ARM Trustees bags international award for Private Trust

ARM Trustees has been recognized with an award for its contributions to Private Trust Law practice in Nigeria.

The award was given by Lawyers World, a United Kingdom-based awarding body on July 12th. 2019, named ARM Trustees in the Global Category of outstanding Private Trust law specialists following the success and growth of the Private Trust business, its international and local collaborations and several other factors taken into consideration by the voting public. The announcement was made after a comprehensive collation of thousands of voting nominations sent in from voters over a period of 12 months.

In response to this award, Mrs. Folashade Adeloye, Managing Director of ARM Trustees Limited said “We are delighted to receive this award and also accept it as a challenge to do even more in ensuring that  our clients receive the best strategies for effective estate planning. We remain focused on helping our clients preserve and enhance their wealth for generations to come.”

Established in 2001, Lawyers World Awards boasts of providing definitive guides to the world’s leading law specialists. They have awarded hundreds of outstanding law specialists from over 20 countries in various categories since 2011 in their Global and Country Law experts Categories respectively.

“Labs by ARM” Accelerator Programme Concludes on Demo Day

ARM Labs

In November 2018, ARM partnered with Ventures Platform to launch an innovation programme, Labs by ARM, focused on supporting start-ups leveraging technology, applications, and services to solve specific problems, and unlock verticals and markets thereby changing how users access and consume financial services.

As part of the Labs by ARM innovation programme, a  12-week Accelerator programme was launched in February 2019, designed to help six early and growth stage Fintech start-up companies commercialise and  grow the distribution of products and services.  The teams participated in deep-dive sessions to ascertain the health status of the start-ups and were supported to create unique strategies for solving the challenges. Programme mentors and advisors, who are thought-leaders in their field, provided support around business growth, product-market fit, and distribution; helping the start-ups navigate specific challenges.

Within the 3 months, one of the companies went live with their mobile app, another start-up grew the number of onboarded customers from 6000+ to 10,000, further securing a partnership to onboard an additional 250,000 customers. The Demo Day, signalling the end of ARM’s corporate Accelerator programme was aimed at showcasing the progress made by the six start-ups. The event was held at Impact Hub on Tuesday, 30th April 2019.

The demo day event was attended by ARM executives and members of the board of Advisors for Labs by ARM including; Africa Partner for Alta Global Ventures, Victor Asemota, CEO, Jumoke Ogundare, Deputy CEO, Sadiq Mohammed, MD, ARM Academy Uche Azubuike and MD, ARM Financial Advisers, Henrietta Bankole-Olusina. and the  They spoke about why it was important for established companies to partner with start-ups. Financial institutions, Investors and press from across the continent were also in attendance.  

HERE ARE PICTURES FROM THE EVENT

The six start-ups who presented their innovations were:

  • TROVE www.troveapp.co : Trove is a self-directed trading mobile application that allows Africans to invest in financial securities in Africa (Government Bonds, Stocks) and also in international markets (US Exchange Traded Funds & Stocks of US companies) with the tap of a button.
  • ASUSU www.asusu.ng : ASUSU is building the infrastructure for informal micro-financial services by digitizing the financial activities of low income and daily earners through cooperatives, trade groups, and agent networks and partnerships.
  • PAYDAY INVESTOR www.paydayinvestor.ng : Payday Investor is a mobile and web application that allows users to invest in ARMs money market fund, one of the most secure mutual funds in Nigeria, promising higher returns than traditional savings along with capital preservation.
  • TSARON TECHNOLOGY www.tsaron.com : Tsaron offers group insurance in a ticket through vehicle monitoring, driver monitoring and through issued passenger tickets.
  • OGARANYA www.ogaranya.ng : Ogaranya is a platform for merchants to accept orders via SMS from their users and payment over USSD. They are bridging the online-offline commerce gap.
  • FINT www.fint.ng : FINT is a loan marketplace that connects Nigerians looking for affordable credit with Nigerians, whether institutions or individual, looking for attractive returns.

ARM

Established in 1994, ARM is an asset management firm, that offers wealth creation opportunities through a unique blend of traditional asset management and alternative investment services. ARM currently manages total assets of approximately N1.1 trillion (as at December 2018)

www.arm.com.ng

Ventures Platform Foundation

“The Foundation” is the non-profit arm of Ventures Platform. The Foundation is creating Inclusive and Sustainable wealth in Africa, by building the capacity of African Entrepreneurs and Innovators leveraging technology to create sustainable solutions to the most urgent problems on the continent. Ventures Platform also works with big corporates in driving innovation internally and in building lasting relationships with the startup ecosystem to help fuel business growth and achieve innovation goals.

www.venturesplatform.com

ARM gives back with DAAYTA 2019

The Deji Alli ARM Young Talent Award (DAAYTA) by Asset & Resource Management Holding Company Limited (ARM) on Friday, April 12, 2019, in an event held at Four Points by Sheraton Hotels Victoria Island, Lagos announced Murtala Sani of WeSabi as the first place winner of the DAAYTA 2019 award.

A team of four distinguished judges played the pivotal role of choosing the DAAYTA 2019 award winner amongst whom are: Victor Asemota, the Africa Partner for Alta Global Ventures, a US-based venture capital company; Mitchell Elegbe, founder of Interswitch, Sadiq Mohammed, the Deputy Group CEO of ARM Group and Dr. Ndidi Nnoli-Edozien, an Angel investor and Group Chief Sustainability and Governance Officer of Dangote Group.

Murtala Sani emerged the winner from among the 6 finalists with his business proposition WeSabi and received the award worth of ₦12,000,000 to fund and grow his business. Sani’s ₦12,000,000 (twelve million naira) funding will be disbursed over a period of one (1) year to develop his business plan, complete a 5-month entrepreneurial education at the Pan Atlantic University’s Enterprise Development Centre in Lagos, Nigeria; and also to receive support for development of his venture WeSabi through an accelerator programme by a reputable entrepreneurial hub in Lagos, Nigeria.

According to Sani, the urge to make a system better drove him to start WeSabi, an initiative created to help households find reliable and pre-screened artisans in their neighbourhood through a website, mobile app and a USSD platform. It’s goal being to build Africa’s marketplace for the blue-collar sector.

In the fifth position was Oluwayomi Oyatoye of MechoMedics whose initiative aims to address the problem of poor adoption of the new Secondary School curriculum in Nigerian schools specifically in the area of implementing trade courses and entrepreneurship development.  Daniel Odediran of PrestPro came in fourth with his idea which aims to produce an energy-saving cooling system using clay for the preservation of freshly plucked tomatoes in order to extend their shelf life. Yusuf Shittu of “Jojolo” Neo Childcare bagged the third position after explaining that Neo Childcare as a mobile child health service provider seeks to provide top quality and affordable healthcare for children especially in low-income communities in Nigeria. Dare Odumade of Chekkit made the second position with his innovation which is an anti-counterfeiting, asset-tracking and consumer feedback analytics platform and tool aimed at addressing the problem of counterfeiting, pilferage and inefficient supply of products.

The DAAYTA programme which was inaugurated by ARM in honour of its founding CEO Mr Deji Alli in 2015 is part of the company’s CSR efforts to educate and empower the younger generation to make a meaningful socio-economic impact in their immediate environment and the nation at large.

DAAYTA 2019 opened for applications in November 2018 receiving over 500 applications from talented and optimistic young entrepreneurs with 20 standing out after the initial selection before the final selection of 6 candidates was made.

Speaking about the outcome of the event, Ms Uche Azubuike, the Managing Director of ARM Academy said “We are happy that this huge part of our firm’s corporate social responsibility has yet again yielded fruits by empowering a good start-up business which will have a positive impact in the environment. There is a lot going on in the ecosystem right now, a lot of support from experienced people and from technology as well. So I would advise the winners to take advantage of that and make an impact.

On behalf of ARM, I extend my heartfelt congratulations and best wishes to Murtala Sani, all finalists and applicants; and my appreciation to our esteemed judges and everyone in attendance for their time at DAAYTA 2019.”

Lauding the DAAYTA 2019 Awards ceremony, the Tech Strategy Advisor and Founder of TechnoVision Mr Tomi Davies says “I am glad the DAAYTA Awards event was different from the traditional pitch events as we went through a thorough process to get to this final stage.  The judges were amazing as their decisions were prompt and they were aligned and as one of them said, “Even our unconscious bias was also revealed in a subtle way!”  I especially like the fact that the finalists had worked with each other before the event and bonded enough to help each other. At the end of the day, each of the 5 finalists that participated was a winner and went home with a prize and we all agreed that Murtala Sani of Wesabi deserved the first prize.”

DAAYTA 2019 Awards was proudly supported by TechnoVision Communications Limited, a technology services company with speciality in advising clients on technology-led transformation and early-stage entrepreneurship in Africa.

About ARM

Established in 1994 as an asset management firm, Asset & Resource Management Holding Company Limited (ARM) has evolved into one of Nigeria’s most innovative and respected non-bank financial institutions with a focus on Traditional Asset Management and Specialized Funds. ARM is a leading investment management firm that provides a diverse range of asset management services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, foundations and charities, high net-worth individuals, and small savers. See arm.com.ng for more details.

About TechnoVision

TechnoVision is the brand name for TechnoVision Communications Limited a technology services company which advises clients on technology-led transformation and early-stage entrepreneurship in Africa. See tvcng.com for more details.

Rising Tide Africa launched with ARM at African Angel Investment Summit

A group of experienced international business, Angel Investment angels and women investors from Africa, Europe and the USA have come together with ARM Securities Ltd. and ARM Trustees Ltd. to create “Rising Tide Africa”, (RTA) a unique, trans-border women-oriented investment program and funded by private investors who believe they will bring about positive change by investing in the continent’s exciting start-ups and next generation to create a New Africa.  The investments will range from 50 K USD to 500 K USD but always with the goal of bringing about a positive change.

Rising Tide Africa will be powered by ARM Securities Limited and ARM Trustees Limited, both members of the ARM Group which have been leading investments in entrepreneurial ventures and are dedicated to bringing about a better Africa.  In particular, ARM Securities will be bringing its financial advisory experience to help power “Rising Tide Africa” and will also share deal-flow on a case-by-case basis.

RTA shall be a leading and pre-eminent managed investment pool primarily focused on investments in digitally and technology-enabled companies.  This will bring a quantitative as well as qualitative return to improving the lives and lifestyles on the African continent, by, for example, providing access to health, education, energy, water, agriculture, commerce, transport, and several communications services and infrastructure. RTA will also be actively involved in the promotion of investment literacy among women in Africa.

It is intended that RTA shall be a preferred equity partner in Africa and a first mover in technology and digitally-enabled, early-stage technology investing in most parts of Africa. RTA seeks to pursue investment opportunities that have the potential to yield strong financial returns and significant impact in Africa.

RTA seeks to offer women an opportunity to build a diversified portfolio of early-stage investments in innovative African companies as well as training opportunities for women to become sophisticated angel investors, and networking with other women in this one of a kind angel community.

 

Rising Tide Africa” is by far the most ambitious incarnation of the “Rising Tide/Next Wave” movement which aims to bring experienced women private angel investors together with experienced business and corporate women executives who are investing for the first time. The movement originally started in the USA in 2015, followed in quick succession one month later in Europe with Rising Tide Europe 1 and 2 and now Rising Tide Africa.  Several of the Rising Tide Europe Board Members, Deal Leaders and LPs are involved in the setting up Rising Tide Africa.

The President of Rising Tide Africa is Dr Ndidi Nnoli Edozien (Nigeria) and the Board Members are Rebecca Enenchong (Cameroon), Evelyn Oputu (Nigeria), Hedda Pahlson-Moller (Sweden), Olayemi Wonuola Keri Crisc, (Nigerian), Clementine Vervelde (Rwanda), and Isabelle de Melo (Mauritius/Swiss) and a Representative from the ARM Group.  The Investment Committee Members are Brigitte Baumann (Swiss), Candace Johnson (USA/France/Luxembourg), Audrey Mothupi (South Africa) and Lexi Novitske (USA/Nigeria). ARM Securities Ltd and ARM Trustees Ltd. will also be represented in the Investment Committee.

 

Quotes:

Dr Ndidi Nnoli Edozien, President of Rising Tide Africa:  “It is my privilege to play a founding role inspiring this Movement of Investors from diverse backgrounds, co-investing with a shared vision to harness, develop, educate, mentor and network across borders, while nurturing scalable, replicable ventures that contribute to sustainable economic growth across our great continent Africa, most excitedly powered by some of the world’s most courageous Women.”

 

Jumoke Ogundare, Group CEO, Asset & Resource Management Holding Company Ltd.:  “We are proud to be associated with the RTA and support its raison d’etre of bringing together women, innovation and business. This combination would undoubtedly stimulate economic growth in Africa.”

Tomi Davies, President ABAN: “We at ABAN are very happy to support such an innovative approach to investing on the continent.  With RTA our women take their rightful place in contributing to the advancement of the African entrepreneurial ecosystem.  I am proud that ABAN is able to help make this happen and commend the initiators of this laudable project.”

 

Candace Johnson, President EBAN: “It is an honour to work with ABAN, the ARM Group, and Go-Beyond to create ‘Rising Tide Africa’.  We are looking forward to making great investments together which will bring about a ‘New Africa’.”

 

Brigitte Baumann, Founder and Chair of Go Beyond: “We are delighted to support RTA, the first of its kind learning and investing program leveraging the experience gained with the Rising Tide Europe programs. “

 

Who is ABAN?

The African Business Angel Network (ABAN) is a pan African non-profit association founded early 2015 to support the development of early stage investor networks across the continent and to get many more (early stage) investors excited about the opportunities in Africa.

 

Who is ARM Securities Ltd?

ARM Securities Limited is a limited liability company licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as Issuing House and Broker-Dealer firm respectively. Formerly known as Hamilton Hammer, the Company commenced operations in 1994 and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Asset & Resource Management Traditional Asset Management Limited (ARMTAM) in 2008. ARM TAM is a member of the ARM Holding Company Limited, the largest, independent non-bank financial institution in Nigeria.  Under ARM’s leadership, the Company has successfully been repositioned as a recognized financial advisory and brokerage firm in Nigeria.

 

Who is ARM Trustees Ltd?

ARM Trustees Limited (“ARMT”), incorporated in October 1997, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ARM Traditional Asset Management Limited (ARMTAM), a member of the Asset & Resource Management Holding Company Limited.  Licensed by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), ARMT was incorporated to carry out a wide range of trusteeship services to Public sector, Corporates, Institutional and Private clients. ARMT’s corporate trust services include trusteeship under Private Equity structures, Loan Syndication/Consortium, Project/Structured Finance, Collective Investment Schemes, and Debenture Trust arrangements. The Company also renders private trust and estate planning services.

 

Who is EBAN?

EBAN is the pan-European representative for the early stage investor gathering over 150 member organizations more than 50 countries today. Established in 1999 by a group of pioneer angel networks in Europe with the collaboration of the European Commission and EURADA, EBAN represents a sector estimated to invest 7.5 billion Euros a year and playing a vital role in Europe’s future, notably in the funding of SMEs. EBAN fuels Europe’s growth through the creation of wealth and jobs.

 

Who is Go Beyond?

Go Beyond Investing enables novice & experienced, small & large investors, to access angel investing as an asset class through its unique platform, portfolio tools, education and expert angels. Go Beyond operates in Europe and the US. It has been in the top 10 Swiss FinTech startups in 2015 and 2016.  Go Beyond is managing the Rising Tide Europe 1 and 2 programs.

 

ARM Partners Lagos State Ministry of Education #CodeLagos Initiative

CODE-LAGOS-001

The Lagos State Ministry of education, in partnership with Asset & Resource Management Holding Company (ARM HoldCo) plans to create coding centres in public and private schools across the state under the #CodeLagos project.

CodeLagos is an initiative of the state government targeted at making coding education framework accessible to every student in Lagos and training 1 million Lagosians to code by year 2019. The programme is to be launched in April this year with about 300 coding centres of which ARM will equip 15 of the centres.

According to special adviser to the state governor on education, Mr Fela Bank-Olemoh, “ARM will be setting up 15 centres and these centres will be established in low Income schools in line with Governor Akinwumi Ambode’s commitment to promoting inclusive governance and qualitative education for all citizens.

L-R: Head of Marketing, ARM, Mr. Taiwo Adeleye; Group CEO , ARM, Jumoke Ogundare; Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr. Obafela Bank-Olemoh and Permanent Secretary, Office of the Special Adviser, Education, Dr. Samsudeen Allison during the launch of the CodeLagos Initiative at the Office of the Special Adviser, Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, on Tuesday, February 14, 2017.

 

Jumoke Ogundare, CEO of ARM, said the organisation was excited about the partnership with Lagos State on the CodeLagos initiative, saying the project was in line with the commitment of the firm towards improving access to quality education for all. Ogundare said over the years, ARM had demonstrated in clear terms its commitment to corporate social responsibility and given its track record, “it becomes easier to partner the state on the CodeLagos, believing that it will lead to improved digital knowledge and impact positively on job and wealth creation.”

The registration and screening of facilitators for CodeLagos started last week and is ongoing. At the end of the process, 1,500 facilitators would be selected and deployed to centres across the state.

Established in 1994 as an asset management firm, Asset & Resource Management Holding Company (ARM HoldCo) offers wealth creation opportunities through a unique blend of traditional asset management and alternative investment services. ARM currently manages total assets of circa N760 billion (as at January 2017), has an AA- rating from Agusto and Co. and was named Best Fund Manager, Nigeria 2013 by Capital Finance International. The Firm is regulated by the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). ARM is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria with offices across the country.