• The number of female central bank governors rose from 21 in 2014 to 29 in 2024, a 38% increase over the decade.
• The lowest point was in 2018, with just 14 female governors, marking a 33% drop from the 2014 figure.
• A rebound began after 2018, with consistent annual growth from 2020 onwards, peaking in 2024.
• The number remained under 20 for six consecutive years (2015–2021) before breaking past that mark again in 2022.

• University of Maiduguri leads with 31,770 applications, indicating a significant demand for student loans in the North East.
• North West institutions dominate the list, with five universities (Bayero University Kano, Federal University Dutsinma Katsina, Ahmadu Bello University, Usman Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, and Umaru Musa Yar'adua University) collectively accounting for a substantial portion of applications.
• North Central is represented by University of Jos and University of Ilorin, highlighting the region's active participation in the student loan programme.
• Federal University, Kashere's presence underscores the North East's engagement, with two institutions in the top 10.
• All listed universities received over 11,000 applications, reflecting widespread awareness and utilization of the student loan initiative across these regions.

• Male applicants dominate the Nigerian student loan landscape with 374,946 accounts, representing 68% of total applications.
• Female applicants trail behind at 177,063, contributing just 32% to the total loan accounts.
• For every 10 students who applied, approximately 7 are male and 3 are female.
• The gender gap in student loan uptake is 197,883, with males nearly double the number of female applicants.

• With 167,639 applications, the North West zone accounts for the highest number of student loan submissions, representing a significant concentration of demand in that region.
• The North East follows with 134,359 applications, bringing the northern region's combined total to over 300,000, more than half of all zonal submissions.
• The South West stands as the highest-contributing southern zone with 104,079 applications, showing a strong but comparatively lower demand than the North.
• The South East recorded just 29,097 applications, the lowest across all six geopolitical zones.

• America leads globally on LinkedIn, with 465.6M users making up 38.8% of the user base.
• Asia follows, contributing 397M users, or 33.1% of the global total.
• Together, Asia and America make up 71.9% of all LinkedIn users, totalling over 862M.
• Europe holds a solid 19.5% share, with 233.8M users.
• Africa’s 83M users represent a smaller but growing 6.9% share of global users.
• Oceania has the smallest share, at 1.8%, with only 21.5M users.
• The distribution reveals that LinkedIn’s core strength lies in regions where digital employment and professional networks are deeply integrated into economic and career activity.

• Asia alone holds over half of Instagram’s global users (51%), more than all other continents combined.
• America is the second-largest region with a 28.8% share (501.4M users).
• Europe accounts for 14.1% of Instagram’s audience, showing a modest footprint.
• Africa, with 91.3M users (5.2%), still has plenty of headroom for expansion.
• Oceania holds just 1% of the global user base, with 17.5M active users.
• The user gap between Asia and other continents points to a major opportunity for brands looking to scale in Asian markets.

• Kenya recorded the highest ivory seizure among the top 10 countries, with 130,432 kg confiscated over the 34-year period.
• China and Hong Kong follow closely, with 106,069 kg and 75,707 kg seized, respectively, showing their long standing roles as critical players in the global ivory network.
• Vietnam and Singapore, both located in Southeast Asia, had substantial seizure records; 71,256 kg and 29,882 kg, indicating persistent trafficking through the region.
• Nigeria leads West Africa in ivory confiscations within the top 10, with 23,031 kg, signalling its importance as a key node in the transit chain.
• All countries listed in the top 10 are either source, transit, or destination points in the global ivory supply chain, reflecting how widespread and interconnected the illegal trade remains.

• Coal demand peaked in 2007 at 1,705.1 Mtce, after a steady rise from 1,123.2 Mtce in 1974, marking a 52% increase over three decades.
• A dramatic drop followed post 2007, with demand falling by 44.8% to 941.3 Mtce by 2020, a loss of over 763 Mtce in just 13 years.
• Between 2020 and 2024, the decline continued, albeit more gradually, reaching 832.7 Mtce, indicating a consistent downward trend.
• Coal consumption in 2024 is the lowest in five decades, even lower than 1974 levels, reflecting a major shift in global energy use.

Key Takeaways:

• In June 2022, 9mobile recorded a peak of 324 port-ins.
• The lowest port-in figure during the period was recorded in February 2025, with only one subscriber.
• In June 2021, 9mobile received 191 new ported-in users, which decreased to 3 by April 2025.
• Monthly port-in numbers have been progressively dropping, from a three-digit to a single-digit level by 2025.
• A slight recovery was observed in May 2024 (226), but it was not sustained.
• By early 2025, port-ins dropped to as low as 1-3 per month.
• This trend is consistent with a sharp decline in its subscriber base.
• Compared to other service providers, 9mobile has struggled to attract and maintain switching clients.

Key Takeaways:

• Africa’s total cashew nut (in shell) production increased from 172,050 tonnes in 1961 to over 2.25 million tonnes in 2023, a growth of approximately 1,209%.
• Western Africa has been the primary driver of this growth since the 1990s and now produces the largest share of cashew nuts in Africa.
• Western Africa accounted for 84% of Africa’s total cashew nut production by 2023.
• Middle Africa has maintained a minimal but consistent level of production.
• Eastern Africa led production from the 1960s through the 1980s before being overtaken by Western Africa.
• The most significant growth in Africa’s cashew production began in the 1990s.
• Despite overall growth, cashew production in Africa has experienced periodic fluctuations.
• Mostly due to their climate conditions, Southern and Northern Africa regions are less favourable for cashew production than other African regions.

Key takeaways:

• MTN maintained the highest market share, growing from 41% in December 2015 to 52% by April 2025.
• Airtel grew significantly, expanding from 22% in December 2015 to 34% by Apr 2025.
• 9mobile experienced a steep decline, falling from 15% to 2% over the same period.
• Globacom maintained stability until 2023, then saw a dramatic fall from 27% to 12% by December 2024.
• The total market grew from 148.7 million in 2015 to 172.7 million subscribers in 2025 (16% growth).
• 9mobile's market share declined from 22.2 million subscribers (15%) to just 3.0 million (2%) in 2025.
• Globacom lost 41.5 million subscribers between 2023 and 2024.
• Airtel's market share expanded from 22% to 34%.

• Jumia hit unicorn status between 2015 and 2016 after a €300M raise led by key global investors.
• Its 2019 IPO raised $196M, making it the first African tech company to list on the NYSE.
• Post-IPO backlash led to a 50% drop in stock price after Citron’s fraud allegations.
• Between 2020 and 2021, Jumia exited multiple African markets and saw major investors like MTN and Rocket Internet cash out.
• Jumia exited South Africa and Tunisia in 2024, signalling sharper market focus.