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There is Big Hope for Manufacturing in Nigeria — Binatone MD

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The Managing Director of Binatone Nigeria, Prasun Banerjee, talks about his brand and the new innovations targeted at the heart of the Nigerian consumers in this interview with Anna Okon

Although a big player in the electronics sector, Binatone is facing competition from new brands springing up regularly; how are you coping?

Competition will always be there. Whenever there is a demand for a category, there will always be competition. But we believe that we give good value for money in proposition. We give a product which is affordable, has value for money and at the same time, gives peace of mind.

Our core philosophy is to try and get the product across a wide spectrum of society at very affordable price. We don’t just give value for money; we also give value to many.

We are available, pan Nigeria and one of our strengths is giving the consumer peace of mind.  One of the ways we do that is to declare two-year warranty on each of our products.

We have a service centre that is well equipped with trained engineers to take care of consumers even when they have complications beyond the two years covered by the warranty.

Concerning the issue of adulteration, there are so many Binatone brands all over the place selling cheaper than yours; is that a threat to you as a business owner?

Whenever you have genuine products, fakes will be present. So it is something we have to work on. We have been working with Standards Organisation of Nigeria in identifying and destroying fakes and taking the perpetrators to court. Some cases are still in court.

What we do is that whenever we see any product being converted to a fake, we try to exit that model and launch a new model.  We try to keep one step ahead of the fakers.

I advise customers to buy from authorised agents and distributors of our products and from leading electronic outlets and supermarkets where there are no fakes.

How is the practice of faking impacting on your bottom-line?

It is not really affecting our bottom line because as I said, we also try to stay a step ahead of the fakes. It is not really a big threat.

Don’t you think that it is because of the unavailability of Binatone products that you find so many brands in the market?

In terms of availability, you are right. We were limited to certain class of retailers, now we have started expanding our retail network.

We only had few supermarkets and retailers in Alaba but now we have big retail shops across Nigeria. We are working with the top retailers in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Lagos.

What are the challenges that come with your expansion efforts?

In order to expand, one needs to invest, get their share of space in the showroom, and in order to get this share of space, they need to do visibility exercises in terms of product display and demonstration.

We have demonstrators that we train on a regular basis on key features of the products and how to handle and sell them.

Some merchants are our first point of contact with the customers. The trained demonstrators are one of the touch points that we have.

The second touch point we have is in terms of the display. The customer gets to have a touch and feel of the product. He gets it near to his house; he does not have to travel far to get the product.

So our products are available in every supermarket and top retailers across the 36 states and the FCT.

Abuja looks after the entire central and North; Port Harcourt looks after the East; Onitsha looks after Onitsha and Enugu and Lagos looks after Lagos and the South West.

During this process of expansion have you observed a need to branch into the hinterland?

What we are doing is to expand step by step.  Once we see that a certain market has potential, we open a branch there. Onitsha was big for us; our next target is Kano or Kaduna to cover the entire North.

We have a vast team of people here. I would like to also point out that all the fans that you see here are assembled in Nigeria. We have an assembly unit here in Nigeria and we are planning to assemble some other items here as well.

We have given employment to many local people and we have also done good business and generated revenue for the government.

Which other products are you planning to assemble in Nigeria?

We are looking at blenders and smoothie makers.  We are still at the discussion stage. Since we have stabilised with fans we want to take it step by step with the next product. So we take one product at a time and go on from there.

Do you have challenges bringing in your raw materials?

Initially most manufacturers had that challenge but in the last two months, there have been changes. Foreign exchange has been readily available and relatively stable. There is big hope for manufacturing in this country.  I think once the forex gets available freely, markets will again bounces back and boom.

I don’t have too much to complain about in terms of bringing in raw materials because we are getting good support.

How has it been managing Binatone?

I have been managing the affairs of Binatone Nigeria for one and half years. During this time, we have been able to do good business although there have been some economic challenges.

Binatone as you know is a well-known British brand that has been in Nigeria in the last 40 years.

It started with electronics and over a period of many years, it shifted its product offerings to fans, kitchen appliances, power products like UPS and stabilisers.

We are leaders in fans. We have a wide range of fans. We recently introduced a tower fan with a Bluetooth speaker which means that if you switch on your fan, you can pair your phone to the Bluetooth speaker and listen to music.

The purpose is to launch this one of a kind product that is not available anywhere. We are happy that we are launching it in Nigeria for the first time.

How would you compare your market shares in Nigeria and the UK?

Nigeria is a very huge market filled with a young population. Nigeria is one of our home countries. It is a huge opportunity for us that our fans are coveted in every household in Nigeria.

How about the performance of your products in both markets?

Our products are well accepted products. We are not premium products, we are value for money and value to the many products. They are products which the middle class will always like to buy.

How are you responding to demand for products that meet the energy challenges of the Nigerian environment?

To take care of the energy challenges, we have rechargeable fans and we will be launching more fans with rechargeable capacity. We know that this is a challenge in Nigeria and there is an opportunity there. So we are one of the pioneers of rechargeable fans in Nigeria.

Are you also looking at making fans that could use solar energy?

We have another company which is based outside the UK and which does that. Discussion is going on but there is no product right now that is commercially available to take care of that challenge.  But I am sure that if there are driverless cars, there should also be solar fans.

The government has come up with the procurement policy that says expatriates should not be used for any skill that can be sourced locally; how are you responding to this?

Absolutely, we are doing that. We have very limited expatriates only wherever required, basically the MD. Across all our products and divisions, we have locals running the shops.

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Energy

How Nigeria’s National Power Grid Collapsed Ten Times Within 9 Months 

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The national power grid has again collapsed, leaving many Nigerians in total darkness.

Investors King can authoritatively report that this is the tenth time the power grid will be disrupted this year alone.

For this recent collapse, the grid, reportedly lost power generation around 1:39 pm on Tuesday.

Information revealed that power generation was 2,711 megawatts as of 1:00 pm, having previously peaked at 3,631 MW.

Earlier, power generation peaked at 3,934.77 MW around six o’clock in the morning.

However, between 2 pm and 3 pm, hourly generation dropped to 0.00 MW.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria confirmed that the national grid experienced a partial disturbance at about 1:52 pm on Tuesday, 5th November 2024.

TCN spokesperson Ndidi Mbah mentioned that the recent collapse was due to a series of line and generator trippings that caused instability in the grid and, consequently, the partial disturbance of the system.

Mbah pointed out that data from the National Control Centre revealed that a part of the grid was not affected by the bulk power disruption.

TCN however indicated that work work is in progress to restore power.

She explained that engineers are already working to quickly restore bulk power supply to the states affected by the “partial disturbance.”

Mbah noted that presently, bulk power supply has been restored to Abuja at 2:49 pm, maintaining that “we are gradually restoring it to other parts of the country.”

She apologized to Nigerians for whatever inconvenience the collapse might have caused.

Findings by Investors King revealed that the grid had collapsed at ten different times between March and November, this year.

Times the grid collapsed included February 4, March 28, April 15, July 16, two times in August 5, October 14, October 15, twice in October 19 and now today, November 5.

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Darkness Falls Again: TCN Explains Latest National Grid Collapse

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The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has provided an explanation for the latest National Grid collapse, which occurred on Tuesday, November 5.

Tuesday’s collapse, marking the 10th in 2024 alone, left Nigerians in total darkness.

Recall that the National Grid collapsed twice in October, sparking concerns among Nigerians.

Reacting to the latest collapse via a statement on Tuesday, the General Manager of TCN Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, disclosed that the collapse happened at 1:52 pm.

The GM revealed that the grid collapse was caused by line and generator trippings.

Mrs. Mbah said, “TCN states that the national grid experienced a partial disturbance at about 1:52 pm today, 5th November 2024.

“This followed a series of line and generator trippings that caused instability in the grid and, consequently, the partial disturbance of the system.

Data from the National Control Centre (NCC) revealed that a part of the grid was not affected by the bulk power disruption.

Mbah disclosed that operators are working to restore power in affected states, adding that power was restored in Abuja.

She explained, “TCN engineers are already working to quickly restore bulk power supply to the states affected by the partial disturbance. Presently, bulk power supply has been restored to Abuja at 2:49 pm, and we are gradually restoring power to other parts of the country.”

Apologizing to Nigerians, TCN said, “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our electricity customers.”

Investors King, in an earlier report, revealed that in an attempt to address the persistent collapse of the national grid, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) announced that discussions were underway with Independent Operators to take over the management of the grid.

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Energy

Nigeria Partners with ECOWAS and Morocco to Launch $26B African Gas Pipeline

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The Nigerian government, in partnership with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Morocco, and Mauritania, has announced plans to advance the $26 billion African Atlantic Gas Pipeline project to drive economic growth across Africa.

This development was revealed on Monday, November 5, by Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), at the ECOWAS Inter-Ministerial Meeting on the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project.

Speaking at the meeting, which was attended by ECOWAS Ministers of Hydrocarbons and Energy as well as representatives from Morocco and Mauritania, Kyari stated that, once completed, the project will connect 13 African countries.

Represented by Olalekan Ogunleye, NNPC’s Executive Vice President for Gas Power & New Energy, Kyari said this will be Africa’s largest pipeline project.

Ogunleye confirmed that progress has been made with the front-end engineering design completed, the phase two study finalized, and work ongoing for environmental and social impact assessments as well as land acquisition and resettlement.

He emphasized NNPC’s readiness to execute the project: “Today, we come together to make significant progress in the African Atlantic gas pipeline project, which is a transformative initiative connecting at least 13 African nations in shared prosperity and development. These achievements underscore our capability to deliver this landmark project, supported by strong regional collaboration.”

Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), described the project as a game-changer for the regional economy, stating, “We stand at a critical juncture where these agreements can reshape our energy landscape, strengthen our economies, and uplift our people.”

He also highlighted that the project will increase Africa’s presence in the global gas market, noting that “the agreements demonstrate a strong commitment to advancing hydrocarbon and energy trade across ECOWAS, enhancing access to natural gas in West Africa, and expanding Africa’s global footprint in the gas market.”

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