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United Capital Leads Agro-Eknor’s N5 Billion Commercial Paper Issuance to Bolster Agribusiness Growth.

Agro-Eknor

United Capital Group, a leading Pan-African investment bank and financial services institution, successfully led the N5 billion Commercial Paper (CP) Issuance Programme for Agro-Eknor International Limited, a key player in Nigeria’s agribusiness sector.

Acting as the Lead Arranger, United Capital facilitated the structuring and execution of this transaction, showcasing its expertise in innovative capital market solutions and its commitment to empowering emerging corporates to scale their operations and enhance their impact.

The CP Programme, now listed on the FMDQ Securities Exchange, enables the company to raise funds in multiple series over a three-year period, providing strategic liquidity for expansion and operational efficiency. This issuance comes at a crucial time, as Nigeria’s agricultural sector plays an increasingly pivotal role in driving economic diversification and foreign exchange inflows.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dr. Gbadebo Adenrele, Managing Director, Investment Banking at United Capital Group, highlighted the importance of the transaction in advancing Nigeria’s agricultural value chain: “We are pleased to receive FMDQ’s approval for Agro-Eknor International’s ₦5billion Commercial Paper Programme. This CP Programme offers investors a unique opportunity to diversify their portfolios and gain exposure to Nigeria’s rapidly growing agro-business sector. This transaction is a reflection of our commitment to fostering strategic partnerships with emerging leaders in the dynamic agro-business sector. We hope this encourages more agricultural enterprises to explore capital market financing as a means to scale operations and increase economic impact”

 

United Capital’s role in this transaction highlights its expertise in structuring bespoke financial solutions for businesses across key sectors. The financial services group has built a reputation of excellence, leading milestone transactions, including Nigeria’s first domestic US dollar-denominated bond issuance, Sierra Leone’s first local currency corporate bond issuance, Transcorp Power’s N1.8 trillion listing on the Nigerian Exchange and other high-impact corporate listings.

 

United Capital remains at the forefront of expanding access to funding for businesses, driving economic growth and advancing industrial development across Africa.

JOSEPH ONYEMA

Head, Group Enterprise Performance Management
Joseph Onyema
Joseph is the Head, Group Enterprise Performance Management at United Capital Plc.
Over the last 16 years, Joseph has worked with and led teams whose responsibilities cut across a major spectrum of technology transformational and retail growth projects and consultancy. Joining the group in 2017, Joseph started out leading the technology team for 5+ years in the position of the Group, Chief Information Officer, a role in which his focus on execution to reposition the business was exemplary, hence leading to increased digital presence, retail growth and improved revenues, with keen focus on our growth during the COVID-19 pandemic where the business was run totally virtual and saw outstanding growth in customers, revenue and profitability.​
Leveraging on his education, performance, experience and spirit of execution, Joseph transitioned to the Group Head, Enterprise Performance Management, where he brings his analytical and technological prowess coupled with his background in managing teams and businesses to bare in monitoring and tracking business units and employees performances, while helping them to improve in their performance and ensuring the group continues to win in all its endeavours.
Before joining United Capital, Joseph headed the Group Technology Operations at Cordros Capital Limited where he transitioned the business from a High Net-worth Individual (HNI) focused business to retail-focused business with total leverage on technology to drive B2C sales across verticals while exploring new markets and partnerships. Prior to Cordros Capital, he had led the Enterprise & Cloud Services team at Soft Solutions Limited, an IT Consultancy firm with a footprint across 15 Nigerian banks on enterprise security, cloud projects, and consultancy where he developed, deployed, and led support teams to manage several financial and FMCG application suites.
A Tony Elumelu entrepreneur from 2016 before joining the group, and a member of the prestigious Beta Gamma Sigma international business honor society, continues to reinvent himself and deliver exceptionally to the United Capital family.