Business
Tony Elumelu Foundation Set to Announce 2024 Cohort of its Flagship Entrepreneurship Programme

At least 1,200 African entrepreneurs across 54 African countries will benefit from the flagship Entrepreneurship Programme of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), on March 22, 2024.
According to the foundation, the new beneficiaries will become the 10th cohort of the 10-year-long TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
Recall that the Tony Elumelu Foundation has consistently demonstrated its belief in the potential of young Africans to transform the African continent.
This conviction has led to its transformative impact – thousands of young men and women entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries have been empowered through its flagship Entrepreneurship Programme. The beneficiaries have received world-class business training, mentorship, coaching, and funding, in addition to lifelong access to the prestigious TEF Alumni Network.
To date, the Foundation has disbursed US$100,000,000 directly into the hands of young African entrepreneurs, who have, in turn, created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs, contributing significantly to Africa’s economic growth and development. The Foundation has also provided capacity building support, advisory services, and market linkages to over 1.5 million Africans through its digital entrepreneurship-support platform, TEFConnect.
The upcoming announcement reaffirms the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurship as a catalyst for driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries, and increasing women economic empowerment.
Business
MTN , Airtel , Glo Begin USSD Direct Charges from Today
The new billing model would allow mobile network operators to charge customers directly for USSD sessions, with charges deducted from airtime balance at N6.98 per 120 seconds.

Telecom subscribers in Nigeria will now be charged directly by their mobile network operators for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services, starting Wednesday, June 18, 2025.
This was disclosed by Mr Gbenga Adebayo, the Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), and the Publicity Secretary, Mr Damian Udeh.
Adebayo said that the change is in line with the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) determination of USSD pricing and services, developed in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other stakeholders.
” The new billing model would allow mobile network operators to charge customers directly for USSD sessions, with charges deducted from airtime balance at N6.98 per 120 seconds,” he said.
Business
CAC unveils new service fees starting August 1
For companies, notable revisions showed that the voluntary striking-off fee has been raised from N25,000 (for small companies) to N50,000, and N100,000 for public entities.

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAc) on Tuesday, announces an increments for its service fees review certain service fees effective the 1st day of August 2025.
In a statement , the Commission said that the new fees are a reflection of the current economic conditions and rising operational expenses.
The CAC added that the new development is expected to have implications for business owners, legal practitioners, compliance officers, and stakeholders engaging with the corporate registry for post-incorporation filings and regulatory services..
Said CAC: ” the reviewed fee structure affects services offered to companies, limited partnerships, business names, and incorporated trustees.
For companies, notable revisions showed that the voluntary striking-off fee has been raised from N25,000 (for small companies) to N50,000, and N100,000 for public entities.
Relisting of a Company now costs N50,000 for LTD/GTE and N100,000 for public companies.
Due Diligence Search (Self-Service) has been fixed at N50,000 across all categories.
The commission said the request for an extension of time to hold the annual general meeting will now cost N100,000 for public companies, and N50,000 for others.
Historical Search Reports: Depending on the type, public users will now pay N20,000 to N30,000 per request.Other charges include N25,000 for restriction of the director’s residential address and N5,000 per certified true copy of documents or extracts.Under Limited Partnerships, the updated fees are as follows voluntary Striking Off and Relisting: N25,000, letter of good standing: N10,000, Registration and CTC of Documents: N30,000, Change of Name: N10,000.
For Business Names, the structure reflects modest increments of N10, 000 for voluntary striking off, relisting: N25,000, application for cessation N10,000, CTC of Documents/Extract: N5,000 each, restriction of Proprietor’s Address: N25,000.
The commission stated that name reservations across the board remain at N1,000 while name reservations for restricted words cost N5,000.”
Business
June Tax Returns: FIRS Extends Office Hours to Weekends
“As you are aware, the month of June marks the peak of the annual Companies Income Tax (CIT) filling season, with many taxpayers whose financial year ends 31st December expected to file their tax returns by June 30.“

THE Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zaacheus Adedeji, has directed the extension of tax office operations to weekends for the month of June.
In a statement on Monday, Dare Adekanmbi, Special Adviser on Media to the FIRS chairman, explained that the directive is part of Adedeji’s commitment to matching the agency’s customer-centric policy with tangible action.
The statement reads: “The weekends service, which started on June 14, will end on Sunday, June 29, “and it is aimed at helping companies who are mandated by law to file their tax returns by the end of the month meet up with the deadline.”
“With the directive, tax offices are expected to open for business from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday throughout the month of June.”
Consequent upon Adedeji’s approval, the Coordinating Directors of Large Taxpayers Group (LTG), Government and Medium Taxpayers Group (GMTG) as well as Emerging Taxpayers Group (ETG), Ms Amina Ado, Dr Dick Irri and Mr Kabir Abba respectively have conveyed the decision of the management to all staff in the tax offices in the three groups.
“As you are aware, the month of June marks the peak of the annual Companies Income Tax (CIT) filling season, with many taxpayers whose financial year ends 31st December expected to file their tax returns by June 30.“
To ease the process for taxpayers, enhance service delivery, and maximize tax collection during this critical period, management has approved extension of tax office operations to weekends for the month of June 2025,” a directive jointly signed by the three Coordinating Directors said.
The FIRS chairman, on assumption of office, reorganized tax operations for ease of tax payment, leading the transformation of the agency from merely being a tax-collecting entity to a service-providing body.
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