Key Takeaways:

• In 2023, Nigeria's kola nut production reached a peak of 188,703.54 tonnes.
• Following a decline in production from 1994 to 2006, production rose dramatically from 2007 onwards.
• Between 1997 and 2001, production was lowest, at only 82,000 tonnes.
• The 2010s saw steady growth, fuelled by increased agricultural investment and possibly rising domestic or export demand.
• The average production from 1994 to 2006 was 86,698.12 tonnes.

• Student loan applications peaked sharply in August 2024 with 91K submissions, marking the highest monthly volume within the 13-month period.
• After August’s spike, applications declined steeply, hitting a low of 18K in December 2024.
• A resurgence began in January 2025, leading to a second wave of activity that reached 59K applications in April 2025, the second-highest month.
• Monthly application volumes remained volatile, reflecting fluctuating demand and possible cycles tied to academic calendars or policy updates.

• Asia holds nearly half (47.7%) of Facebook’s global users, with over 1.1 billion people actively using the platform.
• America is second with 611.8M users, comprising 26.8% of the total user base.
• Africa’s 291.1M users (12.7%) place it slightly ahead of Europe in Facebook engagement.
• Europe contributes 11.8%, with 269M active users.
• Oceania remains the smallest market, with just 23.6M users (1.0%).

• Mercado Libre leads with $8.5B, making it Baillie Gifford’s most valuable tech holding after its Jumia exit.
• Amazon ($6.2B) and NVIDIA ($6.8B) remain major anchors in the portfolio, highlighting confidence in cloud, AI, and e-commerce.
• The "Others" category holds the largest share ($75B), showing how Baillie Gifford’s exposure is spread widely beyond the major names.
• Even post-Jumia, the portfolio is deeply rooted in innovation, with stakes in Spotify, Cloudflare, Moderna, and Shopify; covering audio streaming, cybersecurity, biotech, and e-commerce platforms.

• Microsoft’s revenue has grown steadily from $26.8B in Q1 2018 to $70.1B in Q1 2025, marking a 161% increase over the seven-year period.
• Its net income more than tripled from $7.4B in Q1 2018 to $25.8B in Q1 2025, with consistent year-on-year growth, especially sharp increases between 2020 and 2023.
• The company crossed the $50B quarterly revenue mark for the first time in Q4 2021, and hasn’t dropped below that threshold since Q1 2022.
• From Q1 2023 to Q1 2025 alone, Microsoft’s net income surged by over $7.5B, signalling an era of record profitability, with each quarter surpassing $20B in profit since Q2 2023.

• Asia leads the world in Messenger usage with 471.8M users, representing 49.9% of the global total.
• Asia has 2.2 times more users than the Americas, which is the next largest region.
• The Americas account for 210.7M users, or 22.3% of the global audience.
• Europe contributes 154.3M users, making up 16.3% of all Messenger users worldwide.
• Africa stands at 104.6M users, showing growth potential and already accounting for 11.1% of global usage.
• Oceania has the smallest user base at just 4.8M users, contributing 0.5%.

• Facebook has the highest number of users in Nigeria at 38.7 million, reaching 16.4% of the population.
• TikTok follows closely with 37.4 million users, accounting for 15.8% of Nigerians.
• YouTube attracts 27 million users, showing its continued relevance for content consumption.
• Snapchat boasts 19.6 million users, with 8.3% penetration across the country.
• LinkedIn is used by 11 million Nigerians, reflecting rising interest in professional networking.
• Instagram has 9.9 million users, slightly below LinkedIn in total reach.
• X (formerly Twitter) has 7.57 million users, capturing 3.2% of the population.
• Messenger is the least used among the listed platforms, with 5.65 million users in Nigeria.

• University students filed 497,000 loan applications, accounting for a staggering 90.1% of all institutional submissions.
• College of education students submitted just 34,000 applications, making up only 6.2% of the total pool.
• Polytechnics trailed with 21,000 applications, contributing 3.7% to the national tally.
• Out of every 10 students applying for a loan, 9 are university students, underscoring their dominance in demand.

• The United States holds the largest IMF quota by far, with 82,994.2 billion SDRs, accounting for 17.42%, more than double the quota of any other country.
• Japan, China, and Germany follow as the next largest contributors, each holding between 5.5% and 6.5% of total quota shares.
• European countries (Germany, France, the U.K., Italy) collectively maintain a strong presence, together accounting for nearly 17.21%, almost equal to the U.S. alone.
• Emerging economies like India and Russia have relatively modest shares (2.75% and 2.71%, respectively) despite their growing roles in global economic affairs, indicating an imbalance between global influence and IMF voting power.

• 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.