarly, when individuals needed cash to meet urgent needs, getting loans to
meet those obligations was a nightmare. But today, platforms like Credit Direct, Paylater, Lidya, Kiakia, Zedvance, Branch, and Renmoney are among emerging credit providers that are helping individuals and businesses with the cash flow required to meet
urgent obligations. Most of these platforms even claim to disburse loans without collateral and within 24 hours, although when interest rates are considered, it could be quite a steep price to pay. While low interest rates are Continues on page 38